Though if they knew that even Wano Country had been directly blasted apart by Roy, who knew what they would think?
Pekoms had already formally established a special Mink unit, just like Hagens's chef unit, with himself serving as its leader.
Without a doubt, this was another extremely powerful force. Once the full moon rose, they would become a terrifying existence to all enemies.
And now, whether it was the fifteen division commanders or the captains of the special units, all of them had gathered together and arrived inside the Golden Palace.
Every one of them looked feverishly toward the highest seat, toward the figure seated there.
That was their captain.
That was their faith.
He was the one absolute candidate who could lead them to overthrow the World Government.
Aside from them, Shiryu and Chopper had also come to the palace.
Ever since Chopper had been brought back to Raijin Island by Roy, he had been carefully cleaned up and groomed. At this moment, his human-beast form looked extremely adorable.
Right now, he was hiding shyly off to one side, watching the people present.
His gaze lingered most often on Pekoms and the other Minks, who looked rather similar to him.
As for Shiryu, he had a cigar clenched between his teeth as he wiped down his beloved sword. From time to time, his gaze drifted toward Mihawk, who sat several meters away from him with his legs propped up on the table.
While the two of them were observing the others, the others were also paying attention to them.
"So those are two more people the captain recruited? That guy smoking a cigar and holding a sword is definitely strong. He's covered in killing intent, and judging by his aura, he's not even weaker than King. Another monster… But what's with that cute-looking tanuki? A Mink? Doesn't look like one. Could he be the captain's new pet?"
On the main seat, Roy looked at the subordinates below him, all of them wrapped in powerful auras, and nodded in satisfaction.
This was the scale he had built up after nearly seven years of management. It was quite impressive.
Though during these seven years, he had basically left most matters alone.
Whether it was Emperor deputy-level figures like Shiryu and King, or core fighters like Gin and Daz, they had all grown into proper forces in their own right.
And people like Mihawk and Blackbeard would possess Emperor-level strength once they fully matured.
However, Blackbeard might not stay, while Mihawk actually might.
At present, Daz, Gin, and Laffitte had already accumulated enough training and battle experience, along with their Devil Fruit development, to fight on even footing with later-grown Sweet Commanders of the Big Mom Pirates such as Snack and Cracker. They might even defeat them.
As for Burgess, relying on the special nature of the Boil-Boil Fruit, he could barely stand shoulder to shoulder with an Emperor's right hand like Katakuri.
Issho was firmly an admiral-level combatant, while Shot… fine, that guy might be somewhat reliable as long as he did not drink.
Over on the Fish-Man side, Tiger had gradually let go and gone to guard Fish-Man Island.
He had basically handed command of the Fish-Man unit over to Jinbe.
And Jinbe had lived up to expectations. Under the Thunder God Pirates' training and tempering, his own strength had already surpassed his original level.
If the current him were to fight the later Fire Fist Ace again, the outcome would probably be decided very quickly.
However, young Ace had also received secret training manuals from Roy. Interestingly, the Flame-Flame Fruit still had not been found even now. What might happen in the future was perhaps still uncertain.
The Three Calamities, led by King, had also been doing quite well during these years with the Thunder God Pirates.
Compared with their previous boss, whose mind frequently went off the rails, King was undoubtedly much more relaxed.
Only comparison shows the difference. Thus, over these few years, they had gradually forgotten Kaido and begun to sincerely see themselves as members of the Thunder God Pirates.
As for Kuma, as always, he was napping while bouncing around between the stone pillars placed around Raijin Island.
Having been in charge of medical care and logistics these past years had given Kuma a rare air of compassion.
Even Chameleone, who stayed by his side, had become much steadier in conduct.
"Begin."
Roy nodded toward Laffitte, Jellro, and Tamago.
The three bowed slightly, then began reporting to all the division commanders on the work they were responsible for.
As time passed, the Thunder God Pirates had become increasingly organized, especially in terms of internal administration.
The three of them already had their own duties and each handled their own responsibilities.
Diplomacy was handled by Laffitte, internal affairs by Tamago, and finances by Jellro…
As for the division commanders below…
Only Kuma, Jinbe, King, and Issho were listening seriously. The others' minds had long since gone blank.
"All right, that concludes our report on the recent state of our work, bon."
At last, Tamago gave the final summary. Then he bowed slightly to Roy and stepped back.
"Then I'll say a few simple words."
Roy straightened his posture and spoke.
The people below instantly jolted. All of them raised their heads.
Mihawk lowered his legs. Shiryu stopped wiping his sword. Kuma closed his book. Queen put down his mochi red-bean soup…
"First, our pirate crew has once again welcomed two new companions. They are Shiryu and Chopper."
As he spoke, Roy looked toward the visibly irritated Shiryu, and then toward Chopper, who was hiding most of his body behind a strange stone.
"Shiryu? Could that be the Head Jailer from Impel Down, Shiryu of the Rain?"
"That's him. I heard he and Warden Magellan are known together as Impel Down's two trump cards."
"A master swordsman. I'll have another chance to exchange pointers with him."
"Hey, isn't that not the main point? The Head Jailer of Impel Down joined us. Doesn't that mean the captain already invaded Impel Down once?"
"So what? Our captain could invade Impel Down, and even if he attacked Mary Geoise, I wouldn't find it strange!"
"…The captain really did attack Mary Geoise a few years ago."
"Right, so that guy was a new companion? I thought he was the captain's pet."
"Is that tanuki a Mink? Why doesn't he look like one?"
Some of the core members of the various divisions began whispering among themselves. Although their voices were very low, they still entered Chopper's extremely sharp ears.
"I'm not a tanuki! I'm a reindeer! A reindeer!"
Once Chopper grew anxious, he could no longer care about being shy and immediately began arguing loudly.
(End of Chapter)
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