"Who said anything about assigning blame?" Tsuru, who had been quietly drinking tea, suddenly spoke.
The Marines' Grand Strategist put down her teacup, her gaze sweeping profoundly over the four men, finally settling on Tatsuki.
"Although the methods were extreme, the deterrent effect is excellent. Intelligence shows that the lawless areas of Sabaody Archipelago are much quieter this morning, and even the number of human traffickers has dropped by half."
Tsuru stood up and walked to the world map, her finger gently tapping the location of the North Blue.
"However, given the current strength and destructive power of you four, it is indeed inappropriate for you to continue playing house with the New Recruits in the Elite Camp."
Tsuru turned around, offering a meaningful smile. "Coincidentally, there's a bit of trouble brewing in the North Blue. The Germa Kingdom has recently been relying on technological strength to provoke wars everywhere, even openly plundering non-affiliated nations. As an affiliated nation of the World Government, Marineford cannot directly intervene."
"However..."
Tsuru's eyes sharpened. "What if a few 'lost' Marine trainees happen to get involved in the Germa battlefield during their vacation, leading to some conflict?"
Kong understood immediately and waved his large pen. "Exactly. Since you are all so energetic, go 'vacation' in the North Blue."
"Mission objective: Make Germa Kingdom behave. Once the mission is complete, you can officially undergo graduation."
Go to the North Blue?
Germa Kingdom?
Tatsuki's eyes instantly lit up.
That was the Vinsmoke Family! That was a walking black technology vault! They were war profiteers whose wealth rivaled nations!
And he heard that Vinsmoke Judge, that old geezer, hoarded countless gold, silver, treasures, and rare materials to dominate the North Blue.
"Mission accomplished, guaranteed!"
Tatsuki snapped a salute, declaring righteously, "I deeply detest Germa's peace-disrupting behavior. I will definitely use love and justice to thoroughly enlighten them."
...
Three hours later.
Marineford Port.
An unmarked medium-sized warship was ready to depart.
Tatsuki stood on the deck, holding the transfer order, looking at the words "Proceed to the North Blue to handle the Germa Kingdom unrest," his smile becoming increasingly warped.
"Yay. The North Blue, huh? I hear the mafia there is quite fierce."
Borsalino lay on a sun lounger, sunglasses covering his face, sipping a glass of orange juice, adopting the attitude that if you can't resist, you might as well enjoy it.
"It would be great if we could bring back some local souvenirs."
"Germa's sins should be settled."
Sakazuki stood at the bow, gazing into the distance, magma flowing at his fingertips. His mind was currently filled with the philosophy of rooting out evil that Tatsuki had instilled in him.
Kuzan was sleeping next to him, snoring with an eye mask on.
"Men! Set sail!"
Kane stood in the Captain's position, one foot on the railing, waving his hand grandly, full of vigor.
He looked at these three future highest combat powers, feeling immensely proud.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in the North Blue.
Vinsmoke Judge, sitting on the throne of his Mobile Castle Throne, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine and sneezed violently.
"What's wrong? This ominous feeling..."
— — —
North Blue, waters near Flevance.
Under the gray sky, the waves took on an oppressive leaden black hue.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Continuous cannon fire tore through the sea breeze.
Looking out, the once empty sea was now crowded with giant snails.
Hundreds of giant den den mushi warships, carrying castles and turrets, were linked end to end. They built a mobile nation on the sea, with the massive "66" logo fluttering on their flags.
Germa Kingdom, the war fortress of the Vinsmoke family.
They were conducting a one-sided massacre.
The besieged small island nation was simply unable to resist those Clone Soldiers wearing high-tech Raid Suits, who knew neither pain nor fear.
And in the command room of the Germa flagship.
"Is this the wailing of the weak? Truly pleasant to the ears."
Vinsmoke Judge held a spear and wore a golden cloak, standing before a huge floor-to-ceiling window. Through the slits of his mask, he indifferently watched the burning town below.
"Commander-in-Chief."
A Clone Soldier commander in a black uniform walked up quickly and reported mechanically, "A warship is approaching three nautical miles away."
"Small-fry Marines from the North Blue?" Judge frowned slightly, then let out a contemptuous sneer, "Probably some reckless branch captain looking for a piece of the pie."
"Ignore them." Judge waved his hand as if shooing a fly.
"Fire warning shots. If they don't know their place, sink them. After all, in such remote waters, shipwrecks are quite common, aren't they?"
"Understood, Commander-in-Chief."
...
Three nautical miles away.
A medium-sized warship without any numbering was cutting through the waves.
"Wow... is this the legendary Germa Kingdom?"
On the deck, Tatsuki held binoculars and looked at the dense fleet in the distance, his mouth almost watering.
In his line of sight, those dense snail ships didn't seem like warships, but rather mobile mountains of gold.
"Those hull structures, if they're made of special alloys, could be scrapped for hundreds of millions of Berries... and those Raid Suits on the Clone Soldiers, if we stripped them and sold them on the black market..."
Tatsuki muttered to himself while even taking out a calculator and starting to press buttons.
"Ara ara... Tatsuki, wipe your drool. If a reporter catches you like this, the Marines' image will be completely ruined."
Kuzan scratched his messy curly hair and looked at the fleet that blotted out the sky.
"The Vinsmoke family... I heard their technological power even makes that group of scientists at Marineford envious. With so many ships, there must be at least tens of thousands of troops, right? There are only four of us, isn't that a bit too much?"
"Troops?"
Sakazuki stood at the bow, his crimson shirt pulled taut by the fierce wind. He lowered the brim of his hat, his right arm emitting black smoke revealing his current mood.
"Just a bunch of small fry relying on external objects. Numbers are meaningless in the face of absolute power."
"Yee. Sakazuki is as scary as ever."
Borsalino held a cup of hot tea and said with a pout, "But the other side is an affiliated nation. If we strike first, writing the report back will be very troublesome."
"Strike first? How could that be?"
Tatsuki put away his calculator, straightened his tie, and a standard smile appeared on his face.
"We are Marines, partners of justice. How could we resort to violence so casually?"
(End of Chapter)
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