Of course, she had heard of this legendary Vice Admiral. Moreover, in her previous life, she held a great deal of respect for this Headquarters Great Counselor, and she knew her arrival could not possibly be a simple inspection.
A vague premonition, mixed with instinctual reverence for the strong and a deeper sense of unease, quietly sprouted in her heart.
This seemingly calm pond had just had a stone capable of changing everything tossed into it.
Vice Admiral Tsuru's inspection was brief and efficient. She listened to the Branch Leader's report, inspected some facilities, and her gaze swept over every face and every detail present, like the most precise scanner. When her eyes passed over Seraphilia, there seemed to be an extremely brief pause; that look felt as if it could penetrate the skin, giving her the illusion of being instantly seen through.
"How is the situation in the West Blue recently? I heard you just completed a sweep operation a while ago?" Tsuru's voice was calm, even somewhat warm, yet it carried weight.
The Branch Leader immediately stepped forward and reported on a raid against a small pirate group's stronghold. The operation was successful, yielding considerable spoils, and they were currently tallying the loot and interrogating the captives.
"Take me to see the cleanup site," Vice Admiral Tsuru said, her tone flat, but it was an undeniable order.
The clean-up work following a raid was usually conducted in a temporarily sectioned-off area of the parade ground inside the base.
There, captured miscellaneous goods and damaged weapons were piled up. Some lightly injured captives were bound with rough rope, tossed into a corner like sacks of garbage, awaiting subsequent interrogation and transfer.
The air was filled with a nauseating mix of heavy gunpowder smoke, the smell of blood, and dust.
The soldiers were busy. Upon seeing the Branch Leader accompanying Vice Admiral Tsuru arrive, they all stopped moving and snapped to attention and saluted, their movements carrying an extra layer of tension.
Seraphilia's squad was responsible for inspecting a batch of sealed supply crates.
She was half-crouching in front of an open box, using her ability to sense for hidden compartments or dangerous items inside. An extremely faint mist, like living tendrils, seeped thread by thread into the cracks of the wood.
This was a new application she had developed, safer and more thorough than simple manual inspection.
Vice Admiral Tsuru and her entourage walked over slowly. The Branch Leader whispered explanations of the situation beside her. Tsuru's gaze swept over the messy scene, over the dejected, numb-eyed captives, over the busy soldiers, and finally settled on the silver-haired private first class who was engrossed in her work, completely out of sync with the tense atmosphere around her.
Seraphilia was completely focused, all her attention dedicated to the sensory feedback she was receiving.
Just then, the unexpected happened!
At the edge of the parade ground, a pirate executive who had been bound with thick rope, leaning against a pile of debris, covered in bloodstains, and appearing to be unconscious from severe injuries, suddenly sprang up without warning!
His body, which seemed powerless, erupted with the strength of a leopard, and he actually snapped the ropes binding him through sheer brute force!
His face was terrifyingly smeared with blood, and his bloodshot eyes held the madness and venom of a dying creature making a final lunge. In his hand, he held a sharp wooden splinter, broken off from somewhere unknown!
His target was chillingly clear—the most conspicuous group in the center of the parade ground, especially the one surrounded in the middle, symbolizing the highest authority of the Navy: Tsuru!
"Protect Vice Admiral Tsuru!" The adjutant's sharp shout and the pirate's beast-like howl sounded almost simultaneously!
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