Grand Line, First Half, Marine Branch G-2.
"What is that?"
"A cloud? A fireball?"
"Be on alert! Be on alert! They're flying toward us!"
"..."
A black cloud and a ball of fire came flying from a distance, causing many Marines in the port to become nervous, and they all tightened their grip on their weapons.
"Why are you panicking?" Strawberry came forward and said in a deep voice, "Those are our people!"
The moment he finished speaking, the black cloud and fireball above the port slowed down and began to descend slowly. It was then that the Marines in the port realized that a young Marine was sitting cross-legged on the black cloud, holding a cute little black cat in his arms.
"Yo~ Rear Admiral Strawberry, it's been a while!" Cross jumped off Marduk, landing steadily on the dock, and smiled as he greeted the man in front of him. At the same time, Bastet, held in Cross's arms, opened her amber-green vertical pupils and raised her right paw at him, as if to say hello.
"It has been a while. Vice Admiral Borsalino is waiting for you in his office," Strawberry said, his expression serious. When he looked at Bastet, he even managed to force a small smile and give her a friendly nod. Clearly, no one could resist cuteness.
"Please lead the way," Cross said politely, knowing what kind of person Strawberry was.
Strawberry nodded and turned to walk towards the huge fortress behind him. Cross followed closely, a step behind. After the two had left, the Marines in the port began to talk among themselves.
"Who's that kid? He's even holding a cat!"
"And Rear Admiral Strawberry came to greet him! Could he be a big deal?"
"I don't know about anything else, but he's definitely a Devil Fruit user. Did you see that the black cloud and the ball of fire both had eyes and a mouth? They're clearly alive!"
"Don't guess randomly. That's Commodore Cross, the man known as the 'Marine Star'!"
"I remember two years ago, when Commodore Cross was a student at the Marine Academy, Chief Instructor Zephyr brought him to our Branch G-2!"
"..."
Ignoring the Marines' discussions and curiosity, Cross couldn't help but sigh with emotion as he looked at the huge fortress ahead.
As one of the nine G-branches, Branch G-2 was naturally much larger than his previous Branch 211.
This was an extremely massive and sturdy fortress with a strong force of over 20,000 men and dozens of ships of various sizes, guarding one of the seven sea routes in the first half of the Grand Line.
Furthermore, the more than a dozen small branches on this sea route were all under the command of Branch G-2.
He had been brought to Branch G-2 by Zephyr during his internship at the Marine Academy. After that, he went to Gurri Island to participate in a pirate-hunting operation led by Borsalino and unexpectedly encountered the first legendary great pirate of his life, "Aloof Red," Patrick Redfield!
It was that battle that allowed him to personally experience the power of a world-class fighter and learn what a true monster was!
Two years later, he, along with Vice Admiral Garp, personally captured the legendary great pirate after he had exhausted his strength and imprisoned him in Impel Down.
Now he was returning to Branch G-2 to serve, as if completing a cycle.
While Cross was lost in thought, Strawberry had already led him into the interior of Branch G-2, arriving at the door of an office.
Knock, knock, knock~
Strawberry stood at the door and knocked.
"Come in!" A familiar, leisurely voice came from inside the room.
Strawberry pushed the door open, and Cross unceremoniously followed him inside. He saw Borsalino sitting on a couch, leisurely sipping tea.
Then, Strawberry took two steps inside the room and stopped, his expression serious. "Vice Admiral, Commodore Cross has arrived!"
Cross took a step forward, saluted with a serious expression, and said loudly, "Vice Admiral Borsalino, Amphitrite Cross reporting for duty!"
Borsalino turned his head, looked at Cross and Strawberry, and smiled. "Thank you for your hard work. You can go now. I'll take care of Cross."
"Yes, sir!" Strawberry saluted, then turned and left the office, closing the door behind him.
Afterward, only Cross and Borsalino were left in the office.
"Make yourself at home. I remember you're not a stickler for etiquette," Borsalino said with a pout, his voice lazy.
Hearing this, Cross smiled and said in a relaxed tone, "Since I'm new here, if I'm too casual, I might cause resentment among my new colleagues, and that would affect our unity."
As he spoke, he walked a few steps to the couch opposite Borsalino, sat down casually, and then picked up the teapot on the coffee table to pour himself a cup of clear tea.
"You care about things like that?" Borsalino said with a nonchalant pout, then focused his attention on the space behind Cross. He teased, "Everyone else reports to their posts alone, or maybe with a single subordinate. You didn't bring a subordinate, but you look like you've brought your whole family, even the cat, ne~"
Cross, stroking the black cat Bastet, looked back at the relaxed-looking Marduk and the serious-looking Surtur and couldn't help but chuckle. "I can't help it. I can't leave them behind anymore! But speaking of subordinates, I do need one to help me handle miscellaneous tasks."
He stroked his chin, thinking about who he knew that could be his subordinate.
"Do you want me to recommend someone?" Borsalino asked.
"No thanks, I'll think about it later. I might find someone suitable," Cross said, waving his hand in refusal.
"You're not looking for a wife. Is it really about 'destiny'? Well, whatever you say," Borsalino said with a laugh. Then, Borsalino crossed his legs and said even more lazily, "Since you're here today, you can officially start your job. Your office is right next to mine. You can go check it out later, ne~"
"No problem. I'll go check it out after I finish this cup of tea." Cross nodded, picked up the porcelain cup from the coffee table, took a couple of small sips, then took out a box of cigars from his coat, opened it, and threw one to Borsalino across from him.
"A good cigar. It seems you've been living quite comfortably in the Bion Kingdom, ne~" Borsalino wasn't polite. He held the cigar to the tip of his nose and sniffed it, then joined Cross in lighting up the high-grade Bion Kingdom cigar.
Hiss... Hooo...
Cross took a deep puff of his cigar, slowly exhaling a cloud of smoke, completely unfazed by the other's teasing.
"Oh, by the way, there's something else. Since you've officially started your job, I'll give it to you to handle," Borsalino suddenly said, a hint of seriousness in his tone. "A few days ago, Miguel was out on patrol with a warship and encountered a pirate crew. After a chase and a battle, Miguel successfully sank their pirate ship, but they also suffered significant losses. However, some of the injured Marines' conditions worsened after treatment, and some even died quickly. A few soldiers with minor injuries to their hands and feet had their wounds fester and worsen after being bandaged, to the point that they needed amputations. The medics reported that there was a problem with the medicine and bandages, so I need you to investigate the source of these substandard medical supplies and bandages."
——————————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/JuanPiece [remove the parenthesis ( )]
There are 100+ advance chapters available for you to read!