Naval Headquarters
Sengoku slammed the newspaper down on the table, his face a mask of fury. "Crocodile, how could he do such a thing?!"
As a Warlord, Crocodile had nearly taken over a founding country of the World Government—Alabasta. The fact that the news had been published, and it was too late to stop it, was a massive blow to the World Government's prestige.
"Furthermore," Tsuru added, "if what Rodin said in the newspaper is true, he has no intention of joining the Warlords."
"What an uncontrollable young man," Kizaru said, picking his ear. "Does he really think he can take down the Warlord system by himself?"
"What do you think his purpose is?" Tsuru mused. "Is there some benefit for him?" The newspaper reported that Rodin's goal was to prevent other Warlords from abusing their power, but Tsuru was skeptical.
"Maybe he's just a hot-headed young man," Kizaru said with a shrug.
Sengoku's eye twitched at Kizaru's nonchalant attitude, but he was used to it. "Which Warlord is he closest to now?"
"In the first half of the Grand Line, it would be Moria's territory," Tsuru replied.
"If we let him continue, he might actually go and kill them all," Sengoku said, frowning. "Are you sure Morgans didn't just make this up?"
"He wouldn't dare," Tsuru said.
"Fine. For now, monitor their movements," Sengoku ordered. "If they head for Moria's territory, or the capital of Seven Waters, or if they enter the Calm Belt... we'll have to deal with them. We can't let him get away with a public slap in the face like this."
Rodin's warship was currently on its way to Gaya Island. The journey had taken a little over a day.
"Baki, how much money do we have on board now?" Rodin asked.
"Around 600 million Berry," Baki replied, without missing a beat.
Most of the money had come from Crocodile's hidden treasures in Baroque Works, not the original warship. Rodin had initially planned to use the money to buy a new ship, but with this powerful Marine warship, he wasn't sure if he needed to anymore.
Rodin had already eaten the Silent Fruit. With its power and that of the Transparent Fruit, he had made the warship completely transparent and silent. No one could detect it without advanced Observation Haki, which was not something that was always active.
Suddenly, the training card in Rodin's storage ring began to change. "My fame... it's finally paying off?" he thought with a hint of excitement. The card, which had been orange, quickly turned yellow and then a vibrant green.
"The impact of the news must have been huge," Rodin said. The defeat of a Warlord had a much greater effect on the world than a mere victory.
The training card now had new functions. In addition to the five times acceleration, it could now be customized. He could choose between a Haki Training and a Fruit Development mode. If he chose one, it would increase the speed to thirty times, while still maintaining a fifteen times acceleration for basic physical training.
Rodin decided to focus on Fruit Development to master his two new Devil Fruits. Thirty times the speed was a massive boost, though it would require a lot of food for maintaining strength. He wanted to see just how far he could push the powers of the Transparent and Silent Fruits.
"How is it that the more I do, the more it feels like I'm the one behind the scenes?" Rodin mused.
"Captain, you don't need to work so hard," Mihoko said, walking over to him. "With us here, we will protect you. After all, you are a man." In her world, men were supposed to be pampered and protected.
Rodin was shocked. "I'm being underestimated by these girls!" he thought. "Ahem, once each of you can match a Four Emperor, then I'll relax," he said.
"Captain, we're almost at Gaya Island!" Baki announced, jumping down from the observation deck. "If we're lucky, we can pass through the upwelling current and go to Sky Island!"
Rodin was intrigued. "You've been there?" he asked.
"Of course! Sky Island has a lot of gold. I looted a bunch of it," Baki said with a grin, referring to the Sky Island in her own world.
"Let's talk about it once we get to Gaya Island," Rodin said. He was also interested in Sky Island, not just for the gold, but for the strange Shells that could store things.
Rodin checked the system's lottery draw. The cooling time was almost up. "The next summoning is coming soon," he thought. "Who will it be this time?"