"Ain, how long until we reach the Sabaody Archipelago?"
Creed asked. This time, their trip wasn't entirely personal—Sengoku had given them a task.
The Marine stationed at Sabaody, Admiral Kizaru, had to head to the New World to handle some matters.
So Sengoku had asked Creed to guard the archipelago for a few days.
He hadn't refused.
Although he had left Marine Headquarters to complete his own goal—defeating three SS-ranked enemies with treasure chests to unlock the SSS-level ability extraction—he had no idea where to even find them.
If there was any place with a high concentration of SS-level fighters, it was without a doubt among the officers serving under the Four Emperors.
But the problem was… they traveled in packs.
Even he wasn't foolish enough to charge into that.
So when Sengoku asked him to guard Sabaody, it suited him just fine.
The Sabaody Archipelago was a chaotic, lawless place.
Plenty of ruthless, infamous pirates roamed there.
A perfect place to test his luck.
"Probably by tomorrow morning," Ain replied.
Creed nodded.
…
The next morning—
The Sabaody Archipelago, made up of seventy-nine massive red mangrove trees.
At Grove 1's giant red tree harbor—
The port was dead silent, because a squad of Marines stood guard.
The most striking among them—
A middle-aged man in a yellow checkered suit, draped in a Marine Justice cloak, lazily sat in a chair, trimming his nails.
From a distance, bounty hunters, pirates, and human traffickers all watched warily.
When they caught sight of him, their expressions paled, and they swallowed hard.
One of the Marine's highest combat powers—Admiral Kizaru!
Seeing Kizaru and his squad gathered at the port made people uneasy.
Was the Navy about to make a big move?
Many pirates began preparing to slip away quietly from the archipelago.
Soon, a small boat docked at the port.
A young man and woman stepped ashore.
The onlookers tilted their heads. Was Kizaru waiting for these two?
Relieved that it wasn't some large-scale operation, they were now just as curious—what kind of people warranted an Admiral's personal reception?
"Admiral Kizaru, hello!"
As he spoke, Creed casually studied him. Yep, just as shady-looking and unkempt as in the stories.
"So you're Creed, huh? Finally," Kizaru said with a lazy grin. "Now I can leave this boring place behind and head to the New World to… have some fun—ah, I mean, work very hard on serious business."
Ain: "…"
Creed's mouth twitched. Yep, exactly like in the original—among the three Admirals, this guy was a complete oddball.
"Alright, the Sabaody Archipelago's yours for the next few days."
With that, Kizaru turned into a beam of golden light and shot toward a Marine battleship.
The bystanders heard every word.
Their eyes widened. Was this youth here to take Kizaru's place?
Was this a joke?
He didn't even look fifteen!
They shook their heads—probably some bigwig's kid, here to pad his résumé.
Creed made his way to the Marine base on Sabaody.
Along the way, many Marines barely glanced at him, clearly not taking him seriously.
To them, he was just some high-ranking official's young relative, sent here to "experience life."
Meanwhile…
"Hey, did you hear? Admiral Kizaru's leaving Sabaody for a few days."
"Yeah, and I heard some fifteen-year-old's taking over for him."
"What? Fifteen? You've got to be kidding me!"
"It's true."
News of Kizaru's temporary departure—and a fifteen-year-old from Marine Headquarters taking over—spread through the archipelago like wildfire.
…
——————
Two days passed in a flash.
Although Creed had replaced Kizaru as the top authority in Sabaody's Marine base—
He had no official rank.
He was just a fifteen-year-old who had dropped in from Headquarters.
The Marines' first impression of him was fixed: some pampered kid here for a holiday.
They didn't trust his ability. All the real decisions were handled by a brigadier stationed at the base.
Creed, however, was perfectly happy with the free time.
He spent the past two days wandering Sabaody with Ain.
They even stopped by "Shakky's Rip-off Bar" for a while.
The only disappointment—no sign of Rayleigh, the former first mate of the Roger Pirates.
BOOM!
BOOM!
Early in the morning, the Marine base erupted into activity.
From far away, the sound of massive explosions echoed.
Creed froze. What was going on?
He and Ain exchanged a glance, then followed the Marines toward the drill grounds.
…
(End of Chapter)
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