"But…"
"Vice Admiral Yamakaji, since this was Roya's own decision, I think we should respect his opinion."
Just as Yamakaji was about to say something more, the advisor Carl standing nearby suddenly spoke up, his tone unusually serious.
Yamakaji glanced at Carl, then at Roya, and finally shook his head helplessly.
"Alright. Since this is your decision, Roya… you must be careful. Although your strength is very great, pirates in the New World with bounties around 200 million are never simple opponents."
"And this Silver Sword Pirate Crew is extremely brutal. They once slaughtered every single person on an entire island!"
Hearing Yamakaji's words, Roya's eyes flickered slightly.
"I understand."
Leaving behind those words, Roya turned around and left Yamakaji's office.
Watching Roya leave just like that, Yamakaji pressed a hand to his forehead helplessly.
"That personality… it really is just like Mr. Garp's. Always charging in recklessly…"
Carl, standing to the side, wore a blank expression, but inwardly he was practically laughing out loud.
He had originally thought his scheme had failed, but he never expected Roya to completely ignore the difficulty of the assessment. Not only did he refuse to delay the test and wait for an easier target—he even chose the most brutal pirate crew of them all!
Roya could destroy the strength-testing device with a single punch. His strength was likely close to that of a Marine Vice Admiral. Even if he encountered a pirate crew with a bounty around two hundred million, the danger of failing the mission should not be too great.
But now… things were different.
The Silver Sword Pirate Crew was not the type to flee at the sight of the Marines. More often than not, they would brutally engage the Marines in battle—annihilating the Marine force if they could win, and only retreating if they could not.
If Roya made even a single mistake, it was entirely possible that he could lose his life.
---
The Silver Sword Pirate Crew operated in the latter half of the Grand Line—the New World.
The mission to eliminate the Silver Sword Pirate Crew was being handled by the Marine G-4 Branch in the New World. Once Roya's mission target was finalized, he was quickly dispatched to the G-4 Branch.
"Hm? An elite camp graduation assessment—eliminating the Silver Sword Pirate Crew? That crew's captain carries a bounty of 220 million Beli…"
At the G-4 Branch base in the New World, the Vice Admiral base commander looked at Roya with a trace of astonishment in his eyes.
He was also a student of Zephyr and had once been a member of the elite camp himself, so he was very familiar with the elite camp graduation assessments. That was why he was so surprised when he received the notice from Marine Headquarters and then met Roya in person.
"So, when can we depart?"
Roya's demeanor toward the Vice Admiral base commander was completely calm. He had already met Marine Admirals and even the Marine Fleet Admiral; naturally, facing a Vice Admiral carried no pressure for him at all.
"…Now."
The Vice Admiral base commander looked deeply at Roya and spoke in a low voice.
"The Silver Sword Pirate Crew has just robbed a merchant ship and slaughtered everyone aboard. I was about to dispatch warships to eliminate them."
"Good."
Roya nodded and immediately turned to walk out the door.
The Vice Admiral base commander watched Roya's retreating figure and shook his head slightly.
"This guy… a pirate with a bounty of two hundred million is completely different from one with a bounty of one hundred million. Without Rear Admiral-level strength or above, it's simply impossible to deal with them. I really don't know what Marine Headquarters is thinking."
As he spoke, a sudden flash of realization crossed his mind, and a strange light appeared in his eyes.
"Wait… Monkey D. Roya… Monkey D… Could this kid be related to Vice Admiral Garp…? If that's the case, then maybe it's not impossible after all."
He had originally planned to call Marine Headquarters to ask for more details, but after thinking this through, the hand he had just raised toward the Den Den Mushi slowly lowered again.
---
Marine G-4 Branch Base.
A large warship was already fully prepared. Countless Marines stood solemnly on deck, each holding their weapons, killing intent radiating from them. The atmosphere was grave and austere.
To pursue a pirate captain with a bounty around two hundred million, at least three Marine Rear Admirals were usually required to lead the operation. If conditions allowed, a Vice Admiral would also be deployed.
The G-4 Branch had only two Vice Admirals: one was the G-4 Branch Vice Admiral, and the other was the Vice Admiral base commander, whose status was equivalent to a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral. Below them, there were quite a few Rear Admirals.
The base commander generally did not go into the field, and the other G-4 Vice Admiral was currently pursuing another pirate crew. As a result, only Rear-Admiral-level officers could be dispatched, making the lineup somewhat thin. For this reason, a relatively large number of Rear Admirals were sent this time—five in total.
Originally, the Vice Admiral base commander had hesitated over whether to personally lead the operation. Roya's sudden arrival, however, prompted him to dispatch even more Rear Admirals while he himself remained behind to guard the base.
On the warship.
The five Rear Admirals had already completed their preparations and were about to depart when they suddenly received orders from the base commander: a Marine of "special status" would be joining them.
This phrase—"special status"—immediately puzzled the Rear Admirals aboard the ship. Either another officer would be joining them, or perhaps a staff officer. But what exactly did "special status" mean?
A short while later—
Roya approached from a distance and boarded the warship under the astonished gazes of the five Rear Admirals.
He was still wearing the uniform of a Marine trainee.
"If this is the warship assigned to eliminate the Silver Sword Pirate Crew, then I should be on the right ship. We can depart now."
Roya glanced at the stunned Rear Admirals, shrugged casually, and then walked straight into the cabin.
The Marine Rear Admirals and the commissioned officers on deck all exchanged looks.
"What the hell is this? A trainee Marine?!"
"Isn't this some kind of mistake? Where did this guy come from?"
The Rear Admirals and officers were utterly baffled.
After repeated confirmation, they finally accepted that this trainee Marine—Roya—was indeed the "special-status Marine" mentioned in the base commander's orders. He had come directly from Marine Headquarters, and according to the instructions, even they had no authority to command him.
At that moment—
The faces of the G-4 Branch Rear Admirals and officers all turned unpleasant.
Wasn't this blatantly someone coming to freeload off their battle merits?!
Within the Marines, the merit gained from encircling and suppressing pirates was accumulated as merit points. Merit points were unrelated to rank—no matter how many points one had, they could not be used to promote rank—but they could be exchanged for various items.
The higher the merit points, the more valuable the items one could exchange.
The Marine forces spanned the entire world, with a scope of influence far exceeding that of any single pirate crew. Naturally, their resources were also the most abundant on the seas. For example, Devil Fruits—not only Zoan-types and Paramecia-types, but even Logia-types—were available for exchange within the Marines.
Of course, the merit points required were enormous, and anyone capable of earning that many points would likely already be powerful enough to no longer need a Logia-type Devil Fruit.
Now here was Roya—a mere trainee Marine—who had traveled all the way from Marine Headquarters to their G-4 Branch, joining them to eliminate a pirate crew with a bounty exceeding two hundred million. And they had no authority to command him, meaning he could simply hide on the warship and not participate in the battle at all.
If this wasn't abusing connections to farm merits, then what was it?!
Moreover, his background clearly seemed immense—so great that even their Vice Admiral base commander could only turn a blind eye.
"Forget it. We can't afford to offend him."
"Even our base commander is turning a blind eye…"
"Just ignore him."
The Rear Admirals and officers shook their heads, all wearing helpless expressions, and decided not to concern themselves with it any further.