Chapter 52: Moving the Ship Closer
"We are the Marines, and we are going to inspect you now."
Zephyr's adjutant stood beside him, shouting toward Ren. He even intended to jump over directly, but under Ren's gaze, he did not dare move for a moment.
He looked into Ren's pupils, faintly tinged with purple, and felt as if he were staring into an endless abyss, sinking into it like being swallowed by black quicksand. When he came back to his senses, sweat had already soaked his temples.
"Don't come any closer, Marine," Ren said softly across the sea. Although his voice was not loud, for some reason it clearly reached Zephyr's ears.
"This is a routine inspection. Don't worry. As long as you prove you're not a threat, we won't make things difficult for you," Zephyr said as he stepped forward, standing firmly at the edge of the battleship's railing.
In truth, he did not harbor much ill will. Zephyr was steadfast in his belief in justice, and Ren's impression of him was not bad either.
Originally, allowing the inspection would have been fine. The problem was that there were still many pirates on this ship.
Aside from Shiyado, the other female pirates, though not selected, might have been recorded before. If they were recognized, it would cause considerable trouble.
Although Ren planned to send these people to Wano Kuni's pleasure district, he was not completely indifferent to them. If used properly, they would become a force that could not be ignored, especially in gathering intelligence.
Intelligence was an extremely important resource in any world. In the future, one of the Yonko, Charlotte Linlin, would control a vast intelligence network.
And Stussy, known as the Queen of the Pleasure District, relied on her business within the pleasure district to collect information.
These people would become Ren's web for acquiring intelligence in the future.
He treated them purely as tools. After all, they could hardly be considered innocent; when they followed pirate crews, they had participated in burning, killing, and looting.
Moreover, women who chose to go to sea as pirates were not the type to cling to notions of purity. Perhaps they once did, but over time, both body and mind were inevitably assimilated into pirate thinking.
Long, monotonous voyages with no certainty of survival made indulging in the present the only option. Now, branded with the Serpent's Seal by Ren, they already held the thought of dedicating everything to him.
Even if they continued that kind of work, it would not differ much from before, except that the danger would be greatly reduced.
"I don't like being inspected," Ren said coldly.
He had no intention of provoking the Marines, but he also had no intention of being trampled by them. Moreover, Shiyado was still inside the cabin, so how could he allow a search?
However, openly angering the other side was not wise. Zephyr, who would later become an Admiral candidate, possessed strength not much inferior to Garp and Sengoku.
On this vast sea, strength spoke louder than anything.
If it had been other nameless Marines, they might already have been sunk to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish. In the endless ocean, no one would ever know.
So Ren slightly eased his expression and said, "You are Marineford's Vice Admiral, 'Black Arm' Zephyr, aren't you? I am not your enemy. 2 months ago, I sent a pirate rookie to the Marine base in the New World."
"2 months ago? You're the Pirate Hunter who captured the Night Fire Pirates?" Zephyr asked in surprise.
However, his vigilance did not fade because of this. Strictly speaking, Pirate Hunters were not on the same side as the Marines.
In fact, Zephyr disliked Pirate Hunters. Many of them were villains themselves, and in places without witnesses, the evil they committed might not be less than that of pirates.
Still, they were a force that opposed pirates, and the man before him was not a wanted criminal.
That fact alone changed Zephyr's attitude.
He was already weighing the pros and cons.
For him, forcibly inspecting Ren's ship was not difficult. The question was whether such an action would push this Pirate Hunter, who stood in a neutral gray area, toward piracy.
If resentment from today drove him into becoming a pirate, that was not something Zephyr wished to see.
The two stood facing each other at the bows of their respective ships. Both exuded powerful auras.
Yet as a Marine, Zephyr had more factors to consider, placing him at a slight disadvantage in the standoff.
Molly stood beside Ren, holding a sword, resembling Yukiko in the past.
Fortunately, the stalemate did not last long. It was not that either side chose to yield, but that a third force shattered the tension.
In the distance, a pirate ship unfamiliar to Ren was sailing toward them.
Zephyr and Ren looked out simultaneously, tacitly setting aside their earlier conflict.
The pirate ship, heading straight toward the Marine battleship, had already entered their field of vision.
"Vice Admiral Zephyr, it seems the Marines do not command much authority among pirates in Paradise," Ren said calmly, unaware that the pirates were actually coming for him.
"Do you need my assistance?"
Zephyr's expression darkened slightly.
"There is no need for your concern, sir. I will arrest them myself," Zephyr replied, turning around and instructing the helmsman to change course.
The massive Marine warship slowly pivoted and advanced toward the approaching pirate vessel.
Ren remained where he was, watching as if observing a play.
In truth, there was no need for him to act.
If pirates sailed straight at them and Zephyr still required a Pirate Hunter's help, then he would not need to think about becoming an Admiral in the future. He might as well retire and farm.
The pirates had yet to grasp the gravity of the situation.
They were Jeka and his crew, who had pursued them all the way from the New World.
A few minutes earlier—
"Captain, there's a Marine warship!" a crew member cried out in alarm.
For pirates, encountering the Marines was like mice seeing a cat.
But Jeka showed no fear.
"It's just Marines from Paradise. What's there to be afraid of?" he sneered, revealing sharp, saw-like teeth.
"We've crushed plenty of them already, haven't we?"
"Don't forget who we are. Bring the ship closer!"
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