Chapter 17: Twelve Star Generals! Promoted to Lieutenant!
What surprised Loy was.
After returning to the Marine Base with his precious "source of life," he actually received news that Hina said Bilos wanted to see him.
And when Loy arrived at Bilos's office, he saw this always easygoing Vice Admiral looking at the things on the desk with a rare, solemn expression.
"Loy, you're back?"
"Yes, I haven't had time to report to you yet."
Loy nodded: "Sorry, I couldn't find any trace of the attacker at Marster Port."
He said what was expected, knowing full well it would be impossible to find any trace of "Drunken Chicken" while leading the search at Marster Port.
"It's okay, not finding it might be a good thing too."
Bilos then waved his hand and said: "This matter is far more complicated than we initially anticipated."
"Oh?"
Loy pretended to be curious: "What happened?"
"You sit down first, this is also one of the things I called you here to discuss."
Bilos said solemnly: "This matter, you and your subordinates are also involved, so I must inform you of the current situation."
"Oh?"
Loy became even more "curious": "Tell me in detail."
"First, it's about this raid on the Heavenly Gold."
Bilos spoke in a low voice while picking up the item on his desk to show Loy.
Then, Loy saw.
"A bounty order?"
That's a bounty order.
Most bounty orders rarely have no photo; instead, this one displayed a painting. The painting depicted a figure of immense stature, with dragon scales on their neck, wearing a rooster mask.
And on the bounty order, it was clearly written:
WANTED.
DEAD OR ALIVE.
'Drunken Chicken'.
Bounty - 170,000,000 Beli.
"One hundred and seventy million Beli?"
This number made Loy extremely surprised.
Because, he knew, this was a first bounty.
And for a first bounty, even two of the current Four Emperors, Big Mom and Kaido, were only offered 50,000,000 Beli and 70,000,000 Beli respectively.
This figure of 170,000,000 was indeed somewhat shocking.
"There's nothing we can do about it."
Bilos shook his head: "After all, this guy stole a huge amount of Heavenly Gold, and the pressure from the World Government and the Nismal Kingdom is enormous."
He sighed: "Moreover, according to the already awakened Blueno, the opponent possesses overwhelming power and has the characteristics of a Zoan-type Devil Fruit, capable of transforming into a tremendously huge ancient winged dragon."
"Besides that, he believes the opponent might be a Mythical Zoan-type Ability User, as the opponent used an elemental transformation-like ability during the battle."
"Fortunately, the opponent seemed to have underestimated us. Although their powerful attack penetrated his abdomen, they didn't kill him. This is how we learned so much information, including the opponent's name, 'Drunken Chicken'."
He uttered these two somewhat awkward-sounding words.
"Headquarters is currently investigating, but so far, no similar Devil Fruits have been found."
"However, if what Blueno said is true, and the opponent is an Ability User with a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit, then he is worth this bounty just by relying on this Devil Fruit's ability alone."
After Loy heard this, he also seemed to find it much more reasonable.
But then, he couldn't help but ask with some doubt: "A Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit! Isn't that one of the rarest and most powerful Devil Fruits? And 'Drunken Chicken' doesn't sound like a real name, does it?"
"It's indeed not the real name!"
Bilos's expression became even more solemn after hearing this: "This is also the second piece of information I need to tell you."
"The criminal you brought back from Marster Port has provided a lot of surprising information after investigation by Headquarters."
"Among it was information about an organization."
At this point, Loy's eyes also flickered with "surprise" and "doubt."
"Organization?"
"Yes, according to him, he comes from an organization, and he is a peripheral member of that organization."
"Therefore, he isn't very clear on the specific details. He only knows the name of that organization is called—'Twelve Star Generals'."
Bilos uttered these four words one by one.
"According to him, this organization has twelve high-ranking cadres and one supreme leader."
"'Drunken Chicken' is the codename of one of those twelve high-ranking cadres."
At this, Loy sprang up from his seat, exclaiming in shock: "What?! There's actually such a thing!"
However, while displaying his Oscar-level acting skills, Loy secretly thought:
"That Aran, that kid, is quite reliable."
That's right.
At this moment, Loy felt not even a hint of surprise by what Bilos said.
The reason was very simple.
Because all of this was arranged by Loy himself.
The two things he asked Aran to do before: The first was to use a clone to pilot the royal merchant ship of the Nismal Kingdom away from the port of the G-51 Marine Branch.
The second was to tell the Marines this "information" that Bilos was now relaying.
As for the underlying reason, it was also very simple.
Loy knew very well that to obtain enough Beli, he would naturally use the power of the "Slice-Slice Fruit" to continuously create clones and earn Beli through various means.
This raid on the Heavenly Gold this time was the first time, but it would definitely not be the last time.
But everything that exists will inevitably leave traces.
Therefore, to ensure that he himself was not discovered.
What Loy needed to do was to muddy the waters.
The muddier the water, the better he could fish.
Therefore, he already had a plan.
He wanted to fabricate an organization—one that didn't exist, but was destined to rise to fame in the future—a "powerful organization."
He wanted to transfer all the attention of the Marines and the World Government to that organization, thereby concealing his own existence.
Compared to one powerful Ability User after another appearing continuously, a "mysterious organization" that had already secretly existed and was plotting some schemes would clearly preoccupy the World Government even more.
This time, the Heavenly Gold raid incident was his first test.
He let that Lieutenant Colonel escape on Alabasta Island and didn't kill Rear Admiral Blueno, all to convey this information to the Marines.
And judging from the bounty situation and Bilos's current attitude—his plan was clearly very successful.
And at this moment, Bilos's words were still continuing.
"The Criminal Investigation Division is collecting information about that organization, but so far, they have found nothing."
He said in a low voice.
"Therefore, they hope you can provide a detailed report of your investigation at Marster Port, and at the same time, I want to remind you—"
He looked at Loy seriously: "That Aran, the one who impersonated him, will be imprisoned on the fifth level of Impel Down. From now on, do not mention any information about him."
"All information regarding this matter before the existence of the 'Twelve Star Generals' organization is confirmed will be classified as secret."
"Yes!"
And Loy, of course, had no objections.
He was not surprised by the Marines' judgment.
Relying on a single 'Drunken Chicken' alone was clearly not enough to make the Marines truly believe in the existence of the 'Twelve Star Generals' organization.
As for this, he already had a next step in his plan.
But what Loy did not expect was this.
Just when he thought everything was settled, Bilos's words took a turn.
"Besides this, I have two more things to tell you."
"The first thing is about your mission this time; I have already successfully pleaded your case with Sengoku."
As he spoke, he took something out from his person.
And Loy recognized at a glance that it was a shoulder insignia exclusively for school-level military officers.
"The higher-ups believe your brave act of voluntarily taking on the role of temporary commander at Marster Port this time, and the extremely important information provided by the criminal you captured – therefore, starting today—"
"You are... Lieutenant Loy!"
(end of chapter)