Marine Headquarters, Sengoku's office.

"Knock knock! Knock knock!"

"Dear and exceptionally wise Fleet Admiral Sengoku, may I come in?"

Sengoku looked up, about to instinctively smile before catching himself and forcibly suppressing the twitch at the corners of his mouth.

"Michael, get your ass in here!" Sengoku bellowed. "Do you really think flattery will work at this point?"

"Hehe, old man Sengoku, no need to be like that," Michael chuckled awkwardly as he pushed open the door and approached.

"A little flattery just makes you feel better, doesn't it? If it were Garp instead, I wouldn't even bother with the compliments!"

"Hmph! You've got some nerve!"

Sengoku set down his pen and documents, studying Michael who sat casually on the sofa, before finally sighing.

"Ah... Where's Garp?"

"Staying on Fishman Island for now. With the cooperation just beginning, we needed someone to remain there. But do you really think Garp could explain this situation properly to you? That's why I came back to debrief." Michael smiled, moving to Sengoku's desk and glancing at the documents.

"Has CP agents still not tracked SWORD? I've deliberately stopped having them conceal their presence recently. Seems CP really isn't that great."

"CP has quite a few capable individuals," Sengoku shook his head regretfully. "But what can you expect when their leader is Spandine? I sometimes wonder if I was out of my mind back then—why did I give Buster Call authorization to that shortsighted fool?"

After jointly venting about CP, Michael and Sengoku got down to business.

Sengoku pushed the mountain of documents towards Michael.

"What's this? Are you abdicating to me?"

"Take a look. These are all the inquiries and condemnations from the World Government over the past few days."

"Haha, I knew it—they're panicking." Michael nearly laughed himself into wrinkles reading the furious interrogation documents.

"Just from these papers, I can tell how successful our operation on Fishman Island was!"

Seeing Michael's grin, Sengoku grew increasingly curious.

Did this mean there were unexpected gains?

"Enough with the suspense. Explain properly—what was your real purpose behind this three-way cooperation?"

"Simple. Exactly what I told you initially—funds, troops, and pressure relief." Michael held up three fingers.

"But beyond that, do you know why the World Government is so frantic? Guess how many black market operations on Fishman Island belong to them?"

Sengoku frowned.

Black market operations?

Meaning...

Delisting Ryugu Kingdom and turning Fishman Island into lawless territory was premeditated?

"After confiscating these operations, all profits go to the Marines. Combined with the twenty percent trade revenue and Alabasta's support... As long as we prioritize quality over quantity from now on, we can achieve complete financial self-sufficiency."

When Michael uttered "self-sufficiency," Sengoku stared at him in shock.

He and Tsuru had discussed it many times in private and had already reached a consensus—Michael must be intending to steer the Marines onto a path different from its original course.

Yet when Michael practically laid it all out before him, Sengoku couldn't help but make that expression.

After all, the entire Marine had never seen such a rebellious figure!

But for some reason, perhaps due to his understanding and trust in Michael, Sengoku faintly sensed that this might actually be the most correct path for the Marines.

"You... are you certain? The trade profits from Fishman Island can really reach such heights?"

"Deep-sea resources nearly impossible for humans to obtain are practically within arm's reach for Fishman Island—low cost, high profit, and serving as the gateway between Paradise and the New World... It'd be more shocking if the profits were low."

Michael didn't voice the latter half of that thought.

Initially, it was just about trade profits.

Later, when the Revolutionary Army advanced into the New World, persuading Fish-Man Island to become their largest financial backer would undoubtedly be an easy task.

After all...

Fish-Man Island now undoubtedly ranked among those who hated the World Government and the Celestial Dragons the most.

Sengoku nodded in agreement with Michael's perspective.

"Another question: are the fish-men and merfolk more inclined toward the Marines or the Whitebeard Pirates?"

"That... is hard to say." Michael shook his head. "Over the past few days, led by Jinbei, the former captain of the Ryugu Kingdom's royal guard, nearly 800 fish-men and merfolk have enlisted in the Marines. Meanwhile, over 700 fish-men, led by Fisher Tiger, formed the Ocean Current Pirates and joined the Whitebeard Pirates' fleet...

Honestly, this doesn't really affect us. Even those fish-men who became pirates have never shown hostility toward the Marines. Of course, if they encounter Marines like those I executed on Fish-Man Island, they'd be justified in retaliating."

Sengoku felt a chill run down his spine.

Executing Marines.

He had already anticipated this.

The Regional Justice Faction had long been a festering poison within the Marines, but with the World Government as their shield, they had never been brought to justice.

But from today onward, with Michael—this guy who seemed addicted to defying the heavens—the World Government?

Utterly useless!

"In other words, it's time for us to thoroughly purge the filth lurking in the shadows of the Marines."

Michael curled his lip. The Regional Justice Faction ought to be crushed beneath the wheels of history.

For the Marines to truly stand independent, they had to completely eradicate these individuals who were loyal to the World Government while simultaneously tarnishing the Marines' reputation.

"This matter... let me and Tsuru handle it."

Sengoku looked at Michael.

He couldn't let the kid shoulder everything.

As a father, he needed to step up too.

"If Grandma Tsuru is involved, then of course I have no concerns." Michael shrugged. "By the way, about the Fish-Man Island Marine branch..."

"Enough, I understand."

Sengoku raised his hand, cutting Michael off.

"Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral Michael, as of today, you're officially promoted to Vice Admiral! Additionally, you will concurrently serve as the commander of the Alabasta Marine branch 'Yellow Sand' and the Fish-Man Island Marine branch 'Sea God'!"

"The appointment orders will be announced throughout the Marines by the end of the day!"

"...If we're going to do this, we might as well go all out!"

"Push it to the limit!"

------------------------------

Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.

patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator