Marine Headquarters, Fleet Admiral's Office.

"Fleet Admiral!"

"It's Shiki after all!"

Gion quickly entered the office and approached the desk, placing a newly obtained intelligence report in front of Orion before speaking up.

"This is the latest intel just received from the New World. Shiki appeared in the New World while causing the violent beast incidents in the East Blue and has already met with Whitebeard!"

"After failing to invite Whitebeard to form a pirate alliance with him, Shiki left Whitebeard's territory and recruited many pirate forces active in the New World over the years. He has now entered the Red Hair Pirates' territory."

Orion took the report, glanced through it, and set it aside before looking up at Gion and asking.

"What's the situation in the East Blue?"

Before Gion could answer, a booming voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"Report!"

Recognizing Morgans' voice from outside, Orion didn't hesitate and simply said.

"Enter."

"Fleet Admiral, I've returned!"

As soon as the office door was pushed open, Morgans strode in wearing a dog-head cap and immediately began reporting on the events in the East Blue.

Hearing that all the violent animals had been eliminated, Orion secretly sighed in relief and asked.

"Where's Garp?"

Morgans replied honestly, "Garp-san asked me to return first and report while he stayed behind in the East Blue to assist the affected civilians."

"Garp-san?"

Orion looked up at Morgans in surprise. "You actually called him 'Garp-san.' Not bad, Morgans. Seems like accompanying Garp this time has helped improve your manners quite a bit!"

Before Morgans could respond, Orion suddenly changed the subject.

"Isn't that Garp's beloved dog-head cap on your head? Instead of learning good things, you picked up his habit of wearing hats? take it off!"

"Huh?" Morgans panicked slightly and instinctively reached up to protect the cap.

But the moment his hand touched it, he winced in pain from the bump growing underneath it.

Unable to bear the pain any longer, Morgans stopped pretending and yanked the cap off, looking aggrieved.

"Fleet Admiral, you have to stand up for me! That old man Garp has no honor—when he couldn't win an argument, he started punching me in the head!"

Bending down to Orion's level, Morgans pointed at his forehead and lamented.

"See this bump? Just because I ran ahead of him, he punched me! And this one on top—when I wanted to help him assist the civilians, he told me to come back and report. I argued a little, and he punched me again. And the back of my head—"

Seeing the multiple bumps on Morgans' head, which had distorted its shape, Orion's lips twitched slightly.

It looked painful just to see.

When it comes to sheer resilience, everyone in the one piece world is incredibly tough, especially Garp's grandson Luffy.

He gets beaten by Garp at home and by Nami at sea.

Whether his face gets swollen or his head gets deformed, he's back to his lively self in just a few days.

"Ahem," Orion coughed twice to suppress his laughter and said politely.

"Morgans, don't argue with Garp anymore from now on. Even if he's in the wrong sometimes, he's still a senior who has dedicated his entire life to the Marines. We should respect our elders and care for the young, understand?"

Hearing this, Morgans quickly straightened up and nodded vigorously.

"Understood! I'll only argue with him when you're not around."

Standing to the side, Gion didn't expect Morgans to interpret things that way and instinctively prepared to correct him.

But before she could speak, Orion's next words froze her in place.

"Ah, that's more like it."

Orion nodded with a smile. "Go on, have the nurses in the infirmary take care of you."

"Yes, sir!"

Morgans responded cheerfully and left in high spirits.

Only after Morgans had exited the office did Gion snap out of her daze, shaking her head with a quiet chuckle.

Long before Morgans had joined headquarters, she had thoroughly investigated his records and was well aware of all his deeds during his time at Branch 153.

From the moment he enlisted in the Marines, Morgans had been a passionate recruit, unwavering in his sense of justice.

The only reason he hadn't been promoted despite his age was due to the corruption that had plagued the Marines in the past—until Orion staged his coup and became Fleet Admiral, finally resolving the issue.

Because of Orion's rise, officers like Morgans—those who held onto their justice and burning passion—were finally able to step into the spotlight and shine in their respective roles.

Examples included Captain Stock, who had sacrificed his life pursuing the Arlong Pirates and Captain Hothard, whom Morgans had just mentioned.

Naturally, as a superior, who wouldn't appreciate such subordinates?

So in her view, Orion's favor wasn't reserved solely for Morgans, but for all officers and soldiers who shared his unwavering justice and fiery spirit.

After a brief silence, Gion stepped up to the desk again and asked.

"Fleet Admiral, now that matters in the East Blue have been settled, should we prepare to retaliate against Shiki?"

"No rush!"

Orion waved a hand dismissively. "Since he's chosen to recruit pirate forces in the New World, let him grow stronger. I'll give him time!"

"Give him time?" A flicker of confusion crossed Gion's eyes.

As if reading her thoughts, Orion picked up a pen and signed the documents he had just reviewed, his tone was calm.

"Yes, let him gather strength. If he can rally all the pirate crews that have been active in the New World these past years, all the better—it'll save the Marines the trouble of hunting them down one by one across the vast seas!"

Hearing this, Gion understood.

Clearly, Orion intended to use Shiki—a legendary pirate once on par with Roger and Whitebeard—as bait to lure out and eliminate the pirates who had been evading the Marines, only to emerge and wreak havoc whenever the coast was clear.

Currently, in the Grand Line, few pirates had the influence to pull this off.

Someone as formidable as Whitebeard certainly had the capability, but Whitebeard had no interest in conquest.

Unless provoked, the Whitebeard Pirates wouldn't actively expand their territory.

The Red Hair Pirates also had the means, but judging by their development over the years, Shanks and his crew preferred a unique approach, refusing to recruit just anyone.

Shiki, however, was a different story.

Despite his decade-long disappearance, his reputation as a legend who once rivaled Roger and Whitebeard remained.

A single call from him would draw countless pirates to his side.

Most importantly, Shiki harbored ambitions of world domination—he would wage war relentlessly, expanding his forces as much as possible.

For Shiki, the fall of Kaido and Linlin was the perfect opportunity for his rise, and he would never miss this chance.

For Orion, the Fleet Admiral of the Marines, Shiki's appearance conveniently saved the Marines a lot of trouble.

To put it simply, Orion wasn't worried about Shiki growing stronger—instead, he was concerned that after disappearing for over a decade, Shiki might lack cohesion.

Thinking of this, Gion tentatively asked, "What about the Red-Haired Pirates, who have already returned from the East Blue and entered Paradise…?"

Orion casually picked up a document and replied unhurriedly, "Ease surveillance on them. Let them return smoothly to the New World. If Shiki wants to fully rise in the New World and gain the submission of more pirate factions, he must challenge either Shanks or Newgate. Since Shiki has already met with Newgate, it means Newgate's lingering influence remains, and Shiki wouldn't dare to act against him."

Gion's eyes brightened.

"That means a battle between Shiki and Shanks is inevitable."