"Sengoku, I can't shake the feeling that you're going to mess this one up~~~"
*Crunch, crunch.* Garp chomped down on his rice crackers, spraying crumbs all over Sengoku's face as he spoke.
Sengoku wiped his face and looked at Garp with a puzzled expression.
"Why do you say that? Didn't you agree to Tsuru's plan as well? As long as they take action and get rid of those scumbags, the Marine Crime Investigation Bureau will step in.
If they don't want to be wanted fugitives, they'll have no choice but to contact their backers.
At that point, we'll know exactly which faction they belong to."
Garp nodded indifferently. They had only discovered that Ryuen could get the Celestial Dragons involved but still didn't know which family he was connected to.
If the family backing Ryuen was powerful, the Marines could use his ties to eliminate some of the deeply rooted problems within their ranks.
This was Vice Admiral Tsuru's plan, and both Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Garp had immediately agreed to it.
The Marines had been wanting to deal with these problems for a long time, but the issues were so deeply intertwined that they never found the right opportunity.
Ryuen's group, however, presented a chance.
But now, Garp started feeling that something might be off. He thought to himself, *What if Ryuen simply takes the blame himself without revealing his backers?*
That seemed like a real possibility. After all, Garp had no idea how strong Ryuen truly was.
More importantly, they still didn't know the exact nature of Ryuen's Devil Fruit power. He had never fully displayed his abilities in public.
So far, all they had discovered was that his power was related to flames.
As the thought struck him, Garp burst into laughter. His open mouth sent rice cracker crumbs flying onto the faces of his two old companions.
Sengoku stood up, leaning over the table to glare at him and yell.
Vice Admiral Tsuru's face was equally icy. It seemed clear that if Garp didn't explain himself, he was in for a beating.
"Hold on, Sengoku, Tsuru, don't get angry. I think I've figured out what Ryuen's Devil Fruit power is." Garp quickly spoke up as he noticed their rising tempers.
"Have you seen it in action?"
"Go on, tell us," Vice Admiral Tsuru said, suppressing her anger as her curiosity got the better of her.
Sengoku also stared at Garp with a serious expression.
They had been investigating Ryuen's Devil Fruit power for a long time, but all they had uncovered was information suggesting it involved flames.
Garp's face grew serious as he began to explain.
"Years ago, when I was dealing with the Clover Island incident in the East Blue, I came across someone with flame-related abilities.
It was a massive phoenix!"
Back then, I hadn't seen Ryuen, so I didn't realize it. But now that I think about it, I can confirm—the Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit user I encountered back then was that brat, Ryuen!"
"It really is a Mythical Zoan..."
Sengoku Fleet Admiral and Vice Admiral Tsuru both looked astonished.
They knew well how powerful a Mythical Zoan user could be. No wonder Ryuen's flames were so peculiar, reaching temperatures that could turn the ground into molten lava.
"It seems like adding that brat to the SWORD Special Unit was the right decision..." Sengoku murmured while looking out the window. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ NovᴇlFirᴇ.ɴet
Now, he and Vice Admiral Tsuru understood why Garp had just said he felt like snapping.
A Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit ability, terrifying natural talent, and Conqueror's Haki on top of it—everything pointed to the fact that Ryuen could handle the situation himself, even without exposing the forces behind him.
This was something they hadn't expected. However, despite this, they still had a good chance of uncovering Ryuen's hidden cards.
After all, the Marine Criminal Investigation Bureau was not easy to deal with!
Somewhere in the Grand Line.
The mood aboard the Dream was sour. The top brass at Marine Headquarters were secretly scheming against them!
"Ryuen, I want to kill someone!" Kuina huffed angrily.
The others felt the same. If those old guys were here, they would probably charge right at them.
They'd been sailing the seas for years, always outsmarting others. How could they let themselves be the ones outsmarted now? It was unacceptable!
"Ryuen, Sengoku wants us to clean up their scum, which shows he's wary of them himself. Otherwise, he wouldn't tolerate their behavior within the Marine.
If we act, it'll definitely bring us trouble. But considering how much Vice Admiral Garp values us, it doesn't seem likely that they'd push us out of the Marine.
I think they're using us to carry out some plan—or maybe they want to see if we can handle this perfectly. Perhaps they're trying to verify something." Nojiko spoke with a serious expression.
"That does seem possible..."
"But this time, they might be disappointed. Heh heh heh..." Ryuen rubbed his chin with a mischievous grin.
"Ryuen, what's your plan? Tell us, tell us!" Excitement sparked immediately upon hearing Ryuen's laugh.
The others eagerly looked at Ryuen.
"Sengoku and the others probably don't know that Daisy can remove someone's heart without killing them."
"This time, we'll just take control of these Marines and toss the problem back at Sengoku. Let the Fleet Admiral deal with the headache!" Ryuen said calmly.
"You mean we capture these Marines and have them turn themselves in to Sengoku?" Nojiko quickly caught on to Ryuen's plan.
As soon as she spoke, the others immediately had a moment of realization.
"Exactly. I want to see how Sengoku handles the scum he mentioned. If he just gives them a light slap on the wrist, then from now on, the Marine has nothing to do with us, and we'll carry on with our own plans." Ryuen said casually.
"If everything is out in the open, and the Fleet Admiral can't do anything about it, then we'll have every reason to refuse them in the future!" Hog said firmly.
The others nodded in agreement.
"In that case, Daisy, make sure to prepare extra sleeping gas this time. We need to carry out this operation quietly," Ryuen said, turning to Daisy.
"Leave it to me!" Daisy replied seriously.
At that moment, a few birds flew back overhead—the ones Ryuen had sent out to scout the three approaching warships.
the three warships were approaching the sea area where the Dreamship was located.
You can read 10 Chapters ahead on my