New World – Whitebeard's Fgship, the Moby Dick

  Mard Teach had returo the ship after their enter with Shanks and Enel.

  When the crew heard about their fight with the Red Hair Pirates and how they almost ended up g with the Warlord of the Sea, Thunder God Ehey weren't surprised in the slightest.

  Instead, they just ughed.

  They mocked Mard Teach for pig a fight and failing to secure the Dark-Dark Fruit in the process.

  Even Whitebeard himself didn't seem to care much.

  The Whitebeard Pirates were massive, with tless subordinates who got into fights every single day.

  There was no way Whitebeard could oversee every little skirmish.

  As long as things dide into an all-out war, he wasn't going to lose sleep over it.

  "Ku----! Teach, if you really want a Devil Fruit, I've got a few good ones right here!" Whitebeard ughed, gng at Teach, who was still bandaged up from his injuries.

  Teach forced a grin, waving his hand dismissively.

  "Thanks, Pops, but no thanks. I've got my eyes only on the Dark-Dark Fruit! What am I supposed to do, eat one of those other fruits? Or should I just sell them off for charity? Zehahahaha!"

  The atmosphere on the Moby Dick was rexed. The Whitebeard Pirates treated each other like family, with Whitebeard himself as their father figure. Teach's remark about "charity" was obviously meant as a joke, and Whitebeard didn't take offense.

  Instead, the old man grinned.

  "Ku---! So you still haven't given up, huh, Teach?"

  Teach didn't even try to hide his ambition.

  "Of course not!" he admitted openly.

  "Enel isn't going to eat the Dark-Dark Fruit himself. Over the years, he's collected plenty of Devil Fruits, but none of his subordinates have eaten them. It looks like he just enjoys h them.

  So I'm going to pay him a visit in a few days… see if I egotiate a deal for it."

  Teach wasn't trying to steal from his own crew.

  The Dark-Dark Fruit hadn't been something their crew had inally found, so there was rayal involved.

  And at this point, he wasn't pnning to kill any of his crewmates or flee from the Whitebeard Pirates, he figured he could still use their reputation to his advantage.

  So, for now, he had no reason to expose his true ambitions.

  Whitebeard didn't overthink it.

  If Teach wao approael peacefully, then fine. As long as there was no flict, there was no real danger.

  Pirates were free to go where they pleased, and Whitebeard wasn't the kind of captain to restrain his crew.

  A few days ter, after rec from his injuries, Teach set off, leaving Whitebeard's territory without aopping him.

  No ohought twice about it.

  No one had any suspis.

  ---

  Meanwhile, at the G-1 Marine Base, Cudius had arrived as a guest.

  Retly, he had received a surprising update from Marine Headquarters—Vice Admiral Momousagi Gion, who had once been sidered for the rank of Admiral, had been transferred to and G-1.

  This news caught him off guard.

  A Marine branch base was not the same as Marine Headquarters. In terms of military ranking, branch officers were sidered two ranks lower than those at HQ.

  For example, a Vice Admiral at a branch base would only be sidered the equivalent of a odore at Headquarters.

  So even though Gion was teically in charge at G-1, it felt more like a demotion than a promotion.

  Wanting to che her, Cudius made a visit to see what was going on.

  Ihe Vice Admiral's Office at G-1, Cudius sat across from Gion, casually chatting with her.

  The two didn't see each other often, only occasionally meeting during holidays or vacations.

  Cudius absentmindedly reached out to pluck a petal from one of the flowers in her office.

  Gion promptly kicked him.

  He didn't seem to mind.

  With an easy smile, he asked, "So what's the deal? You're supposed to be an Admiral didate, a you're stuck running the G-1 branch? Did you piss off Sengoku or something?"

  He paused for a moment, then suddenly widened his eyes in mock shock.

  "Wait—don't tell me, Tsuru broke his heart?!"

  Gion sighed heavily, rolling her eyes.

  "What are you talking about?" she scoffed. "And for the record, Tsuru and Sengoku are just rades. Don't go spreading weird rumors!"

  Cudius smirked, stroking his .

  "Really? But everyone says their retionship is… unusual."

  Gion shot him a gre.

  "They're nothing more than war buddies. I would know."

  Cudius grinned pyfully. "Oh? And what about us? Are we just 'war buddies' too?"

  Gion folded her arms, her tournira haughty.

  "You and me? We have a superior-subordiionship. Nothing more."

  Cudius just ughed.

  "Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing. But seriously, why are you really here?"

  Gion took a sip of tea before answering.

  "G-1 is the most important Marine base in the New World. As part of our New World Strategy, we needed a strong presence here."

  Cudius nodded.

  "Yeah, yeah. But what's the real reason?"

  He wasn't buying the official expnation. There had to be something else going on behind the ses.

  Gioated for a moment, then decided not to hide it.

  Marine Headquarters and Cudius had a stroionship—there was o keep this from him.

  "The truth is, Marine's military budget has been very generous these past few years. Sengoku wants to adjust our strategy, but he doesn't want to be too obvious about it.

  So instead of making big, fshy moves, he's quietly fortifying key bases—strengthening them without drawing too much attention."

  Cudius nodded, processing the information.

  It made sense.

  If Marine suddeed too aggressively, the Wover would immediately take notice.

  Sengoku ying it smart, slowly building up existing bases rather than making drastiew moves.

  "And," Gion tinued, "within the five years, Mariends to shift its focus back to the New World.

  That's why they need a pioneer, someoo lead the effort. And that's where I e in."

  Cudius raised an eyebrow.

  "A pioneer for what, exactly?"

  Gio her cup down a his gaze.

  "The Naval Headquarters Relocation Pn."

  Cudius' expression shifted slightly.

  Right now, Marineford the current headquarters was located in the first half of the Grand Line.

  But as Marine's power tio grow, Sengoku had realized that having HQ in the first half of the Grand Line was strategically inve.

  New World operations required stant bad-forth travel, which was ineffit.

  So, he wao move Marine Headquarters directly into the New World.

  This was a major decision.

  By relog, Marine would t its presen the most dangerion of the seas, taking the fight straight to the Four Emperors.

  "In other words," Cudius mused, "this G-1 base is going to be the new ter of Marine operations?"

  "That's right," Gion firmed. "My job is to fortify G-1—to build it up to a level where it serve as the new Marine Headquarters before the relocation happens."

  There was unmistakable pride in her voice.

  Cudius smirked.

  "Well, well. Looks like the Marines are finally getting ambitious."

  Just then, the office door opened, and Cudius' butler, Nia, stepped inside.

  "Yhness," Nia said respectfully. "Enel has sent a gift."