Chapter 212: The Brilliant Stars of the Navy

"This… is natural."

Zhen Guo replied offhandedly, but internally he kept pondering: why had Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen not rescinded the bounty on Gold Lion?

As Navy Marshal, Zhen Guo had to consider the lingering influence Gold Lion still held over pirates.

Was this intentional—or had they parted ways?

If intentional, should the Navy go with the flow and capture the Gold Lion?

If they had truly parted ways, and Gold Lion re-raised the flag of the Flying Pirate Crew, it would surely ignite a bloody storm in the New World.

Even after seeing off Saint Saint Saiwen's party, Zhen Guo continued pondering this question.

"No." Zhen Guo suddenly realized.

According to Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen's habits, this visit should have been filled with scathing mockery of the Navy, even trampling its dignity into the mud.

Yet the reality was—

After canceling the bounties on the Morning Star Crew and Roger Crew, Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen simply left with his men.

Such an abnormal act was truly unusual.

"Why, then?"

Only Hyouzou stood at the harbor, watching the Donghai Dihuang depart for the shipyard to be coated, then quietly exhaled.

Little brother truly kept his word.

He really did not humiliate the Navy again.

Hyouzou even wondered: if the Navy had not publicly executed Buggy, Marineford might still be…

After all, little brother had always kept his word, honoring the many agreements they made four and a half years ago while drinking on the Skypiea.

Alas, fate is cruel.

And the deed is done.

Now lamenting only adds sorrow; better to swiftly send the Navy's global conscription officer list to little brother.

Consider it thanks for his cooperation this time.

As one of the Navy's Three Admirals, and especially now that Akainu had not yet returned, Hyouzou easily obtained the list.

Under the pretense of returning to Punk Hazard, he secretly slipped into the Donghai Dihuang's captain's cabin.

"The officer list you requested."

"Saint Saint Saiwen Saint, I hope you'll keep your word and not harm these Navy officers."

Hyouzou knew well: given little brother's impeccable integrity, he would never break his promise—yet he spoke up anyway, just to ease his conscience.

He was, without doubt, betraying the Navy.

"Old brother, who on the seas doesn't know Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen's reputation? Rest easy."

"I'm merely curious: among these newly recruited Navy officers, are there any I used to know?"

Searching through individual crew members is too troublesome; better to recruit from this batch of new recruits, especially since they haven't yet been brainwashed by the Navy.

Hyouzou dropped a line and turned to light, vanishing.

"Hope so. I'm heading back."

After triple-checking no one was nearby, Saint Saint Saiwen took out the training camp roster sent earlier by Enel, scanning each name on the list.

"Huangmu, twenty-one years old."

"Smoker, sixteen years old."

"Hina, fourteen years old."

Saint Saint Saiwen was speechless: "Is the Navy insane? They're recruiting fourteen-year-olds?"

But then he remembered: this was a pirate world—Kaido became the strongest warrior in Woca Kingdom at ten, Barette stepped on landmines at nine…

He himself had been selling fish balls at eight in Housha Town.

Saint Saint Saiwen suddenly felt at ease: the Navy recruiting fourteen-year-old Hina was not unreasonable.

But Huangmu…

The future Navy Admiral Green Bull, now joining the Navy through the global conscription, was unexpected to Saint Saint Saiwen.

Clearly, the Navy had been crushed.

Trying to recover its strength through global conscription.

"Enel, Huangmu, Smoker, Hina… this generation of Navy officers truly shines with brilliant stars."

Enel was Saint Saint Saiwen's mole planted in the Navy; Huangmu and Hina were hard to sway—but Smoker was worth a try.

Not by direct recruitment.

Rather, Saint Saint Saiwen planned to let Smoker consume the Smoke-Smoke Fruit by accident.

The Smoke-Smoke Fruit was originally the token Rosinante brought when he joined the Morning Star Crew—Zhen Guo certainly knew.

So when Zhen Guo one day sees Smoker who consumed the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, what will he think?

Is Smoker a mole sent by the Morning Star Crew?

So you're Saint Saint Saiwen Saint, huh? Not so impressive after all!

As for why Saint Saint Saiwen didn't list the Smoke-Smoke Fruit on the trading platform—he needed 1.6 million points to unlock and awaken his third Devil Fruit.

Previously, under Elaine Saint's guidance, Saint Saint Saiwen had acquired several Devil Fruits from the Sacred Land's treasury for free, selling them for only 500,000 points.

He still needed 1.1 million points.

A single Smoke-Smoke Fruit would be like a drop in the ocean—nowhere near enough to cover the massive gap.

Once the Donghai Dihuang finishes its coating,

Saint Saint Saiwen planned to first visit Fish-Man Island, then head to the Nine Snake Island in the Calm Belt, to convince Lei Li and Xia Qi to leave with him.

Lei Li, old man—want immortality?

You don't want it? Does Aunt Xia Qi want it?

Saint Saint Saiwen simply couldn't believe it: there was no woman who could refuse immortality, especially the former world's most beautiful woman, Xia Qi.

With Jinbe and Lei Li, the certainty of capturing the giant anglerfish increased by several points.

As long as the giant anglerfish was driven out of the sea surface, Saint Saint Saiwen could instantly kill it in a split second, extracting the pure gold and the scientist inside the anglerfish's belly who manufactured pure gold.

Dong dong dong~ Yuzhi Xiliu knocked on the office door.

"Captain, the coating will take at least one day."

"Good." Saint Saint Saiwen suddenly remembered something.

"Yuzhi Xiliu, there are Berries in the treasure chest in the cabin. Take a day off for yourselves and go have a good time in the Entertainment District."

"Yes, Captain."

Yuzhi Xiliu turned and left.

The Entertainment District was a must-visit place in the Sabaody Archipelago; the only reason Saint Saint Saiwen was unwilling to go was because he was too busy.

He had just finished the World Conference and arrived at the Navy Headquarters, after which the ship would be coated and head for Fish-Man Island.

At the same time, he was constantly using the power of the Sui Sui no Mi to simulate and decipher the Devil Fruit power of Imu sealed inside the nail of his right little finger.

He was simply too lazy to pay attention to biological instinctual impulses.

Compared to simulating and deciphering the Devil Fruit power, everything else had to yield the way.

Of course, except for searching for pure gold.

Once pure gold was found and divided, a longevity ring forged from one gram of pure gold would be enough to obtain freedom of points.

Putting away the intelligence returned by Enel, Saint Saint Saiwen looked at the list sent by his older brother Kizaru.

【Lonz, Giant】

【Lacuba, Giant】

Besides the giant Lonz who pointed out Whitebeard's flaw, Saint Saint Saiwen found no one with a memorable impression.

Finding talent at this point in time was truly difficult.

Either they were like Scabbard and Queen who followed Kaido early on, or like the shipwreck king Jack... who was only eight years old, making it hard to form immediate combat power.

"Jinbe is still the most suitable."

Jinbe, whom Saint Saint Saiwen was constantly thinking about, was currently at the underwater amusement park Fish-Man Island, ten thousand meters below the sea surface, following behind his boss Fisher Tiger.

"Boss, some Celestial Dragons are coming recently."

"I heard." Tiger nodded.

"Arlong, notify the brothers to be honest recently and try not to cause trouble in Mermaid Cove; Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen is not an ordinary Celestial Dragon."

Arlong, who belonged to the Sawtooth Shark Fish-Men and had a long, pointed nose shaped like a sawtooth, asked a question in return.

"Boss, did Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen really shatter the Navy Headquarters at Marineford with a single strike?"

"How could there be such a powerful human?"