Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru stared oddly at Garp, who was sitting across from them, picking his nose.
This guy had actually gone out of his way to get involved in Grand Line affairs.
"Stop digging your nose and tell what's going on. Why did you send Jonathan to Jaya Island?" Tsuru asked, clearly annoyed.
"It might have sothing to do with the Dream Exploration Team," Sengoku said, glancing at Garp.
It had been three days since the crew left Alabasta, and by now, they should have reached Jaya Island. Aside from the Dream Exploration Team, Garp hadn't been paying attention to much else lately.
"And he had Jonathan bring 300 million berries with him..." Tsuru added.
"What?!"
"300 million berries? Garp! What are you trying to do?" Sengoku imdiately tensed up upon hearing the amount.
That was no small sum!
"Wahahaha~~~" Garp suddenly burst into laughter.
"It's because Ryuen and his crew caught a bunch of pirates on Jaya Island. Since it's closest to Marine G-8, I sent Jonathan to handle it," Garp explained nonchalantly.
"Are you sure you're talking about pirates from Jaya Island?" Sengoku asked coldly.
"Yeah, why?" Garp replied, his tone equally cold.
"Nothing much. It's not like I'm the one who did it, and you're not afraid of those people coming after you either," Sengoku said indifferently before looking away.
"Wahahaha~~~"
"Since when have I ever been afraid of them? I'm off. It's been a while since I went back to see my grandson..." Garp laughed casually.
"What?"
"You're going back to see your grandson again?"
"Damn it, Garp, get back here!" By the ti Garp had already left the Fleet Admiral's office, Sengoku finally reacted and roared toward the door.
"*Sigh~~~*"
"Garp's temper really worries ~~~" Vice Admiral Tsuru let out a long sigh.
Hearing Tsuru's sigh, Sengoku also cald down and slowly sat back in his chair.
"It's fine. If they have any issues, they can co to . I'll handle it. Besides, Ryuen and his crew aren't simple either. We don't need to worry too much," Sengoku said firmly.
"They really aren't simple. Judging from recent events, they have significant influence with the World Governnt!
Sengoku, in my opinion, we can pin this incident on the Dream Exploration Team. After all, they're the ones claiming the bounties," Tsuru suggested, looking at Sengoku.
After thinking for a mont, Sengoku agreed, "Alright, let them take the responsibility."
The reason Jaya Island had beco what it was now was actually due to deliberate actions by certain individuals within the World Governnt and the Marines.
Their goal, naturally, was to "cultivate chaos"!
This place was remote and lacked resources, so very few ordinary people were willing to live here.
The Marines also had little interest in the area and couldn't be bothered to station forces here.
However, precisely because of this, the island had beco a paradise for pirates.
Its remote location and lack of civilians ant the Marines didn't have to worry about public backlash from their actions.
More importantly, the island was located in the first half of the Grand Line, making it easy for the Marines to control.
Once the number of pirates on the island reached a certain level, the Marines could swoop in and wipe them out in one go.
However, these matters had little to do with Sengoku and his faction.
After all, the justice they represented was far removed from such manipulative tactics.
In reality, the situation on Jaya Island was orchestrated by high-ranking officials within the World Governnt.
Their goal was to amass wealth through this sche and ensure promotions for Marines within their faction.
So, once the bounties on the pirates of Jaya Island reached a certain amount, the Marines would launch a cleansing operation.
But they would only capture the pirates with bounties, leaving the criminal environnt intact.
This way, the Marines could earn military rits, and the high-ranking World Governnt officials could profit from the arrangent.
Otherwise, how could the Marines tolerate such pirate activity in the first half of the Grand Line?
————
The next day at noon.
In Mock Town on Jaya Island.
The warship of Vice Admiral Jonathan from Marine G-8 Base was docked at the port of Jaya Island.
The mont the warship appeared, all the pirates on the island went into hiding. Those who had been around long enough knew the drill.
Everyone knew that the Marines only went after the captains with bounties and wouldn't bother the rest. So, they weren't too worried about the Marines causing them any trouble.
When the Dream crew heard the commotion, they quickly dragged the captured captains, bound in chains, to the port.
"Vice Admiral Jonathan, I didn't expect it to really be you! When Vice Admiral Garp ntioned it yesterday, I thought he was just joking. These small-ti crooks really need a Vice Admiral to handle them?" Ryuen shouted from a distance as soon as he saw Jonathan.
Vice Admiral Jonathan looked at the scene before him and smiled slightly. "Haha, they might be small-ti crooks, but the ones after them aren't! That's why I had to co personally. If it were just a Rear Admiral, these guys would've been snatched away by soone else."
Ryuen walked up to Jonathan and handed him a list, saying with a grin, "Vice Admiral, here's the list of the pirates we captured and their bounties. Take a look and see if everything's in order."
Jonathan took the list, scanned it carefully, and nodded. "Not bad. It looks like your mission was a success!"
Ryuen chuckled modestly. "Heh, you're too kind, Vice Admiral. We just did what we had to do. But having you co here personally is really an honor for us!"
Jonathan waved his hand. "No need to be so polite. Since you've caught them all, let's wrap this up quickly."
The handover went smoothly.
Before leaving, Jonathan took a good look at the Straw Hat crew. He had heard about them before, but this was his first ti seeing them in person. He also knew that Vice Admiral Garp and a few others held them in high regard.
As soon as Jonathan's warship left the port, Nami happily stored three chests of Berries into her dinsional space.
"What Vice Admiral Jonathan said earlier was a bit strange..." Robin murmured, watching the distant warship.
"Huh?"
"What was strange about what he said?" Nami asked, confused.
The others also looked puzzled.
"Think about it. Didn't he ntion that soone might co to take these small-ti crooks away, and even a Marine Rear Admiral wouldn't be able to stop it?" Robin reminded them.
"I think Jonathan did ntion sothing like that..." Daisy said after a mont of thought.
"Stealing military credit?" Nojiko guessed.
"The Marines aren't a united front either. Let's go, Nami. We'll finish mapping this area today," Ryuen said softly.
Everyone nodded. After all, those matters had nothing to do with them.
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