After resting in Windmill Village for five days, Luo Ye finally had to begin his journey back. After all, when he requested leave from Marine Marshal Sengoku before arriving, Sengoku was not pleased.
Luo Ye had only recently been promoted to Admiral, and he was the one leading the request for leave. If all Marines acted like this, there would be no discipline in the organization. However, Sengoku remarked that whether Luo Ye should ask for leave or not was irrelevant, as long as the trio—Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru—were around, nothing major would go wrong.
Since Luo Ye had left Marineford, Sengoku had called him several times, urging him to return as soon as possible. If he stayed any longer, it was clear that Sengoku would start complaining again.
"Dadan, Makino, the village chief, I'm leaving now, but I'll come back to see you all soon," Luo Ye said, smiling and waving goodbye.
Dadan's face was filled with frustration.
"Do you expect us to wait another ten years, huh?!"
"Hahaha," Luo Ye laughed at Dadan's complaint but said nothing in response.
In the past, he hadn't been able to return because of pirate-hunting missions. Now that he was an Admiral, he could leave the weaker pirates to his subordinates and relax a bit. After all, Luo Ye wasn't a workaholic like Akainu, nor was he as lethargic as Kizaru. For Luo Ye, pursuing pirates was the quickest way to grow stronger, but sometimes a little respite was needed.
"Admiral, are we heading straight back to Marineford now?" Lieutenant Colonel Kertz, his adjutant aboard the warship, approached him with a weary look. Over the five days that Luo Ye had spent in Windmill Village, Kertz had been constantly receiving calls from Marshal Sengoku, who was demanding Luo Ye's return. The constant roars of Sengoku had nearly driven Kertz to madness. Now, he just hoped the Admiral would do nothing else and get back to Marineford quickly.
Upon hearing Kertz's question, Luo Ye's previously unshakable smile vanished instantly.
"Ah, so this is the true face of an Admiral," Kertz thought, feeling a sense of awe as he felt the weight of Luo Ye's presence.
Since Luo Ye joined the Marines, he had earned significant recognition for his accomplishments. The call for his promotion to Admiral had been growing louder within the Marines for quite some time. But what no one understood was that wherever Luo Ye went, pirate crews he encountered never left a single survivor. No one had been able to explain this phenomenon, not even Luo Ye himself.
Once Windmill Village was no longer in sight, Luo Ye slowly turned around.
"Gather all the active pirate crews in this area, and let's clear them out before heading back," he ordered.
"Yes, Admiral!" Kertz replied, his voice filled with excitement. The rumors were true—following the new Admiral meant never lacking in credit. Now, it was finally his turn.
Luo Ye remained unaware of his adjutant's thoughts, and even if he knew, he would only smile it off. He had asked the village chief and the others if any pirates had been foolish enough to harass Windmill Village recently. According to the village chief, the pirates who came to the area were mostly weak and small-time groups. They were easily driven out by Dadan and the young men of the village.
These pirate groups didn't have the strength to do much more than bully civilians. Even though most pirate groups didn't hesitate to slaughter entire islands after they landed, Luo Ye had already dealt with such pirates in the past. Yet, it was clear that it wasn't enough.
It seemed these pirates would continue to terrorize the weak, so he might as well deal with them again.
"However… If we're going to stop this kind of thing for good, we'll need to find the person in charge of East Blue," Luo Ye murmured, gazing out at the sea.
blu blu blu…
blu blu blu…
"I'm Luo Ye, what's the matter?" Luo Ye answered, placing the den-den mushi slightly away from his ear.
Sure enough, Sengoku's furious voice boomed from the speaker.
"Luo Ye! How much longer until you get back to Marineford and go to East Blue? You left without my approval, and now you're using a warship to head back—what kind of nonsense is this?!"
"The Naval Headquarters received reports that Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, seems to have caused trouble in Dressrosa," Sengoku continued, his voice seething with anger.
"Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru are all occupied with their respective missions, so this matter falls to you. Once you're back, check it out. If he's done anything to harm the World Government, make sure he gets a lesson!"
Doflamingo?
Luo Ye's lips twitched slightly. If the question of who the strongest among the Seven Warlords was up for debate, the answer for who had the most power was clear: Doflamingo.
Doflamingo was a man of vast influence, both in the underworld and the world at large. He ran an illegal human auction house, supplying slaves to the Celestial Dragons and wealthy nobles. He had also been involved in various nefarious activities like the arms trade, kidnapping, and selling artificial Zoan Devil Fruits, even making shady deals with Kaido, one of the Four Emperors, all while remaining under the radar of the World Government.
Luo Ye had long wanted to deal with Doflamingo, but he hadn't found the right opportunity. Now, it seemed the World Government had finally caught wind of his activities.
"Teach him a lesson?" Luo Ye's lips curled into a faint smirk. He had never left a single pirate alive, and Doflamingo wouldn't be an exception.
"I'm heading back to Marineford, but I'll take care of East Blue soon," Luo Ye said, his tone cutting off Sengoku before he could continue his rant.
Sengoku, who had been seated in his office, found himself left speechless by the sudden hang-up. He turned to Garp, who was sitting beside him, munching on senbei.
"Garp! Look at this! He's off to East Blue without my permission and isn't coming back immediately! I shouldn't have agreed to make him an Admiral!"
"Hahaha," Garp laughed heartily, unfazed by Sengoku's frustration. He had long grown immune to Sengoku's complaints. Besides, as far as Garp was concerned, what Luo Ye was doing wasn't wrong. As long as he could take care of pirate problems, that was all that mattered.
On the other side…
Seeing that Luo Ye had hung up, Kertz quickly approached to deliver an update.
"Sir, the latest report just came in. Two hours ago, a group of pirates massacred an entire island. No one survived, and the leader of this crew has a bounty of 8 million berries. His name is [Blood Hand] Mobida."
Luo Ye didn't react, his expression unchanged.
"Follow them," he ordered.
"Yes, sir!"