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The 27th of February 1506.

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"How did they do that?" Asked a flabbergasted Admiral Sengoku as he looked at the Den Den Mushi before him. Upon a closer look, you can see the image of Admiral Zephyr's face copied by the snail.

"I haven't received their report yet. They woke up not too long ago and are currently taking breakfast." Responded Zephyr with a surprised tone of voice. Although he saw what the scene looked like, he still couldn't believe those two could beat someone of Otis's caliber.

During this period, the number of pirates was not numerous compared to a few years later. So, the bounty system would not be that advanced, making it scarier. Someone like Otis, given a bounty of almost 700 million, would be strong enough to rival a lower-leveled Yonko commander. At least a veteran Vice-admiral was needed to kill or capture those pirates.

That's where the two admiral's shocks came from. They knew Otis' strength. That's why they sent an admiral as reinforcement. Sengoku and Zephyr were ready to hear bad news since support to that side came later than they should have.

They know how lacking the marines are in terms of talent. So, losing two strong individuals who were clearly above the mass in pure talent was a massive regret. However, seeing those talents break through and win against opponents much more powerful than them filled the Admirals with pride as they knew two future pillars had emerged from this battle.

'The future of the marines is guaranteed.' Thought Sengoku, still listening to Zephyr as the latter continued talking.

"They are severely injured, however. Stone and Baibald need two weeks of rest to walk normally again. That's what the doctor said." Added Amiral Zephyr once he noticed that Senkogu was not responding to his earlier words and waited for him to finish his report.

Finishing his report, the man thought of something and asked. "How did the other regions fare with Kaido's scheme? I hope nothing bad happened."

Hearing the question, Sengoku couldn't help but sigh as he said what had been reported to him.

"The beast pirates wiped 7 Islands out during this ordeal. Excluding your site, 300 marines died, including two Commodores and one Rear-Admiral." Sucking in some air to prevent himself from cursing, Zephyr forced himself to listen to the report.

"A kid named Queen, 18 years old, is the one that killed the Rear-Admiral. Unfortunately, she managed to escape before Vice-Admiral Tsuru's arrival. I reckon he will cause us problems if we don't catch him quickly." Sengoku stopped, allowing Zephyr to chew on the information he had just given him.

A while later, Zephyr sighed, a defeated expression on his face. "What would our response to this offense be?" Asked Zephyr, eager to know.

"We don't know yet." Answered Sengoku, pausing a little to think before continuing. "Admiral Kong has climbed the mountain to talk to the people above." He added, also a firm expression on his face as he spoke to Zephyr over the phone.

"Black arm..." He started, his voice becoming firm. "We might go to war soon!"

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"What do you mean?" Asked Laurent as he looked at the three marines standing before him. Glancing at Fred, who seemed as confused as him, Laurent kept asking.

"If there is a thief in the town, it's your job to catch it. Why would you ask recruits to do that for you?" The three marines seemed embarrassed. Although they were not high-ranked, they were still official soldiers. How could recruits speak to them like that?

'I would've beat you up if Commodore Stone was not fond of you.' Thought one of the soldiers as he glanced at the two recruits. 'It seems like they're also stronger than me.' He thought again, getting even more embarrassed by the situation. However, he still kept asking.

"An inmate escaped from his cell after Commodore Stone's departure. We are currently understaffed, and most fighters went out with the Commodore. So, you two are the only ones capable of successfully doing this mission on the island." Finishing his words, the marine soldier waited for the kid's answer.

It's not that they're understaffed, but nobody was strong enough on this island to catch the inmate who escaped. That's why they placed their bets on the recruits specially trained by their two superiors. Of course, after asking for permission through a snail call. They were not dumb enough to endanger the Commodore's students without asking him beforehand.

Observing the two soldiers, Fred suddenly thought of something and asked. "Was this mission given by Commodore Stone?" Seeing the marine soldiers nod, everything clicked in Laurent and Fred's brains.

'This is a test!' They thought at the once, slight smiles emerging from their faces before quickly disappearing.

"We will do it." Answered Laurent, acting unsure. The same thing could be said about Fred as they frowned. "Can you tell us about the inmate's information?" Added Laurent, his frown deepening.

"Yes, we have his bounty poster and some of his information in this folder." Spoke one of the soldiers, handing a folder full of papers to Laurent, who looked like the leader between the two recruits.

"Thank you. Do you need anything else?" Laurent continued asking after taking the folder from the soldier's hands.

"No, that would be it." Answered the marine, ready to go with his two friends. However, before they could go too far, one of the soldiers turned around to face the kids and added. "He escaped two days ago after the Commodore left. Many businesses have suffered from him, and the townspeople are getting restless. I hope you can solve this matter as quickly as possible." He finished, heading out of the dojo.

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(Image of the bounty poster!)

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A while later, Laurent and Fred finished reading the information in the folder and sat on the ground, ready to discuss how to solve this matter.

"He got a bounty of 17 million. He must be pretty strong." Commented Fred, looking at Laurent, who seemed to be thinking about something.

"He's strong, but not enough to survive in this part of the sea." Answered Laurent.

"However, he's quite strong for recruits like us. Individually we might have problems facing him. However, if we fight together, we might easily win. At least, based on the information given to us." Added Fred, a confident expression on his face. 

"I forgot you were an optimist." Commented Laurent, also smiling.

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"What do you think he's purpose of doing this is?" Suddenly asked Laurent as Fred was re-reading the information in the folder. They had been sitting here for half an hour and still couldn't deduce the inmate's purpose of stealing things for two days.

"Normal escapees would try to leave the island before the Commodore's return. However, this guy is out there stealing things?" Added Fred, unable to comprehend the man's actions. It's like he's trying to do something, but they don't know what it is.

"What is he stealing anyways?" Laurent continued asking after a moment of silence. Fred, who was reading the information, responded.

"It's not written here." Answered Fred, looking over the paper. "We have to talk to the victims to know that information." He added, putting the documents back in the folder.

"Let's go then!" Exclaimed Laurent, getting up before stretching his sore body. "It's been a long time since I thought this hard about something. At least, it's a change from all the training we did this past year." He added, walking out of the dojo, not waiting for his friend to finish tidying up the folder.

"I'll wait for you at the town's entrance." He yelled after noticing that Fred was not following him. Making sure the dojo was not messy before going out.

'Typical mom behavior!' Thought Laurent, walking out of Alshaw island's marine headquarter.