One Piece: Blue Scale Admiral

Luo Xia clutched the paper, his eyes bloodshot, and said in a somewhat hoarse voice:

"Why? Wouldn't it be easier for our navy to capture pirates if they gathered together?"

“No, you’re mistaken.” Jennifer shook her head.

"Because by then, the pirates who are attached to the Kingdom of Prince will become legitimate."

"There are two types of pirates on this sea that the navy cannot capture at will."

"One type is the pirates under the command of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, who have the legal right to plunder the seas."

"One type is a country established by pirates, which pays its annual Heavenly Gold and is a member state of the World Government."

Chapter 29 Sharp Blade Secret Force [Seeking Recommendations]

Rorschach remained expressionless and continued flipping through the next few pages.

Then he saw a photograph.

The photo shows a young man dressed in luxurious robes, with a faint smile on his face, standing at the entrance of the palace hall.

Even from just one photograph, one can tell that the young man in the photo is a fair-skinned, delicate-looking nobleman with composed and dignified manners.

The person in the photo is Prince Ilya.

Hearing the slightly helpless words Jennifer spoke, Rorschach was somewhat annoyed and said in a stiff tone:

"Then what do we do? We can't do anything about it, but we can't just ignore it either. Is there really no way to deal with Ilya?"

The navy is not authorized to interfere in the internal affairs of a kingdom without a request or order from the member states or the world government.

As long as this rule remains in place, even if their 177th branch wanted to do something, they would be powerless to do so.

Upon hearing this, Jennifer smiled at Rorschach.

"That's exactly why I asked you to come here."

As she spoke, Jennifer pulled a Den Den Mushi from her overly ample bosom and dialed a few numbers on it.

"Pulu pulu, pulu pulu".

This snail-like mythical creature immediately emitted a sound, indicating that it was at work, contacting the Den Den Mushi on the other end of the number.

The Den Den Mushi rang for a while before being answered.

And the pink snail's face gradually transformed into the appearance of a man with an X-shaped scar on his chin.

Luo Xia recognized it somewhat, but he wasn't sure.

Jennifer's next words confirmed his thoughts.

"Captain Drake, where are you?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Jennifer, we have crossed the border of the Kingdom of Lubnilu and will soon arrive at the branch. How is the situation on the Kingdom of Prince?"

The man's voice was calm and steady.

Judging from his voice alone, you can tell that he is a man who is very confident in himself.

"It hasn't worsened yet. I'll tell you everything in detail after you arrive at the branch."

"Alright, see you later."

Click.

The Den Den Mushi (a type of electric scooter) hangs up.

Jennifer looked up and smiled at Rorschach.

"As you said, our navy certainly cannot easily interfere in the internal affairs of the kingdom. However, this does not entirely mean that the navy lacks the capacity to handle such emergencies."

Rorschach glanced at the Den Den Mushi on the table, lost in thought.

Jennifer continued, "There is a secret special forces unit in the Navy that is not part of the regular organization, called SWORD. SWORD means blade."

"The Sharp Blade Secret Force is composed of outstanding new-generation naval personnel selected from within the Navy. Sharp Blade members are both naval personnel and not naval personnel."

"In short, the Blades are the Navy personnel who have submitted their resignations and whose Navy numbers have been returned to the military. They are not required to follow any orders and are a 'guerrilla force' that can act freely and fight against the Four Emperors without permission from their superiors."

"But correspondingly, the Navy and the World Government will not be responsible for the actions of the Blade members, and may dismiss them from the military at any time, or even erase their existence."

"The current situation is perfect for deploying our sharpest weapons."

“Rorschach, your strength is not weak. In addition, you have spent most of the past year training and practicing at the base. Even when you went out on patrol and encountered pirates, you captured and killed them all.”

"Your basic information has not been leaked to the outside world at present."

"Therefore, I hope you can temporarily cooperate with the upcoming Blade Squad, secretly infiltrate the royal city, capture the culprit of this incident, Prince Ilya, and thwart his plans."

"As long as Gross becomes king, our navy will not become passive in the North Sea."

"I know this method might be somewhat dishonorable, but it's crucial for justice, so..."

"I agreed."

Rorschach gently pulled out the photo, folded it, and put it in his pocket, then looked at Lieutenant Colonel Jennifer.

"I agree, Lieutenant Colonel. As long as it helps to fight pirates, I have no objections."

Lieutenant Colonel Jennifer breathed a sigh of relief.

But a clear look of guilt still lingered on her face.

"I'm sorry, but in this operation, it's difficult for Branch 177 to openly provide assistance to the Sharp Blade Squad. Everything depends on your actions and the circumstances. If things become unbearable, remember to prioritize your own safety."

"I will, thank you for the reminder, Lieutenant Colonel."

Rorschach nodded solemnly.

"Alright, then come with me to the port and wait for the Sharp Blade Force to arrive. They should be here soon. I'll introduce you to their leader then."

...

...

The port of Thousand Rock Island, the base, and the town on the island have been separated by branch soldiers to prevent anyone from breaking in at this time.

The vast majority of soldiers at the base were also ordered to return to their residential dormitories.

Only some higher-ranking officers, such as lieutenants and field officers, were retained.

When Rorschach followed Lieutenant Colonel Jennifer to the port, he saw Lieutenant Bill, the military affairs officer, leading a dozen or so subordinates, each holding a medium-sized Den Den Mushi, and they were positioned around the base with wary expressions.

Rorschach remembered that it was a jamming Den Den Mushi, which was generally used to interfere with the signal bands of other Den Den Mushi to prevent eavesdropping, taking pictures, or transmitting images.

It seems that Lieutenant Colonel Jennifer did an excellent job of keeping the arrival of the Sharp Edge Unit a secret.

However, Rorschach was still a little curious as to why Jennifer would know about such a secret unit as the Blades.

Also, Rear Adira returned to the Navy Headquarters for a report some time ago, and should be back by now.

After waiting for about half an hour at the beach harbor, a blurry ship finally appeared on the sea at the edge of the horizon.

The ship was moving very fast, far exceeding the speed of the single-masted warship that Rorschach usually traveled on.

Just as Luo Xia was speculating whether the warship carrying the Sharp Blade Force was a two-masted sailing ship or a three-masted sailing ship...

A few minutes later, a ship that was completely unexpected slowed down and entered the port.

"It's... a submarine."

Rorschach was a little surprised.

Yes, he saw a dark blue submarine.

The submarine's color is very close to that of the seawater, and it is not easy to distinguish it unless you observe it beforehand.

At first glance, this dark-colored submarine protruding from the sea surface looks like a wave rising on the sea.

As for its appearance, it's quite similar to the submarine that Trafalgar Law had in the comics, as Rorschach remembered it.

It was just several times larger than Luo's ship.

As the submarine slowly approached the port, the hatch on the deck opened, and Rorschach saw a dozen or so men and women dressed in civilian clothes walk out. They were all agile and jumped off the deck, landing in front of Jennifer.

Then, the submarine's hatch closed, and it sank rapidly, disappearing from Luo Xia and the others' sight.

The young man in the lead was tall, over 2.3 meters.

There are two X-shaped symbols, one large and one small, on his chest and chin.

He wore a black eye patch, a boat-shaped hat on his head, and an axe and a sword on his waist.

The tall man walked up to Jennifer and extended his hand.

"Hello, Lieutenant Colonel Jennifer, I am X Drake, the leader of the Blade Squad."

Chapter 30 Drake [Seeking Investment]

Branch Secretary's Office.

"That's how it is, Captain Drake."

Jennifer looked at Drake and the others, who were sitting casually on the sofa with their legs crossed, and recounted some key information about the Kingdom of Prince.

Drake held a steaming cup of coffee in one hand, blew on the white steam rising from it, and took a sip.

He then slowly said, "In other words, the garrison in the royal city has been basically replaced by pirates. All the supporters of the Second Prince, Gross, have been controlled by Ilya. Gross himself is missing; he may have been imprisoned, or he may have been killed by Ilya. If it's the latter, then our mission may face failure."

"Yes. If Gross himself is already dead, then even if they capture Ilya, the World Government will eventually order him to return him. The Prince Kingdom only has two heirs, and the World Government won't care whether a pirate nation will emerge in the North Blue."

Jennifer sighed. "So the prerequisite for the success of this operation is that Grus is not dead. As long as he, the rightful heir to the kingdom, is still alive, even if Ilya is arrested by the Navy, the World Government will not continue to put pressure on us."

"Therefore, this mission will be divided into two parts."

Sitting next to Drake, a hot, sweet-looking girl in a floral mini-dress licked her glossy red lips and stared intently at Rorschach standing next to Jennifer, holding up two fingers.

"First, go to the palace and confirm Grus's fate. If he is not dead, try to save him, or better yet, rescue him."

Second, capture Prince Ilya.

Luo Xia felt somewhat uncomfortable being stared at by this exceptionally sweet-looking girl.

Her voice is as sweet as her appearance.