"you!"

The man in black clutched his stomach, glaring at Kuro. "You'd better think this through, Lucilfer Kuro. The consequences of this attitude towards us are unimaginable!"

"I'm a major general!"

Kuro straightened up, placed his hands on the desk, and yelled at the two men in black, "Who do you think you are to talk to me like that? Didn't you even report your arrival beforehand?! You're questioning me? Questioning me, the current commander of the Sabaody Archipelago? Questioning me, a Rear Admiral? Questioning me, the Marine who just killed Redfield? Questioning me, Admiral Kizaru's direct subordinate?"

His words seemed to carry a hint of murderous intent, leaving the two men in black speechless for a moment.

The man in black opened his mouth, then weakly said, "No, I'm just acting in place of the Celestial Dragons..."

"I already told the Celestial Dragons to go and complain themselves!"

Kuro's eyes widened, and a murderous aura surged forth, almost causing the man in black to faint.

“Let me tell you, a naval base is a naval base, and the World Government uses it for its own purposes. Otherwise, what’s the point of having a navy? The World Government can do it themselves. Kro, throw him out.”

As he spoke, he pushed open the window behind him.

Kro walked over, grabbed the two men in black by the back of their collars, and threw them out the window.

After doing all this, he said with some concern, "Mr. Kuro, if we do this, the World Government..."

"World government my ass."

Kuro rolled his eyes. "I'd love for them to sue me! Sue me! Say I'm annoying in Sabaody and transfer me away, even to the Outer Sea!"

Although he despised Masi's character, he wanted Masi's outcome.

Just like a famous line from a movie—I want to switch places with him.

I really want to trade with Masi!

Kuro told Kro to close the window, then sat back down without even looking outside, puffing on his cigar and muttering to himself, "I've done so much, I've given my name and my specific job title, hopefully the complaint will be more accurate, and I hope there won't be any mishaps."

"Is it really necessary to go to such lengths?"

Lida, munching on potato chips, said, "I think Chambord is great, it's fun and delicious."

"You don't know anything!"

Kuro glared at her and said, "Where can't you eat or play? Isn't Pegasus Island, which I developed, better than this? The most important thing is safety, do you understand safety? This kind of hellhole has to be raided every year. When headquarters was in Marineford, there were always pirates. Now that headquarters is gone, do you think it can be any better?"

"If this keeps up, I'll get promoted! Another promotion and I'll be a lieutenant general, you know? That's really dangerous! I'm already a major general, which is dangerous enough. If anything happens, I'll be sent from the first half to the new world!"

“Aren’t you the base commander? It’s not that easy. Transfer orders can’t be changed immediately,” Lida said.

Now that she's a lieutenant colonel, she certainly has some understanding of naval institutions.

Once a transfer order is issued, it's very difficult to change it again in a short period of time. It's easier to do for lower-ranking officials, but it's much more troublesome to change orders for higher-ranking officials.

It took Akainu a long time to communicate with his superiors before the relocation of headquarters was finalized, and the subsequent procedures were even more complicated.

In the navy, vice admirals are basically the commanders of major bases, and once appointed, their positions are unlikely to be changed for a long time.

In this world, the navy has its own factions. A vice admiral who is the base commander is equivalent to a large faction, and it is very difficult to make any moves against him.

Similarly, when Kuro was a colonel and a commodore, he developed Pegasus Island, so that place was essentially Kuro's own base of operations. Even if he was promoted and transferred, the Navy would still consider that place his territory.

Otherwise, if Cass wanted to stay there, it wouldn't be something that could be done simply by reporting it to the higher authorities.

Unless there's an exchange of benefits, Kuro would willingly give up Pegasus Island, but that would inevitably involve greater benefits.

This is how the legitimate factions within the Navy conduct business.

This kind of thing is nothing new.

So if someone like Kuro isn't transferred to Sabaody in a short time, Sabaody will eventually become his base.

Although the local taxes are tempting... to be honest, Kuro doesn't want them.

Pegasus Island is enough for him to eat.

"In my opinion, the World Government will definitely dislike me. After all, even the Celestial Dragons have sent people to ask me questions. If they put pressure on me, Headquarters won't be able to withstand it. Sakazuki may be a bit headstrong, but if he becomes Fleet Admiral..."

Kuro stroked his chin. "The position of Marshal is not easy to hold. Unlike a general, a Marshal has to coordinate many things. Even he sometimes can't withstand the pressure."

Just like Zephyr, the higher-ups definitely didn't want him to leave, but the World Government's foolish move was to bypass the Marine Headquarters directly. After all, the Seven Warlords of the Sea are one of the World Government's three major directly subordinate agencies, and they are on equal footing with the Marines.

The Navy might raise objections, but if they can't change those old men's minds, they have no choice but to do it. Even if they outwardly comply, they basically can't refuse, let alone tell the World Government what to do.

Otherwise, why would he make such a big fuss?

It's meant to be complained about.

"You might not know..."

Kuro said, "No one can withstand the complaints from those merchants, the rich, nobles, and Celestial Dragons. We usually call these people 'stubborn monsters.' Let's not talk about demotion; if I can't get transferred, I'll eat this table!"

He spoke with absolute certainty, as if he had everything under control.

...

Mary Geoise.

Pangu City.

Between power.

Five old men were posing there.

After the two men in black returned, the news was relayed here immediately.

“Something big has happened in Sabaody these past few days. That Lucilfer Kuro is too ruthless.”

The old man with the map on his head glanced at the report and said to the other four, "What should we do? Should we reprimand Sakazuki first?"

"inappropriate."

The long-bearded old man shook his head: "Although Lucilfer Kuro's methods were drastic, they were in line with the duties of a Marine. He was also trying to create a better environment for the Celestial Dragons. Charlos also mentioned this. Kuro was worried about him and advised him not to make any rash moves in Mary Geoise."

"Is that Olex Sharp really that powerful? Or did he obtain a Devil Fruit during his year of escape?" The red-skinned old man wondered.

"There's no need to say more about someone who's already dead. Lucilfer Kuro admitted that he killed him. Hmph, he was clearly killed by that little pirate. Does he want credit so much?" The old man with glasses and a knife clicked his tongue.

"That junior navy officer probably thinks he's the rear admiral and is a bit angry. Are the methods he used meant for us?"

The curly-haired old man pondered, "In any case, the environment in Sabaody Archipelago has changed. However, we can't ignore so many complaints. Let's call Sakazuki and have him handle it."