Chapter 828: Awkward Dance
On the Grand Line, Sabaody Archipelago.
As the most famous tourist destination on the entire Grand Line, Sabaody Archipelago has a constant stream of visitors year-round. Tourists arriving on the island indulge in its delicious food and unique scenery, feeling nothing but peace and tranquility.
However, only the people who live on Sabaody Archipelago can truly feel the enormous difference between this period and the past.
And the biggest difference is that Celestial Dragons haven't come to the island for fun in a long time!
This is an incredible thing. You see, Sabaody Archipelago has always been the favorite place for the World Nobles to visit when they travel. In the past, on Sabaody Archipelago, you could frequently see the World Nobles appearing at any time. But recently, these Celestial Dragons seem to have vanished, not showing up for a very long time.
While the local residents secretly breathe a sigh of relief, they also feel a bit puzzled. They don't really understand what exactly is going on.
It's not just that the Celestial Dragons aren't coming; the public security on the island has also improved a lot. The human traffickers used to be so rampant, often targeting and kidnapping tourists who came alone. But now, you only occasionally hear about a kidnapping incident.
And the auction houses on the island used for selling people have seen their business plummet recently. Many shops have even closed directly. You see, the Celestial Dragons have always been the biggest customers of these shops. Now that the Celestial Dragons aren't coming, who can they sell the slaves they acquire to?
This change happened quietly, and by the time people came to their senses, they suddenly realized the situation.
Only those who work in intelligence sales on the island know a little bit about the situation.
It probably started about two or three months ago. After the Four Emperors Black Dragon Ian suddenly appeared on Sabaody Archipelago and took away his Ian Family, this situation occurred. First, Fleet Admiral Akainu was killed by Ian, and then the Beast Pirates attacked. The current situation on Sabaody Archipelago is inseparable from these two incidents.
But what puzzles these intelligence organizations the most is that they originally thought the Celestial Dragons weren't coming to Sabaody Archipelago because members of the World Nobles had died there one after another, coupled with the death of the Fleet Admiral, which led to the Celestial Dragons losing the protection of the Marines and their sense of security plummeting. That's why they no longer appeared on Sabaody Archipelago. But after the Beast Pirates were destroyed by the World Government, why are these Celestial Dragons still so low-key??
This doesn't match their personality. With such a great achievement as destroying the Beast Pirates, shouldn't they be even more arrogant?
Many of these intelligence organizations don't actually understand the secrets about the Ancient Weapons involved, so they can only judge based on the surface situation. In the end, after analyzing back and forth, they think it might be related to the upcoming World Conference...
At this moment, there are less than two days left until the World Conference. Marine warships escorting people from all over the world are continuously docking at Marine Headquarters Marineford.
And the leaders of various countries, protected by the warships and arriving unimpeded, are also successively passing through the roads of Marineford on their way to Holy Land Mary Geoise, the center of this World Government.
Perhaps mindful of the last World Conference when the Four Emperors Ian infiltrated Mary Geoise by blending in with the entourage, setting fires, causing chaos, killing Celestial Dragons, and freeing slaves, this time the World Government officials and Marines are conducting very strict inspections of the entourage brought by the leaders of each country.
Every member of the entourage is required to show their face, and the leaders of each country or their stewards must confirm their identity before they are allowed to pass.
Such inspections are very cumbersome and time-consuming, which naturally causes dissatisfaction among the leaders of various countries. But this time, the World Government is determined not to let any unexpected situation occur during the World Conference, so even if the leaders protest, they still carry out the inspections meticulously.
The inspections are divided into two checkpoints. One is by the Marines, mainly to check if there are any pirates among the entourage and to confiscate the weapons carried by the entourage. The officials from the World Government's intelligence department serve as the second checkpoint, mainly to check if any Revolutionary Army members have infiltrated...
Yes, the CP intelligence agents have recently noticed something wrong. Revolutionary Army organizations around the world are very active, seemingly plotting something secretly. Worried that the Revolutionary Army's target might be related to this World Conference, they specifically check for any Revolutionary Army members infiltrating. This kind of inspection didn't exist before.
However, the Revolutionary Army has always kept a low profile. The list of Revolutionary Army members held by the intelligence department is only a very small part. So it's hard to say how effective such inspections will be.
And the supervisor of the Marine checkpoint is none other than Marine Rear Admiral Tina!
This pink-haired beauty is a beautiful sight wherever she goes. When Admiral Aokiji left the Marines back then, he took Smoker with him, but Tina didn't leave with him. After all, she is fundamentally different from a problem child like Smoker. Although in Tina's heart, the World Government's unfair treatment of Admiral Aokiji also made Tina very angry, she couldn't bring herself to leave the Marines with Aokiji.
And now, Tina has also been promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral, becoming a general officer who can stand on her own at Marine Headquarters. But for some reason, the promotion in rank doesn't give Tina any sense of achievement. She always feels that this promotion is, to a large extent, a compensatory act by the World Government. After all, the morale within the Marines is unstable now, and the World Government needs to appease the Marines' morale...
At this moment, Tina is lying on a sun lounger, her hands behind her head, her beautiful big eyes hidden behind sunglasses observing the crowd passing through the Marine soldiers' inspection not far away.
"Will Smoker and the others... show up?" Tina speculated. "The Neo Marines, jointly established by Instructor Zephyr and Admiral Aokiji, has never been recognized. If they don't take advantage of this World Conference to gain recognition from the World Government and the member countries, then they will really become an illegal organization... At that time, will our Marine Headquarters really have to move to wipe them out?"
On one side is the Marine Headquarters she serves, and on the other are her childhood friends, friends, and mentors. Tina doesn't know what to do now.
In fact, her current conflicted feelings are also a reflection of the feelings of many within the Marines. Many within the Marines are secretly paying attention to the matter of the Neo Marines. Many Marine generals have old feelings for former colleagues like Aokiji and Zephyr, and they don't want to go against the Neo Marines.
But the problem is that Marine Headquarters is no longer under their control. For some reason, Admiral Kizaru refused to take over the position of Fleet Admiral. This has led to Marine Headquarters now only obeying orders from the upper echelons of the World Government. The Marines' independence is gradually being lost, long gone from the era when Fleet Admiral Sengoku led them.
"Will they come?" Tina thought with a heavy heart. "If they really come, should I let them in? Or would it be best if they didn't show up and let the World Conference proceed smoothly? Tina is very worried..."
This kind of conflict and worry lasted for several days, until the last ship of people passed the inspection and headed to Mary Geoise. Only then did Tina finally breathe a sigh of relief.
All the expected member countries of the World Government have arrived, and the World Conference will be held tomorrow. The inspection work can also come to an end.
Seeing that the officials at the World Government checkpoint have already withdrawn, Tina looked at the pitch-black night sky and said to the already exhausted Marine soldiers, "Alright, you can go back and rest!"
Upon hearing this, the Marine soldiers felt as if they had received a pardon. After saluting Tina, they left one after another. These past few days, the soldiers at Marine Headquarters have been through a lot. Since the inspection work is done, they can go back and get a good night's sleep. When dawn breaks tomorrow, they just need to start the security work, which will be much easier then.
The soldiers left, but Tina didn't. Under the night sky, she came alone to the crescent-shaped port of Marineford, staring blankly at the distant sea.
Where will the Marines go from here?
The night was quiet. The patrol warships at Marineford port had also moved to other positions. Tina leaned on the railing, resting her chin on her hand like a beauty under the moon, letting her cloak flutter in the wind.
Just then, a sound of footsteps suddenly came from behind, approaching Tina's position. Tina was startled. Why... why did these footsteps sound so familiar?
Turning around, she saw a familiar figure walking out of the darkness. Moonlight spilled onto the other person's hair, reflecting a grayish-white color.
"S-Smoker!?" Tina couldn't help but cover her red lips and whispered, "Tina is very surprised!"
Smoker, with a cigar in his mouth, raised his hand to greet her, "Yo, Tina, long time no see!"
"Why are you here!?" Tina lowered her voice and asked, "How did you sneak in!? Tina is very confused!"
Smoker's arm suddenly turned into smoke, wrapped around Tina's waist, and pulled her over, making her stand face to face with him. Then Smoker stared at her and said, "Don't worry about that. Want to dance?"
"...Since when did you know how to dance!?" Tina looked stunned.
Smoker scratched his head awkwardly, then said, "If you don't want to dance, then just pretend nothing happened!"
Hearing his words, Tina subconsciously turned her head to look at the distant sea. She saw that, at some point, a large number of dark shadows had appeared on the sea surface—those were ships...
She immediately understood and turned back to ask Smoker, "Have Admiral Aokiji and Instructor Zephyr come too?"
Smoker nodded and said, "Not just them..."
"What exactly are you going to do!?" Tina couldn't help but angrily punch Smoker in the chest and said, "Are you really going to break with the Marines!? Tina is very sad!"
"No, quite the opposite. We want to steer the Marines back on track!" Smoker said. "Tina, in all these years, I've never asked you for anything. This time, please trust me, okay?"
"..." Tina looked at Smoker, silent for a long time, before finally saying, "Even if I pretend I didn't see anything, what about the others?"
Smoker smiled and said, "Don't worry. As long as we get through tonight, even if we're discovered tomorrow morning, it won't matter! We know the daily routine of Marine Headquarters best..."
Tina sighed in defeat and finally held onto Smoker's shoulder, saying, "Alright, I didn't see anything tonight. Didn't you invite me to dance? Then let's do it..."
People's hearts... are changing...
So, Smoker had to steel himself and began an awkward dance with Tina under the moonlight...
And as one ship after another quickly entered Marineford's harbor, a large number of figures swiftly disembarked from the ships.
That night, the port guards of Marineford were quietly replaced while still in their sleep...