Chapter 524: A Special Justice

Chapter 524: Chapter 524: A Special Justice

The appearance of Jesus Burgess caused many to look surprised; clearly, no one had expected Blackbeard to actually send someone.

"I recognize that guy!" Luffy said with a dark expression.

"Of course you do."

Meiser also spoke with a frown, "After all, he’s one of Blackbeard’s men."

They had encountered this guy back in Impel Down; he remembered giving the fellow a slap at the time.

Then, Meiser looked down at Luffy and said, "Prepare yourself to face Blackbeard in person this time."

"You think he’ll come too?"

"I can only say it’s a possibility," Meiser nodded.

Since his crew member was already here, the man himself showing up wouldn’t be anything to be surprised about.

Seeing Meiser say this, Luffy’s expression became serious.

"If he really comes, I’ll blow him away!" Luffy said earnestly.

He still had a score to settle with Blackbeard. Once they met, he would show no mercy!

"Hey, hey, hey, do you two know what you’re saying?" The people nearby looked at Meiser and Luffy, dumbfounded. Did these two guys have any idea what kind of existence a Four Emperor was?

Saying they were going to blow Blackbeard away?

What kind of joke was that?

But unfortunately, neither Meiser nor Luffy paid any attention to these people; they didn’t even give them a single glance.

Right now, they were only thinking about how to deal with this guy called Burgess when they encountered him later.

Meanwhile, in the spectator stands, Franky frowned as he looked at Burgess.

"I didn’t expect to see such a formidable guy here."

As the captain of the First Ship of the Blackbeard Pirates, his strength was definitely not weak.

"So what?" Merry said indifferently. "Don’t forget who else is participating in this competition."

The crew members of a Four Emperor might be somewhat powerful, but he wasn’t the Four Emperor himself!

So, there shouldn’t be any problem for those two to take the championship.

Franky blinked upon hearing this; it seemed that was indeed the case.

Once he realized there wouldn’t be any unexpected trouble, Franky picked up Merry, intending to leave and find the factory. He also wanted to see if he could get some useful intelligence from Meiser’s clone.

"Hey, please wait a moment." Kyros grabbed Franky’s lower leg and said, "I’m going too."

"You’re in the way," Franky said wordlessly to Kyros, who was clutching his leg. "We have serious business to attend to and no time to waste here."

"I want to talk to you."

"What’s there to talk about? If you don’t know the location of the factory, don’t talk to me." Franky shook Kyros off and said, "Don’t delay me from finding the high-ranking officers of the Donquixote Family; I still need to interrogate them for info—"

"..."

"Shh! Don’t talk about such topics here!"

Kyros was so frightened he jumped up to cover Franky’s mouth, then said, "Pay attention to your surroundings!"

"That’s a sensitive topic, hey!"

Talking about such things directly here—was he serious?

Franky was stunned for a moment, then noticed the way the people around him were looking at him.

"This is..."

"It seems that in their eyes, the Donquixote Family is a sacred existence," Merry said softly.

Otherwise, these people wouldn’t be showing such angry expressions.

Franky clearly realized this too, and his expression became a little awkward.

"Alright, let’s go somewhere else to chat," Kyros also said softly. "Whatever it is, we’ll talk after we leave here."

"Okay."

This time Franky didn’t object, instead obediently taking Kyros and Merry away from the area.

Only after the three had disappeared did the others finally retract their gazes.

"What’s with those three?"

"Probably just some scoundrels with strange ideas," a man guessed. "It’s fine, don’t mind them. The Donquixote Family will deal with them anyway."

"True."

In Dressrosa, the Donquixote Family was the law!

Realizing this, the people stopped thinking about Franky’s group and turned their attention back to the arena.

Watching the competition was more important.

"To think even the men of a Four Emperor have come," Fujitora said as he slowly stood up. "This is truly a gathering of talents."

"Mr. Issho?"

"Let’s go." Fujitora Issho picked up his Cane Sword and said, "Let’s leave here first."

With that, Fujitora turned and led his adjutant out of the Colosseum.

Once the two reached the outside, the adjutant spoke again, "What do you plan to arrange next?"

Fujitora didn’t answer the question, but instead looked at a little girl who had fallen to the ground in front of them.

Raising his hand to retrieve the balloon that had flown away using the power of the Gravity Fruit, Fujitora returned it to the girl with a smile on his face.

"Little girl, are you hurt from the fall?" Fujitora said. "Here, your balloon."

"Mm, I’m okay." The little girl happily took the balloon and said, "Thank you, mister!"

"Haha, you’re welcome."

Watching her walk away, the smile on Fujitora’s face became even warmer.

What a cute little thing.

"Mr. Issho, please put on your coat first," the adjutant said.

"Ah, thank you."

"It’s no problem, it’s my duty."

The adjutant smiled; Mr. Issho was as polite as ever.

Thinking this, he draped the Admiral’s cloak—unique to Marine Admirals—over Fujitora’s shoulders.

In that moment, the aura surrounding Fujitora changed completely.

He was no longer just an old man who seemed to have no temper, but a dignified Marine Admiral.

"Let’s go."

Fujitora picked up his Cane Sword and walked forward step by step, saying at the same time, "Tell them to send three more warships over."

"We will temporarily... mm, what was that place called again?"

"It’s Green Bit," the adjutant said.

As the adjutant, he was very clear on all the details of this mission.

"Mm, then let’s go there," Fujitora nodded. "I heard there are strange Fighting Fish there."

"Haha, those things aren’t a threat to you," the adjutant laughed.

Monsters like Fighting Fish, which could destroy warships, might be unbeatable to others, but to a true monster like a Marine Admiral, they were just slightly larger fish.

Well, catching one would be enough to feed an entire ship’s crew.

Fujitora didn’t say much in response to the adjutant’s words, as what he said was indeed true.

Even Sea Kings were just slightly larger fish to him.

"Right." Fujitora seemed to remember something and said, "Tell them to bring more people from the medical team."

"We mustn’t allow any casualties."

"Uh... yes, I understand."

Though he didn’t know why Mr. Issho had such a request, he still chose to carry it out.

"I asked you to investigate the number of spectators at the tournament and the population of this town. How is the investigation going?" Fujitora asked.

"I’ve already investigated, but..."

The adjutant hesitated for a moment, then said, "Shouldn’t we be investigating the number of enemies?"

Although he had already followed the request, he still couldn’t understand the man’s reasoning.

Only by investigating the number of enemies could they wipe them all out.

Hearing the adjutant’s words, Fujitora stopped in his tracks, then said in a deep voice, "Investigating the number of enemies isn’t wrong, but... rather than the number of enemies, shouldn’t we first count the number of people who need protecting?"

Rumble!

Hearing this, the adjutant felt as if he had been struck by lightning, freezing on the spot.

In that moment, his heart was profoundly shaken.

Rather than the enemy, was Mr. Issho more concerned with the civilians who needed protection?

Looking at the two words on the back of the man’s coat, the adjutant’s body began to tremble.

Is this... the justice of Admiral Fujitora?

"Yes, I understand!" the adjutant said with a serious expression. "I will do my absolute best to investigate the number of people who need protecting!"

In this moment, the adjutant fully felt the justice of this Marine Admiral.

Then, he took out a Den Den Mushi and began to contact the Marines scattered throughout Dressrosa, precisely issuing all of Admiral Fujitora’s orders.

Soon, a group of Marines in uniform gathered around Fujitora, accompanying him as they walked toward the distant streets.

"Marines?"

Seeing the Marines appearing in groups, some bewildered citizens were stunned.

Why were there so many Marines here?

Could it be... they were here to arrest the King?

No, an announcement had been made earlier; the King hadn’t actually resigned his position, so it was impossible for these people to be here to arrest him.

Thinking of this, the people gradually calmed down.

"It’s so peaceful..." Feeling the emotions of the people around him, Fujitora said with a complex expression, "It’s just a pity that behind this peace..."

Upon entering Dressrosa, he had already sensed some things using his Observation Haki.

But for the sake of the goal in his heart, he could only choose to endure for now.

"Mr. Issho, what did you say?"

"Nothing."

Fujitora shook his head, then asked, "How is the investigation into Fire Fist Ace going?"

"This..."

The adjutant showed a difficult expression, momentarily at a loss for words.

"Speak."

"We haven’t found any trace of the Spade Pirates in Dressrosa," the adjutant said awkwardly. "I don’t know if they’re hiding too well or if they simply didn’t come."

Since entering the island, they had tried their best to find the other party’s traces, but unfortunately, they had found nothing at all.

"Nothing, huh..."

Fujitora frowned slightly, clearly somewhat dissatisfied with this news.

After all, for him, capturing the son of the Pirate King would be an effective blow to the pirates’ morale, which would benefit the civilians of the sea.

But since he couldn’t find their traces for now, he let it go. Dealing with the matters here was more urgent.

Thinking of this, he was about to give an order, but before he could open his mouth, he heard the Den Den Mushi in his robes start to ring.

"Buru Buru Buru~"

"Buru Buru Buru~"

"Buru Buru Buru~"

"Hmm?"

A confused Fujitora took out the Den Den Mushi, clearly not expecting anyone to call him at this time.

Could it be the Celestial Dragon or Mr. Sakazuki?

With these thoughts, Fujitora connected the call.

"Kacha~"

"This is Issho," Fujitora said deeply.

"Admiral Fujitora, we’ve found the Spade Pirates!" a Marine said in a low, excited voice. "They’re on an island near Dressrosa, and they’re currently fighting with members of the BIG MOM Pirates."

As he spoke, he tried to shrink his body, terrified of being discovered by the members of those two pirate crews.

After all, for a scout like him, being discovered meant death!

"Fighting with the BIG MOM Pirates?" the adjutant said, stunned. "Why?"

Why would the members of these two pirate crews be fighting at such a specific time?

Fujitora, however, showed a thoughtful expression, and then, as if realizing something, the corners of his mouth began to turn upward.

But considering it wasn’t good for someone of his status to laugh outright, he forced it down.

"Although I don’t know why they’re fighting elsewhere, now that we have their location, things are easier to handle," Fujitora said.

"Do you plan to come personally?" the scout said excitedly.

Would he be able to see Admiral Fujitora fight with his own eyes?

"I do not," Fujitora shook his head and said. "I have more important things to do here."

As soon as he said this, the scout’s expression stiffened.

He wasn’t coming?

If he wasn’t coming, what about the mission?

The Fleet Admiral himself had ordered the capture of the Spade Pirates.

Fujitora then remembered something and said, "Right, since the location is confirmed, there’s no need to continue taking risks."

"Leave that island immediately. I will have someone handle this matter later."

"Who can handle those two pirate crews..." the scout said bitterly.

If an Admiral wasn’t coming, who would be up to the task?

A Vice Admiral?

To put it bluntly, a Vice Admiral fighting a Four Emperors Crew was just asking for death.

Moreover, there was the son of the Pirate King...

"Smoker is here with me," Fujitora said deeply.

Upon hearing this, the light of hope was rekindled in the scout’s eyes.

If that man was there, then capturing the Spade Pirates shouldn’t be a problem!

Thinking of this, he said excitedly, "Yes, I understand!"

"Leave there first, and be sure to pay attention to your safety."

"Understood!"

"Kacha~"

After hanging up, Fujitora put the Den Den Mushi away.

"Remember to relay this matter to Smoker."

"Yes!"

"Huh?"

When Smoker received the notification, his face darkened instantly.

Originally, he had been thinking about waiting for news to arrive so he could enter the island to catch the Straw Hat Pirates.

Instead of an order to catch the Straw Hat Pirates, he was being told to catch someone else?

"You want me to catch some damn Spade Pirates?" Smoker roared. "Are you kidding me?"

"But this is Admiral Fujitora’s order..." Tashigi said a bit awkwardly. "Also, this was an order previously issued by the Fleet Admiral."

"Then I’ll catch them later," Smoker said with a cold face.

After he took down the Straw Hat Pirates, he would naturally have time to go and catch the Spade Pirates.

As for now?

He wasn’t interested!

"But their orders..."

Tashigi was in a difficult position. Although he also agreed with Mr. Smoker’s priority to protect the citizens of Dressrosa, these were orders from above, after all.

"Don’t talk to me about orders. It’s not the first or second time I’ve disobeyed one."

"Also... compared to some Spade Pirates, I’m more concerned about whether Doflamingo and those pirates will harm the civilians of Dressrosa!"

"Tell them I’m busy right now!"