Just as Eden's crew was joyfully advancing towards Sky Island, Erza had already led her squad back to Marine Headquarters.
"Arara~"
"So you're Erza Scarlet?!"
Upon Erza's group arriving at HQ…
The first to greet them was not a messenger from the 'Hero' Garp or 'Fleet Admiral' Sengoku, but the Marine HQ Admiral, 'Aokiji' Kuzan.
"You are Admiral Kuzan?"
As a Rear Admiral of the headquarters, Erza could still recognize the faces of the Three Admirals.
"Don't be nervous…"
"I was just a little curious to see what the little junior sister, who my teacher and my best friend have been praising nonstop, looks like."
Kuzan gave the tense-looking Erza a gentle smile, his tone soft.
"Well now~"
"Seeing you today, you truly live up to your reputation."
Kuzan paused for a moment before continuing, "Erza, you can head directly to the Fleet Admiral's office. My teacher… Vice Admiral Garp and Fleet Admiral Sengoku are waiting for you there! They've prepared a surprise for you."
"Oh my, oh my…"
"I was careless and almost let it slip again."
"My apologies~"
"Anyway, farewell everyone."
With that, Kuzan bid his farewells to the group and strode off into the distance.
"What a strange man."
After Kuzan left, aside from Erza, whose hand never left the hilt of her sword, perpetually on guard…
Gajeel, Levy, and Cana, who had been standing behind Erza, were all baffled by Kuzan's behavior.
"A monster."
Hearing them, Erza simply shook her head and muttered under her breath.
Indeed, the feeling a Marine Admiral gave Erza was completely different from any other Marine…
Although Erza had met many Vice Admirals during her time at Marine HQ, even if all of them—excluding her teacher Garp—were put together, they couldn't compare to an Admiral like Kuzan.
Admiral and Vice Admiral. Though only one rank apart, their strength was on completely different levels.
After a silent walk, Erza entered the Fleet Admiral's office.
POP! POP! POP!
Greeting Erza were Garp's party poppers. He grinned widely and laughed, "Welcome back, Erza! That guy Smoker already reported everything about your heroic performance in Alabasta!"
"Rescuing your comrades."
"Defeating Crocodile."
"Confronting Eden's crew."
"An ordinary marine would be considered remarkable for accomplishing just one of these feats."
"Therefore, after discussing it all morning, that old geezer Sengoku and I have finally made a decision. We're promoting you to Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters!"
Garp said, beaming at Erza.
"Garp! You old bastard…"
"First of all, I remember telling you before! Absolutely no throwing parties for your student in my office."
"Secondly, don't go and say everything I was going to say beforehand!"
After Garp's speech, Sengoku shot back with his usual angry retorts before turning to Erza with a smile. "Anyway, that old geezer Garp has already said everything I wanted to say! From this day forward, you are a Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters."
"Vice Admiral?"
"So quickly?"
"Isn't it a bit too soon?"
Erza said, somewhat bewildered.
"Not at all."
"That fellow Crocodile is not someone an ordinary Vice Admiral can handle."
"Right now, the rank we're giving you is just right."
Sengoku shook his head gently.
First of all, there was one thing the Warlords of the Sea were not wrong about.
The reason these individuals became Warlords was because they first had to possess the immense power required to hold such a title…
"However, I didn't defeat Crocodile alone. It's a bit shameful, but I did borrow the power of pirates to do so."
Erza stated the truth honestly.
"Smoker has already reported that to us as well."
"'Sea Emperor' Eden, was it?!"
"That man is indeed an incredibly dangerous individual."
"We have already raised his bounty from 120 million Berries to 200 million Berries."
"Even the bounties of the others in his crew have been increased."
Sengoku paused here.
"Excuse me."
Just then, the 'King of Meetings,' Brandnew, walked in from outside the office, holding the latest wanted posters for Eden's crew.
"'Sea Emperor' Eden, bounty: 200 million Berries."
"'Fire Dragon' Natsu, bounty: 120 million Berries."
"'Cat Burglar' Nami, bounty: 48 million Berries."
"'Evil Cat' Happy, bounty: 28 Berries."
Brandnew then deliberately found Juvia's wanted poster and continued, "Although 'Rain Woman' Juvia did not appear in Alabasta to participate in this major incident of overthrowing one of the Seven Warlords, Crocodile…"
"At the same time, her presence was confirmed in the Taya Kingdom of the South Blue, where she instigated an even more vicious event."
As he spoke, Brandnew posted Juvia's bounty on the blackboard in Sengoku's office. "'Rain Woman' Juvia, bounty: 100 million Berries."
"I can't believe that in just a few days," Erza thought to herself, looking at the bounties of Eden, Natsu, and Juvia. "Their bounties have all surpassed 100 million. At this rate, the Eden Pirates have truly become a major power that the World Government and the Marines can no longer ignore."
However, it wasn't over yet.
Right in front of Erza, Brandnew pulled out several more wanted posters, sticking them on the blackboard and announcing angrily, "Next, I will report on the protagonists of that incident concerning a 'certain woman,' an event that nearly toppled the entire Taya Kingdom."
"'The She-Devil' Mirajane, bounty: 310 million Berries!"
"'Naked Ice Man' Gray, bounty: 80 million Berries!"
"And the 'protagonist' of the major incident, the man willing to overthrow any regime for the sake of a 'certain woman,' former Taya Kingdom policeman, Araki, bounty: 580 million Berries!"
When Brandnew mentioned Araki, beads of cold sweat visibly formed on his forehead. His voice trembled slightly as he said, "Especially that man, Araki, he is a monster of unbelievable strength! If not handled properly, he will become a great enemy of the World Government."
"And yet, such a dangerous man has gotten mixed up with members of Eden's crew. If they join forces, the consequences will be unimaginable."
Brandnew seemed to see another pirate crew on the rise, one that could rival the Four Emperors.
"Such turbulent times!"
In the office, Sengoku and Garp exchanged a look and sighed helplessly.
"Actually, when Eden was fighting me, he mentioned that he wanted to become one of the Seven Warlords."
"Although it's frustrating to admit, wouldn't recruiting him as a Warlord be more beneficial for us Marines and the Government?!"
Even Erza was shocked by the massive waves her comrades had been making on the seas lately…
She was stunned for a moment, then proposed an idea that would be even more advantageous for their Fairy Tail guild.
"Recruit Eden as a Warlord, you say?"
"That was our original intention…"
"But now, the intelligence on Eden contains something the World Government does not want to see."
Sengoku rubbed his temples wearily. At his signal, Brandnew pulled out another new wanted poster. The subject on it was an eight-year-old girl.
"'Devil Child' Nico Robin…"
"A woman who, at the age of eight, was involved in a major incident that concerned the fate of the entire world, with a bounty of 79 million Berries."
"Witnesses have claimed that Nico Robin has been seen in close proximity with Eden's crew."
"If Nico Robin also becomes a member of Eden's crew, then we cannot allow him to become a Warlord."
Brandnew explained the situation regarding Nico Robin to Erza.
"Nico Robin?!"
Erza's pupils constricted as she stared at the name. She remembered hearing that name back in Alabasta.
"In any case…"
"According to our intelligence, both Eden's crew and 'The She-Devil' Mirajane's group are converging on Mock Town in the first half of the Grand Line."
"Our best course of action right now is to force Eden's crew into the New World! Let them fight it out with the other great pirates to their hearts' content."
Brandnew continued his report.
"Leave this matter to me."
Upon hearing this, Erza decided to volunteer. She also wanted to take the opportunity to see Mirajane and discuss the Fairy Tail guild's future plans.
"For now, there's no need."
"A certain man has already volunteered for the task."
Sengoku smiled and gently shook his head. He greatly admired a soldier as motivated as Erza…
If all Marine soldiers were as energetic and driven as Erza, and never slacked off, they would have wiped out all the pirates on the seas long ago.
"Clocking out."
Just as Sengoku was having this thought, a certain Admiral—who, since arriving at the office, had been drinking tea, eating rice crackers, clipping his nails, and writing reports, basically dawdling all day without doing a damn thing—casually clocked out for the day.
Indeed, in the entire Marine Headquarters, this man was always the last to arrive and the first to leave, right on the dot.
This man was the current Marine Admiral, 'Kizaru' Borsalino.
Kizaru: "I'm just an office drone, getting paid to clock in and out. Why would I risk my life?!"
Of course.
The man who had volunteered to go to Mock Town to deal with Eden's crew was naturally not the office drone Kizaru, but…
"Arara~"
"What a beautiful day today~"
"A perfect day for a bike ride."
"Anyway, little Eden…"
"Although that Smoker fellow surprisingly put in a lot of good words for you, and I trust my best friend's judgment!"
"But as a Marine Admiral, there are some things I just have to do."
"So, before I get to Mock Town? You'd better hurry up and leave~"
Yes, the man who had volunteered to head to Mock Town to meet Eden's crew was none other than Erza's senior, Garp's first disciple, Marine HQ Admiral 'Aokiji' Kuzan.
At this very moment, Kuzan was casually riding his bicycle on the open sea as if no one was watching.