What happened, Vice Admiral?"
Sensing the shift in atmosphere, Nao proactively stepped forward and asked.
"Buma is out of contact."
Kizaru's voice lacked its usual leisurely laziness; he frowned, his tone heavy. "Last night, she contacted us saying she had already reached the target area. A whole night has passed, and we haven't been able to contact her at all this morning."
Out of contact?
Nao was slightly startled, while Kizaru had already quickened his pace to the bow of the ship, instructing his subordinate to give the order to speed up.
"We're only about three hours away from the target area at most, so we can basically rule out the possibility of a Den Den Mushi signal limitation."
Rear Admiral Gumiiru came to his side, his voice low. "That means there's a high probability that Buma was discovered by the enemy ahead of time last night and is in trouble."
Nao narrowed his eyes.
Buma wasn't alone; she had an entire large Marine battleship under her command, with at least seven or eight hundred Marines on board. Did they all fall, without even a chance to send a distress call?
"The Swimsuit Pirates don't have that kind of strength," Nao said. "Was it that mysterious underground arms dealer who made the move?"
"Not necessarily. Although that area falls under the jurisdiction of the Alabasta Kingdom, it's located by a remote seaside cliff and is actually a lawless place where all sorts of unsavory characters mix. Anyone could have made a move in secret."
Rear Admiral Gumiiru bit on his cigar, sighing. "In any case, we need to get there as fast as possible. Speculating here is pointless."
Nao nodded slightly.
No one spoke again, and the atmosphere on the deck became somewhat subdued.
The Marines who had yet to wake up were all called out, and the entire Marine battleship was fully assembled, ready to enter combat at any moment.
In the blink of an eye, over two hours passed.
The outline of Sandy Island was now faintly visible on the distant horizon.
Kizaru, who had been standing silently at the bow, suddenly raised an eyebrow, as if sensing something, and turned to look towards the nine o'clock direction.
Nao noticed his movement and followed his gaze, spotting a dark shadow several kilometers away.
Upon closer inspection, it could be seen that it was a rather luxurious passenger ship, which appeared to have hit a reef and was anchored there.
"Vice Admiral, should we approach to take a look?" The helmsman turned to ask Kizaru.
"No need, continue at full speed, the mission is important…"
Kizaru was halfway through his sentence when his peripheral vision seemed to catch sight of a certain figure on the passenger ship's deck. His eyes instantly narrowed, and he changed tack. "Wait, change course, go over there first."
"Yes, Vice Admiral!"
The Marine battleship immediately adjusted its direction slightly and headed towards the grounded merchant ship.
Nao borrowed binoculars from Gumiiru. Through the lenses, he saw a deck full of kneeling sailors on the passenger ship, each looking terrified.
Two men, appearing to be bodyguards, were sternly scolding and reprimanding them with fierce expressions.
On the second-floor balcony of the cabin, there was a wicker chair.
A tall, slender figure with blue hair was half-reclining on it, one hand propping his chin, the other on his forehead, his handsome face filled with an expression of helplessness and a headache.
"That guy looks a little familiar…"
Nao stared at that face, which was almost as handsome as his own. After a careful recollection, he was suddenly startled.
"Prince William, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?"
Just over a month ago, he had seen this face in a newspaper. At that time, the World Government had just signed an alliance with him, publicly announcing his official inclusion in the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
No wonder Kizaru changed his mind and ordered the Marine battleship to approach after noticing him.
At this moment, the people on the passenger ship also began to notice the approaching Marine battleship.
Many immediately began waving their arms excitedly, while William himself, lying in the wicker chair, rose with a look of pleasant surprise and hurried downstairs to the deck.
"Ah ha, a G-2 Branch Marine battleship?"
Once the Marine battleship reached the vicinity of the reef, the handsome blue-haired prince laughed heartily and cheerfully:
"This is truly perfect timing! Is that the Commander of the G-2 Branch, Vice Admiral Borsalino?"
"That's me."
Kizaru bowed slightly to him. When he lifted his head again, his eyes were narrowed into slits, and the smile piled on his face was almost squeezed into wrinkles: "It is an honor to meet Your Highness, William. May I ask if there's anything I can assist you with?"
…
"Nao… isn't Vice Admiral Borsalino being a bit too humble?"
Shia, witnessing this scene, asked Nao in a low voice.
"I think so too," Nao's eyes flickered. "It's a bit strange…"
After all, even if the other party had noble blood and was a genuine descendant of the World Nobles, he was still a great pirate.
Now that he was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, he should be treated as an ally, but there was absolutely no need for such subservience.
However…
Seeing Kizaru's smiling expression, he shook his head again. Kizaru was no simple character; he never let his emotions show. Who knew what he was truly planning in his heart right now.
Taking advantage of the lull in conversation between the two in front, Nao discreetly threw a detector towards William.
[Name: Nefertari Anjiyah William]
[Age: 28]
[Strength: 25]
[Agility: 25]
[Stamina: 19]
[Intelligence: 7]
[Charm: 13]
[Skills: Armament Haki (Intermediate), Observation Haki (Beginner), Close Quarters Combat (Advanced), Seduction (Master), Royal Etiquette (Beginner), Imperial Arts (Intermediate), Paramecia-type Petal-Petal Fruit ability]
[Estimated Successful Capture Point Reward: Ambiguous Relationship / 50,000 points, Romantic Relationship / 250,000 points]
[Note: His father is royalty from the Alabasta Kingdom, and his mother is the eldest princess of the Anjiyah Kingdom. The union of these two royal bloodlines makes his lineage far nobler than ordinary people. If you can truly capture his heart, there is no doubt that you will gain incredibly astonishing power, status, and wealth.]
Nao completely ignored the latter content.
He closed the system panel, gazing at William, who was smiling and conversing with Kizaru not far away, lost in thought.
As expected of a former great pirate with a bounty as high as 150 million Berries. His physical stats, except for stamina, are all stronger than mine.
His mastery of Armament and Observation Haki was similar to Nao's, but the other party was a Devil Fruit user, and the fruit ability sounded somewhat unfamiliar.
Paramecia-type Petal-Petal Fruit?
Nao's first reaction was to associate it with Robin's Hana Hana no Mi, but then he reconsidered. Besides the name, there should be no similarities between the two.
He guessed this ability belonged to a special type of Paramecia, which was somewhat like a Logia-type, such as Gild Tesoro's Gold-Gold Fruit or Katakuri's Mochi-Mochi Fruit.
And on top of that—
This guy's smile gave off a warm, refreshing feeling, and he carried an elegant, noble aura. Plus, he was at the age of peak mature male charm, with status and fame…
Even Nao had to admit that, in the eyes of many women, even his own attractiveness might not compare to William's.