Phoenix Reborn In One Piece

In the nearby waters, not far from the Dreamship, three medium-sized warships led by Marine Rear Admiral Kasso were rushing toward their target. 

"Rear Admiral Kasso, it seems the other side has been deliberately keeping their distance from us. Their ship's performance is too good, and we can't catch up. What should we do?" Kasso's adjutant, Layton, reported anxiously. 

Rear Admiral Kasso frowned slightly, his expression showing some dissatisfaction. They had been chasing for a full day and night, yet they were still being toyed with. 

He was following orders from someone important within the World Government to trouble this group, and if he could make some extra profit along the way, all the better. 

However, by now, Kasso felt that something wasn't right. But at this point, he didn't have time to overthink it. 

"Rear Admiral Kasso, lunch is ready. Shall we eat now?" A Marine in a white hat came to report. 

"Let's eat first. Since they're deliberately keeping their distance from us, I have no idea how they're so precise about our position, but let's see if they stop for a meal too!" Kasso said firmly. 

"Yes, sir!" 

"Rear Admiral Kasso!" The head chef saluted immediately in response. 

Soon, only a few guards remained on the warship's deck, while the rest went into the dining area inside the ship. 

"Rear Admiral Kasso, why are we sending three warships after them this time? They don't seem very well-known," asked Captain Gat of another warship, clearly confused. 

This mission wasn't about attacking some country, and it didn't seem like there was much to gain. Yet Kasso had still mobilized three warships for it. 

This left both Captain Gat and the captain of the third warship puzzled. 

Kasso swallowed the meat in his mouth, wiped it gracefully with a handkerchief, and replied calmly, "This mission was assigned by someone important. It seems the people on that ship have some connection to Vice Admiral Garp…" 

Now, Kasso and the other captain understood. The higher-ups were targeting Vice Admiral Garp! 

They weren't particularly fond of Garp, the Marine hero, because he often interfered with their profit-making schemes. 

Unfortunately, while they knew Ryuen's crew had ties to Garp, they had no idea about their true strength or background. 

"Hmm…" 

"Why do I feel dizzy…" A Lieutenant Commander staggered to his feet. 

"I… I feel dizzy too…" 

"Same here…" 

"Me too…" 

"Something's wrong!" 

"We've been poisoned…" 

Rear Admiral Kasso looked at the crowd in the dining hall and quickly realized they had been poisoned. 

But just as he was about to call for the head chef, his vision blurred, and he slowly closed his eyes and collapsed to the ground. 

Before he lost consciousness, he seemed to see a spatial door opening… 

The sedative, naturally, was Daisy's doing. It wasn't lethal; it would only knock them out for a while. 

After that, Daisy began her work, removing the hearts of every Marine officer on the three warships! 

The reason for going to the trouble of drugging them first was that Ryuen didn't want these Marines to know how their hearts had been taken. 

Daisy's ability was a valuable trump card, and it needed to be kept a secret for as long as possible. 

Once the hearts were removed, Daisy lit a cigarette and passed it under the noses of the unconscious officers. The smoke quickly woke them all up. 

"You bastards!" 

"How dare you poison Marines!" 

"Die!" 

Rear Admiral Kasso and a few other officers who had recovered first launched an attack on Ryuen and Nami as soon as they saw them. 

Inside the alternate space, Daisy gently poked these people's hearts. In an instant, the Marine officers collapsed to the ground, screaming in agony. 

"Ahhh!" 

"My heart!" 

"It hurts so much! Help!" 

"Wha... what's going on..." 

"My heart is killing me!" 

"Damn it!" 

"What did you do to us?!" 

"I suggest you stop right now, or you'll face Marine's bounty!" 

"Ahhh!" 

"No...!" 

"Sorry!" 

"We were wrong! I'm sorry..." 

Ryuen and Nami watched calmly, without the slightest pity, as the Marine officers writhed and begged in pain. These people were clearly scum who had done countless evil deeds. Otherwise, they wouldn't have fallen into Fleet Admiral Sengoku's scheme, designed to have Ryuen and his group take them out. 

When Daisy decided it was enough, she stopped her actions in the alternate space. 

Rear Admiral Kasso and the others were drenched in sweat, gasping for air to recover from the intense pain. 

"Can we talk now, Rear Admiral?" Ryuen crouched down in front of Kasso, his face full of mockery. 

"What do you want?!" Kasso growled angrily. 

"First question—who sent you?" Ryuen asked coldly. 

Kasso instinctively fell silent. He didn't want to reveal who was behind him, even though it wouldn't really matter if he did. 

But just then, that unbearable pain struck again. 

"Ahhh!" 

"Stop!" 

"No more! I'll talk! I'll talk!" Kasso cried out in agony, begging for mercy. 

The pain vanished once more. 

Fear filled Kasso's eyes—he felt as if his heart was no longer in his chest! His terrified gaze turned to Ryuen, and he finally understood: his heart was under their control! 

"Now, can you talk, dear Rear Admiral?" Ryuen's voice turned icy. 

"Fine... I'll talk..." Kasso slumped in defeat, ready to spill everything. He didn't want to die. 

From Kasso's confession, Ryuen and Nami learned who had targeted them. It turned out they were caught up in Garp's mess! 

"Do you want to live?" Ryuen asked casually. 

Kasso nodded slowly, his humiliation obvious. 

"If you want to live, go back to Marine headquarters right now and turn yourselves in to Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Tell him everything about what you've done. I believe with your connections to certain higher-ups in the World Government, Fleet Admiral Sengoku won't make things too difficult for you. 

This is your only chance to survive. 

Oh, and don't mention anything about your hearts. Got it?" Ryuen's eyes gleamed with a deadly threat as he finished speaking. 

"I... I understand! We'll head to Marine headquarters and turn ourselves in right away!" Kasso agreed almost without hesitation. 

Just as Ryuen had said, even if they confessed, their powerful backers would protect them. 

"Good. That's the right attitude." 

"Remember, be honest about everything. Don't try any funny business." 

"Otherwise..." Ryuen trailed off meaningfully. 

The Marine officers felt a chilling sense of doom looming over them. 

Amid their cries and pleas, Nami opened a portal. Then, the two of them disappeared from the warship as if they had never been there.

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