**Final Translation:**

Time——

In the year 1517 of the Sea Circle Calendar.

Location——

Within the East Sea.

In a certain calm area of the sea.

A massive ship is slowly sailing.

High above, a huge justice flag with a white background, adorned with a seagull holding a scale, flutters in the breeze, while the ship boasts countless turrets and its masts and sails tower into the sky.

This is a naval warship.

At this moment.

On the wide deck, an old man with white hair and beard, tall and broad-shouldered with well-defined muscles, is leisurely resting his hands behind his head, eyes closed, seemingly in deep sleep, with bubbles occasionally forming and popping from his right nostril.

Suddenly, a gentle breeze from the East Sea blows in, bursting the bubble on the old man’s nostril and startling him awake from his slumber.

He blinks sleepily at the surrounding sea view, then casually grabs a donut from a small table nearby and shoves it into his mouth.

Chewing rudely with loud bites, he asks the naval officer beside him, “Smoker, have we arrived at the Navy's 16th Branch?”

Large naval warships typically do not appear in the East Sea, known as the weakest sea.

This trip to the East Sea is not only to send the naval hero Garp back home for a vacation but also to escort Colonel Smoker and his subordinates to the Navy base at Loguetown, known as the ‘Town of Beginnings and Endings,’ to take over the defense.

At the same time, they need to make a stop at the Navy’s 16th Branch.

“Yes, Vice Admiral Garp.”

The man called Smoker casually wears a jacket with ‘Justice’ written on the back, which is completely different from the standard navy cloak, and sports wind goggles around his neck.

His large exposed chest and abdominal muscles, along with his slicked-back silver-gray hair and the thick cigar dangling from his mouth, make him look less like a naval colonel and more like a street tough.

Watching Vice Admiral Garp finish his snack and casually tell him, “Call me when we arrive,” before lazily lying back down, a hint of helplessness appears on Smoker's serious face, but he says nothing more, just shakes his head.

Even Fleet Admiral Sengoku cannot manage Vice Admiral Garp; what can a mere dispatched naval colonel do?

He casually opens a military document in his hand, which contains a file on a navy officer who is also their target.

Name: Dande Shachar

Age: 23

Born: East Sea, orphan

Position: Base Commander of the East Sea 16th Branch

Rank: Naval Colonel

Evaluation: Once a genius student in the naval training camp, possessing extraordinary talent in swordsmanship, he was granted the rank of naval colonel by the Navy Headquarters after only two and a half years of training. Due to offending his superiors, he was dispatched and has since fallen into decline, losing his will, doubting his strength, and declining in talent, with no achievements or merits in seven years.

Note: The headquarters suspects this individual of colluding with pirates and violating naval justice. Please investigate thoroughly!

To the right of this file is a photo of a man in a naval uniform.

The man in the photo has black hair and eyes, with sharp features and clear lines, his eyes deep as night, exuding a confident and carefree aura.

“Is this Colonel Dande Shachar? He doesn’t look like someone who would collude with pirates.”

Just as Smoker frowns slightly and silently stares at the photo, a female naval officer beside him leans over, equally curious.

She has neat black short hair, wears a pair of awkward square glasses, and is not in a naval uniform, but rather casually dressed in a checked shirt and suit pants.

She looks like a cute and friendly neighbor girl, yet her pretty face carries a serious expression, combined with a finely crafted sword—Shigure at her waist, reflecting some of the aura of a naval officer.

Adjusting her awkward glasses, she looks at the photo with curiosity and says, “I heard that Colonel Shachar was already an excellent swordsman back in the day; perhaps the headquarters misunderstood him.”

“Shut up.” Smoker glances at his subordinate with a blank expression, takes the cigar out of his mouth, and says lightly, “As a navy officer, never judge a person by their appearance.”

From the file alone, he sees nothing unusual, but for a naval genius colonel to have no achievements in seven years in this East Sea, and suddenly be transferred from Navy branch 315 to branch 16…

So what is this guy really doing?

And the Mock Pirates…

Is this notoriously ruthless pirate group, which he has been using to demand military funds from the Navy Headquarters, really that hard to catch?

Moreover, what is the connection between the former base commander of Loguetown and him, and why did they recommend him to take over the Navy’s 16th Branch?

While Smoker is deep in thought, he hears his assistant's voice.

“We're almost there!”

The voice of his assistant, Sergeant Dashki, pulls Smoker back to reality.

He looks up.

Not far away on the horizon, the familiar outline of a naval branch base, marked with the number 16, slowly emerges from the mist.

Smoker frowns slightly, glances again, then lowers his head, once more looking at the photo in his hand, murmuring to himself, “Dande Shachar!”

What is this guy hiding?!

…

Konomi Islands.

This area falls under the jurisdiction of the Navy’s 16th Branch.

At this moment.

Cocoa Village… no, it should now be called Cocoa Town.

“Colonel Shachar has arrived! Colonel Shachar has arrived!”

“And Nami, Nami is back too!”

“Fool, now you should call her Sergeant Nami; she finally… has prospects. Bell-mère will surely be very happy to hear this. I thought she would be a thief for life; I was worried she wouldn’t amount to anything! Quickly, go call Mayor Nojiko!”

As a naval warship docks at the newly built pier in Cocoa Town, a group of people disembarks from the naval vessel, and the entire pier erupts into cheers.

Leading the group is a black-haired man dressed in a standard white naval uniform, draped in a black fur coat, with a sword at his waist, followed by several people, smiling as he walks toward Cocoa Town amid the cheers of the crowd.

“Damn, who would say I won’t amount to anything!” Nami, also dressed in a white shirt and black skirt, hears the comments about her and instantly raises her fist in anger toward her fellow villagers, “You better watch out; do you believe I will arrest you all?!”

She even changed out of her usual simple striped shirt and slightly faded over-the-thigh skirt, specifically dressing up in beautiful clothes, yet these guys still say she won’t amount to anything.

Of course, threatening to arrest them is just a joke.

After Nami playfully threatened her fellow villagers, she turned her head, her pretty orange curls tightly framing her delicate, fair collarbone, her brown eyes sparkling like jewels, gazing at the man walking ahead, then at the changes in Cocoa Village… Town, feeling a surge of emotion within.

She never expected everything would change so much, even making her feel as if she were in a different world.

Just a year ago, she was a member of the Dragon Pirates, and now she has actually become a naval sergeant.

And the once impoverished Cocoa Village has now transformed into a prosperous town, all thanks to the man before her.

Thinking of this, Nami’s lips curl up as she secretly approaches Shachar, who has his hands in his pockets and walks forward with an imposing demeanor, hesitating for a moment before softly saying, “Hey, thank you~”

“???”

Why suddenly say thank you?

Shachar looks at Nami beside him with confusion, and then seems to understand something, saying, “Just a naval sergeant. The young master from the neighboring Sherz Town, because his father is in the navy, has two dogs that the navy takes care of. If I had dogs, they would have to eat from the Navy Headquarters’ bowl!”

Since it doesn’t cost him anything, rather than being used by the Navy Headquarters to protect the Celestial Dragons, it’s better to use it to raise dogs.

Moreover, Nami is quite talented; being a naval sergeant is nothing inappropriate.

As for identity… what’s the big deal?

In this filthy world, being a thief, especially one who only steals from pirates, is practically a model of integrity and self-restraint.

However, as soon as he finishes speaking,

“???”

Hearing Shachar’s odd words, Nami’s beautiful eyebrows instantly raise, and she freezes.

Who’s a dog?!

With hands on her hips and a furious expression, before she can say anything,

“BOSS, Mayor Nojiko is here!”

A voice filled with suppressed laughter and elegance comes from beside her.