Chapter Six: Passing the Buck Again and Again

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With a swift getaway worthy of the Navy’s fastest, Kizaru decisively fled, leaving Nami clutching a stack of schedules, disheveled in the wind. Although escaping a workload overload was a relief, the task of recruiting the Seven Warlords of the Sea was no easy feat.

Pirates were a rebellious and unruly bunch, and the Seven Warlords—pirates sanctioned to combat other pirates—were even more willful and unrestrained. Even though Kizaru could suppress them with overwhelming power, the principle of not dealing fatal blows still applied, which could easily lead to trouble.

Just as Kizaru was privately fretting over this, he spotted a familiar figure nearby, directing marines as they loaded supplies onto a warship.

“Stohlberi!”

Seeing the distinctive tall hat, Kizaru’s eyes lit up immediately. Stohlberi was considered a hardliner among the Navy’s upper echelon but had once been Kizaru’s subordinate at G1 Fortress. They shared a good rapport. Notably, beneath Stohlberi’s hat was an unusually high skull.

“Admiral Kizaru?”

Stohlberi straightened instinctively upon seeing his former superior.

“Where are you headed?”

Kizaru smiled warmly, patting Stohlberi’s shoulder. This vice admiral at headquarters wasn’t viewed by most as a ‘nice guy,’ especially when dealing with pirates—he didn’t hesitate to employ methods that seemed less than honorable. Yet, as a Navy officer dedicated to eradicating pirates, Vice Admiral Stohlberi was unquestionably competent, no wonder he earned Sakazuki’s favor.

“I’ve been ordered to hunt down the pirate ‘Blood Demon’ Rock.”

Stohlberi obediently produced a wanted poster displaying a bounty of 80 million berries for a pirate captain.

Compared to the New World, teeming with powerful foes, the first half of the Grand Line saw far fewer pirates with bounties exceeding 100 million berries due to the Navy’s relentless suppression. An 80 million berry bounty was already quite high—either the pirate was incredibly strong and promising, or a villain guilty of heinous crimes.

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“This guy operates near the Calm Belt?”

Kizaru casually flipped through the attached intelligence on the hunt, a pleased smile spreading across his face.

“Yes. Blood Demon Rock is extremely cunning. His ship is modified into a paddle sail vessel, and whenever Navy warships approach, he escapes into the Calm Belt. Several attempts by the 117th Marine Branch to capture him have failed.”

Stohlberi snorted coldly. No matter how cunning a pirate, they could not evade the Navy’s pursuit forever. This time, with the Navy deploying main battleships capable of crossing the Calm Belt, plus his presence as a headquarters vice admiral, Blood Demon Rock was headed for a dead end.

“Ahem, the mission to hunt pirates can wait. I have another, more important task for you!” Kizaru slipped the wanted poster into his pocket and flashed Stohlberi a friendly smile.

Navy admirals were not merely high-ranking enforcers at headquarters; theoretically, they had the authority to mobilize any vice admiral or even the main fleets stationed at headquarters. Large-scale military operations like the Demon Purge Order exemplified the extent of their power.

So, amid Stohlberi’s confusion, Kizaru deftly passed the responsibility of recruiting the Seven Warlords onto him.

The good news: Admiral Kizaru, having a change of heart, decided to personally recruit Empress Boa Hancock, sparing Stohlberi a trip to the Kuja Island.

The bad news: besides Crocodile, recently defeated by the Straw Hat, there were five other Warlords with wildly different personalities—all notoriously troublesome—waiting to be recruited.

Moreover, even the warship Stohlberi had just restocked was requisitioned by Kizaru, who claimed urgency as the reason.

The marines aboard, bewildered, set sail under Kizaru’s orders, leaving Vice Admiral Stohlberi behind.

“Hmm, the last time I visited Kuja Island was a few months ago. I wonder if Hancock is still there… Moshi moshi, can you hear me?”

Kizaru settled into his favorite beach chair on deck and dialed Kuja Island via Den Den Mushi.

Fleet Admiral Sengoku wished all Navy upper officers worked as hard as he did—996 hours a week—but Sakazuki was a ruthless workaholic, practically wanting to crush his colleagues with a 007 work pace.

With the imminent Marineford War looming, it was easy to imagine how hectic Navy Headquarters would become. Staying at Marineford meant no chance for some peaceful downtime.

Especially since Kizaru had just dumped a ton of work onto Nami, he couldn’t bear to slack off in front of her.

Better to take a break elsewhere—the picturesque Kuja Island was a fine choice for laying low.

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“Lord Kizaru? Is it really you, Lord Kizaru!”

An unusually excited female voice came through the Den Den Mushi on the other end. Even through the device, her enthusiasm was palpable, almost overwhelming Kizaru.

“Ahem, it’s me, Hancock. I’m currently leaving Headquarters, heading to Kuja Island…”

Before Kizaru could finish, he heard an ecstatic scream, followed by a commotion.

After a while, someone else picked up the Den Den Mushi—not Hancock.

“Lord Kizaru, our elder sister wanted to come out to greet you, but we managed to persuade her otherwise…”

This time the voice was Sandasonia, Hancock’s sister, and her tone betrayed a hint of helplessness.

“Sister… clothes…”

Listening carefully, the faint voice of another sister, Marigold, could be heard.

“Please persuade Hancock for me. I’ll be at Kuja Island soon, so no need to come out to meet me.”

Kizaru sighed as he hung up. If having too much charisma was a sin, then he was an irredeemable villain.

The great pirate empress having turned lovelorn over him was nothing short of a crime.

[Notification! Jotaro Kujo has issued a special mission, inviting @Kizaru to enter his world. Do you accept?]

[Accept / Decline]

As Kizaru sighed inwardly, a notification from the interdimensional chat group sounded in his mind.

Time flowed differently across worlds—while only hours had passed in the pirate world, the JOJO universe where Jotaro Kujo resided was already approaching the decisive battle against Dio Brando.

Kizaru retreated to his cabin, instructing the on-duty marines not to disturb him, before accepting Jotaro Kujo’s invitation.