XX-level Hokage

“So, you should know what choice you should make.” Mashiro smiled. “Everyone, back off, don’t attack.” After a moment of silence, Tashigi spoke.

“Don’t worry, Smoker isn’t dead. He’s lying outside right now, but you can’t go to rescue him. I don’t want to be disturbed while I’m looking up information,” Mashiro said softly.

“I understand,” Tashigi said calmly; that was all she could say for now. “Alright, can you take me to the archives?” Mashiro said with a light laugh.

"Please follow me." Tashigi had no will to resist anymore. She knew that if she was not careful, she would lose not only her life, but the lives of all the Marines, including Vice Admiral Smoker.

Led by Tashigi, Mashiro quickly arrived at the archives.

Mashiro casually found a chair and began searching for the information she needed. Tashigi stood to the side with a complicated expression.

Even now, she still feels like she's in a dream, because it's hard to associate Mashiro's appearance, greed, the feeling she gives off, or her personality with a vicious criminal.

Even now, Mashiro, engrossed in reviewing documents, exudes a serene tranquility. Sunlight streams through the window, illuminating her with unparalleled beauty and radiance, creating a sense of unreality.

Two hours passed just like that.

Just as Tashigi felt her legs going numb, Mashiro gently stood up. Her expression remained calm, leaving one wondering whether she had gotten the answer she wanted.

"Alright, you can send someone to rescue Smoker now. I was especially careful; the wound isn't big, and he shouldn't be in any life-threatening danger." Mashiro said softly, putting the file back in its place.

Upon hearing this, Tashigi, ignoring her numb legs, quickly ran out. Mashiro followed her out.

In the plaza of the naval branch, two soldiers carried Smoker over. His face was very pale. Just as Mashiro had said, the wound was small, but the two-hour wait had still caused him to lose too much blood, and he had fallen into a coma.

"Now that you've gotten what you wanted, aren't you going to leave Loguetown?" Tashigi asked, seeing Mashiro not far away.

"More or less, but just in case the Navy comes after me later, I need a hostage," Mashiro said softly. "What?" Tashigi was a little confused by Mashiro's meaning.

“In other words, you’ll need to follow me for a while until I find what I’m looking for,” Mamoru said calmly. “I…” Tashigi instinctively wanted to refuse, but then she remembered that she didn’t seem to have the right to refuse.

“If I were a hostage, would you leave Loguetown immediately?” Tashigi asked firmly. “That’s right,” Mashiro replied with a smile.

“I understand, let’s go,” Tashigi said calmly.

"Sergeant! You..." The other soldiers wanted to say something, but Tashigi stopped them with a look.

She tiptoed to a navy officer's side and whispered, "She took me away and immediately reported the G-5 branch incident to headquarters. Also, when the vice admiral wakes up, tell him not to worry about me; I will find a chance to escape on my own."

Then she turned around and went to Mashiro's side.

"Have you finished explaining?" Mashiro asked softly. Tashigi didn't answer.

Mashiro reached out and patted Tashigi. "Earth Release: Light and Heavy Rock Technique"

Then Tashigi floated up.

"What, what's going on?" Tashigi asked nervously.

“Don’t worry, you can think of this as a mode of transportation.” After Mashiro finished speaking, she flew up, pointed her finger at Tashigi, and then flew away instantly.

Tashigi, as if connected by an invisible force, also took to the air, closely following Mashiro. Light-Heavy Rock Technique + Universal Pull = Flying with someone on board.

As Mashiro's flight speed increased, Tashigi began to scream. She had never encountered anything like this before, "Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

"Close your eyes, calm your mind, imagine that you can fly, and then slowly open your eyes to look at the ground." Mashiro's voice reached Tashigi's ears.

Mashiro's voice seemed to have a magical power, which began to ease Tashigi's tension. She closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and then slowly opened them to look at the ground.

The ground was now Fanfan's sea area, the sea surface shimmering under the sunlight. After shedding her initial fear, the thrill of flying began to emerge.

"How is it? Flying through the air feels completely different from walking on land or drifting on the sea," Mashiro asked softly. "Indeed, it's a wonderful feeling. Everything is so light, and... how should I put it... free," Tashigi replied.

Whether walking or traveling by boat, the body needs to bear a certain weight, and there are also constraints on direction and distance. But flying in the air is different. Your body floats in the air, and everything becomes unrestrained.

"Mashiro, I've always wanted to ask you, are you really a bad person?" Tashigi asked after hesitating for a moment.

Despite the fact that Mashiro attacked the Navy branch, injured a Vice Admiral, and stole internal Navy documents, making her a complete criminal by any measure, for some reason, she always had a feeling that the person in front of her wasn't a bad person.

This is also an important reason why Tashigi was willing to become a hostage; she wanted to persuade him.

"Whether someone is good or bad depends on how you define it. Some pirates burn, kill, and plunder; some pirates protect their own territory; some naval officers uphold justice; and some naval officers are a den of snakes and rats."

Good and bad are always relative. I want to collect the Poneglyphs, which is of course taboo in your navy's eyes, but the truth of the lost century hidden in the Poneglyphs may be friendly to the civilians in this world.

"All I can say is that I have no ill intentions towards you, otherwise none of the naval personnel in your branch would have survived. That's all I have to say," Mashiro said softly.

Upon hearing this, Tashigi fell silent.

In fact, she had thought about this before. During her naval training, she asked her instructor what to do if she encountered a good pirate. The instructor did not answer, but simply said to do what you should do.

So, what should she do about Mashiro in front of her?

Mashiro didn't seem to understand Tashigi's intentions; her reason for keeping Tashigi by her side was simple: she needed someone familiar with the area to guide her.

Nami's strength was somewhat weak, and fearing something might happen to her, she left her in Cocoyasi Village for the time being.

Tashigi, on the other hand, is different. As a sergeant major in the Navy, her strength was already quite good in the first half of the Grand Line.

Also, Tashigi's naval identity can bring some convenience to Mashiro's actions. That's all.

After traveling for some time, the two arrived at Twin Gorges.

Chapter Seventeen: The Baroque Studio

"This is Twin Gorges, the entrance to the paradise of the first half of the Grand Line."

Starting from here, the fleet can use the tracking pointer to decide which of the seven routes to follow.

"Without the log pointer, I wouldn't be able to find my way either," Tashigi said, looking at the strait in front of her.

“Oh, that’s troublesome. Isn’t there a lighthouse up ahead? We can wait there for a while, and when a pirate crew comes, we can just steal their ship and the Log Pose,” Mashiro said softly.

"Hmph, why do you always resort to violence?" Tashigi said with a hint of exasperation.

"What, you have another way? Besides, I'm robbing a pirate crew. As a Marine, shouldn't you support me?" Mashiro said nonchalantly.

Upon hearing this, Tashigi shut her mouth; she didn't know how to refute Mashiro's words.

Mashiro and Tashigi landed near the lighthouses on either side of Twin Gorges. An old man saw them and asked in surprise, "Who are you?"

“Don’t worry, I’m from the Navy in Loguetown. She’s my colleague. We have some business to attend to on the Grand Line, but we left our Log Pose behind, so we plan to wait here for a while,” Tashigi said.

"Oh, I'm Crocus. I'm a doctor, and I'm currently here as the lighthouse keeper," Crocus introduced himself.

“The doctor who lives in the lighthouse? I’ve heard about you from my other colleagues,” Tashigi said with a smile. “So I’ve actually become famous in the Navy? What an honor,” Crocus replied with a smile as well.

While Tashigi and Crocus were talking, Mashiro quietly walked to the edge of the canyon and looked down. She saw a whale with a head full of wounds crashing against the red earth beneath the huge waterfall.

"What is this?" Mashiro asked, somewhat puzzled.

Seemingly noticing Mashiro, Crocus came to Mashiro's side and said, "This is Laboon. It's quite famous in the surrounding waters. Whether it's pirates or marines, anyone who sets foot on the Grand Line basically knows it."

"I see. I must have been quite ignorant," Mashiro said with a light laugh.

"That's right, I've heard the lieutenant general mention this whale before, but this is the first time I've seen it in person." Tashigi also came over, looking at the whale constantly crashing against the Red Line below, and said with some surprise.

"It is a whale with human emotions."

I remember it was fifty years ago. I was stationed at the lighthouse as usual when a group of very generous pirates came from the West Blue. Young Laboon followed them. The pirates had always taken Laboon with them on their travels. They originally called Laboon "Laboon" in the West Blue, but he still came along. You know, island whales are social animals, but Laboon had already considered the pirates as his companions. However, because the Grand Line was too dangerous, their captain asked me to take care of Laboon and made a promise with Laboon that I would come back to take him on a trip around the world in three years.

But they have been gone for fifty years and have not returned, while Lab is still waiting for his master to return on this side of the Red Earth.

Desperate to see its master, it had spent decades ramming its head against the unbreakable red earth, leaving itself battered and bruised, emitting mournful howls. "Krocas said with some emotion, having cared for Lab for 50 years, watching Lab become what it is today.

“It’s an incredibly touching story,” Tashigi said, deeply moved.

Mashiro chuckled softly, and specks of green light scattered from her hands, landing on Laboon to Tashigi and Crocus's astonishment.

“Then let it crash for a few more years, until its next owner arrives,” Mashiro said softly. “What?” Tashigi asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Haven’t you heard that the way to eliminate the effects of a relationship is to start another one? For this whale, only the arrival of a new owner can eliminate its inner pain and loneliness,” Mashiro said, flicking Tashigi’s forehead.

"This will probably be a long wait, and I wonder if this old man will live to see it." Crocas suddenly laughed, saying he understood Zhen Zi's meaning and felt relieved.

"Oh, right, weren't you guys going to record the pointers? Here, take mine." Crocus said. "Really? Thank you so much." Tashigi was about to accept with a smile when Mashiro stopped her.

"No need, I've already found it." Amidst Tashigi's bewildered gaze, Mashiro rose up and vanished from the spot.

At this moment, in a sea area not far from Twin Gorges, a pirate ship flying a pair of pink wings and two crossed rapier flags...

It is moving at high speed.

On the pirate ship, Weiwei was looking at the sea with a composed expression.

As the princess of the Alabasta Kingdom, Vivi infiltrated Baroque Works to investigate the kingdom's rebellion, becoming one of its executives. However, after years of investigation, Vivi finally discovered that Baroque Works' true purpose was not revolution, but to usurp the throne, and that the mastermind behind it all was Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

This truth filled Vivi with utter despair. She had considered telling the Navy about it, but Shaco was a Shichibukai, and she was afraid that the Navy might offend their ally for the sake of a lord who was already in such a state of decline.

At this moment, her partner Mr. 9 suddenly spoke up: "Miss Wednesday, when do you think the president will make a move on that whale? Whiskey Hill has offered a very high bounty for that whale."

"I'm not sure either, let's wait for the president's arrangements, Mr. 9." He came back to his senses slightly and said with a smile.

"Miss, Wednesday, did you see something approaching rapidly in the sky?" Mr. 9 suddenly said. "What?" She looked up slightly.

A silver-white figure was seen rapidly approaching, and then instantly landed on the deck, causing many pieces of white paper to fall to the ground.

The white paper coalesced, and an incomparably beautiful face emerged, followed by a clear, crisp voice. "Ask gently, are you pirates?"

Weiwei and Mr.9 exchanged a glance and stood together in tacit agreement.

"Who are you? Is this Baroque Works' ship?" Weiwei asked.

Mashiro didn't answer. Her milky-white eyes swept over the two of them, then stopped on Weiwei.

Name: Nefit D. Vivi Age: 18

Affiliation: Noble; Three-color Haki: None; Height: 169 cm

Measurements: 84/62/86 (D)

Luck value: 90 Approval level: 0

"Baroque Works, oh, I don't know anything about it. Since you're pirates, then come with me first." Mashiro said with a light laugh, giving Weiwei a deep look when she mentioned the word "pirates".

Upon hearing Mashiro's words, Vivi and Mr. 9 instinctively tried to resist, but in just a moment, they found themselves unable to move, as if they were tightly bound by an invisible force.

Immediately afterwards, Mashiro walked lightly to the two of them.

White paper wings unfurled, and Shiro reached out and pulled Weiwei into her arms. "What... what do you want to do?" Weiwei asked nervously.

"Don't be nervous, I didn't mean to hurt you," Mashiro said with a smile.

At this moment, Mr. 9 suddenly spoke up, "Do you know who I am? I am the king, you..."

"I don't mean to hurt you right now, but if you keep making a fuss, then who knows?" Mashiro turned to Mr. 9 and said calmly.

Upon hearing this, Mr. 9 immediately shut his mouth.