A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

'Don't ask what you shouldn't ask! It might bring trouble upon yourself. In that respect, you're not as good as your brother next to you… By the way, why is he staring at General Borsalino?'

"Oh...he just asked me why Admiral Borsalino's nails grow so fast; I always see him manicuring them during meetings."

'...'

After a moment of silent exchange of glances, Sengoku finally entered the conference room, and the navy members perked up, awaiting their leader's questions.

Snapped!

Sengoku slammed his hand on the conference table, pointed at the newspaper, and loudly demanded, "What exactly happened in Tsukito, Sakazuki?! Such a huge commotion occurred, yet the navy stationed in the New World didn't receive a single tip-off beforehand. How could you be an admiral like that?"

The words and tone seemed familiar, and the Warring States period cleverly applied them, using the words the Five Elders had used to reprimand him on his subordinates.

Sure enough, after shifting the blame, I felt much better.

Although the three admirals hold the same position, they are each responsible for slightly different areas of combating pirates, and Akainu is the one who has led the Navy in the most pirate-fighting operations in the New World.

Akainu didn't argue with his superior; he just lowered his head and silently accepted the reprimand. He knew that Sengoku was just putting on a show for everyone, to give an explanation to the World Government above and the Marines below.

This incident was completely unexpected, and it was indeed a dereliction of duty by the New World Navy. The fault was not great, but someone needed to take the blame, and I was the only one who could be it.

Sengoku's reprimand was indeed very short, lasting less than a minute. This was different from the Five Elders who had scolded him for a long time, because he knew how ridiculous it was to accuse the Navy of not receiving news from the Four Emperors' territories.

In fact, Sengoku, like the Five Elders, just wanted to vent his anger on someone.

"Dark Horse, please report back on what exactly happened!"

"Yes!!"

Black Horse is the director of the Naval Criminal Investigation Bureau. He looks somewhat old and wears sunglasses.

The Criminal Investigation Bureau—just hearing the name tells you that its importance is similar to Impel Down, and its corresponding power is no less. Therefore, even if it is not the 'top combat force' like the three admirals, no one dares to ignore its weight in the Navy.

"According to intelligence, the group that is facing the Big Mom Pirates this time is a group of people who call themselves 'mages' and they call the power they use 'magic'."

Upon hearing this news, the navy personnel below were all stunned: "Magic... what is that? We've never heard of it before!"

"That 'magic' thing, it's probably just what they call the abilities of Devil Fruits, right?"

At this moment, Aokiji had already removed his eyepatch. Upon hearing this unusual term, he immediately spoke up and speculated, "I've heard that the people of Wano Country call the abilities of Devil Fruits 'sorcery.' Could they be in a similar situation? Perhaps they also come from a place cut off from the outside world?"

Is that how it is?!

The navy crew suddenly realized: Admiral Kuzan is right! No wonder he can be an admiral; his insight alone is beyond our reach!

"That's what I think too!"

Black Horse nodded, agreeing with Aokiji's point of view, "Because according to the subsequent investigation results, I found that no criminal record of these people could be found in the New World, the Grand Line or the Four Seas! In fact, a month ago, these people did not even have any life records, as if they appeared out of thin air."

Is this even possible?!

There was never any record of this person appearing out of nowhere...

Thinking about it this way, it's quite possible that they came from some secluded island and have now gone to sea for some unknown reason. However, due to the long period of isolation from the outside world or their unique local culture, it makes perfect sense that the people there call Devil Fruit abilities 'magic' and Devil Fruit users 'mages'!

Dark Horse stopped there, offering no further speculation. His duty was to search criminal records; analyzing the criminals' origins and their danger to the world was the job of Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Tsuru and Marshal Sengoku.

In his view, since these people had no criminal record and did not call themselves 'pirates' when they attacked the Big Mom Pirates, the Navy had no reason to arrest them!

You could even think of them as bounty hunters!

However, he knew in his heart that, not to mention that the other party had defeated one of the Four Emperors and greatly affected the balance of power in the New World, the fact that they were mixed up with those 'dead pirates' meant that they could not be regarded as just bounty hunters.

Black Horse walked to the blackboard in the conference hall and circled the area with Eileen's photo: "There are eight mages in total, six women and two men, led by the woman who defeated Big Mom."

"According to witnesses, this woman can transform into a giant dragon, and is suspected to be a user of the Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit 'Fish-Fish Fruit: Red Dragon Mode'!!"

Chapter 871 Mythical Beast Species?

"Yo yo yo~ How scary!"

Kizaru hadn't even put down his nail clippers when he exclaimed in surprise, "First she defeated Big Mom, and now she's a Mythical Zoan-type Dragon Fruit user... Could this woman be another Kaido?"

Two photos were circled. One was of Eileen's original appearance. She was of average height and, compared to the powerful figures on the sea who were often two or three meters tall, she was very short. However, she had a noble and aloof appearance, a graceful and generous figure, domineering eyes that looked down on the world, and a heart that could swallow the universe. Just standing there, she was impossible to ignore.

Another picture shows her transformed into a giant dragon. In the photo, the dragon is tens of meters tall, and a normal human is not even as big as her claws. She has a pair of wide wings that blot out the sky, and her body is covered in crimson feathers, while her belly is pure white as snow, even more beautiful than the skin of an eighteen-year-old girl. In addition, the dragon scale pattern that belongs to the dragon adds a touch of handsomeness to her elegance.

Despite the difference in species, most humans, upon first seeing a dragon, can tell that it is a very charismatic creature among dragons.

"Eileen Belserion, that's the woman's name!"

The marines silently memorized the name and began to speculate whether the World Government would issue a bounty on her, and if so, how much.

"Besides her, there is another person who is also a user of the same type."

Following the chalk from the black horse, the navy men's gaze fell on a photograph of a woman with a similar temperament to Eileen, and next to her a huge, elegant, and beautiful photograph of a nine-tailed fox.

"'Moon God Dragon' Selene is also a Zoan-type Mythical Zoan, and is suspected to be a user of the 'Inu Inu no Mi - Moon Fox Mode'. According to eyewitnesses, she can draw upon the power of the moon to fight and possesses formidable combat strength."

The reason it's not called the Nine-Tailed Fox is because there's already someone with the Inu Inu Fruit, Nine-Tailed Fox form. Its owner is the infamous female pirate Catarina Devon, who is currently imprisoned in Impel Down.

Then, Black Horse reported on the remaining six people.

"Timalia's abilities are unknown, but it is known that her battles end very quickly; no matter how many people there are, they cannot last a second against her."

"Brandish, the 'Destroyer of the Nation,' is suspected to be a user of the 'Zoan-type Human-Human Fruit - Giant Form,' capable of transforming into a giant."

"Neinhart is the person we need to be most wary of. It's said that he resurrected those 'great pirates who were already dead,' but the specifics of what Devil Fruit power he possessed and how he did it are still unclear. All we know is that those who were resurrected possess terrifying fighting power, almost identical to their lives in life, and perhaps even stronger."

"'Demon' Mira, suspected to be a user of the 'Zoan-type Mythical Zoan Fruit - Human-Human Fruit - Devil Form', has transformed into different demon forms multiple times during battle, displaying a diverse fighting style;"

"'Beast King' Elfman, suspected to be a 'Zoan-type Ancient Species' user, whose specific name and form are unknown, but like the former, he has multiple forms, all of which are powerful beasts;"

"Lisanna, also a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, also possesses the ability to transform into multiple forms, but these are all ordinary animals, and her combat ability is average."

"The titles and names of the above eight individuals, apart from those they themselves reported in their battle reports, were obtained from how they addressed each other. As for their individual abilities, these were found from relevant eyewitness accounts."

After Heima finished recounting the information about Eileen and her group, the entire conference hall fell silent.

Eight people, at least seven of whom are Devil Fruit users, and most of them are Ancient Zoan or Mythical Zoan types. There is also a Paramecia type who can revive the dead and command them to fight. Such a combination could wipe out not only the main force of a Yonko, but also the entire Yonko crew!

Especially that ability to resurrect the dead—how can such a terrifying power exist in this world?!

However, Sengoku quickly realized something was wrong. They had previously speculated that this group of people might have come from a secluded island. If that was the case, then how did they know about Rocks and Roger's group?

Moreover, they looked to be only around twenty years old, and the two older women looked to be under forty. How could they possibly know Rocks, who died more than thirty years ago, and Roger, who died twenty-two years ago?

Does this mean that without seeing a person in person, or even knowing their body or bloodline, you can revive them to their prime and make them obedient just by their name?

There's absolutely no way such an outrageous Devil Fruit could exist in this world!!!

Is it...

Sengoku narrowed his eyes, his brain working overtime, and he was about to grasp that sliver of inspiration to solve the puzzle!

Just then...

"Hoo—! Hah~!! Hoo—!..."

The voice was booming and thunderous, filling the room. The navy men fell silent instantly, and the atmosphere became awkward.

A familiar figure and familiar snoring interrupted Sengoku's almost captured inspiration, making him furious, his face turning red: "Garp!! How many times have I told you, don't fall asleep during meetings!!!"

Thump—smack!

Sengoku slammed his fist on the table, causing a vibration that made the snoring bubbles on Garp's nostrils explode.

"Huh?! What's wrong? Is the meeting over?"

Karp snapped awake, his groggy eyes scanning the room. Seeing everyone staring at him blankly, he immediately scratched the back of his head and burst into laughter. "Sorry, sorry, I fell asleep during the meeting again! I promise I won't do it again!!"

The navy men lowered their heads in silence: Come on, how many times have you promised? You still fall asleep every time there's a meeting!

"Crack, crack..."

"No eating in the meeting room!!"

"Ahahaha, sorry, sorry!! I woke up and saw some senbei in my hand, so I just ate it... I felt it would be such a waste not to eat it!"

Navy crew: Wasn't that the one you brought in?! Why does he fall asleep halfway through the meal?!

Although they already knew about Garp's lifestyle, the Marines still couldn't understand it, so they were still shocked and made comments as usual.

"Alright, stop fooling around, Garp!"

Lieutenant General Tsuru spoke up, her hands clasped together on the table, obscuring half her face, giving off a "I'm the boss" vibe. "This role is extraordinary; we must take it seriously!"

"I know, I know... You can resurrect the dead, right? Roger and Rocks are among them... How nostalgic!"

Sengoku roared again, "Garp!! Get serious!!!"

Garp... he's been acting like this for decades, never learning to be more discreet! It's one thing to act like this in front of me and Tsuru, but what kind of occasion is this? So many Marines are watching! This behavior is setting a bad example for the entire Marines!!

"Besides informing you of the identities and strength of this group, the most important issue at this meeting is how to deal with them."

After berating Garp, the battle shifted the topic to the second issue of the meeting: "Logically speaking, our Navy is only responsible for capturing pirates or other criminals causing trouble at sea. Since they haven't been using the pirate flag or committed any crimes, we shouldn't be capturing them arbitrarily!"

Upon hearing this, the navy personnel nodded silently.

As Sengoku said, since these people are not pirates, they have absolutely nothing to do with the Navy!

In fact, even if the other party is a notorious criminal or a rebel army that has revolted in a certain kingdom, their navy is basically not qualified to intervene or overstep its bounds to enforce the law.

but!

Everyone knows that it wasn't the Navy that issued the bounty, but the World Government!

The World Government decides whether to issue a bounty on someone based on only one factor: whether that person poses a threat to the government. Therefore, even if they are not pirates, anyone who affects the government's rule will be subject to a bounty.

Sure enough, Sengoku's tone changed the next moment.

Chapter 872 Mr. Warring States, you know me well...

"However, the World Government's point is that they are able to summon the dead to fight, and they wiped out the main force of one of the Four Emperors in one fell swoop. This kind of power is unprecedented, and its impact on both the forces on the seas and the government is too great. Therefore, a bounty must be placed and the Navy must be dispatched to capture them."

These words caused an uproar. Although the navy personnel had expected this, they still felt somewhat uncomfortable when they actually heard the order from above.

"Should we put bounties on these people too? They're not even pirates. I thought we'd just treat them as pirate hunters for now..."

"The issuance of this bounty order signifies a major reshuffling of power in the New World!"