Chapter 1062 - 636: Red Hair! (Part 2)
"Killing a Navy Fleet Admiral? I’m afraid that would cause an even bigger upheaval..."
Marika smiled gently, her gaze shifting to the distant warships. "Those guys probably don’t think so, otherwise, they’d already have handed Fujitora over to us by now."
They were certain that Fujitora was on one of those warships.
Yesterday afternoon, they sensed the presence of a powerful figure, a Navy elite. They could easily recall Kizaru’s presence, and though they’d interacted less with Fujitora, there were only so many powerful figures, and his unexpected appearance could only mean it was him.
"They’re all waiting."
Lily said, "If Sage were dead, we’d have no obligation to fulfill promises. By then, things would have spiraled out of control, and Akainu definitely wouldn’t pass up the chance to take us down here."
"Likewise, if Sage defeats Akainu, he certainly wouldn’t hesitate. At that point, it would be easy to re-recruit Fujitora to take action against us."
She gripped the hilt of her sword at her waist. "But there’s nothing to fear. As long as Sage exists, regardless of the crisis we encounter, we can always..."
"Boru Boru Boru."
Before she finished her sentence, the ringing of a radio snail interrupted her.
Lily pulled out a pocket-sized radio snail and frowned slightly.
"Ah, I remember you issued instructions just an hour ago."
Marika smiled, "Can’t the assistant officers even carry out instructions? Perhaps we need to recruit some better people."
In fact, not only did Lily spend most of her time on the ship handling affairs, but even Marika, who only managed logistics, also had important matters to deal with daily.
Although the appointed assistant officers were responsible for specific tasks, the actual decisions were made by those ministers from O’hara, one crafting the direction, the other implementing the concrete operations.
In a sea ruled by force, this system worked quite well because the appointed ministers were personally selected by Sage, possessing strength beyond standards.
Have brains but no strength?
Then you could only serve as an assistant officer.
"Our school hasn’t been built for long, so it’s still too early to expect more suitable individuals to emerge, but I plan to have this batch of assistant officers retrained, along with those Pirate Captains stationed on islands. Recently, they’ve grown far too lazy."
Lily shook her head, "Especially those with bounties over a hundred million, aside from Barnaby who is relatively reliable, the rest are not at all worry-free. They either overdo their tasks or do nothing of value."
Good for nothing except their combat skills!
The structure of the Disaster Pirates essentially involved each management level having officers to handle affairs. The ministers had assistant officers under them, and these captains stationed on islands had various vice-captains to assist in managing island affairs.
Figures like ’Great Barnaby’, ’Blast Spear’ Reinaldo, and ’Double Axes’ Balrog were among those with bounties over a hundred million included among the captains.
While the first managed his stationed island well, maintaining excellent order, the rest couldn’t be said to be foolish, at least not failing prenatal education.
Vice-captains were typically individuals of considerable local reputation chosen for their leadership, able to carry out assigned tasks.
However, many matters still required the captains’ direct involvement, yet these dim-witted individuals, aside from their loyalty, were inefficient in their duties.
Some were incapable, entirely reliant on their vice-captains, but struggled with challenging problems.
Others were too capable, filled with reckless energy, often causing destruction.
Lily had been focusing heavily on this issue recently, yet progress had been minimal.
It couldn’t be helped; this was an inherited problem.
Sage was benevolent, unwilling to dampen his subordinates’ spirits, though he truly didn’t care about such matters.
They were all his subordinates, some even following since the East Sea era. As long as their actions were roughly correct, he paid no mind.
These folks were loyal to the core, wouldn’t breach Sage’s rules, but over time, due to non-involvement in frontline battles, they gradually grew complacent.
Some even shamelessly claimed that the work they needed to do was already done in the East Sea and Paradise era; now, their sole task was to enjoy life.
But Lily, who now prioritized efficiency, couldn’t tolerate it. While she could handle a single task, the sheer volume piling up required her attention, wasting too much of her time.
O’hara had bigger issues to deal with!
Now that the school was established, she planned to have these individuals, along with some not quite adept assistant officers, get some education, at least in terms of managing islands, they shouldn’t remain complete novices.
"Hello."
She answered the call, prepared to hear what unresolved issues needed her direct instruction.
"Lily! Something’s happened!"
But the radio snail’s voice wasn’t her assistant officer’s. Its form morphed into an energetic countenance with freckles, looking very anxious, and the voice... was Renedia’s.
"Red Hair has attacked!"
"What?!"
Lily’s pupils contracted, and the hand gripping her sword hilt involuntarily clenched tighter. "At this crucial moment, how did we become exposed?"
"Red Hair?"
Marika opened her smiling eyes, revealing a chilling gaze; her smiling face turned icy, "Did he deliberately choose this timing? But how did he know we were here?"
This time, Sage’s mission was not carried out ostentatiously, as it was a negotiation with the World Government. Even the World Government deliberately kept this matter hidden, not allowing such a ’scandal’ to leak.
The only ones aware of their movements were the Cross Guild, but within that group, the only one strategizing was Crocodile, and he wasn’t foolish enough to divulge such matters.