I Will Become Hokage in One Piece - Chapter 221

Chapter 221: Hostage

The plan was formulated from the beginning: Rodney, along with Jiraiya, Shima-sensei, and Fukaboku-sensei, would draw the firepower to keep Kuzan, the most powerful combatant, occupied. Rodney’s clone would then take Léij? and Connor via a water route.

During the journey, Connor quickly lost his strength; having consumed a Devil Fruit, he almost drowned in the water. However, the effect was significant. When Rodney and Jiraiya successfully diverted Kuzan and his companions’ attention, the clone arrived on a naval vessel without any vice admirals guarding it. Léij?’s poison gas, with the clone’s assistance, rapidly spread, leaving the marines helpless. Only Hézh?ngjiàng, Stoloberi, and Kasan remained unaffected, thanks to their robust constitutions; otherwise, they would have shared the same fate as their comrades.

“It’s hard to defend against,” Kuzan sighed.

“I told Granny He that my people are more like a special ops team. Frontal combat isn’t our strong suit,” Rodney quipped, suppressing his desire to mock Kuzan further for his love of brawling.

“You’re kidding me! You seemed to enjoy fighting in Marineford,” Kuzan countered.

Suppressing his urge to retort, Kuzan asked, “So, what’s your plan?”

“Nothing much, just get me in touch with the Five Elders. I want to negotiate with those five old fogeys.”

“I don’t have the authority to do that,” Kuzan replied. As an admiral, he didn’t have direct access to the Five Elders. Meeting them required going to Mary Geoise.

“In that case, contact Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Let him know I want to negotiate with those five brain-dead geezers.”

“You mean the Five Elders?”

“Any difference? They don’t need to occupy the brainpower of useful people! They should have been buried a long time ago, those ancient fossils. They’re nothing but a bunch of rotting corpses taking up space in the world. The worst part is, they’re terrible at their job. Always scheming, and they’ve never done anything right. Look at their decisions – it’s headache-inducing.”

Rodney’s rant made it clear what he thought of the Five Elders. The three on the other side found his words harsh but accurate. Now, instead of dealing with the escaped criminals from Impel Down, they were chasing Rodney, all in the name of restoring the World Government’s reputation. Did they even have any dignity left?

“Why do humans think they’re superior just because they control the land?” Rodney mused.

Of course, he would never ask King Neptune this question, as it would undermine the efforts of Queen Otohime and others. He couldn’t bring himself to do that.

The conversation fell into silence. Rodney suddenly said, “But it looks like I’ve won.”

“What?” Kuzan and his companions were puzzled. They hadn’t even started fighting yet, so how had Rodney won?

But when they turned around, they realized they had lost. Purple poison mist had spread above the fleet at some point. Léij?, wearing her hazardous-material combat suit, sat at the front of a ship. Her graceful figure was enchanting, but behind her on the deck, apart from Hézh?ngjiàng, Stoloberi, and Kasan, who were still struggling, the other marines lay in the poison, dead or incapacitated.

“This is unexpected,” Kuzan said with a sigh.

“I once told Granny He that all my people belong to a special ops unit. Frontal combat doesn’t suit us,” Rodney repeated, unable to resist adding a little jab at Kuzan’s expense.

“Your plan backfired, huh? You underestimated my Vice Admirals!” Kuzan said, raising an eyebrow.

“No, I didn’t lose in a proper battle. Rodney’s subordinate, Vince Smoke Léij?, captured most of our marines with her poison. Vice Admiral Hézh?ngjiàng, Stoloberi, and Kasan are among the captives,” Kuzan stated.

“That’s impossible! Hézh?ngjiàng shouldn’t lose like this, given his caution,” Sengoku replied, refusing to believe that Kuzan had been outwitted by Rodney, this cunning troublemaker.

Rodney shrugged and said, “I suppose Granny He didn’t anticipate that I would attack from the sea with my crew? I’ve always said that my people are more like an assassination team. Ambushes and assassinations are what we excel at. Fleet Admiral Sengoku, don’t let common knowledge cloud your judgment. Just like when Whitebeard attacked, didn’t you anticipate that they might infiltrate Marineford using the coating?”

Sengoku, sitting in his temporary office, felt helpless. Rodney was right; He probably didn’t consider the possibility of Rodney, a “Fruit User,” infiltrating with his crew. As a seasoned military strategist, Sengoku had made a mistake. He had allowed common sense and experience to blind him to this fact. Even the wise can make errors.

“Then, what do you want with me?” he asked. Rodney contacting him wasn’t merely a casual chat, and Rodney wasn’t the kind to show off his achievements, though he was certainly capable of it.

“I want to negotiate with the Five Elders,” Rodney stated.

“The Five Elders? Why would you want to negotiate with them?” Sengoku frowned, sensing that this matter was far from simple.

Rodney grumbled, “Don’t think I don’t know. The decision to besiege Avellone was made by those five old fogeys. I clearly threatened you. As long as your intelligence is intact, you won’t do anything to me. But those five brain-dead idiots dared to send Vice Admiral Kuzan to besiege me. I want to warn them and let them know that if they provoke me again, I’ll destroy Mary Geoise.”

“Shut up! You brat, you don’t know anything! Destroy Mary Geoise?! Do you have the power for that?” Sengoku felt his headache intensify. Rodney, once the only Shichibukai he had a somewhat favorable impression of, had plummeted to an even lower status after rescuing Ace. Now, it was even worse. His headaches had worsened, both in intensity and frequency. Was Rodney the Second coming of Buggy the Clown?

Thinking back to the time when Rodney and Cap sat together, Sengoku’s heart wasn’t just aching, his headache flared, and his stomach was hurting. He needed some antacid…

“Very well, then. There’s nothing to discuss. Léij?, increase the toxicity level; make it lethal!” Rodney shouted. Kuzan acted faster, using his ability to disappear. Above the fleet, the purple poison fog transformed into falling ice and snow, turning the sea purple. Soon, fish floated to the surface, their white bellies upturned.

As for Léij?, she was frozen, and as for Connor… Kuzan didn’t notice him.

“Now I have a hostage too. Though I hate to do it, let’s call it a ceasefire,”

Rodney declared.

“No, that won’t work, and our Poison Queen won’t be so easily captured,” Rodney said, grinning. Kuzan, who saw the situation, noticed some purple on Léij?’s ice sculpture. Soon, large quantities of ice melted into purple poison liquid, suspended around Léij?. The Poison Queen licked her lips and said, “Hehe, shaved ice tastes good. Connor, what are you waiting for?”

“Why did you overlook him? Is it his Devil Fruit ability?” Kuzan asked. Normally, he wouldn’t overlook someone he’d already seen.

(End of this chapter)

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