Chapter 140: Meeting Aqin Again

"Zoro, Pengeris, you two keep looking for that famous sword museum, and by the way, make sure Nami is safe. I have some business to attend to. Once you find it, you can contact me via Den Den Mushi."

Shortly after spotting that mark, Rorand suddenly stopped in front of an intersection and spoke.

That was a skull symbol carved into the wall on the left, bearing three scratch marks across its forehead. Anyone else seeing it would likely mistake it for lingering resentment toward pirates or some eccentric pirate flag design.

However, Rorand knew that one of the meanings of this mark was that the target had been located, a total of three people, requiring an immediate meeting.

Another meaning was to meet at the third corner to the left at the next intersection.

Although Rorand was not certain he would see this mark at this exact spot, Akin had people waiting at identical locations elsewhere—men who had come out of the East Blue with Jason and were utterly incapable of betrayal.

The moment they laid eyes on Rorand, they would notify Akin and the others to come here and rendezvous with him.

"Understood, Rear Admiral Rorand. We will continue the search."

Pengeris nodded without asking for reasons.

As for Zoro and Nami, they were even less likely to ask. They had joined the Marines solely because of Rorand, not out of any loyalty to the Marines themselves.

Even if Rorand were to lead them in deserting the Marines right now, they would follow him without the slightest hesitation.

After parting ways with the three of them, Rorand turned left directly. Near the third alley, taking advantage of a moment when no one was watching, he vanished right before people's eyes using the Soru technique and stepped into the alley.

This was a narrow alley choked with garbage, with all sorts of discarded items littering the ground. The corners were even damp, featuring discarded panties stained with unknown liquids.

Unfazed by the refuse, Rorand simply kept his Observation Haki active to scan his surroundings while continuing forward.

Deep in the shadows of the alley, Rorand spotted Akin and Jason waiting for him.

"Mr. Rorand."

"Rorand."

Upon catching sight of Rorand, Akin and Jason hurried to his side, looking quite excited.

Rorand calmed the two excited men and checked the surroundings with his Observation Haki. Making sure no one else was paying attention to this area, he smiled and joked, "It looks like you two have been doing quite well on the Grand Line. Akin, your complexion is much healthier than back when you were a pirate, and Uncle Jason, you've gotten even bulkier."

Akin shook his head with a wry smile. "Please don't joke with us. Let's get down to business first."

"Mr. Rorand, following the instructions you gave us earlier, ever since we arrived on the Grand Line, we've been gathering intelligence while searching for the people you mentioned."

"As for the Child of the Devil, Nico Robin, if our investigation is correct, she should currently be in the Alabasta Kingdom."

"We also managed to obtain the Eternal Pose for Thriller Bark through some special channels—here it is."

"As for one of the Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile, he also seems to be in the Alabasta Kingdom, apparently plotting something."

"Among them, the Revolutionary Army, which you are most concerned about, has also been tracked by us on this island. Three major figures have appeared: Chief of Staff Sabo, and a young girl named Koala."

With that, Akin handed an Eternal Pose over to Rorand. This was the navigational pointer to Thriller Bark he had just mentioned.

With it, Rorand could head straight to Thriller Bark without wasting time searching blindly as he had before.

Rorand still held a strong craving for that legendary blade, Shusui.

"That young girl also seems to be an intelligence expert. If one of the fellows we recruited hadn't happened to be a Devil Fruit user, we truly would have been discovered by her," Jason added.

"A Devil Fruit user?"

Rorand was somewhat surprised. It had only been a few months, yet they had already developed to this extent? Not only had they tracked down Nico Robin, but they had even recruited a subordinate with Devil Fruit abilities.

"Just an ordinary user with virtually no combat power, but exceptionally handy for intelligence work," Jason rubbed the back of his head and said awkwardly.

"A user of the Mirage-Mirage Fruit, capable of using their ability to generate small mirage-like illusions to conceal themselves," Akin explained further.

"Although it can block the perception of Observation Haki, the moment someone inside the illusion makes any large movements, it shatters the entire illusion instantly, so it can only be used for espionage."

"So that's how it is."

Rorand nodded and continued, "Then the Sabo and Koala you mentioned are on this island right now?"

"Yes, they appear to be carrying out some sort of mission, but we haven't been able to find out the specifics because that young girl's espionage skills are simply too exceptional. The moment we try to tail them too closely, we get noticed," Jason said with a hint of shame.

"No need to be ashamed. Managing to find out this much is already quite impressive. Koala is a member of the Revolutionary Army after all, and her experience in intelligence work far surpasses yours, considering you've only been at this for a few months," Rorand smiled and shook his head. "Still, I hope you can arrange a meeting as soon as possible. I'd like to meet with Sabo. Remember the plan I mentioned back then? My goals actually share common ground with theirs, so there might be a possibility of cooperation."

Rorand was still somewhat surprised that Sabo was on this island right now. After all, his sole purpose in coming to Salvador Island was merely for that famous sword museum; he never expected such an unexpected harvest.

The Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army, Dragon's right-hand man, Luffy's sworn second older brother—a figure whose popularity was by no means inferior to Ace's. Even without any cooperative plans, Rorand himself was deeply interested in the man.

"We will arrange it as quickly as possible," Akin nodded.

"Alright then, I'll be heading off. Once you have everything set up, use the same method to notify me."

Rorand nodded. Deactivating his Observation Haki, he acted as though he had no connection to the two men and walked straight out from the other end of the alley.

Since no Den Den Mushi call had come from Pengeris yet, it meant they hadn't found the famous sword museum, so there was no need for Rorand to rendezvous with them just yet.

With four people searching, splitting up was far more efficient; it might even speed up the discovery.

That damn newspaper reporter had actually reported on the famous sword museum without printing its address.

Otherwise, he could have just headed straight there using the address instead of wandering around aimlessly like this.

It wasn't that Rorand hadn't thought about asking locals, but the residents of this island seemed completely uninterested in such things.

Famous swords, the Marines—they cared about none of it. Even though these matters had been covered by the newspapers, the majority of the locals remained entirely oblivious.

The only thing they cared about was salsa dancing.

Even though it wasn't carnival season, passionate, uninhibited women dressed in skimpy, provocative outfits could be seen practicing their dance moves anywhere on the streets at any time.

Consequently, Rorand was feeling rather gloomy. After all, his original plan was to stay here for just one day.

Yet looking at it now, with the island being this large, if he kept searching aimlessly like this, when on earth would he ever find it?

Just as Rorand was feeling vexed, on the other side of the town, along the street where Zoro and the others were walking, a bizarre-looking man stealthily approached Zoro, his eyes locked intently on the three swords sheathed at Zoro's waist.

That gaze was akin to a seasoned lecher spotting a stunning beauty, desperately wishing he could snatch them away and stroke them lovingly in his hands.

"Pardon me, esteemed swordsman, might you be searching for the famous sword museum?"