"Sorry, I might be interrupting..."
A red-haired youth took out a compass and politely asked, "Why did our compass malfunction?"
"Before asking others questions, you must first answer theirs."
Crocus pointed to the ice ball trailing behind their pirate ship: "Can you first tell me why there's a person being dragged behind your ship?"
"Oh, that's a Navy Admiral."
The red-haired youth didn't pay much attention to this and proactively asked, "His strength is quite formidable. The three of us on the ship couldn't handle him, but our Vice Captain managed to capture him. We plan to use him to exchange for the captured Clown Buggy..."
"..."
Crocus fell into a silent bewilderment.
Are these guys really just a bunch of rookies?
This pirate crew seems unfamiliar with the situation in the Grand Line, and didn't even prepare a Log Pose, yet they actually caught a Navy Admiral?
The youngsters these days...
Are truly getting more and more impressive!
The Straw Hat Pirates with their dreams are one thing, but this crew hasn't even been to the Grand Line yet and already caught a Navy Admiral, which might be going a bit overboard?
Crocus sighed inwardly and solemnly reminded them, "The magnetic fields here are chaotic; you need a Log Pose to sail to the other islands..."
"Perhaps you could ask the Navy Admiral if he carries a Log Pose, or even a more valuable Eternal Pose that points to a specific island..."
"Thank you."
Red Sand Sasori politely thanked him.
"Let me remind you one more thing..."
Crocus looked at Red Sand Sasori in front of him and continued, "You want Buggy because you're after the secret about One Piece, right?"
"Buggy..."
Crocus took a deep breath, recalling the red-nosed brat he'd met, shook his head, and said, "I've never seen any One Piece."
"Understood, thank you."
Red Sand Sasori became even more polite.
"..."
Crocus's gaze once again rose to Red Sand Sasori.
This lighthouse keeper watched as the red-haired youth returned to the ship.
Someone aboard the pirate ship seemed to have heard something and broke the ice ball encasing the Navy Admiral, pulling him aboard and began searching him for the Log Pose.
The result...
Not only did they find the Log Pose...
They even found a golden Radio Snail, a black Radio Snail, and a white Radio Snail on Aokiji.
"Hey, hey, hey..."
Aokiji looked at them speechlessly and had to remind them, "Don't press the golden Radio Snail recklessly; it's used by the Navy to initiate a Buster Call. If activated, the Navy will launch an indiscriminate attack on the area from which the signal was sent, until it's completely destroyed..."
"Isn't this interesting?"
Uchiha Madara chuckled lightly, finding it intriguing.
"Alright."
Red Sand Sasori nonchalantly returned the Radio Snails to Aokiji, actively reminding him, "First contact the Navy Headquarters and see what the Navy Admiral is willing to offer in exchange for an Admiral from the Navy Headquarters. Also, find a reason to release you back..."
"Clown Buggy is a must."
Orochimaru immediately stepped forward, quickly saying, "We need a hundred Devil Fruits, a hundred Devil Fruit Users for experiments..."
"Hey, hey, hey, don't ask for the moon..."
Aokiji's eye twitched, feeling these guys were overestimating his value: "At that price, I won't need to go back."
"Ask for the sky, settle for the ground."
Red Sand Sasori never thought they'd get much anyway.
"Can't you just release me directly?"
Aokiji began negotiating directly, even proposing a tempting offer: "If I go back, I can help you gather more... If the news of being captured by pirates reaches headquarters, I might not be able to become Navy Admiral in the future..."
"..."
Red Sand Sasori's eyes remained unchanged.
Because...
Preventing you from becoming Admiral...
Is part of the plan...
Anyone who could potentially become Navy Admiral will be brought down, lest they really compete for the position...
An excellent strategy.
Never about achieving it overnight.
But rather weaving all small events together, fermenting them like grains into wine, brewing a world-shaking event.