Alexander went straight into the main housing area of the island. Only women were there, who were looking and gawking at them as they passed by. They soon reached the stairs of the Kuja palace. That was where they first faced resistance.
"Halt, why have you come here? Men are not allowed on this island." The guard barked.
Alexander and his party seemed too relaxed. "Ah, you may have recognized me from my uniform. I am an Admiral from the headquarters. I pretty much have the authority to go anywhere, however, I will not force myself here. Go and inform your Empress that I have a proposal for her."
The guard nodded and sent some underlings to the palace. She knew angering an Admiral was not a good thing.
After a while, they were allowed to go into the palace. Though only Alexander was allowed to see the Empress while others were taken to a dining room.
Alexander came to the throne room like area. There were many snakes there as the Kuja tribe worshipped snakes. He wondered if they would have started worshiping Medusa if she was there.
Soon a voice from behind the curtain came, "What has our small island done to garner the attention of an Admiral? We still have a month left to pay the heavenly tribute."
Alexander felt a bit of fear in that voice, but again, knowing the corruption in Marine and the world government, he could imagine them not having good experiences. This heavenly tribute was also something he heard for the first time. He hadn't really learned much about how the world was governed until now. ~It seems I need to do some research.~
"Hahaha... Nothing to fear, Empress of Kuja. I am not like my counterparts. I also didn't come here for official work but more of personal business." Alexander revealed.
This attracted the Empress's undivided attention, "We are a poor kingdom in the middle of the calm belt. Neither can we buy nor sell much. What business can attract you, Admiral Universe?"
She finally walked out of the curtain. Her height was very short and Alexander reckoned she was probably just in her late teens.
"Call me Gloriosa, now, what business do you want to talk about?"
"Hahaha... Alright, little Empress. I have a proposal. I can sell you food like various grains and other seeds at a normal market price. You will receive the delivery right here too. You'll just need to reserve a giant warehouse." Alexander said.
Gloriosa's plain face gained some hopeful look, "H-How?"
"Magic... Just take my word on that." Alexander stated.
"No matter how amazing your proposal sounds, we can not just buy it. We will go bankrupt. Right now we only spend what we make." She told him about her problem.
~It seems Brian will have to start working now.~ Alexander thought.
The three quickly stopped eating and turned serious, "Why? Because we are weak?"
Alexander sighed, "No, because you three are very strong and have the talent to grow more. If you stay with me you will never get promoted as I have a very bad reputation among the higher-ups. The moment you deboard this ship at Marineford you will stop being my crew. I'm also warning you, do not tell anyone that you trained under me or know me closely. You will be targeted otherwise."
The three were confused at the moment. They couldn't understand why a Marine Admiral would have his own people against him. It wasn't really their fault either, they had just ventured into the sea so their knowledge about anything was pretty much non-existent.
"Don't ever forget, if you ever need my help, just call me up. You three are like my own children now. We may not have spent too much time together but that's how I see you three. Now let's eat or the food will turn cold."
Garp, Tsuru, and Sengoku kept on looking at Alexander with smiles. They promised themselves that they would make him proud. That they will become good Marines like him.
After eating they departed the island and started their journey to Marineford. It wasn't very far away but he ordered the captain to move slowly.
He was going to give personal lessons to them now, "Alright, come here. Try to hit me with your best attack and I will show you how your opponent may counter. Your target is to make the best defenses and offense."
He waited for them but they didn't come to attack him. He looked where they were looking. It was a pirate ship at a distance.
"Bald Chad, catch up with it," Alexander ordered.
"You three, ready to catch your first pirate?" He asked them.
"Hell yeah!" The three exclaimed at the same time.
[You can see Kuja Palace on my Discord - .gg/DgHkrAn OR see them on Instagram - /mister_immortal_novel]
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Special thanks to *Joakim Jonsson* *Conrad* *Douglas Flower*.
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