Marine Headquarters — Conference Room.
At this moment, nearly all of the Marine high command was gathered, except for those currently away on missions.
The quiet of the room was broken by a crunching sound, followed by the unmistakable noise of chewing.
There was only one person who would dare eat so casually in a setting like this—Marine Hero Garp.
No one said anything about it. Everyone had long since gotten used to Garp's antics.
"Tsuru, any updates on that little rascal you were chasing—Doflamingo?"
"Heard he's stirred up quite a bit of trouble again."
Garp munched on his rice crackers as he casually asked Vice Admiral Tsuru.
"Need a hand?"
"No need," Tsuru replied, calmly shaking her head.
"Aside from Vergo, Doflamingo doesn't have much fighting power left. I can handle it."
Since Doflamingo's prison break, Vice Admiral Tsuru had resumed her role in hunting him down.
Though the flamboyant former warlord was making waves here and there, things were still within control.
"Hahaha, that's good to hear."
"Still, I wonder why Sengoku's called us all in this time."
Garp chuckled as he popped the last rice cracker into his mouth and clapped the crumbs off his hands. He glanced around the room, hoping someone else had insider information.
But the room remained quiet. Clearly, no one had a clue either.
"No idea," Tsuru replied.
"We'll find out once Sengoku gets here."
Just as she finished speaking, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed in the hallway.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku pushed open the doors and strode into the room, his face grim.
Without wasting any time, he sat down at his seat and got straight to business.
Before he could speak, Garp blurted out impatiently:
"Oi, Sengoku! What's going on?"
"You called us in such a rush—I was on vacation in the East Blue, you know!"
Ever since his grandson Ace had become a pirate, Garp had become extremely strict with his other grandson—frequently returning to the East Blue to keep a close eye on him, hoping to prevent a repeat.
Ace was already a pirate. He couldn't let the other one follow the same path.
He'd even tried disciplining the kid with his fists, hoping to knock some sense into him.
Unfortunately, it hadn't worked too well.
That brat still shouted about chasing after his big brother and setting off to sea.
Sengoku gave Garp a sidelong glance, then looked around at the others in the room before slowly speaking:
"We've just received intel from the New World—
King the Wildfire of the Beast Pirates and Marco the Phoenix of the Whitebeard Pirates have both appeared in Dressrosa."
The entire room fell silent.
Even the normally carefree Garp suddenly looked serious.
"The Beast Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates?"
"Why would two of the Emperor crews be in Dressrosa—at the same time?"
"And not just anyone... it's King and Marco?"
"Have our intelligence officers reported anything yet?"
Vice Admiral Tsuru asked with a serious expression, her brow tightly furrowed.
The appearance of two second-in-commands from Emperor crews at the base of another Emperor was no small matter.
If it were any other place, perhaps they wouldn't be as alarmed.
But this was Dressrosa—
The sole territory of the Thunder God Pirates, one of the Five Emperors.
It was tantamount to two Emperor crews marching into another Emperor's stronghold.
The implications were... terrifying.
No wonder Sengoku had gone to such lengths—mobilizing not only the Admirals, but nearly every available high-ranking Marine officer.
"Oh my... could it be that the three pirate crews are planning to form an alliance?"
Sitting up straighter while casually trimming his nails, Kizaru's shades gleamed with reflected light.
Aokiji, still half-asleep, removed his eye mask and gave Sengoku a sidelong glance.
Akainu, puffing on a cigar, exhaled a dense cloud of smoke. His chiseled face was etched with fury.
"Those damn pirates... we ought to rally the full might of the Navy and wipe them all out!"
"And as for Dressrosa—how can a World Government member nation allow someone like Sanders to operate there?! It's an insult to justice!"
Everyone else looked toward Sengoku with grave expressions, silently praying he wouldn't confirm their worst fears—
That the three great pirate crews had formed an alliance.
Because if that were true...
Whitebeard Newgate, Kaido of the Beasts, and Sanders the Thunder God—
If those three joined forces, not even the full power of the Marine Headquarters might be enough to stop them.
Even if they could suppress such a force, the Marines would suffer massive losses, and their control over the seas would be all but lost.
The world would descend into chaos.
A pirate's paradise would emerge, and countless lives would be lost in the resulting mayhem.
Sengoku's next words finally brought a collective sigh of relief:
"As of now, there's no evidence that the three pirate crews are working together."
Exactly as they had hoped.
Even Akainu, who advocated exterminating pirates at all costs, relaxed ever so slightly.
After all, he had only just fought Whitebeard not too long ago.
He knew first-hand how terrifying that old man still was.
Even in his aged, weakened body, Whitebeard's power could summon massive tsunamis, easily overwhelming entire fleets.
Few people could survive such forces at sea.
And that was just one of them.
Add in Kaido and the traitor Sanders, and even the Marines would need to commit everything they had.
"So what are they doing in Dressrosa then?"
"They're not just stopping in for supplies, are they?"
Garp frowned, clearly suspicious.
"The Beast Pirates' exact motives remain unclear," Sengoku replied.
"As for the Whitebeard Pirates..."
He paused for a brief moment before continuing.
"According to intelligence gathered by our agents and the World Government, Marco went to
Dressrosa to deliver territory to Sanders."
"Deliver territory?"
"Are you kidding me?!"
"Since when did the Whitebeard Pirates get so chummy with Sanders?"
"Didn't Sanders just challenge Whitebeard not long ago—and win?"
Garp practically shouted in disbelief.
The rest of the officers turned to Sengoku, eyes wide with confusion and doubt.
No one could wrap their heads around it.
The legendary pirate Whitebeard, handing over territory to the Thunder God Pirates?
Sengoku rubbed his temples, looking visibly exasperated.
He hadn't wanted to believe it either.
But after receiving the report and triple-confirming it through various channels, he could no longer ignore the facts.
"I don't know the reason behind it either," Sengoku said slowly, "but it's true."
"The words came directly from Marco himself."
"He said it was to 'celebrate Sanders becoming an Emperor.'"
Silence fell over the room.
Then—
"Don't be ridiculous!"
Garp slammed a hand down on the table, his eyes burning with intensity.
"Sanders beat that old man, embarrassed him in front of the whole world—"
"You think Whitebeard would just take that lying down, and reward the guy who did it?!"
As someone who had fought Whitebeard for decades, Garp knew exactly what kind of man he was.
Whitebeard wouldn't just brush off defeat like that.
If anything, losing to someone like Sanders, a rookie Emperor, would have lit a fire under him.
He would have fought through pain, through injuries, even through death if necessary—
Just to win back his pride, and take back what was his.
That was the Whitebeard he knew.
This—handing over land like some surrendering nation—
This was not him.
"It's like they're paying reparations," Garp growled.
"Whitebeard would rather die on the battlefield than do something so humiliating."
Then, calm and composed as ever, Vice Admiral Tsuru spoke up, narrowing her eyes at Sengoku.
"Could this be some sort of conspiracy?"
"A trick... or a trap?"
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T/N:
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