Chapter 542: The Marines' Losses
At Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
The entire base was unnervingly quiet. A suffocating atmosphere hung in the air. The faces of everyone present were etched with grief and hatred.
Inside the Fleet Admiral's office, numerous high-ranking Marine officers were gathered. Admiral Sengoku, having returned from the New World, was among them. Every face was blank, every head bowed low, listening silently to the voice coming from a nearby Den Den Mushi.
"Yes! Yes! Yes! I'll arrange it immediately!" Kong said into the receiver, not daring to object to the orders in the slightest, agreeing to everything.
He hung up the call.
Sighing, Kong walked back to his seat and looked at all the assembled officers. His pupils constricted slightly. The number of officers present was half of what it was before the expedition.
"Is everyone here?" Kong asked, his voice hoarse.
Beside him, Vice Admiral Tsuru glanced at the officers behind the long table and nodded. "Everyone's here." A trace of helplessness flashed in her eyes. The Marines' casualties this time were truly immense. Half of their officers were dead.
Hearing this, Kong silently closed his eyes. "I will take full responsibility for this failure," he said, opening them again. "I will submit my resignation to the World Government and recommend Admiral Sengoku as my successor."
His words instantly shocked the entire room.
"You can't, Fleet Admiral!" Sengoku immediately retorted. "The Marines are in a time of crisis. How can you leave now?"
Are you kidding me? Sengoku thought. You're leaving now? Who's going to clean up the massive mess you've left behind? Me? The Marines are in this state because of your orders. You get to walk away, and I have to clean up after you? At this moment, even if Sengoku wanted to be Fleet Admiral, he had to restrain himself.
Hearing Sengoku's words, a faint glimmer appeared in Kong's eyes, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly before he quickly hid it.
"Sengoku, you don't have to persuade me," Kong said, his face a mask of pain. "This was all because of my obstinance, which caused such great harm to the Marines. I cannot escape the blame."
He had been the Fleet Admiral for nearly twenty years. If you added the ten years he had spent as an Admiral before the position of Fleet Admiral was formally established, he had been the top commander of the Marines for a total of thirty years. He was infatuated with power. Even in retirement, as seen in the original story, he held onto power as the Commander-in-Chief of the World Government forces.
The phone call just now hadn't just been a reprimand from the World Government; it was also a power struggle. Kong knew that the failure of this operation had severely damaged the Marines' faith in him. The distrust of the soldiers and the watchful eyes of the ambitious officers were like a fishbone stuck in his throat. His position was precarious. After thirty years of leading the Marines, it was impossible for him to simply hand over his power. But if he didn't, countless eyes would be watching his every move.
In his conversation with the Five Elders, Kong had subtly put forward his own demands. The Elders had only hesitated for a moment before agreeing, on the condition that he support the World Government's Seven Warlords of the Sea project. To protect his position, Kong had agreed without hesitation.
"Fleet Admiral!" Sengoku was about to say more.
But Kong cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Now is not the time to discuss this. Let's report on our losses from the war," he said, rubbing his brow, his expression weary.
Sengoku swallowed the words he wanted to say and picked up a report.
"In this operation, the Marines deployed a total of fifty-six thousand elite soldiers. Forty-five thousand were killed in action."
He reported the death toll first. When the number—forty-five thousand—was announced, Kong's heart, though prepared, turned to ice. A loss of forty-five thousand meant the Marines had been effectively annihilated. These were the elites of the Navy, not the useless fodder from the branches. The other officers present all clenched their fists, the rising and falling of their chests betraying their inner turmoil.
"A total of one hundred and fifty officers were deployed on this expedition. This included seventy-two Commodores, fifty-two Rear Admirals, twenty-three Vice Admirals, two Admirals, and one Fleet Admiral. The number of officers killed was eighty. This includes forty-three Commodores, thirty-two Rear Admirals, and five Vice Admirals."
As Sengoku spoke, his hand holding the paper began to tremble. Half of their officers had died in that one battle. These were the foundation of the Marines, the main force that suppressed the seas.
Hearing this, Kong's face turned completely black. The lower and mid-tier officer ranks had been more than halved. The Marines had been hollowed out. Although Commodores and Rear Admirals were not considered top-tier officers, they were the backbone of the Navy. Their duty was to patrol the seas and apprehend pirates. To lose so many at once... no wonder the Marines were now powerless to suppress the seas. Were they supposed to send the dozen or so remaining Vice Admirals to patrol the vast oceans? Wasn't that a gross misuse of their talents? The role of a Vice Admiral was to oversee a region, while the task of hunting pirates was primarily carried out by Commodores and Rear Admirals on long-term patrols.
Sengoku finished his report and sat down. Everyone in the room felt a chill run down their spine. If they couldn't get through this crisis, the Navy itself would be in danger. Once the scum of the seas learned of the Marines' weakness, they would swarm out in droves. The resulting chain reaction would cause the Marines to completely lose control of the seas.
"This information must absolutely not be reported. It dies in this room!" Kong ordered, looking at the seventy or so officers present.
"Yes, sir!" all the officers stood and declared.
Kong waved them to sit down and rubbed his brow again. "The failure of this operation has cost us too much of our strength. I have already proposed a major conscription to the World Government, to select outstanding soldiers from every branch to replenish Marine Headquarters. I believe it won't be long before the Navy returns to its peak."
He said this upon seeing the dejected looks on the officers' faces. His words made everyone, including Sengoku, brighten up. The World Government usually guarded against the Marines like they were thieves, allowing the pirates in the New World to grow stronger rather than reinforcing the Navy. They hadn't expected the World Government to be so accommodating this time. Had they finally seen reality?
But Kong wasn't finished. "However, this does not come without a price. Because the Marines have suffered near-total annihilation, causing the seas to fall into turmoil once more, the World Government will implement the Seven Warlords of the Sea system to suppress the ever-increasing number of pirates."
As he spoke, he carefully watched the reactions of the officers.
BANG!
A loud slam echoed through the room. Zephyr shot to his feet.
"Fleet Admiral, I will never agree to recruiting pirates to fight other pirates!" Zephyr yelled, slamming his hands on the table and staring furiously at Kong.
BANG!
Kong slammed the table with equal force. "Zephyr, you will sit down! This is an order from the World Government! It does not require your approval!" he roared, his face flushed with anger.
The other officers were completely stunned by the plan.
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