After hearing Vice Admiral Tsuru's explanation, Smoker and Hina finally calmed down. They were acting out of concern, which had clouded their judgment; once they thought about the situation calmly, they could easily deduce the intentions behind the Marines' high-level decisions.
Smoker immediately questioned, "In that case, shouldn't Tashigi's bounty be increased even more?"
Vice Admiral Tsuru replied with a sigh, "How can you think that? If Tashigi's bounty is set too high, she might be targeted by powerful enemy cadres whenever the Straw Hats clash with other Imperial groups. If she lacks the strength to match them at that moment, wouldn't she be in danger of being killed?"
Smoker was silenced, having no rebuttal. It seemed the Marine executives had analyzed the risks regarding Tashigi's bounty thoroughly and made the most logical choice. By forcibly breaking into the Marshal's office, Smoker and Hina had clearly overstepped their bounds. Akainu's decision not to fly into a rage on the spot showed great restraint, partly out of respect for Zephyr; otherwise, the two would certainly have been punished.
"Okay, Smoker, Hina, I know you treat Tashigi like a younger sister, which is why you reacted so impulsively," Akainu said in a deep voice. "But you must trust the high-level leadership. Tashigi is considered an extremely valuable undercover agent, and we will do everything in our power to keep her safe, so you need not worry".
Hearing this, Smoker and Hina finally felt relieved, offered a military salute, and exited the office.
"Marshal, I didn't expect you to have managed to place undercover agents within the Straw Hats. It is truly unexpected!" Green Bull said with a curious smile.
"This was an arrangement made by former Marshal Sengoku," Akainu explained with rare patience. "At that time, the Straw Hats had not yet become an Imperial-level crew, and Tashigi—who was already a Marine—appeared on their ship by chance and gained their trust. Former Marshal Sengoku took that opportunity to make the arrangement".
From Akainu's perspective, Sengoku's setup was brilliant. Although Tashigi rarely transmitted information, she was essentially a mine placed within the Straw Hat crew, to be detonated only when necessary. As long as they were not fully confident in a total victory, that mine had to be preserved. Even during the recent conflict in the North Blue, Akainu had chosen not to use Tashigi, as an encirclement and suppression effort might have failed, and undercover agents are too precious to waste on uncertain operations. If the operation failed, it would be impossible to install another operative.
Fujitora couldn't help but admire Sengoku's foresight. As long as Tashigi remained deeply embedded in the crew, the Marines would not have to fear the Straw Hats entirely.
"Then, are the bounties set for the Straw Hats this time too high?" Green Bull asked, voicing his objections. "Except for one sea beast, all members of the Straw Hat crew have bounties exceeding 100,000,000, and many have reached the levels of the Three Calamities of the Beast Pirates or the Sweet Commanders of the Big Mom Pirates. Are those people really that powerful?"
Akainu felt instinctive displeasure, not because of Green Bull's objection, but because he was already frustrated by his recent reprimand from Kong regarding the lack of results at Mary Geoise.
Kizaru spoke up at that moment: "Green Bull, you newcomer may not understand, but this is our consistent tactic". "Many pirates regard high bounties as a form of glory. If they see others with higher rewards than themselves, they naturally become unconvinced and fight. There are too many pirates for the Marines to catch them all, so there is nothing wrong with letting them kill each other. Therefore, the bounty for the Straw Hats has been increased to such an outrageous level for that specific purpose".
Akainu nodded in satisfaction, pleased that Kizaru had stepped in to shut down Green Bull's questioning. However, Green Bull continued, "That is certainly feasible, but after the disastrous defeats suffered by the Big Mom and Blackbeard Pirates, will they dare to continue fighting the Straw Hats? Will they actually unite against them?"
Akainu snorted impatiently, "Let's see if it's useful. The old Four Emperors were arrogant, and Blackbeard is ambitious; the Straw Hats now have the loudest voices claiming the title of Pirate King. I don't believe those guys can sit still!"
Indeed, the sentiment was growing across the sea that Luffy would be the next Pirate King. The Straw Hats were young, had immense room for growth, and were currently capable of suppressing other Imperial crews. In a world that deeply respected strength, the Straw Hats were quickly becoming the strongest overlords of the sea, making the title of Pirate King a very realistic prospect.
Meanwhile, during a gathering near Dressrosa, the Happo Navy, the Eddie Pirates, and the Tontatta Warriors met to hold a banquet. Leaders Sai, Ideo, and Leo sat around the newspapers and the stack of bounty posters, smiling and drinking together.
"Hahaha! As expected of the Straw Hat boss; he actually suppressed Blackbeard and Big Mom! It seems our decision to rush into the New World was the right one!" Sai said with a face full of reverence.
"It wasn't superfluous; this shows our determination to follow the boss!" Ideo refuted.
"Ideo is right! Knowing the boss might be in danger, we couldn't just do nothing. In fact, we dealt a heavy blow to Totto Land, so we can consider ourselves participants in this war!" Leo added, looking proud.
The three looked at each other and burst into laughter. While they had joined the Straw Hat alliance without Luffy's explicit consent, it was clear that even if Luffy disagreed, the bond was already unbreakable.
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