It must be said that inside the Marines, Garp indeed enjoyed high prestige and an almost absolute say.
When Garp declared he would strike Honeycomb Island, most of the officers in the room accepted it without question.
"Garp, are you serious? Really planning to attack Honeycomb Island?" Sengoku asked, frowning.
"Very serious." Garp nodded firmly, then raised his tone. "We have no other choice. Either we let the Kamui Pirates grow and become unstoppable, or we act now. You all know the situation as well as I do."
Sengoku, the other admirals, and the assembled officers exchanged looks. Garp's argument was persuasive. They had no easy alternative—doing nothing would allow Kronos and his pirates to grow into a threat the Marines could no longer handle.
So this looming danger had to be dealt with immediately. They couldn't afford to let it grow any further.
"All right," Sengoku said through gritted teeth. "We'll split our forces in two. You and Zephyr will attack Honeycomb Island from the rear. The rest will follow me and strike from the front."
His voice was loud and commanding, filled with resolve. Conqueror's Haki—an imposing, world-dominating presence—emanated from Sengoku. Even as a Marine leader, it was normal for him to possess strong Conqueror's Haki.
Faces around the room grew solemn. Everyone understood the gravity of the mission; failure was not an option. One wrong move and they could fall into ruin.
For the sake of the Marines' future—and their own—the only path was to press this fight to the end and crush Kronos.
With their resolve set, the Marine fleet steamed toward Honeycomb Island in force. To ensure victory, Sengoku did not hold back: he ordered reinforcements from every sea region. They planned to overwhelm Honeycomb Island with absolute superiority.
Sengoku and the other leaders were determined—not a single member of Kronos' force would be allowed to remain. They intended to eradicate the threat completely.
As Sengoku's plan took shape, the Marines moved into action.
Kronos' side quickly detected the Marine mobilization and realized that full-scale war was imminent. Although they didn't know exactly how much force the Marines would throw at them, no one among the Kamui Pirates underestimated the danger. Even if the Marines were powerful, the Kamui Pirates felt confident they could stand their ground.
Sengoku was shrewd: he first sent a large flotilla of unmanned decoy ships to probe the Kamui Pirates' defenses. At the same time, he concentrated forces to create an impression of an all-out, overwhelming assault—forcing a head-on clash at Honeycomb Island.
But behind that obvious move, Sengoku had secretly dispatched special forces planning coordinated surprise attacks from multiple directions.
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[Naruto: I Don't Want Recognition]
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