"Luo Lan, are you threatening me?"
Akainu gripped the Den Den Mushi tightly, his voice filled with hostility.
"No, not a threat—just a friendly warning."
"Withdraw from the Calm Belt. Or else…"
"Maybe you, senior Sakazuki, will survive. But not a single ship in your Hawk Fleet will make it out alive."
"As I said earlier, what you've seen so far—what you think is the full extent of Jun Lin's power—is only the tip of the iceberg."
"I don't want to slaughter the Navy. But if you're really planning to march into the East Blue and butcher hundreds of thousands of civilians…"
"Then I'll have no choice but to bury your entire fleet right here."
And in this matter—Luo Lan wasn't bluffing.
To crush the Hawk Fleet was no great challenge for Jun Lin at its current strength.
In fact...
Even just the Danaan and Baby 5 alone could likely manage it.
Unless the fleet were led not by Akainu, but by Kizaru. Only then might there be a chance for a counterattack between Baby 5's strike and Danaan's dive, maybe even sinking Danaan altogether.
Of course, if Kizaru were the one commanding, Luo Lan wouldn't have just sent Baby 5 alone. He'd have...
Dispatched a full Admiral to specifically intercept Kizaru.
Akainu hesitated.
By nature, he would never negotiate with the enemy—much less compromise.
But as Luo Lan pointed out, this wasn't just any operation. This was the Hawk Faction Fleet—
Nearly 90% of the Hawk-aligned officers in the entire Navy headquarters were now under his command.
If they suffered heavy losses here, the already weakened Hawk Faction would collapse entirely.
That was something Akainu absolutely couldn't afford.
"…Fine. We'll withdraw from the Calm Belt. And as for that favor from before—"
"We'll call it even."
The "favor" he referred to was, of course, the time he'd been turned into a toy by Sugar—
And later saved thanks to Jun Lin's intervention.
Not that Akainu ever acknowledged favors.
This was simply his way of giving himself an excuse to retreat with some dignity.
Both Akainu and Luo Lan understood this perfectly.
As long as no one said it out loud…
It was "repaying a favor," plain and simple.
With a Moonwalk, Akainu returned to his giant warship.
"Admiral, the enemy seemed to deliberately miss. What is Jun Lin's real intention?"
"Relay the order. Have the fleet retreat from the Calm Belt. We'll wait for the Joint Suppression Fleet to arrive and reassess our next move then."
"Admiral, you mean…"
Akainu didn't answer Ghost Spider's question. He just issued the command to retreat.
This left everyone dumbfounded.
Sure, that attack was terrifying—but it wasn't enough to make an Admiral back down, was it?
This was Akainu, after all.
The very spine of the Hawk Faction!
How could he retreat?
"Ghost Spider. Follow the order."
"…Yes, Admiral!"
One glare from Akainu silenced any resistance.
Despite his reluctance, Ghost Spider obeyed and passed on the command.
Soon, the entire fleet began turning around in an orderly retreat, slowly exiting the Calm Belt and returning to the Grand Line.
At the same time, Akainu reported everything to Sengoku.
As for what to do next—that was up to Sengoku.
After all, that was his son they were dealing with.
Why should Akainu take the fall for this?
So in his report, Akainu made no mention of his inability to counter the missile. He simply reported Luo Lan's threats, and, considering Luo Lan was Sengoku's adopted son, Akainu claimed he temporarily halted action and awaited instructions.
See? Awaiting instructions.
Sengoku immediately frowned.
"Since when do you ask for instructions before attacking, Akainu?"
But Sengoku had to admit…
This situation with Luo Lan put him in a very uncomfortable position.
"Tsuru, what do you think that boy is trying to do?"
After thinking for a while, Sengoku ordered someone to call Tsuru over from a nearby ship.
"I just got off the line with Gion."
"Ah, right. Gion's still at Jun Lin. What did she say?"
"She said Luo Lan wasn't bluffing. Jun Lin really does have the power to easily—perhaps even without taking any damage—annihilate the advance fleet. And Luo Lan's fully prepared to do it if Akainu refuses to retreat."
That…
If that message came from Gion, Sengoku had no reason to doubt it.
But for Jun Lin to be strong enough to easily crush a fleet that included an Admiral, five elite Vice Admirals, and countless other officers?
Even a full Yonko crew couldn't achieve that in such a short time.
This just made things far more complicated.
"Sengoku, I think your next step should be—"
---
Red Line — Holy Land Mary Geoise
Room of Authority
"Trash! The entire Navy is trash! And now they're being threatened by Jun Lin?"
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter flew into a rage after receiving the report.
Just earlier, Sengoku had submitted a full briefing—everything except Luo Lan's identity.
And it had thoroughly infuriated the Five Elders.
For 800 years as rulers of the world, when had they ever been threatened like this?
"What do you all think?"
"I believe Akainu's retreat is understandable."
"How so?"
"Don't forget Akainu's earlier report—Jun Lin's weaponry injured Kaido himself. Akainu witnessed that firsthand. His caution is justified. Withdrawing from the Calm Belt isn't surprising."
"True. But what now? Do we force Akainu to charge in anyway?"
"Not wise. If Jun Lin truly has more unknown weapons, that's far too risky. Better to wait for the Joint Suppression Fleet to arrive."
"Agreed. In the meantime, I suggest we mobilize the Holy Knights as well."
"Out of the question. We don't have direct command over them. That man won't agree."
At the mention of the Holy Knights, the other four Elders' faces changed.
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn immediately shut it down.
A few sighs followed.
With no better option, they settled for a compromise—
Deploying three CP0 teams to provide support.
Given that CP0 had only six teams in total, sending half their force showed just how seriously the Elders were taking this—
Even if they kept calling the Navy "trash" with their mouths.
---
Meanwhile — Rhodes Island, Jun Lin Building, 15th Floor
Marshal's Office
"Got it."
"Now that they've withdrawn, shift to surveillance. Notify me immediately of any changes."
After finishing his call, Luo Lan hung up the Den Den Mushi.
The first step… had gone exactly as he planned.
Next—
He would wait.
Eight days.