[Paradise, the First Half of the Grand Line]
[Marine Headquarters, Marineford]
Fleet Admiral Sengoku looked at the life paper in his hand that was slowly burning away, his expression extremely unpleasant.
"Report, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, a branch of the Navy has found Admiral Akainu gravely injured on Maldives Island in the West Blue!"
"Such a remote island, why would Akainu be there? And who in a place like that could possibly injure him?" Sengoku felt completely baffled.
At the side, Garp sat with one leg crossed over the other, laughing heartily as though it had nothing to do with him.
"So even Akainu would have such a day, huh? Things just keep getting more interesting!"
"Garp! Shut your mouth!" Sengoku roared in anger.
"An Admiral has been defeated, don't you understand the seriousness of this? This will make it impossible for us to hold our heads up before the Government."
Garp picked his nose, completely ignoring Sengoku's words.
"Relax, it's not like this is the first or second time something like this has happened."
"You!" A lie wouldn't hurt, but the truth cut deep. Sengoku was struck speechless.
Akainu and Garp had always disliked each other. The former's way of doing things irritated the latter, while the latter's attitude toward his duties infuriated the former.
Sengoku understood this well. Even he himself had plenty of criticisms toward Akainu.
But purely as a colleague, Sengoku still admired him a great deal.
After all, Akainu was a blood-and-iron soldier, willing to use any means necessary to complete a mission. As his superior, Sengoku had certainly reaped many benefits from that.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, we've already administered emergency treatment for Admiral Akainu. But there's another matter that must be reported to you."
"We found the mark of a Warlord of the Sea, Bartholomew Kuma, on the ground beneath Admiral Akainu…"
Sengoku frowned, a cold gleam flashing beneath his round black-rimmed glasses.
"So you're saying Akainu was sent here by Bartholomew Kuma?" He squeezed the life paper in his hand.
"How could Akainu possibly be injured like this by him?"
The individual strength of a Marine Admiral surpassed that of the Warlords. How could he have lost to them.
"Maybe it was someone else?" Garp flicked away his booger and spoke seriously.
"If I'm not mistaken, the World Government convened a Warlord meeting, ordering them to deal with some dangerous individual."
"And since that dangerous individual is currently in Alabasta, Bartholomew Kuma must also be there."
Sengoku suddenly looked over at him.
"You're saying the one who defeated Akainu was that dangerous individual?"
Garp nodded, rubbing his chin.
"As for why Akainu ended up in the West Blue, could it be Kuma saved him?"
"No, impossible!" Sengoku immediately denied it.
"Even though the Warlords, like us, belong to the World Government, we are not of one mind."
"He has no reason to save Akainu. He likely had another purpose."
"In any case, the top priority is to suppress this incident before it grows worse!"
"Pointless." Garp's tone was flat. "The Government values this dangerous man far more than you think. They surely already received word at the start."
"By now, they're probably already holding a meeting to discuss countermeasures."
Sengoku asked in confusion, "This dangerous man you keep mentioning, who is he?"
"You don't know?" Garp stared blankly at him, then smacked his forehead in sudden realization. "I forgot you've been tied up with other matters lately, no time to pay attention outside."
"This dangerous man is the one who fought Whitebeard to a standstill, Jotaro Kujo!"
"What!" Sengoku's eyes widened in shock, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
Whitebeard was his old rival, the king of this sea, and yet he and some newcomer out of nowhere were evenly matched.
Shaking his head, Sengoku felt a sudden, inexplicable sadness.
It was as if their era was already fading away, and the world ahead was about to undergo earth-shaking change.
Garp continued, his words brimming with unconcealed pride.
"Jotaro Kujo has been deemed as dangerous as my son! He provided Dragon with extremely dangerous ideas."
"Using those ideas, Dragon is right now wreaking havoc somewhere in the world! What exactly Jotaro's relationship with Dragon is remains a mystery, even the Government's intelligence agencies haven't figured it out yet."
"But it's clear, the Government will never allow someone like Dragon to exist again. If they get a chance to erase him, they'll never let it slip."
———
[Holy Land, Mary Geoise]
Just as Garp had predicted, the Five Elders were in a meeting.
Their expressions varied, but the one thing they all shared was anger and astonishment in their eyes.
"He actually defeated a Marine Admiral? It seems we underestimated his level of danger."
"The Navy is a bunch of useless fools, can't even play the role of dogs properly!"
"The decision to establish the Seven Warlords was truly the right one! Relying on the Navy alone, those trash could never accomplish anything."
"But we cannot rely solely on the Warlords. His strength has exceeded expectations. Letting him grow unchecked would pose too great a threat to the world!"
"I agree with Saint Warcury, this is the chance to eliminate him completely."
"I agree as well. This man is far too mysterious, as though he appeared in this world out of thin air. We can't uncover even a shred of his life history."
"And then there's his ambiguous connection with Dragon. We don't even know his true purpose in coming to the Grand Line."
"Don't forget his most shocking ability, according to the intelligence we've received, it doesn't come from a Devil Fruit…"
Fear comes from the unknown, and at this moment, the Five Elders were living proof of that saying.
Even for the world's most dangerous criminal, Monkey D. Dragon, they still held plenty of intelligence.
But for Jotaro, aside from his name and his recent actions, the World Government knew absolutely nothing.
"His very existence is a variable! In some sense, he's even more dangerous than Dragon!"
The Five Elders, standing or sitting, discussed how to handle this matter.
"As for the news of an Admiral's defeat, we must seal it off as much as possible. The Navy may be nothing more than our dogs, but if the dog is beaten, the master's face is also shamed. We cannot let this incident damage the Government's prestige!"
"An Admiral's defeat will force the Navy to act, but they still don't realize Jotaro's true danger. They won't send too much power unless we pressure them."
"Then let's use this chance, have the Navy and the Warlords take joint action. If we can erase Jotaro, even unleashing the highest-grade Buster Call will be worth it."
"If I remember right, his current location is Alabasta. But Alabasta is one of our allied nations. Wouldn't launching a Buster Call there be inappropriate?"
The God of Science Defense, Saint Figarland Garling, let out a cold snort, "Lord Im is already planning to test the Ancient Weapons on nearby allied nations. A mere Buster Call is nothing in comparison."
Saint Warcury, "Exactly. And I've heard Alabasta is in the middle of civil strife. Don't forget the letter in that royal family's name! To us, this is an opportunity!"
The Five Elders looked at one another, and finally spoke coldly,
"Notify the Navy…"
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