"Fleet Admiral Kong! Tsuru-san!" Sakazuki looked up, his expression unreadable as he gazed at the two people in the room.
This man was indeed the G-1 Branch Base Commander, Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral, and an Admiral candidate, the Logia-type Magma-Magma Fruit user, Sakazuki!
Hoo...
Seeing the newcomer, Kong let out a soft breath, forcing a smile. "You've come at a good time, Sakazuki. Have a seat first!"
Sakazuki said nothing, silently taking a seat on the sofa chair opposite Tsuru. The adjutant by the door, perceptive to the situation, promptly poured him a cup of hot tea.
At this point, Tsuru put down her teacup and said nonchalantly, "You two can talk. I'm going to feed the cat!"
"Huh?!" Kong looked utterly bewildered.
Sakazuki's expression was also odd. Both of them stared at Tsuru.
"Cross-kun left Bastet for me to feed before he left. It's now dinner time for her!" With that, Tsuru stood up and leisurely walked out of the room, leaving only Kong and Sakazuki staring at each other.
The office was quiet for a while before Sakazuki finally broke the silence, asking Kong, "Who is Bastet?"
"Cough, cough~" Kong lightly coughed, answering, "A cat. A cat that ate an Animal-type Mythical Zoan-type Nekomata Devil Fruit!"
"A... cat... that ate an Animal-type Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit?!" Sakazuki's eyes widened, almost disbelieving.
A Mythical Zoan-type, even rarer than a Logia-type, such a precious ability... who would be willing to give it to a cat?
"Although it's unbelievable and a terrible waste, it really is a cat that accidentally ate an Animal-type Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit!" Kong shrugged, giving a helpless, bitter smile.
"So it was an accident... then that's truly a lucky cat!" Sakazuki nodded with an understanding expression, then said in a deep voice, "But it's also fortunate that it fell into the hands of our Marines and didn't end up with some evil person!"
"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. You rushed back to Marineford from the G-1 Branch for the matter concerning the Kingdom of Bion and the Roberts Legion, didn't you?" Kong changed the subject, asking directly.
"That's right. King Thomas VII of the Bion Kingdom was assassinated the night before last. The royalists and the noble faction have clashed multiple times over power, and now the entire Bion Kingdom is in chaos. Intelligence detected unusual movements from the Roberts Legion, so I suspect they will launch an attack on the Bion Kingdom prematurely!" Sakazuki stated, his face emotionless, his tone calm.
"Your guess is very reasonable. Regardless of who sent the assassin to kill Thomas VII, if the Roberts Legion attacks the Bion Kingdom at this time, the probability of them conquering Shiloh Island is very high. We must be prepared!" Kong agreed with Sakazuki's assessment and directly asked, "So, Sakazuki, what are your thoughts?"
"If the enemy doesn't move, I don't move! If the enemy moves, so do I!" Sakazuki stated deeply, "Although the Roberts Legion isn't fully prepared yet, Bartholomew Roberts is a seasoned veteran and is unlikely to give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Therefore, we must be ready for the Roberts Legion to launch an early assault on the Bion Kingdom!"
"The plan is good, but..." Kong nodded in agreement, then hesitated. "The timing is too rushed. The situation on the seas is getting more severe by the day, and all branches and divisions are under immense pressure, making troop deployment difficult. We've only gathered 10,000 of the projected 30,000 men. The troop deficit is too large!"
Hearing this, Sakazuki was silent for a moment before slowly saying, "The G-1 Branch is primarily responsible for the entrance to the New World and also the defense of Mariejois. We can additionally deploy 3,000 men!"
"3,000 men... even if the G-1 Branch deploys another 3,000, that's only 13,000 in total!" Kong shook his head, saying, "Without an absolute numerical advantage, even with a surprise attack, it will be difficult to achieve our objective of completely annihilating the Roberts Legion!"
"That's why I need Lieutenant Commander Cross's army!" Sakazuki said, his expression unchanged, his tone heavy. "5,000 Enliven creatures, plus 13,000 Marines, totaling 18,000 troops! Even if we can't completely annihilate the Roberts Legion then, we can definitely inflict heavy damage on those guys!"
"5,000 Enliven creatures... You want to take all the Enliven creatures from Marine Headquarters!" Kong's expression was startled as he looked at Sakazuki, suddenly understanding why he had personally rushed to Marine Headquarters—it was for this purpose.
...
"Oh oh oh~"
"Lieutenant Commander Cross!"
"Amazing! Truly amazing!"
"As expected of the future star of the Marines!"
"..."
Just then, a burst of noisy shouts came from outside, and Kong and Sakazuki faintly heard Cross's name. Kong frowned, his expression displeased, and he demanded towards the door, "What's happening out there?"
Huff... huff...
The young officer ran into the office, panting heavily as he replied, "Fleet Admiral Kong, it's Lieutenant Commander Cross who's back!"
"That brat finally decided to come back, did he?" Here, Kong seemed confused, asking, "Wait, why is there such a commotion just because Cross is back?"
"Fleet Admiral Kong, Lieutenant Commander Cross didn't return alone!" The young officer said excitedly, his expression filled with admiration. "Lieutenant Commander Cross not only brought back a little girl, but he also brought back the corpse of the great pirate Gecko Moria!"
"What did you say?" Kong gasped in shock, disbelievingly asking again, "You said Cross brought back Moria's corpse?"
At the same time, Sakazuki, standing nearby, also showed a slight change in expression, his eyes revealing surprise and doubt.
"There's no mistake, Fleet Admiral Kong. Lieutenant Commander Cross threw Gecko Moria's corpse right in the Marineford plaza! Many people are gathered around it!" The young officer quickly replied.
"Let's go, let's see!" Kong abruptly stood up from his chair and hastily walked out. Sakazuki, seeing this, also stood up and followed closely.
The two stood in the corridor outside the office, looking down from the highest level of the Marine Headquarters fortress. Sure enough, they saw a dense crowd of Marines gathered in the plaza below, and their numbers were continuously increasing, like a morning assembly.
Seeing so many people gathered in the plaza, much of Kong's and Sakazuki's disbelief instantly vanished, and their intention to go down also died down.
A single corpse had already attracted thousands of spectators; if he, the Fleet Admiral, went down as well, it would inevitably attract even more people. If the situation became even slightly uncontrollable, a stampede could occur, turning joy into sorrow.
"Aik, convey my orders: tell all departmental officers to take their soldiers back and stop gawking," Kong commanded in a deep voice. "Also, send someone to retrieve Gecko Moria's corpse, and have Lieutenant Commander Cross come up to report on his mission!"
"Yes, Fleet Admiral Kong!" The young officer named Aik quickly saluted and rushed off.
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