Silence!
The vast conference hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Everyone stared intently at the figure on the screen, each face clearly showing undisguised shock and terror!
"5,233,000,000 Berries... This bounty has already surpassed Whitebeard's, second only to Pirate King Roger!" Vice Admiral Doberman unconsciously gripped his sword hilt, his knuckles turning white.
"Barbarossa Caesar... It was this man who defeated Kuzan, who likely isn't dead! But for some reason, Kuzan is willing to work for him!" Tashigi gritted her teeth, barely containing her killing intent toward Caesar.
The powerful Devil Fruit abilities possessed by Admirals have been passed down within the Marines for centuries.
Whenever a Marine Admiral falls, their fruit reappears shortly after and is once again acquired by the World Government.
The fact that Aokiji's Ice-Ice Fruit hasn't appeared in the World Government's possession indirectly confirms that Aokiji himself hasn't died.
This makes the information brought back by Valdo highly likely to be accurate.
"Hey hey! Don't joke around, Brannew!" The sleazy middle-aged man, Chaton, suddenly exclaimed.
"The Flying Pirates? Wasn't that Golden Lion's crew? Shouldn't he be long dead?"
Brannew shook his head gently. "Unfortunately, he's not dead. According to intelligence, not only is Golden Lion Shiki alive, he has regained his youthful appearance, and his strength is probably no less than it was twenty years ago!"
As Brannew spoke these words, the entire hall erupted in uproar.
Smoker quietly took out a cigar, lit it, took a deep drag, and fell into deep thought.
"This is incredible. This Beast God Caesar is countless times more terrifying than Whitebeard was two years ago. The Beasts Pirates, Big Mom Pirates, and Flying Pirates - that's equivalent to the strength of three Emperor crews. Hina is very worried."
Beside Smoker, Hina looked anxious, her black leather-gloved hands trembling uncontrollably.
"No need to worry. Since the Fleet Admiral issued the summons, he must have a way to deal with them!" Smoker tried to comfort Hina, but discovered his own voice had become hoarse and trembling.
This made him feel almost too ashamed to show his face.
But the fear rising from the depths of his soul was completely unstoppable, creeping out relentlessly.
Brannew looked deeply at everyone in the hall before continuing. "Barbarossa Caesar's strength is undoubtedly frightening - in today's seas, he is the strongest!"
"He has defeated Ryokugyu, Aokiji, Dark King Rayleigh, Red-Haired Shanks, and Blackbeard! Fleet Admiral Sengoku died because of him! Vice Admiral Garp also fell by his hand!"
"He is a Devil Fruit user of the Mythical Zoan type, Kunpeng."
"This ability is the strongest among all Zoan types!"
"He can transform into a twenty-kilometer-long super-sized Sea King, or a golden giant bird that blots out the sky! His vitality surpasses our wildest imagination!"
"Moreover, he possesses peak mastery of all three types of Haki! His physical body alone has already surpassed Kaido's!"
With each statement from Brannew, the faces of the officers in the hall grew paler.
By the time Brannew finished speaking, even the Vice Admirals seated in the front row had terrifyingly pale complexions, with dense cold sweat beading on their foreheads.
"Brannew! Stop speaking words that undermine our morale!" Gion suddenly shouted sharply.
Brannew smiled bitterly: "Sorry, I don't want to say these things either, but I must make everyone understand the danger level of this mandatory summons! If the Beast God Pirates truly intend to attack Marine Headquarters, then this will be the greatest challenge we Marines have faced in decades, even centuries! Everyone must be prepared to die!"
"Continue!"
An aged voice came through, and all Marine officers turned to look.
They saw a white-haired woman walking in, wearing the Justice cloak.
Her expression was stern as she waved her hand, signaling Brannew to continue.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru!"
Brannew quickly bowed slightly to show respect to Vice Admiral Tsuru.
Tsuru nodded, then shouted to everyone in the hall.
"You are all elites among the Marines, the strongest force maintaining world peace and upholding justice! Show the Marine spirit - don't be intimidated by the enemy's ferocity!
So what if he's the world's strongest?
Was Pirate King Roger strong? He died!
Whitebeard was also called the world's strongest man, and he died too!
Kaido was powerful, but he was defeated by Straw Hat Luffy!
Charlotte Linlin was also defeated by Eustass Kid and Trafalgar Law!
As for Golden Lion, need I say more? If he hadn't cut off his own legs and escaped back then, he would have died in Impel Down!"
Tsuru's words acted like a shot of adrenaline injected into every Marine officer's heart, calming everyone down.
"As long as they're human, they can be defeated, they can die! Roger was like this, Whitebeard was like this, Kaido and Golden Lion were like this - and this Caesar will also be defeated by someone! We Marines never retreat half a step just because the enemy is powerful! Because on our backs, we carry justice! Justice will prevail!"
"Justice will prevail!" Tsuru suddenly stood up, raising her right hand in a clenched fist.
"Justice will prevail!"
"Justice will prevail!"
The Marine officers in the hall all stood up, shouting loudly.
It seemed that just shouting these four words could bring them infinite strength.
Smoker tightly clenched his fists, biting his cigar, still sitting there, appearing out of place amidst the others' shouts.
"Good! Then let's continue looking at the other members of the Beast God Pirates."
Brannew forced a smile, signaling everyone to sit down.
"Dragon God Kaido, bounty 4,611,100,000 Berries."
"Soul God Charlotte Linlin, bounty 4,388,000,000 Berries."
"War God Barbarossa Katakuri, bounty 2,678,000,000 Berries."
"Sword God Ganzui, bounty 2,000,000,000 Berries."
"Crocodile, former Seven Warlord, bounty 1,965,000,000 Berries."
"Doflamingo, former Seven Warlord, bounty 1,888,000,000 Berries."
"Additionally, according to the latest updated bounties, the legendary pirate Golden Lion Shiki's bounty has been set at 4,800,000,000 Berries!"
"Furthermore, within the Beast God Pirates, there are other formidable fighters such as Gecko Moria, Demon Gin, Calamity King, and Plague Queen. It's worth noting that Redfield and... former Marine Admiral Aokiji also appear to have joined them."
There was too much information about the Beast God Pirates, and Brannew kept explaining it to everyone on stage.
He spoke eloquently and with great enthusiasm, spittle flying as he talked.
What Brannew failed to notice was that the morale among the audience, which had just been boosted by Vice Admiral Tsuru, was gradually dissipating as he continued his explanation.
Smoker clenched his cigar between his teeth, his eyes peering through the swirling smoke at the faces projected on the screen before him.
"The Marines! So stubbornly abolishing the Seven Warlords system back then, yet not wiping them out completely. And those great pirates we captured—Golden Lion, Redfield, and others. Capturing them but not executing them—now we're facing the worst scenario I imagined!"
"All these dangerous criminals we caught but didn't kill have gathered together!"
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