Well, it seems Patreon is intent on taking down my page, so I went ahead and made a new one: patreon(.)com/AlexandrusTL
If you want to read ahead of schedule and support my work, feel free to head over there.
For now, I can only post two chapters. It's really late over here, haha.
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In Mariejois, the Holy Land of the World Government, a round-table conference was being held at the Marine's Highest Conference Hall.
Many high-ranking Marine officials were gathered. An officer standing behind Kong's chair reported, "What I just said is the worldwide reaction to the Alucard incident. Overall, being able to defeat such a great pirate is very beneficial to our Marine's reputation."
It had been over half a month since the battle with Alucard on Torabia Island in the New World.
Kong and Garp, who had participated in the war, and Sengoku and Sakazuki, who had been preventing the other two Emperors from going berserk in the first half of the Grand Line, had all returned to Headquarters for this round-table conference.
However, after the meeting, they would have to immediately return to their posts.
"What's the specific reaction from the countries that have flown Alucard's flag over the past two years?" Tsuru asked, squinting.
"Yes, that's the key question of this conference."
The officer nodded and replied, "There are a total of twelve countries that Alucard conquered, led by Arderay and Laguna. Now, with the government's urging, they have taken down Alucard's pirate flag. At the same time, they have announced to their citizens that their countries have been freed from the threat of pirates."
"Ha, Alucard never even bothered with those countries, so what threat are they talking about..."
Kuzan, who usually slept during meetings, was wide awake this time. "On the contrary, they're in a very dangerous situation now, aren't they? If Alucard isn't dead, they'll definitely be..."
"Kuzan, your words are not auspicious enough, are they?"
Kuzan's words immediately caused some of the older officials to complain.
However, Kong, the Fleet Admiral, spoke up. "Kuzan is right this time. It's not a matter of whether it's auspicious or not. If Alucard isn't dead, he will definitely take revenge on those twelve countries."
"Then what should we do?"
Borsalino spread his hands. "Should we send our forces to protect them? Based on the last battle, is it going to be fifteen thousand men per country?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Sakazuki said with his arms crossed.
Fifteen thousand men for one country? That's one hundred eighty thousand men for twelve countries. He must be joking. The current Marine Headquarters didn't have that many people. But they couldn't just ignore those twelve countries.
Kong spoke. "Kuzan, Issho, Sakazuki." "Yes." The three of them responded in unison.
"The three of you will temporarily move from the first half of the Grand Line to the New World. You will form a patrol team, focusing on those twelve countries. Patrol the seas near them, and if you find a problem, report it immediately."
These three men were originally the main forces in charge of guarding the first half of the Grand Line. With the current situation, they had no choice but to temporarily transfer them to the New World.
"Understood."
After giving a few more orders, Kong slammed his hand on the table. "Alright, meeting adjourned. Tsuru, Sengoku, and Garp, come to my office afterward. Everyone else, return to your posts immediately."
Two hours later, at Marine Headquarters, Marineford, inside the Fleet Admiral's office, the atmosphere was extremely heavy. Sengoku and Tsuru stood respectfully in front of Kong, while Garp sat casually on a nearby couch.
Kong's eyebrows twitched. He chose to ignore Garp's behavior for now.
"Just now, we were talking about the good side of things. Now, I'll talk about the bad side."
Kong's face was unprecedentedly grave. He placed his crossed hands in front of his mouth. "Many people are asking what will happen if Alucard isn't dead. To answer that question, I'll explain the consequences if that possibility is a reality."
"The operation to defeat Alucard resulted in fourteen thousand two hundred twenty-two casualties, including five Vice Admirals and eleven Rear Admirals, not to mention others."
Kong paused. "If someone needs to be held responsible for this loss, there's no doubt..." Kong pointed to his face. "I will take responsibility for this."
"The mission always comes with the possibility of failure, Kong-san. You don't have to..."
Sengoku was about to try and dissuade him, but Kong raised a hand to stop him. He looked at Tsuru and nodded at her. "Tsuru, tell them what you advised me before the operation."
Tsuru hesitated for a few seconds before saying with a look of conflict on her face, "I... advised the Fleet Admiral to investigate Alucard's abilities first before making a move."
"Exactly!" Kong suddenly shouted, slamming his fist on the table. "If I had... no, there's no such thing as 'if I had' in this world."
With that, Kong stood up from his Fleet Admiral chair. "So you understand that I am responsible for the sacrifice of those ten thousand people. At the very least, if I had known Alucard could use that kind of tactic, I could have formulated a new strategy and reduced the casualties to less than five thousand."
"Haaa..." Kong sighed heavily. He sat down again and pointed at his "Fleet Admiral" rank. "I have already reported to the government. If Alucard is alive, which means this operation was a failure, I will resign from my position as Fleet Admiral and become an advisor."
"Fleet Admiral..." Tsuru and Sengoku were both shocked. Even Garp squinted and looked over.
"My mind is made up. I was too rash..." Kong gritted his teeth, slowly looking up to meet Sengoku's eyes. "Also, I'm going to recommend you, Sengoku, to be the new Fleet Admiral!"
"You can't do that, Kong-san!" Sengoku said righteously. "You must know that if you do that, there will be no one left for the Admiral position, and that bastard Garp will never take it. Even if you made a huge mistake, in our current situation, we must endure everything. No matter what Alucard's fate is, you must remain in your position as Fleet Admiral!"
"Hey, don't drag me into this, alright?" Garp said from behind, even though he had rejected the Admiral promotion several times.
Kong stared at Sengoku for a long time, and Sengoku stared back without backing down. A few seconds later, Kong gave in, laughing at himself. "Hahahaha! Too rash! I was too rash again!"
"Pass down an order. Increase the difficulty of Issho, Kuzan, Sakazuki, Borsalino, Momousagi, and Chaton's missions, especially Kuzan and Borsalino. Push those lazy bums to their breaking points and make them break through to the Admiral level as soon as possible!"
"Yes, sir!" Sengoku and Tsuru responded.
"This conversation proves that you think Alucard isn't dead..." Garp muttered to himself, in a voice only he could hear.