It was not easy for ordinary ships to return to the Four Seas from Paradise.
However, warships only needed to cross the Calm Belt to return to the Four Seas.
The large fleet successfully crossed the Calm Belt and entered the East Blue, then reached the waters near Loguetown in just one day.
"This is the World Government's order. Carry it out."
Sakazuki put down the receiver, ending his daily communication with the other vice admirals. His expression was grim.
Loguetown held a special status. After Reddy took it over, it was no less than a slap to the World Government's face, and the Navy's deterrence was greatly weakened as well.
Not only in the New World, but even the pirates in Paradise were becoming restless.
For this reason, the World Government ordered a live broadcast of this punitive operation, aiming to reestablish its authoritative image and intimidate the restless pirates.
This approach was not wrong.
However, broadcasting live during the operation undoubtedly added unnecessary pressure.
If the Den Den Mushi transmitting the images were destroyed, causing the broadcast to be interrupted, all the efforts of the Navy and the World Government would become meaningless.
This meant that dedicated personnel had to be assigned to protect the image-transmitting Den Den Mushi.
A bad start!
Sakazuki bit his cigar, his face dark as he pondered countermeasures.
"Admiral Akainu!"
A Navy rear admiral rushed in and reported urgently, "The fleet has arrived in the waters where Loguetown is located, but... but... Loguetown is gone."
"What!"
Sakazuki's heart sank. He strode onto the deck and looked toward the distant sea.
After Reddy suspended the island a hundred meters above the sea, it could be vaguely seen even from afar, a sight akin to a miracle.
Yet now, there was truly no trace of the island in the waters ahead.
Another miscalculation!
Sakazuki felt irritated.
He had done a lot of preparation to ensure the success of this operation, but he never expected Reddy to be so shameless as to take the island and run away.
This punitive operation had become a joke.
Sakazuki said coldly, "Search the nearby waters. We must find it!"
The fifty warships immediately dispersed, spreading across the nearby sea to expand the search range and look for any possible location of the island.
On one of the warships, Crocodile puffed on his cigar and smirked. "How amusing. That guy actually took the island away. Is it the power of the Float-Float Fruit, the ability of the legendary pirate Golden Lion Shiki?"
For ease of surveillance and to prevent these unruly Warlords from becoming obstacles, Sakazuki had assigned all the Warlords to the same warship, placing them under Onigumo's supervision.
Jinbe, standing nearby, said solemnly, "I heard Dr. Reddy is the foremost expert in the field of the Bloodline Factor. It wouldn't be strange if he stole Golden Lion's ability."
"Fufufufufu... People like us are probably also targets of that guy's hunting."
Doflamingo leaned against the mast, seizing every opportunity to sow discord among the other Warlords, trying to stir up their wariness.
If even one of them put in a little more effort during the operation, he was absolutely certain Reddy would die.
"Doflamingo, don't think we're all fools."
Hancock sat atop her coiled pet snake, Salome, resting her cheek on her palm as she tilted her head to look at Doflamingo, her eyes flashing with mockery. Her tone was anything but polite.
Such provocation was too crude.
Doflamingo turned to Hancock and said playfully, "Pirate Empress, you might be his most important target... No man would let go of the world's most beautiful woman."
Hancock sneered.
Yet deep down, she truly felt more disgust toward Reddy.
Creating clones with the same face and body as hers?
What a disgusting man!
Crocodile took his cigar out of his mouth and blew out a puff of smoke, smirking as he mocked, "Heavenly Yaksha, don't treat us like idiots. I heard you were tricked by that guy in Water 7, right?"
Doflamingo's expression darkened.
Crocodile's intelligence network was no worse than his.
Back then, he had attacked Reddy under the cover of night on that uninhabited island. Aside from Borsalino and a few others, no one should have seen it.
Yet Crocodile somehow knew he had been tricked.
No doubt, Crocodile had informants within the Beasts Pirates, or even the Navy headquarters.
Hancock and the others looked at Doflamingo with strange expressions.
"Seems like I hit the mark."
Crocodile was happy to amuse himself before finding Reddy's whereabouts, not caring whether he offended Doflamingo.
"I hope you survive till the end of this operation."
Doflamingo gave a sinister smile and stopped provoking the other Warlords, closing his eyes to rest.
Crocodile smirked maliciously but didn't provoke Doflamingo further, turning his gaze back to the sea... and the sky.
...
"Admiral Akainu, we've searched the nearby waters. No suspicious targets found!"
After listening to his subordinate's report, Sakazuki's face darkened further, his gaze piercing through the glass to the endless sea.
The temperature in the cabin gradually rose.
Buru buru...
The sound of a Den Den Mushi suddenly rang out.
Sakazuki's eyes shifted to the communications officer, who, taking the hint, quickly answered.
"Sorry, sorry. It seems I'm late."
Sakazuki's expression turned even grimmer upon hearing this clearly apologetic voice.
Though he had never met Reddy, he guessed this voice belonged to the target of this operation.
Reddy had once been on a Navy warship and knew how to contact the Den Den Mushi on board, so Sakazuki wasn't surprised.
"Give it to me!"
Sakazuki walked behind the communications officer and took the receiver. "Dr. Reddy, give up this pointless resistance. You'll only be sent to Impel Down, not killed."
"You are... Akainu?"
"Correct."
"I didn't expect your voice to be so sexy."
The other Navy soldiers in the cabin struggled not to laugh, their faces twitching.
No one in Marineford dared to tease Admiral Akainu like this.
Part of Sakazuki's forehead turned into magma, instantly raising the surrounding temperature.
"Sorry, sorry. That was unintentional. I contacted you because I'm about to arrive, so I wanted to give you a heads-up. That's all. See you soon."
The call ended abruptly.
Sakazuki gripped the receiver, his face dark.
"Admiral Akainu, there's an island descending from the sky!"
Someone shouted in alarm.
Sakazuki immediately looked up.
A small black dot was growing larger as it descended from the sky, heading straight for these waters.
In a short time, the island became clearer.
Including Sakazuki, all the Marines couldn't help but pale slightly.
The island resembled an octopus, looking like a monster descending from the heavens.
Soon, the island hovered about two hundred meters above the sea, with eight tentacle-like passages floating on the water's surface.
Sakazuki strode onto the deck and stared coldly at the island suspended above the sea. "Can we fire?"
"Admiral Akainu, the elevation angle isn't enough."
The artillery officer shook his head helplessly.
Without the right angle, no matter how powerful the cannons were, they were useless.
Sakazuki wasn't surprised. Bombarding the island was just a backup plan. In the end, they still needed manpower to take control of it.
"Orders: Since Dr. Reddy has invited us onto the island, we'll accept his invitation."