Marineford.
Sengoku slammed his hands heavily on the desk and stood up, angrily shouting, "How dare you come back like this?"
Sakazuki stood expressionlessly in front of Sengoku, silently enduring the scolding.
Not a single one of the 50,000 elite Marines had escaped. All had become Reddy's prisoners. This failure could only be blamed on him.
After finishing his tirade at Sakazuki, Sengoku, still furious, turned his anger toward Kuzan. "Tell me why only the two of you came back like beaten dogs?"
Kuzan remained silent.
Sengoku was genuinely furious.
It had been his idea to let Sakazuki lead the mission. It had also been his idea to include Kuzan in the operation to accumulate achievements.
But he had never expected the mission to fail so completely.
A full 50,000 elite Marines had been completely annihilated.
Tsuru stepped in to mediate. "Alright, Sengoku, we should hear their report."
Sengoku, still fuming, crossed his arms and sat down, waiting for Sakazuki and Kuzan to deliver their post-mission report.
"First, I ordered Kuzan to secure a landing zone..."
Sakazuki meticulously recounted the entire operation.
As he spoke, Sengoku and Tsuru's expressions grew increasingly grave.
Listening to Sakazuki's account, the two felt as though they were hearing a poorly written script from a third-rate author.
It was too unbelievable!
While they had witnessed the capture of the Marine Vice Admirals during the live broadcast, the final battle, where Kaido and Big Mom intervened, only to be suppressed by Reddy's clones... they could hardly believe it was real.
No single Emperor could withstand the combined assault of two Admirals.
Yet, merely eight clones had suppressed four Emperor-level monsters, including veterans like Kaido and Big Mom.
Didn't this mean Reddy's clones already possessed Admiral-level strength?
Tsuru stood up and left Sengoku's office, returning shortly with a stack of documents.
"This is the latest assessment report on the clones' combat capabilities."
She first explained the contents of the documents and their source. "It's Borsalino's evaluation. The credibility is high."
"According to this report, the clones' strength hasn't yet reached the Admiral level."
"Then how did they manage to grow to Admiral-level strength in such a short time?"
The office fell silent.
This was one of the questions that no one, including Sengoku, could answer.
It was too absurd!
After a long moment of contemplation, Sengoku hesitantly asked, "Have you contacted Garp?"
"You suspect their rapid growth came from battling Garp?"
Tsuru, as Sengoku's longtime friend, immediately guessed his thoughts, her face filled with disbelief.
That seemed even more unscientific!
Sengoku shook his head. "I'm not sure, but one thing is certain. It must be related to that guy Garp."
At this point, Sakazuki interjected inappropriately. "Now isn't the time to discuss this. I propose promoting Kuzan to the position of Admiral immediately."
Sengoku and Tsuru were stunned.
No one had expected Sakazuki to be the one to suggest Kuzan's promotion to Admiral.
Sakazuki spoke rationally. "First, the news of the Marines' defeat must be concealed. Second, the Marines need a new Admiral to boost morale. Additionally, what we need to focus on now is the alliance between Kaido and Big Mom."
"Dr. Reddy has no ambition to conquer the world, but Kaido and Big Mom do."
"The alliance of two Emperors poses a far greater threat to the world than Dr. Reddy."
"Furthermore, I propose a worldwide draft. Marine Headquarters needs more high-tier combatants to deal with future threats."
Sengoku and Tsuru stared at Sakazuki in astonishment, even briefly suspecting that the man before them was an impostor.
The usually hardline Sakazuki was actually choosing to back down from Reddy?
It was unbelievable!
Seeing their reactions, Sakazuki felt unwilling but had no choice.
Given the Marines' current strength, launching another assault on Reddy was no longer feasible.
They were severely lacking in high-tier combatants.
If not for Kaido and Big Mom's sudden intervention, even he might have been captured on that island, becoming another of Reddy's prisoners.
In the past, when the Marines were dominant, he had taken a hardline stance against all pirates.
But now, circumstances forced his hand.
If they couldn't win, they had no choice but to endure. Once they had more high-tier combatants, they could seek revenge.
"The priority now is to secure the release of the captured Marines as soon as possible."
Tsuru was relieved that Sakazuki could view the situation so rationally. She shifted the topic away from the Marines' humiliation and suggested contacting Reddy for negotiations.
Sengoku stood up and walked toward the door. "This matter is no longer ours to decide. I'll seek instructions from the Five Elders."
...
"Is this the Five Elders' final decision?"
Tsuru was shocked after hearing Sengoku relay the Five Elders' stance on the matter.
As expected, Sengoku had been berated by the Five Elders, who ordered him to quickly mitigate the fallout from the failed mission.
After all, this was an incident no less significant than, if not greater than, the Zephyr incident.
Sengoku sighed helplessly. "The Five Elders don't want this incident to undermine the World Government's authority, so they've ordered us to keep the results from the public."
Tsuru nodded.
Such a disastrous event truly couldn't be disclosed.
To that end, the Five Elders, representing the World Government, had even personally ordered Sengoku to secure the release of the captured elite Marines as soon as possible. At the same time, they were to fabricate a narrative that the Marines had only suffered a minor setback to placate the public and avoid further repercussions.
Tsuru smiled wryly. "I'll go personally."
Sengoku nodded. "The Five Elders have agreed to cover the ransom, but that brat has a terrible temper. Be careful not to escalate the situation."
Tsuru agreed wholeheartedly.
Paying the ransom required tact.
Although the Five Elders, representing the World Government, were willing to pay the ransom, it didn't mean Reddy could extort them without limits.
At the same time, they had to prevent Reddy from suddenly deciding to flip the table and shatter the sky.
There was precedent for that.
Thinking of this, Tsuru couldn't help but regret her earlier scheming against Reddy, which had led to this disaster.
"Additionally..."
Sengoku's expression improved slightly. "The Five Elders have approved Kuzan's promotion to Admiral. With another Admiral, we should be able to deter those restless pirates."
"That's good news at least."
After the Zephyr incident, the man had effectively retired, leaving only Sakazuki and Borsalino as Admirals. Now, with Kuzan's promotion, the Marines could exert significant pressure on the pirates of the Grand Line.
Once the prisoners were ransomed, the Marines' paper strength would even exceed pre-mission levels.
Sengoku sighed. "Unfortunately, the Five Elders rejected the proposal for a worldwide draft to strengthen the Marines."
In the eyes of the Five Elders, the Marines were merely a tool—useful enough as is. If the tool became too powerful, it would become a liability.
Sengoku understood this all too well.
"Regardless, we must secure the release of the prisoners as soon as possible."
Tsuru stood and walked toward the door, pausing halfway. "It wasn't just Marines present. The Warlords were there too. We must issue a gag order immediately."
Sengoku grew irritable again at the mention of this. "Pirates can't be trusted... but there's no other choice. I'll preemptively announce that brat's new bounty. As long as the public accepts it, we won't have to worry about the Warlords spreading rumors."