At dawn, inside the great hall of the Sorbet Kingdom, Dragon had already been seated there for a very long time.
Several regional commanders had been urgently woken from their sleep and brought into the meeting through Den Den Mushi.
Dragon's expression was extremely grim.
He had realized long ago that Sakazuki's offensive would not be simple, but he had not expected it to come with such ferocity.
He had clearly issued orders again and again, instructing every front to remain on high alert.
Yet Sakazuki had still torn open a gap and driven a nail straight into the Four Blues.
"Where did the problem occur? Have you found out?"
Once everyone had arrived, Dragon suppressed the anger in his heart and asked.
Beside him, Sabo looked down at the report in his hand and answered, "Report, We have already confirmed it."
"The Marine fleet led by Admiral Sakazuki emerged from the Calm Belt in the West Blue before dawn. Rudolf Svenpon, who was responsible for Senzo Port, failed to detect anything abnormal in advance, so the Marines successfully captured Senzo Port."
"But even now, we still do not know what technology the Marines used. No one at Senzo Port managed to send out any information, which led to the Nitasulo Kingdom being ambushed by the Marines as well."
"The commander of the Nitasulo Kingdom, Wolf Yehudi, has also fallen in battle. By the time the information reached us, the Marines had basically taken control of the Nitasulo Kingdom. Only a few small groups of Revolutionary Army soldiers are still using the terrain to maneuver against them."
Everyone silently sighed.
No one had wanted this to happen, but now that it had, they also felt a faint sense of relief that they had not been chosen as the first target.
Otherwise, their fate would not have been much different from Wolf Yehudi's.
Dragon stared carefully at the defensive map of the West Blue. The locations occupied by the Marines had already been marked on it.
After thinking for a moment, Dragon spoke.
"Transfer all current forces in the West Blue to the area around the Nitasulo Kingdom. Everyone must stop the Marines' advance and pin them firmly in place."
"Mobilize Revolutionary Army soldiers from the South Blue and East Blue and send them to support the West Blue."
"Sabo, you will serve as the supreme commander of the West Blue front. You must ensure that the Marines do not obtain any more territory in the West Blue."
After a series of arrangements, everyone left one after another to prepare for war.
Kuma silently appeared behind Dragon and brought him a pot of hot tea.
"What's wrong, Kuma?"
Dragon sensed that Kuma's mood was somewhat poor.
Kuma hesitated for a moment before saying helplessly, "Dragon-san, the Marines have summoned me over. You know that I am one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
Almost everyone in the Revolutionary Army knew that Kuma was a Warlord, but very few people in the outside world knew that he was actually a member of the Revolutionary Army.
Dragon's expression changed drastically.
He knew very well how terrifying Raleigh was.
The fact that Kuma was a member of the Revolutionary Army might be hidden from others, but it could never be hidden from Raleigh's eyes.
So if Kuma went to Marine Headquarters, it would almost certainly be a situation where he had nine chances of dying and only one chance of surviving.
"Kuma, you cannot go. If you go to Marine Headquarters, you will not survive."
Dragon tightly grabbed Kuma's right hand.
Kuma felt Dragon's concern, and his heart was deeply moved.
"But, Dragon-san, if I don't go, then the Sorbet Kingdom will be treated as a target and destroyed."
"You know that the Marines spare no effort when it comes to striking down pirates."
Dragon stood up from his seat and paced back and forth in agitation.
"That still will not do. Delay them for now. I will think of another way."
...
At the Nitasulo Kingdom, inside the Marines' temporary command post, a sand table of the West Blue had been placed before Sakazuki. It was densely packed with all kinds of small flags.
The exiled nobles of the former kingdom had somehow heard about the matter.
One after another, they emerged from their hiding places and came to the Marines' temporary headquarters, clamoring to meet the Admiral.
"Bastards, let me in! Do you know who I am?"
"A bunch of lowly commoners actually dare to block someone as noble as me?"
"Unforgivable! Once I meet Sakazuki, I will definitely report all of you!"
A group of nobles surrounded the entrance of the temporary Marine command post, their emotions extremely agitated.
Miles spent a long time trying to calm them down at the entrance, but in the end, he still failed.
He could only go inside and look for Sakazuki.
"Sakazuki-sama, those nobles outside are far too troublesome. They are demanding to see you and refuse to leave no matter what I say."
Miles spoke with a depressed expression.
Sakazuki did not even raise his head.
He continued studying the sand table, deducing the direction of the next offensive.
Only after a long while did he finally look up at Miles.
"Over the years, your strength has grown very quickly, but when it comes to political struggle, you are still far too immature."
Miles lowered his head in shame, not knowing what to say.
Seeing this, Sakazuki patted the seat beside him, indicating that Miles should come over and sit as well.
He took a cigar from his coat, lit it, and slowly exhaled a mouthful of smoke before saying, "Political struggle is something everyone must learn and understand."
"In this world, strength represents many things, but wisdom in political struggle is equally important."
"Everyone has different methods and approaches. Take those nobles at the entrance, for example. If it were me, I would order them executed directly. Because of that, I might bear some questioning from the World Government, but those things are irrelevant. My strength is great enough that they cannot possibly abandon me."
"But if it were your teacher Raleigh, he would probably choose to appease those nobles on the surface, feed them well, treat them well, and then arrange for someone disguised as Revolutionary Army soldiers to assassinate them, removing himself from the matter and shifting the blame onto the Revolutionary Army. That is also a method."
"One method is convenient and quick, but the consequences are more troublesome. The other is slower, but there is less trouble afterward. Neither choice is wrong."
Miles' mouth fell open in surprise.
He had never imagined that something could be handled in such a way!
Sakazuki smiled.
"Kid, your experience is still too shallow. Learn a little more from me before you return to Raleigh."
"Men, invite those nobles in."
"Yes."
The Marine soldiers quickly allowed the nobles inside.
One by one, they entered the Marines' temporary command post with their heads held high.
However, when they stepped into the reception hall, they discovered that the atmosphere was extremely heavy.
A tall man sat in the main seat.
Merely sitting there in silence, he radiated such majesty that no one dared speak carelessly.
The noble at the front was frightened into taking several steps back.
He did not dare open his mouth, but the people behind him pushed him forward, so he could only force himself to speak.