Inside the fortress of New Marineford, the lights burned brightly.
Countless Marine soldiers were moving all kinds of supplies under the lamplight, while inside the office building, busy figures could be seen everywhere.
Because of the chaos in the New World triggered by Uta's death, intelligence reports were being sent back continuously by frontline soldiers.
At this moment, every officer and staff officer stationed at New Marineford had gathered in the meeting room to discuss the situation.
One piece of intelligence after another converged inside this office.
Busy intelligence personnel promptly marked the Marines' sphere of influence and the movements of the pirates on the sea chart.
Other staff officers carried out a sand table and placed it in the center of the meeting room's conference table, updating the changing situation in the New World in real time.
Small flags representing the Marines were inserted onto islands one after another, while miniature Marine warships continuously compressed the pirates' living space.
Raleigh sat in the central seat, his eyes half-closed as he dozed.
He had already set the strategic objectives.
The rest of the work had been handed over to the Staff Office led by Tsuru.
After all, if he took everything onto himself, the complicated war situation between the Marines and the pirates would exhaust him to death.
At that moment, Cleveland quickly passed through the crowded room, pushed open the meeting room door, and quietly came to Raleigh's side.
"Fleet Admiral Raleigh, something has happened."
A sharp gleam flashed through Raleigh's half-open eyes, but he did not show it on his face.
Instead, he stretched lazily and said, "Everyone has worked hard. I will have the chefs send supper over later. I am going to eat something first."
The officers who had been arguing intensely below raised their heads.
Seeing that Raleigh was leaving, they nodded and paid it no mind.
Even Tsuru, who knew that something had happened, had no interest in prying.
First, because of Raleigh's status.
As Fleet Admiral, he did not need to explain to his subordinates what he intended to do.
Second, because Raleigh was not very useful here anyway. When the Staff Office discussed tactics, Raleigh usually said nothing.
Most of the time, after they finished discussing a tactic, Raleigh simply nodded and approved it.
Only on rare occasions would Raleigh object and ask the Staff Office to revise the plan according to his thoughts.
Therefore, as long as they discussed the result and reported it to Raleigh afterward, that was enough.
During the stage of debate, Raleigh did not need to participate. In fact, with him here, everyone was less willing to speak freely.
When Raleigh walked out of the meeting room, he could clearly hear the discussions inside becoming louder.
A complicated smile appeared on Cleveland's face.
"Raleigh-sama, you truly are good at controlling people's hearts."
Toward this remark, which was half praise and half criticism, Raleigh merely shrugged indifferently.
After the two returned to the Fleet Admiral's office, Raleigh sat in his chair and asked, "What happened, Cleveland? I rarely see you in this state."
Cleveland carefully took out a piece of intelligence from his coat and said, "Fleet Admiral Raleigh, this is top-secret intelligence sent by No. 001 in the Four Blues."
Raleigh nodded and opened the intelligence in front of Cleveland.
Only after a long while did Raleigh speak.
"As expected, Dragon is a man who dares to take risks. Does he not even suspect whether there might be some conspiracy behind this matter?"
Raleigh had anticipated that Dragon would take most of the Revolutionary Army's combat forces and lead them into the Calm Belt.
After all, the warships in Dragon's hands that could cross the Calm Belt were a gift Vegapunk had given him with Raleigh's tacit permission.
Now that Dragon had finally set out according to Raleigh's expectations, the Four Blues could be reclaimed by Raleigh.
"Raleigh-sama, do you not suspect the authenticity of this information?"
"What if, I mean what if, No. 001 in the Four Blues has betrayed us?"
Raleigh shook his head, a smile on his face.
"Impossible. No matter who betrays me, she will not. After all, she is my disciple."
That's right.
The trump-card spy hidden within the Revolutionary Army was one of the disciples Raleigh had taken in back then: Belo Betty.
Raleigh had no doubt about Belo Betty's loyalty.
Therefore, after reading the letter, he already firmly believed that the information she sent back was true.
"Go and call Momonga. Tell him to send part of the supplies to Sakazuki in the Four Blues. Have him seize this opportunity to take down the entire Four Blues."
"It's time to launch the final offensive against the Four Blues." Raleigh spoke to Cleveland with heroic confidence.
Cleveland's face showed some hesitation.
He did not know how to say it. After hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke.
"Raleigh-sama, do we really not need to send someone to investigate?"
Raleigh shook his head and said, "Belo Betty is as important as all of you, so I do not believe she would betray me. If something like that truly happened, then it must mean I failed somewhere."
A strange emotion rose in Cleveland's heart. For a moment, he even felt guilty.
Because Raleigh trusted all of them so deeply, yet he had doubted his own companion.
"I am sorry, Raleigh-sama… I…"
Raleigh raised a hand, interrupting Cleveland's next words.
Then he took a golden pen from the drawer and said, "I know what you are thinking, and I understand your thoughts. After all, you are responsible for intelligence that concerns our lives. When it comes to intelligence, no amount of caution is excessive."
"But I hope this matter remains known only to the two of us. In the future, even if you have such thoughts, do not say them aloud. Write them down with this pen."
"You must understand that many times, once words are spoken, they can create misunderstandings that should never have existed."
When describing matters, tone was extremely important.
A doubtful tone and a certain tone were completely different, and they could easily influence another person's judgment.
"Enough. Go and make the arrangements. Also, call Gion over."
After stuffing the golden pen into Cleveland's hand, Raleigh began dismissing him.
Cleveland nodded, then quickly went out to find Momonga and arrange the matter.