Chapter 236"Just carrying out a mission.""Carrying out a mission?"Kizaru's glasses reflected white light, obscuring his gaze, but his voice turned cold. "Are you ready to explain this to the higher-ups? Kuma, this is a rather serious issue."Kuma remained silent."Mr. Garp, where are you going?"Aokiji noticed that after Luffy disappeared, Garpmerely gave Kuma a deep look, then turned without hesitation and walked away from the battlefield."This old man's mission was just to catch Straw Hat."Garp didn't look back, just waved his hand, his back looking somewhat hunched and weary. "Now that he's been eliminated, hasn't this old man's mission been completed?"Aokiji opened his mouth, wanting to say something.If Luffy had really been eliminated, would Mr. Garpstill be looking relieved and trying to slip away so quickly?With his temper, it would be strange if he didn't tear Kuma apart.However, Kuma's sudden betrayal, while disrupting all plans and causing the capture of Straw Hat to fail, in another sense, wasn't it helping them?Especially helping Garp out of a tight spot.If the fight had truly continued, forcing Garp to personally...Aokiji dared not imagine the consequences.Especially with that great war on the horizon.This is also good; at least they won't have to see Luffy in the upcoming war.That kid, both in strength and background, is a huge headache right now."Ah, what a bother," Aokiji scratched his curly hair, bent down to pick up his discarded coat, brushed off the dust, and followed Garp. "It's just that this report will be a bit difficult to write. Kizaru-kun, can I leave the follow-up here to you?"Both Aokiji and Garp were called in halfway; Kizaruwas the primary executor of the mission."Hey, hey, hey,"Kizaru looked dejected, watching the two preparing to leave, and couldn't help but complain, "There's still the legendary pirate Dark King Rayleigh here! Are you just going to dump everything on me? That's too irresponsible!""Heh hahaha."Rayleigh, seeing this, laughed heartily and sheathed his long sword into the scabbard he had retrieved at some point. "That's enough. Haven't you Marines achieved your strategic objective? Just let this old veteran, who only wants to live out his retirement peacefully, go."Kizaru looked at Rayleigh, who was sheathing his sword, expressionless.He then looked at the silent Kuma, then at the backs of Garp and Aokiji leaving without a trace of nostalgia, and finally sighed deeply, his face etched with utter despair."Where have we achieved it? They really don't care about us old folks."Kizaru muttered, "When I go back, I'm probably going to be scolded to death by the higher-ups."What more could be said, now that things had come to this?He glanced at Bartholomew Kuma, who was still expressionless, and finally just shook his head.The Sabaody Archipelago, this astonishing chaos triggered by the Celestial Dragons' attack, involving three Admiral-level combatants, numerous Supernovas, and legendary pirates, finally concluded with the elimination of the Straw Hat Crew....Marineford, Marine Headquarters.Located on the top floor of the tallest central building in the Headquarters.This is the office of the Fleet Admiral.Standing in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, one could easily take in the densely packed military buildings below, and the busy naval port had already begun large-scale troop movements.At this moment, Sengoku's face was grim; he had just rushed back from the Holy Land Mary Geoise, Pangea Castle.He felt uneasy facing the Gorosei in that place.Every time he faced those five highest authorities of the world, it felt like dealing with a tiger, especially when it involved the Celestial Dragonsand certain deeper taboos.The brief but infuriating meeting with the Goroseiechoed repeatedly in his mind.Initially, there was no room for discussion regarding the so-called trade for the three kidnapped Celestial Dragons.It was almost an order for the Marine to agree to Straw Hat's absurd trade: exchanging Fire Fist Acefor those three good-for-nothings."The lives of Celestial Dragons are above all else.""The Marine's prestige is insignificant before the absolute authority of the World Government."And what was the result?Not long after those words were spoken, the Gorosei's directive took a 180-degree turn, directly bypassing him, the Fleet Admiral, to issue orders to the Admirals."plan change.""Authorization to use extreme measures.""Ensure the complete eradication of Straw Hat Luffy and his crew, as well as all unstable elements in the target area."Sengoku didn't think it was because he was waiting outside the door and refused to leave.They were the ones who agreed to the trade, and they were also the ones who ruthlessly ordered the elimination.The lives of Celestial Dragons?In front of certain deeper objectives, they seemed to become expendable bargaining chips.What weighed even more heavily on his mind was that the Gorosei's order this time directly mobilized Kuzan, who was patrolling the seas near the Sabaody Archipelago, and Garp, who was making final deployments for the New World war.Making Garp personally capture, and potentially eliminate, his own grandson, Monkey D. Luffy?What exactly were the Gorosei thinking?Didn't they know about the intricate and inseparable relationship between Garp, Ace, and Luffy?Sengoku himself was one of the very few who knew.When he first received that top-secret report about the family ties between Garp, Ace, and Luffy, he was so shocked he almost crushed the teacup in his hand.Making a grandfather confront his own grandson, especially at this critical juncture when Ace was about to be publicly executed and a full-scale war with Whitebeard was about to erupt.Weren't they afraid that Garp might lose control of his emotions at a crucial moment, do something unpredictable, and completely disrupt the Marine's overall deployment?Just thinking about the mess Garp and Straw Hathad caused on the Sabaody Archipelago made Sengoku's temples throb, giving him a splitting headache.However, the worst-case scenario seemed to have happened.According to the scattered battle reports he had just received, Garp not only went but also seemed to have fought exceptionally fiercely.Bang!The office door was pushed open, and a figure carrying a hint of laziness and helplessness walked in; it was Admiral Borsalino, Kizaru, who had been ordered to report."Oh~ Mr. Sengoku, you're back already."Kizaru pushed up his brown sunglasses."What's the situation, Borsalino?" Sengoku asked in a low voice.Kizaru casually walked to the sofa in front of the desk, sat down, crossed his legs, and pouted, saying, "The Sabaody Archipelago side, it's pretty much cleaned up for now. A large number of pirates and Underworld mafia organizations were rooted out; it's considered the biggest cleanup operation in recent years."Sengoku said, "That's not important."The Marine was, of course, aware of the chaos on the Sabaody Archipelago.They didn't clean it up simply because there was a huge market where demand met supply.Kizaru paused, his tone becoming somewhat subtle: "Most of those Supernovas with bounties over 100 million, after jointly destroying three of our valuable Pacifistas, have already broken through the encirclement amidst the chaos and disappeared."They're a troublesome bunch of young people, quite frightening~Sengoku's brows furrowed even deeper.Three Pacifistas!Those were expensive weapons, costing as much as large warships, and so many were destroyed in their first combat deployment. The Science Unitwas probably furious.But he was more concerned about another issue now."What about the Straw Hat Crew?" Sengokustared at Kizaru, asking.This was the top priority!A target personally ordered by the Gorosei, mobilizing three Admiral-level combatants, even at the cost of sacrificing three Celestial Dragons, to be completely eradicated!Kizaru felt a bit uncomfortable under Sengoku's almost cannibalistic gaze.Garp and Aokiji are truly bastards."Regarding the Straw Hat Crew, according to Bartholomew Kuma's final mission report, the crew members and the 'Big Eater' Jewelry Bonneyamong the Supernovas have all been eliminated."Kizaru stroked his chin and said, "As for Straw Hat, he was also eliminated in front of us.""Eliminated?"Sengoku's pupils contracted, and his voice suddenly rose, "Did you personally confirm it? Where are the bodies?""This 'elimination' might not be what Mr. Sengokuis thinking."Kizaru still explained Kuma's ability.Sengoku almost choked.Mobilizing such immense power, and this was the result achieved?How was he supposed to explain this to the Gorosei?Kizaru spread his hands, looking helpless: "For the specific situation, I'm afraid you can only ask Kuma himself.""Where is Kuma?!""Now, even if you ask him, there won't be any answers. Because before we returned, Kuma had already gone to Dr. Vegapunk, according to his agreement with the World Government, to undergo the final modification experiment. It is said that he has completely lost his self-awareness and has become a human weapon that completely obeys the World Government.""Bartholomew Kuma,"Sengoku gritted his teeth, uttering the name, his fists clenching with a cracking sound, "I knew it! None of these Seven Warlords of the Sea are truly reliable!"He needed to consider some people's proposals.Whether the Shichibukai still needed to exist."Borsalino, you worked with Kuma in the Science Unit; you should know his background and abilities better than us! What exactly happened in that situation?"Facing Sengoku's barrage of questions, Kizarupushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting white light, obscuring his gaze: "Kuma's ability is indeed very special, Mr. Sengoku. His Paw-Paw Fruit can repel everything, including actual people.As for how he defines 'elimination,' perhaps only he himself knows."With a bang.Sengoku slammed his hand on the table, making the heavy solid wood desk tremble."Three top-tier combatants, even stronger than the forces deployed for a Buster Call! They were actually messed up by one Shichibukai to this extent? Where were Kuzan and Garp? What were they doing then?!"Kizaru sighed and said, "The situation at the time was indeed very complex, Mr. Sengoku.Besides Straw Hat himself being absurdly strong, Dark King Silvers Rayleigh also suddenly intervened and firmly entangled me.That old man, although old, is still terrifyingly strong; I couldn't break free for a while."He paused, then continued, "As for Mr. Garp and Kuzan, I can confirm that Mr. Garp held nothing back. His battle with Straw Hat almost flattened that entire area."But what about Straw Hat?Even Kizaru couldn't help but marvel.Luffy's growth rate was terrifying.And that bizarre awakened Devil Fruit ability, along with an unreasonably vast amount of Haki.Both Observation Haki and Armament Haki had been cultivated to an extremely high degree."Even I have to admit, the World Government's final decision might have been correct. If he were given a few more years, the balance of power in this sea would probably be completely overturned by him alone.""Now is not the time to discuss whether the World Government's decision was correct or not, Borsalino!""That's true, but Mr. Garp..."Sengoku interrupted him in a deep voice, "Garp is also a Marine; the moment he put on this cloak of justice, he should have known his responsibilities."Kizaru shrugged, noncommittal.
