Bang...
As Sengoku's furious punch split the desk in front of him in two, his roar echoed through the entire conference room.
"Bastards! What are those pirates trying to do? Whitebeard, BIGMOM, Kaidou. Are they really going to go to war with the World Government for Fire Dragon Yemu?"
Just one minute earlier, in the Fleet Admiral's office,
Sengoku, Garp, Zephyr, Tsuru, the highest-ranking members of the Marines, along with CP0 chief Hammond, had been finalizing the last battle plan.
An existence like Fire Dragon Yemu, who dared to provoke the Celestial Dragons and the World Government, was a massive blow to the prestige of both the Marines and the World Government for every additional day he remained alive.
Originally, the battle plan had already been more or less settled. All that remained was final confirmation and the mobilization of forces from every side. But just then, a newspaper appeared in the office, throwing all of their plans and arrangements into chaos at once.
Looking at one piece of news after another, Sengoku finally could no longer hold back all his anger.
At that moment, the newspaper was passed around, and the others read the information on it one by one.
When he saw the photo of the Yonkō Alliance, Garp, the Marine Hero, instinctively frowned. His expression turned grave as he said something that made everyone present tense.
"Has the Rocks Pirates come back to life?"
Garp was not saying this without reason. Not only were Whitebeard, Charlotte Linlin, and Kaidou in the photo all former members of the Rocks Pirates, but Enel had gained his current fame by defeating Silver Axe. And the one who had guided all of this from behind the scenes, the mastermind, Fire Dragon Yemu, had also killed John, possessed the same Fuwa Fuwa no Mi power as Shiki, and had a background known only to the Marines: Rocks II.
Hearing Garp's words, Tsuru sighed.
"The revival of the Rocks Pirates is not what's frightening. What's frightening is that the current Sky Pirates are far more terrifying than the Rocks Pirates... Compared to Rocks, who was merely a pure schemer with ambition, Fire Dragon Yemu's strategy and vision make even me shudder."
Hammond, the CP0 chief standing nearby, sounded somewhat displeased when he heard this.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, aren't you overstating things?"
"No."
Tsuru's gaze stayed fixed on the intelligence in the newspaper. Her voice carried a sense of helplessness and tension.
"You're all focusing on the wrong point. The most terrifying information revealed in this newspaper is not the Yonkō Alliance, nor is it the revival of the Rocks Pirates. It is this Business Alliance..."
"Business Alliance?"
Everyone froze. If it was military strategy, they were all highly capable. But when it came to other matters, they were honestly rather slow.
Fortunately, Tsuru was there. That was also why Tsuru, despite being a Vice Admiral, was so indispensable to the Marines.
"Mm."
Tsuru nodded.
"As for Fire Dragon Yemu, I thought I had already taken him seriously enough. But after seeing this Business Alliance, I realized we still underestimated him."
The others grew even more confused.
Fortunately, Tsuru quickly gave them the answer.
"Fire Dragon Yemu is using this so-called Business Alliance to build a new order, one similar to the World Government!"
"!!!"
Tsuru slowly continued.
"Until now, the reason the Marines and the World Government held such confidence in winning this war was because, just like with Rocks in the past, we believed Fire Dragon Yemu and the Sky Pirates were merely pirates. They produced nothing, knew only how to plunder, had empty ambition but no foundation. Compared to the World Government, which has ruled this world for eight hundred years, we believed one war would be enough to cripple them, just like the Rocks Pirates of old. One major defeat would be enough to make them fall apart. But now that the Sky Pirates have this Rainbow Business Alliance, things are different. If this Business Alliance truly succeeds, it will continuously supply the Sky Pirates with blood, whether money, manpower, or reputation. In that case, expecting one or two wars to seriously damage them will be impossible. The future outcome of this war will truly become uncertain."
Tsuru's words startled everyone. None of them were fools. There were many things they simply had not thought of right away, not things they could not understand.
"No wonder this man has been able to run the Marines and the World Government in circles. That kind of political wisdom and strategy is terrifying."
Tsuru's voice was low.
Hammond, standing to the side, said coldly, "Leave that to us. CP will do everything possible to sabotage this Business Alliance."
Tsuru sighed.
"That's all we can do, but..."
Tsuru trailed off, which made Hammond somewhat unhappy.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, speak plainly. Do you not trust CP's strength?"
Tsuru shook her head.
"That is not it. I am simply amazed by Fire Dragon Yemu's intelligence. If my guess is correct, he prepared for this long ago."
"!!!"
Everyone was startled again.
"Do you really think this so-called Yonkō Alliance was created to deal with the Marines and the World Government?"
"Wasn't it?"
Sengoku was somewhat puzzled, but he trusted Tsuru greatly, so he asked directly, "Tsuru, what are you thinking?"
"It's simple. I am also amazed that Fire Dragon Yemu managed to offer enough benefits to unite these three monsters and establish this Yonkō Alliance. But do you truly think that, with the personalities of those three monsters, they can actually join together, stand on Fire Dragon Yemu's side, and willingly go to war with the Marines and the World Government?"
Everyone suddenly came to their senses.
Tsuru was right. Whether it was Whitebeard, BIGMOM, or Kaidou, each of them had an extremely distinct personality, and none of them got along with the others. Getting them into an alliance was already difficult enough. Making them stand on the same front and oppose the World Government was practically impossible.
That monster Kaidou might be possible, but Whitebeard and Charlotte Linlin were not people who loved war.
"So, Tsuru, what do you mean?"
"My thought is that the so-called Yonkō Alliance exists more to protect this Rainbow Business Alliance. Fire Dragon Yemu has not hidden his ambition either. The newspaper states it very clearly. Anyone who joins the Rainbow Business Alliance and pays a certain amount in taxes can receive the protection of the Yonkō Alliance and move freely across the entire sea. To any merchant, that is an enormous temptation. Add to that their technology for crossing the Calm Belt, which can greatly shorten travel routes, reduce costs, and realize the grand dream of connecting the Four Seas and the Grand Line. To be honest, as things stand, I cannot see any possibility of this Business Alliance failing. Even CP can, at most, cause small disruptions. It cannot stop the Business Alliance from succeeding. And the existence of the Yonkō Alliance has already cut off the possibility of the Marines and the World Government launching a war in the New World. When that happens, with their rear secured and the Business Alliance constantly supplying them, the Sky Pirates will be able to slowly fight the Marines and the World Government on the future battlefield they have chosen for us..."
When Tsuru finished speaking, everyone present had already realized that the coming battle would not be easy. But none of them had expected things to develop to this extent.
At that moment, Sengoku also seemed to understand something and asked Tsuru, "Tsuru, you just said the Sky Pirates chose the battlefield for us. Where is it?"
Tsuru pointed at the address in the newspaper.
"Isn't it written very clearly? This contact address is the battlefield the Sky Pirates have chosen next for the Marines and the World Government..."