Ten days later.
[The Marine 16th Branch Launches Operation Thunderstrike in the East Blue!]
[As of press time, the number of pirate crews annihilated in the East Blue has reached 31.]
[Marine Supernova, Commodore Sean, states that there is no longer any soil in the East Blue where pirates can take root.]
[Analysis: The massive global impact of a completely purged East Blue.]
[An anonymous World Government official claims that Commodore Sean's actions are disrupting the balance of the seas.]
Due to the strict secrecy required during the early stages of the operation, it wasn't until ten days later that Morgans finally began his campaign. A flood of reports centered on the East Blue, filling page after page of the World Economic Journal. It was a total media sensation.
It was common knowledge that Marine "Justice" was usually sluggish, often arriving too late or not at all. Sean's proactive strike—and his declaration that he would leave no room for pirates to exist—struck a chord with countless civilians.
Unsurprisingly, the newspapers sold out instantly.
In his office, an ecstatic Morgans screamed into his Den Den Mushi. "Print more! Print more immediately! One million copies—no, make it two million! Now!"
After hanging up, he sighed with satisfaction. As expected, his intuition hadn't failed him; collaborating with Sean always brought surprises!
'''
Approximately 200 nautical miles from the 16th Branch, a warship lay hidden behind the mountain of an island to mask its presence.
"Commander, the latest reports say Commander Kaku has already taken down 12 pirate crews, and Captain Lucci is even more absurd—he's at 19!" a Lieutenant said anxiously beside Jabra. "We still haven't scored a single one!"
If this zero-score streak lasted until the end of the operation, it would be an utter embarrassment. He feared he wouldn't be able to hold his head up in front of his colleagues once they returned to the branch. Most importantly, the Commodore had made it clear: the team with the worst results would be punished upon their return.
How could he not be anxious?
Jabra gave a smug chuckle. "Why do you think we've been hiding here for so many days?"
"The intelligence department already figured it out. Over twenty pirate crews with bounties of over a million are coming here to negotiate an alliance. There's even one with a bounty in the tens of millions."
"Once we pull this off, we'll surpass Lucci and Kaku in a heartbeat. Especially in terms of quality. Those two might have high numbers, but most of their targets were trash with bounties of only a few hundred thousand."
The Lieutenant's eyes lit up. "There really are twenty crews with million-plus bounties?"
"Exactly!" Jabra nodded confidently. Where do you think this intel came from? It was provided by a member of CP9; it couldn't possibly be wrong.
"Commander, a communication from Ensign Bri."
Just then, a junior officer jogged over, holding an active Den Den Mushi. Bri was the man Jabra had stationed on the island for surveillance.
"Bri, found anything?"
"Yes, Commander Jabra. Three pirate ships are approaching!"
"Mm. Keep monitoring. Whatever you do, do not expose yourself!"
"Understood!"
Hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Jabra grinned. "Hear that? The prey is taking the bait. It looks like it'll be today or tomorrow. Everyone, get ready!"
"Yes, Commander!" the Lieutenant replied, jogging off excitedly to notify the crew.
'''
The following evening, at the 16th Branch.
Inside the Branch Commander's office.
"Report!"
"Enter."
"Commodore, latest news: one hour ago, Commander Jabra led a company of Marines in a night raid on an island 200 miles from the branch, where a large number of pirate crews were gathering for an alliance."
"Mm. Did they wipe them all out?"
"Yes, sir. Including the Ghost-Face Pirates with a total bounty of 12 million, twenty-six pirate crews were completely annihilated. However, because there are too many prisoners, Commander Jabra is requesting the branch to send ships for transport."
"Tell Jabra that any pirate whose hands are stained with the blood of Marines or civilians is not eligible for custody. If the warship still cannot fit the remaining prisoners after that, the branch will send ships to assist."
"Yes, Commodore!"
The Marine paused for a moment, but quickly understood. His Commodore still had the same temperament; once it was confirmed that a pirate had killed civilians or Marines, not a single one would be spared. He saluted and left quickly.
In the East Blue, Sean intended to do more than just harvest prestige—he wanted to establish absolute authority. Otherwise, if the Marines continued their old ways, they would never pose a real deterrent, and people would continue to set sail as pirates. After all, the cost of crime was simply too low.
To achieve the goal of a pirate-free East Blue, Sean needed to make one thing clear to everyone: the moment you dare to set sail to pillage and murder, you die. No one escapes.
Only then could he thoroughly suppress the East Blue and create a new reality where no one dared to become a pirate. Once the inherent logic—that there is no future in piracy—was ingrained in everyone's mind, the goal of a pirate-free East Blue could truly be realized.
As for those who set sail for genuine adventure, as long as they didn't fly a pirate flag, attack Marines, or murder civilians, and as long as they filed the proper paperwork with the Marine, Sean wouldn't bother them.
Upon receiving the response from the branch, Jabra uttered only four words: "Just as expected..."
He immediately ordered the Marines to use intelligence and cross-interrogations to identify every pirate who failed to meet Sean's criteria for custody. Having followed Sean for so long, Jabra had known this would be the result. The only reason he had contacted the branch was that there was a journalist on board, and he wondered if the optics would be poor.
But as expected... Sean's attitude did not change even with a journalist present.
Soon, gunshots rang out repeatedly as pirate after pirate was executed on the spot.
The journalist stared in shock for a moment, but then began frantically snapping photos.
A scoop! This was a massive scoop!
Under the orders of Sean, the Marine 16th Branch had directly executed hundreds of captured pirates. The journalist looked ecstatic. Once this story and these photos were published, he could already imagine how explosive tomorrow's newspaper would be.
Speaking of which, Morgans was surprisingly considerate. When the journalist sent back the photos and the draft, Morgans immediately contacted Sean to ask if he wanted the story suppressed.
Sean, however, gave a clear answer...
"No need. Publish it exactly as it is!"
Consequently, the next day brought a piece of news so explosive that...
A barrage of blood-soaked photographs filled the latest edition of the World Economic Journal.
The world was instantly thrown into an uproar.
Six hundred pirates had been captured, but when the arresting officer contacted the branch to request a transport ship, the Branch Chief claimed they lacked the authority to detain them. Shortly thereafter, the Marines of the 16th Branch executed over five hundred of them.
To the common folk, Sean's actions were exactly what they wanted; many even cheered. After all, the civilians were the ones who suffered the most under the reign of piracy and hated them with a passion. As seen during the broadcast of the Paramount War, the general populace almost universally sided with the Marine. It was a stark reminder of just how loathed pirates truly were.
Within the Marines, however, the event sparked a massive controversy.
While some supported Sean's decisiveness, the majority of the current generation—dominated by the establishment—condemned his actions. Several Vice Admirals from Headquarters even sought out Sengoku, demanding that Sean be severely punished.
As for the three Admirals, their opinions varied.
Aokiji remarked that while Sean had gone too far, it wasn't enough to warrant expulsion from the Marine, as the Vice Admirals were suggesting. With someone like Akainu as a precedent, doing so would be problematic.
'Would the Marine be operating on a double standard?'
If handled poorly, tomorrow's headlines would scream that the Marine was riddled with factionalism and that high-ranking officers were using their influence to suppress Sean, eventually forcing him out of the service.
Still, some form of discipline was necessary. Aokiji suggested that Sengoku demote Sean to Captain as a warning. Since the Branch Chiefs in the East Blue were typically Captains anyway, this would provide the Vice Admirals with a way to save face.
Kizaru, meanwhile, remained detached, focusing entirely on trimming his fingernails. He offered no formal opinion, occasionally muttering, "My, young people these days really are terrifying, aren't they~?"
Surprisingly, Akainu went as far as to call Sengoku specifically to discuss the matter. He asserted that Sean had done nothing wrong and should, in fact, be commended.
"Since when does the Marine punish people for killing pirates?" Akainu argued. "If we do this, who will actually want to join the Marines?"
Clearly, Akainu loved Sean's approach. He even went so far as to say that if he were in Sean's shoes, he would have slaughtered the remaining few dozen as well. Why leave any alive for a rainy day?
Sengoku was speechless, though he had already anticipated Akainu's reaction. He glanced over at Garp, only to find the man fast asleep.
'Fine, I'll just balance the two sides,' Sengoku thought.
Sean was a talent he personally valued; the man had the potential to grow into an Admiral-level combatant. The Marine was currently facing a shortage of young, powerful officers. If a heavy-handed punishment drove Sean to leave the Marine, it would be a catastrophic loss.
Of course, he couldn't completely ignore the demands of the Vice Admirals. While they weren't the absolute peak of the Marine's power, they were the backbone of the organization.
Thus, that very day, Marine Headquarters publicly announced the disciplinary results.
Commander Jabra and the other Marines involved in the executions were placed on unpaid suspension for one year and ordered to submit formal self-reflection reports to Headquarters. Additionally, the 16th Branch's military budget allocation for the current year was revoked.
On the surface, the punishment seemed severe.
In reality, however, those in the know—including every Vice Admiral—were well aware of one crucial detail: every single expense of the 16th Branch was already being paid for out of Sean's own pocket. He even paid the sailors' salaries himself.
The "punishment" was effectively meaningless.