The Holy Land's Fury
The news reached Holy Land Mary Geoise faster than Sabo had anticipated.
It wasn't through CP0's communication system; that system automatically switched to silent mode the moment the first group of agents failed.
It's through another line.
Within the Five Elders' Room of Authority lies a one-way perception network that connects directly to all CP systems. This network operates not on the basis of Den Den Mushi or signal flares, but on an even older technology that uses Haki fluctuations of a specific frequency to transmit simple status information.
Alive, or dead.
Execution in progress, or failure.
Five chairs were placed around the long, empty table.
Saint Peter, with his blond hair and long beard, sat on the far left, his palms resting on the armrests of the chair, his knuckles tightened two degrees more than usual.
The bald, long-bearded Saint Marcus sat beside him, his sword lying across his lap, the scabbard covered with a thin layer of dust, the result of not having been wiped clean for the past few days.
Saint Nazareth, wearing glasses, sat across the table, holding a stack of papers in his right hand. The papers contained the action plan for the first mission of CP0.
The other two, one standing and one sitting, had different expressions but were both pointing in the same direction.
"It failed."
Saint Peter's voice squeezed out from the gaps in his beard, as if he were chewing on something so hard it was almost impossible to swallow.
"Three Level Zero agents couldn't even kill a king who couldn't even kill a chicken."
Saint Nazareth placed the action plan he was holding on the table.
It's not that they're incompetent.
"Someone arrived early."
"Who."
"The last message transmitted back by the sensor network was sent by 003, with the status label 'subdued' and an additional identification tag."
Saint Nazareth adjusted his glasses.
"Chief of Staff the Revolutionary Army, Sabo."
The air temperature Room of Authority dropped a notch after that name appeared.
Saint Marcus ran his fingers over the scabbard.
"The Dragon Man."
"Dragon anticipated that we would take action against the Nefertari Family."
What reason did he have to make that prediction?
Saint Nazareth drew a circle on the table with his finger.
"For the same reason."
"The Sky Screen has announced that the next episode will reveal the list of members of the Twenty Kingdoms Alliance. Dragon and we have come to the same conclusion: the Nefertari Family is the most vulnerable and valuable target on the list."
"We want to eliminate any potential problems before the list is announced, and Long wants to keep this card before the list is announced."
The Five Elders who were standing walked to the window. His gaze passed through the sunless corridor outside the window and landed on the outline of the Holy Land's city walls in the distance.
"It's impossible for Sabo to travel from the Revolutionary Army Headquarters to Alabasta in six hours."
"Unless the dragon used the Storm-Storm Fruit."
"A high-altitude wind tunnel spanning half the world."
He turned around.
"This means that the dragon made and executed its decision very quickly after the Sky Screen stopped."
"His reaction time is faster than ours."
Saint Peter tapped his finger on the armrest.
"He knew what we would do because he used to be in the Navy."
"He understands the decision-making processes and efficiency of World Governments."
"He might even be familiar with CP0's standard task preparation and response times."
There was a five-second silence Room of Authority.
Saint Marcus took his sword off his knees, the end of the scabbard touching the stone bricks on the ground.
Should we send another team?
"Group."
Saint Peter answered without hesitation.
"But the organizational structure needs to be changed."
Three people aren't enough, five might not be enough either.
"Sabo's combat strength has been assessed on the Sky Screen; with the Flame-Flame Fruit and Dragon Claw Fist, his individual combat strength is at least that of Vice Admiral."
"What if Dragon himself also went to Alabasta?"
His words ended there.
Everyone understood what was coming next.
The dragon's combat strength is at the level of Admiral.
Even if five CP0s who are proficient in Six Powers are combined, they would only have about 60% of the combat power of Admiral.
Go there and you'll be given a gift.
"What should we do then?"
The other of the Five Elders, who was seated, finally spoke; his voice was lower than the others.
"Abandon Alabasta."
Saint Nazareth adjusted his glasses.
"Before the list was released, the value of Alabasta and the Nefertari Family was at the intelligence level."
"But if the list is already destined to be published, then eliminating King Neferutari won't change anything."
"The person who set the questions for the Sky Screen is not in Alabasta."
"The contents of the list aren't in Cobra's head."
"Kill him, and the list will still be published."
"Then why did we give that order in the first place?"
Saint Peter's voice rose half a tone, and his beard trembled slightly with the movement of the air.
"Because the judgment at the time was correct."
Saint Nazareth's tone remained unyielding.
"Eliminating the Nefertari Family quickly before the first group of actions is stopped is the optimal solution to minimize losses."
But the situation has changed now.
"The dragon's intervention means that Alabasta has transformed from an isolated target into a trap."
"If we continue to invest resources there, not only will we fail to complete the mission, but we will also expose more CP system members to the Revolutionary Army."
"Long is waiting for us to continue sending people over."
The lights of Room of Authority flickered briefly as one of the lamps was about to run out of oil, casting different shadows on the five faces as the light and shadow alternated.
Saint Marcus's sword spun once on the ground.
So what's your suggestion?
"Change strategy."
Saint Nazareth stood up.
"Not going to Alabasta."
"Have the second group of CP0 change their target."
"Where should it be changed?"
Saint Nazareth walked to the window, his gaze falling on the still-fluttering countdown numbers on the Sky Screen.
"Once the list is released, the world's attention will be focused on the history of these twenty countries."
"But the real danger isn't the list itself."
"This is a chain reaction that will be triggered after the list is released."
"The reactions of various countries, the navy's stance, the sentiments of the common people, and the actions of the Revolutionary Army."
"Among these chain reactions, the variable that most needs to be controlled is not Alabasta."
He turned around and glanced at the faces of the other four people.
"It's the navy."
There was a three-second silence Room of Authority.
Saint Peter leaned back in his chair.
"You're worried the Navy will get out of control after the list is released."
"Akainu has been tormented by the punishment from the Sky Screen for several days. The images of Ohara and the Voices of the Dead have made his mental state extremely unstable."
Saint Nazareth adjusted his glasses with his fingers.
"After arguing with Sengoku about the truth of Ohara, Aokiji left Marine Headquarters and has not returned since."
"Sengoku himself was punished by the Sky Screen for ten days, during which his secrets were revealed. So far, three naval secrets have been exposed."
"Kizaru's attitude has always been ambiguous; he cannot be relied upon."
"If the public pressure following the release of the list reaches a critical point, a split may occur within the Navy."
"A portion of them will continue to be loyal to the World Government."
"Another group may begin to question what they are truly loyal to."
Saint Peter slapped the armrest with his palm, the sound echoing twice in the stone room.
"Relocate CP0 Team 2 to the vicinity of Marine Headquarters and await further orders."
"Once the list is published, intervene immediately if there are any signs of instability within the Navy."
"When necessary."
His voice was lowered to a level that only those in Room of Authority could hear.
"Eliminate unreliable factors."
Saint Marcus's fingers rubbed the hilt of his sword.
Who are the unreliable factors you mentioned?
"This includes all senior officers whose loyalty to the World Government wavered after the Sky Screen Review."
Saint Peter's gaze fell on the tabletop, the wood grain of which took on a deep, dark hue under the light.
"Including Aokiji."
The night Holy Land, grew even darker after the name was mentioned, as clouds pushed in from the north, obscuring the last vestiges of moonlight.
The countdown numbers on the Sky Screen continued to tick silently high above.
Seventeen hours and thirty-one minutes.