The Turbulent Seas
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
The usual tranquility and leisure have been replaced by noise and chaos, like a high-speed war machine, with ruthless and iron-blooded naval officers everywhere.
In the main conference room, not only were Headquarters Vice Admiral present, but all three Admiral were also present at once. This scene was the first of its kind in all these years, except for the public execution of Pirate King Roger 22 years ago.
Even so, no one showed any signs of relief. The scale of this war was simply too vast, encompassing almost the entire latter half of the Grand Line. If they were not careful, even the Marine Headquarters would find it difficult to remain unscathed.
"Hey, Sengoku, did you gather us here just to watch you stand there doing nothing? If that's the case, I might as well go back to eating my Donuts." Garp said impatiently, unable to bear the dull atmosphere any longer.
"Shut up!" Sengoku's chest heaved. If it weren't for the old man's status as Marine Hero, he wouldn't have bothered getting Garp involved. After calming down, Sengoku said to Vice Admiral Tsuru, "Tsuru, tell them the latest battle report."
Vice Admiral Tsuru, who was well-prepared, took a sip of tea to moisten his throat before speaking in a calm and unhurried tone, "The main participants in the current great war in the New World are the Four Emperors Red-Haired Shanks, Big Mom Charlotte Linlin, and the Seven Warlords of the Sea Nightmare Roy. In addition to their own pirate crews, the Seven Warlords of the Sea Sky Demon Doflamingo, Knight of the Sea Jinbe, and Hawkeye Dracule Mihawk are also involved in this war."
"The forces involved in this war are countless. Preliminary statistics show that there are 143 large pirate crews, 37 countries and regions, and underground forces spread across various gray areas. In short, the New World is now in complete chaos. Tens of thousands of innocent people are dying in this turmoil every day, and pirates trying to escape back to the first half of the Grand Line almost overwhelmed Fish-Man Island."
Even the seasoned Headquarters Vice Admiral of the headquarters, who were used to seeing big scenes, couldn't help but be shaken and speechless with shock. Compared to this scene, the pirate infestation in the first half of the Grand Line was simply insignificant. Some even doubted that even if all the ferocious pirates in Impel Down escaped, they wouldn't be able to cause this kind of destruction.
Bang!
"Lawless! Utterly lawless!" The hot-tempered Doberman slammed his fist on the table, instantly denting it even though it was made of alloy. "Since when have pirates been able to so openly start wars? Do they want to destroy the entire New World?"
"The Four Emperors' recklessness has been going on for a long time; it's just that such a comprehensive conflict hasn't erupted before," Mole said in a deep voice.
"Let them fight like dogs. It might actually be an opportunity to weaken the pirate forces," Drake, who had been promoted to Admiral Candidate, said with a cold expression.
The accidentally injured Dalmatian (Devil Fruit User) twitched his lips, then spoke up, "If we let them go unchecked, most of the New World could be destroyed in their war. Look at what they've done so far; more than twenty named islands have already been sunk, not to mention the nameless, isolated islands. Those pirates may die, but the people of the New World are innocent. Letting them be caught in the crossfire of war and die is not in line with our Navy's ideal of Absolute Justice."
"Then what can we do? If the navy intervenes at this juncture, it will only cause greater turmoil, and may even cause both sides to turn their attention to us, which would be a losing proposition," Comil said calmly, sipping his delicious coffee milk.
"Sister Tsuru, what's the situation in the war now? If that Nightmare on the Golden City is really just an avatar of his, then the current situation is definitely not optimistic for Red Hair." Momousagi said thoughtfully, resting her delicate chin on her hands.
"That's exactly what I'm going to talk about next." Vice Admiral Tsuru nodded and said, "So far, Nightmare hasn't officially appeared on the battlefield. Although the fighting on both sides is fierce, the higher-ups are very restrained. However, even so, the Red Hair Pirates have already shown signs of defeat. Their strength is at most similar to that of the Big Mom Pirate Crew. Nightmare's addition has seriously tilted the balance of the war. The fact that we've come this far is a result of the Red Hair Pirates' tenacious resistance."
The atmosphere at the scene was deathly silent once again. As the youngest rising star among the Four Emperors, Red-Haired Shanks was almost a full 12 years younger than the other three Great Sea Emperors, was perhaps considered by many to be a more likely pirate to ascend to the throne of the Pirate Kings than Whitebeard. However, such a great figure had fallen to such a state of near annihilation due to his battle with Nightmare, which made everyone feel a deep sense of sorrow.
"Don't underestimate Red Hair. As the most mysterious of the Four Emperors, he definitely has some hidden trump cards. Moreover, he is considered by the world to have inherited Roger's will. If we really want to find him, we might be able to find help from someone other than Scopper Gaban..." Garp was unusually serious for once, making Sengoku wonder if he had hit his head.
"It's useless. The captain is the core and soul of a pirate crew. Without Roger, those remnants of the Roger Pirates are nothing but scattered soldiers. They can't amount to much. They're okay against ordinary people, but against Nightmare, they have no chance at all." Although Akainu is still Admiral Candidate, no one is foolish enough to really treat him Vice Admiral a vice admiral. Moreover, having climbed out of the lowest point in his life, he will only be stronger than before.
"That guy has grown into a true monster, both in strength and influence. Sooner or later, the World Government will taste the bitter fruit of letting him grow unchecked." Akainu naturally harbored extreme hatred for Roy. For someone as proud and arrogant as him, being stripped of his power and subjected to the strange looks of others was worse than death. But it was precisely because of this that he could deeply feel the terror of that monster.
Valuing the enemy is tantamount to valuing oneself.
Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked. The power Nightmare had revealed in this war was already terrifying enough, with a network involving the Four Emperors, the Shichibukai, and dark forces from various fields. What was even more frightening was that they didn't even know if this was Nightmare's entire trump card. If it was, that would be fine, but if not...
Bang!
The conference room door was rudely pushed open, and a Rear Admiral rushed in, panting, "It's terrible! Kaido joined the battle! The war in the New World has escalated further..."