The Big Shots at Marine Headquarters!

First Half of Grand Line, Marine Headquarters—Marineford.

At the top floor of Fortress of Justice in Marineford was the Fleet Admiral's office. The current Fleet Admiral was none other than Steel Bone Kong, who would later become the Commander-in-Chief of the World Government's entire military!

Fleet Admiral Kong was sitting behind his desk, listening to Chief Staff Officer Tsuru's report.

Just then, the office door was pulled open, and Garp, Sengoku, and the others walked in.

Seeing that there were no other Marines in the office besides Chief Staff Officer Tsuru, Garp and Sengoku did not stand on ceremony.

"Brother Steel Bone, what is it?" Sengoku was the first to ask.

That was right. They were all Marines of the same generation, old comrades who had fought side by side on the battlefield. Thus, when no one else was around, they addressed one another quite casually in private.

"Little Tsuru received some new intelligence. Since you're here, listen in. Where's Zephyr?" Fleet Admiral Kong asked casually.

"That guy isn't at headquarters..." Garp replied bluntly before asking, "What new intelligence is it?"

Chief Staff Officer Tsuru said calmly, "Didn't we discover earlier that Shiki was gathering his fleet?"

"You mean he's planning to go to war with the Big Mom Pirates? Do we have any concrete leads now?" Sengoku asked.

"Judging from the direction in which Shiki has assembled his fleet, as well as the Big Mom Pirates' response, there's a high chance they'll clash near the Ed War Sea..." Chief Staff Officer Tsuru said softly.

"Ed War?" Sengoku stroked the braided beard on his chin, muttering as he lowered his head in thought.

Garp, meanwhile, asked directly, "What about the other bastards? No movement from them? Kaido, Ochoku, and the rest? Didn't they always band together to deal with Shiki whenever something like this happened?"

"There has been movement. We intercepted a communication signal between Charlotte Linlin and Ochoku. It wasn't very clear, but we can already confirm that Ochoku will cooperate with Charlotte Linlin's actions. Kaido and the others are likely the same..." Chief Staff Officer Tsuru said in the same calm tone.

Hearing that, Garp waved a hand carelessly. "Then it's just like before. Shiki can't handle them..."

Sengoku nodded as well. "Individually, Shiki is the strongest among them, but his old rivals aren't easy to push around either..."

"But not long ago, we intercepted new intelligence on Cake Island," Chief Staff Officer Tsuru said gravely.

This time, even her expression became more solemn.

Seeing her look like that, both Garp and Sengoku frowned. "What intelligence?"

"The Roger Pirates, who disappeared after entering the New World from Fish-Man Island again, had a conflict with the Big Mom Pirates on Cake Island in Totto Land not long ago. The exact reason is unknown, but Charlotte Linlin failed to take them down," Chief Staff Officer Tsuru said.

Garp could not help snorting. "Charlotte Linlin may be formidable, but there's no way she can beat those bastards in Roger's crew. It'd be strange if she actually managed to take Roger down."

"That's not the point!" Chief Staff Officer Tsuru shot Garp an irritated glare for interrupting her, then continued, "After Roger and his crew fled Cake Island, our follow-up investigation found eyewitness intelligence placing them headed toward the Ed War Sea. Shiki's fleet is in that area as well. Do you understand what that means?"

"What!?" Garp cried out. "Then won't they run into each other?"

The moment Garp finished speaking, the door to the Fleet Admiral's office was hurriedly pulled open again. A tall, beautiful female Marine walked in. Judging by the epaulets on her uniform, she was a Marine Rear Admiral.

"Big Sis, this is bad. The latest intelligence says Shiki's fleet has made a move and seems to have already headed toward the Ed War Sea. We intercepted a frontline communication from them. It wasn't very clear, but it mentioned the Roger Pirates, who are currently under close watch!" the female Marine reported anxiously.

"Gion, do you have anything more specific?" Garp abruptly rose from the sofa and asked urgently.

That was right. The one who had suddenly rushed in with the latest report was Gion, later an Admiral Candidate at Marine Headquarters—Momousagi. Although there was a considerable age gap between her and Chief Staff Officer Tsuru, Tsuru had personally mentored her ever since she joined the Marines. Their relationship was extremely close, and they addressed each other as sisters.

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Of course, because of her close relationship with Chief Staff Officer Tsuru, Gion was also very close to Garp, Sengoku, Fleet Admiral Kong, and the others.

For instance, even though Garp was much older than Gion, she often called that unreliable fellow "Little Garp."

In the Marine system, advancing certainly required sufficient strength, but relationships and connections among the upper ranks were equally important. If it were any other Marine Rear Admiral, would they dare barge in so casually while a Marine Admiral, Fleet Admiral, Chief Staff Officer, Marine Hero, and other top brass were holding a private meeting?

Then again, without sufficient strength, talent, and potential, those high-ranking figures would not bother befriending you in the first place. In the end, one's own capabilities mattered most.

"There's nothing more specific, but we suspect that given Shiki's current war mobilization, once he finds Roger, he'll most likely..." Gion said hurriedly.

Before she could finish, however, the Den Den Mushi on her began ringing. Without sparing another thought, she answered it right there in front of everyone.

Then, the voice of an intelligence officer from the Intelligence Staff Department came through the Den Den Mushi, speaking in great urgency. "Latest intelligence, latest intelligence! The surveillance ship has spotted the Roger Pirates! They seemingly have not noticed the Flying Pirates' movements and are heading toward the Ed War Sea. Their course matches the direction of Shiki's Grand Fleet's movement. It is estimated that they will meet very soon!"

Before the voice on the Den Den Mushi had even finished, Garp said directly, "There's no time to wait. I have to go over there and take a look!"

"Isn't it a little too late now?" Gion asked hesitantly.

"Whether we make it in time or not, we still have to go..." Garp said without hesitation.

"Hey, Garp, Shiki has always been my responsibility!" Sengoku rose to his feet as well and said in a deep voice.

At the same time, Fleet Admiral Kong could not help saying, "I called you here because there's something else..."

Sengoku grabbed Garp by the shoulder and said, "Didn't you hear that the Fleet Admiral still has something to tell you? Leave Shiki to me..."

With that, Sengoku pulled open the door and walked out. Garp froze for a moment before cursing, "Roger is my responsibility..."

As he spoke, he prepared to chase after him, but Fleet Admiral Kong shouted, "Hey, Garp, I haven't finished speaking! About your promotion to Marine Admiral..."

Without even looking back, Garp strode through the doorway and answered boldly, "You may not have finished talking, but I've already heard enough! Hahahaha!"

As his laughter faded, Garp slammed the office door shut behind him.

Fleet Admiral Kong's face twitched involuntarily. Then he looked toward Chief Staff Officer Tsuru. "You should go too. Help me try to persuade that bastard Garp again. It doesn't look good to leave a Marine Admiral position vacant..."

"If he could be persuaded, that position wouldn't have been vacant for so many years. Why not consider someone else? I think Gion is quite good too..." Chief Staff Officer Tsuru teased. Smiling, she rose to her feet and headed outside as well.

At that, a blush appeared on Gion's face. She hurriedly bowed to Fleet Admiral Kong, then caught up with Chief Staff Officer Tsuru in two quick steps, leaving the office with her.

Once everyone in the office had left, Fleet Admiral Kong lit a cigar and shook his head with a bitter smile. "Bastards..."

The Marines had always maintained a tradition of appointing three Marine Admirals as the symbols of their highest combat power.

And in the current generation, there really were people within the Marines qualified for those positions—Sengoku, Zephyr, and that bastard Garp.

But Garp stubbornly refused to be promoted to admiral. As long as he would not take the position, the others capable of doing so found it awkward to sit there instead... Of course, to a certain extent, it was also because aside from the few of them, the Marines currently had no one else with the true strength and qualifications to occupy an admiral's seat.

However, Fleet Admiral Kong was not worried. The Marines still had plenty to look forward to. Among the younger generation, quite a few outstanding talents had emerged, all with the potential to become Marine Admirals.

Gion, whom Tsuru had just mentioned, was one of them. And there were others even more outstanding than Gion, such as Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan.

So long as the succession remained orderly and the Marines' future combat strength could be guaranteed, Fleet Admiral Kong was neither worried nor in any hurry.