It seems they overheard a discussion about naval and land warfare.
A thoughtful look flashed in Sakazuki's eyes. He then turned to Ortolan and said, "Even if we consider annihilating the Whitebeard Pirates on the island, you need to be careful. Whitebeard can summon a tsunami at any time and submerge the island. Without the power and preparation to deal with his Seaquake, it's impossible to defeat him. Do you have any ideas on this? Or will Kuzan come at that time?"
Sakazuki and Kuzan are somewhat at odds in their positions, but Sakazuki is not so hostile as to deny or deny Kuzan's strength and abilities.
The Marine Headquarters has conducted many combat simulations against the Whitebeard Pirates, in which Kuzan's Ice-Ice Fruit ability plays a key role.
To some extent, Kuzan's Ice-Ice can counter Whitebeard's naval combat capabilities!
So even though Sakazuki and Kuzan don't get along, at this moment, he would still think of using Kuzan's abilities to deal with the tsunami caused by the Whitebeard.
Ortolan nodded upon hearing this, then said, "I haven't mentioned this to Kuzan, but if he wants to come, we'd certainly welcome him. And if he's not interested, there are ways to deal with it. From the beginning, I've been considering using the New World Marines to deal with the Whitebeard Pirates..."
"And this Seaquake?" Sakazuki asked.
"Issou's ability is also very strong. His gravity can suppress tsunamis to a certain extent. We have already conducted experiments." Ortolan immediately gave Sakazuki a precise answer.
"The gravity of a smile?" Sakazuki pondered for a moment, stroking his chin, then nodded. "That's not a bad idea..."
Although it doesn't feel as convenient or obvious as Kuzan's Ice-Ice, since Ortolan is confident, then this problem can be solved.
Sakazuki then stopped asking about the matter.
Meanwhile, the various Marines commanders had already reached a conclusion.
Everyone agreed that a force of around 100,000 was the most reasonable arrangement. It would demonstrate an absolute advantage in manpower, while also preventing the Marines from becoming too bloated on the battlefield. Moreover, this level of force would not affect the remaining Marines's suppression, patrol, and daily tasks in the New World.
Seeing that the generals had reached a consensus, Ortolan tapped the table and said, "Very good, then it's settled. The operation plan is to deploy 100,000 elite Marines. As for the integration of these 100,000 Marines, after the meeting, you base commanders and Vice Admiral can discuss with each other how many troops to deploy, summarize them, and report them to me. They will not be discussed in the meeting."
The discussion about deploying troops was just now intensely debated by the Marines Rear Admiral.
Vice Admiral generals like Momonga and Hoshigaki barely spoke.
The reason is that, long before the meeting began, they already had a pretty good idea of what their Admiral's original plan was to deploy about 100,000 troops.
Indeed, this sentiment was already established before the meeting even began. The reason for having everyone discuss it at the meeting was partly to fill in any gaps and see if anyone could find any problems that Ortolan and the others had overlooked.
On the other hand, it is to cultivate the strategic and tactical skills of these young generals of the New World Marines and accumulate experience.
Finally, it demonstrates that this war was a collective effort, not a decision made arbitrarily by a few individuals, showcasing the integrity within the New World Marines.
After determining the total number of troops to be deployed, Ortolan raised his hand to signal Yu: "Hina, let's move on to the next topic."
Hina nodded immediately and switched the slides, which showed aerial views of several islands, along with information about them.
"Before the meeting began, we had already done some classification, including screening suitable battlefields for deploying 50,000, 100,000, and 150,000 Marines forces. The islands mentioned above are suitable for 100,000-level Marines operations, and the main battlefield is expected to be able to accommodate 100,000 people fighting..." Hina first introduced the general situation of these islands.
After a moment, Hina continued, "Mr. Lucci, please send the information I've prepared to the generals. It contains detailed coordinates of these islands, information about the surrounding waters, intelligence on island exploration, and a comprehensive assessment..."
As one of only two school officers in the conference room, Lucci was naturally there to assist Hina's work.
He immediately stood up and distributed the documents that Hina had prepared to the Marines officers of the Seat.
After receiving the documents, the generals began to read them to learn about the situation on those islands.
At the same time, Hina spoke up, "The topic of this discussion is that we hope everyone can work together to decide which island we should set up our battlefield on."
After she finished speaking, the meeting room fell silent. No one spoke; everyone was busy flipping through the documents in their hands, and the room was filled with the rustling sound of pages turning.
Sakazuki was also looking at the documents in his hand, his expression very serious.
After all, the determination of a battlefield is extremely important, even crucial, to the entire war!
However, the islands selected as the 100,000-level battlefields are not actually that different, and you can choose any one of them.
Therefore, before the meeting began, Ortolan had not expressed any opinion on this matter; he genuinely intended to make the decision through the meeting.
Therefore, the Momonga and the others were also seriously considering this problem.
Sakazuki looked at the first few islands and thought they were all fine... but when he saw the last island, named 'Archino Island', his eyes lit up.
The truth is, this island is a volcanic island, although it is an extinct volcano that has not erupted for a long time, which still makes Sakazuki very satisfied.
According to the information about this island, Archino Island had a passage connecting to the seabed magma layer. This passage is now blocked, but traces can still be found.
"If this is the place, my abilities can be amplified many times over, and it might even have an unexpected effect..." Sakazuki turned to the side again and pointed out the picture on the document to Ortolan.
"Achino Volcano Island?" Ortolan stroked his chin. "It certainly does resonate with your abilities..."
"If there are no particularly outstanding advantages on the other islands, then my suggestion is to choose this place as the battlefield..." Sakazuki immediately gave Ortolan a reply.
"What's the reason? You can't exactly say it's because you like volcanic islands, can you? Or that the environment here is perfect for you to shine..." Ortolan chuckled.
Sakazuki also forced a stiff smile, then said in a deep voice, "The reason is that by choosing this place as the battlefield, in the worst-case scenario, I can drag the Whitebeard Pirates' forces down with me and perish together... to ensure that this war will not end with the Whitebeard Pirates winning. Is that enough?"
Looking into Sakazuki's serious eyes, Ortolan knew that this ruthless man was truly capable of doing such a thing.
Although Ortolan believed they could win and currently held the advantage and the initiative, once the war began, the outcome was no longer in anyone's control, and anything could happen.
Whitebeard was no fool; there were countless instances of the weak defeating the strong in war. No one could guarantee that they would win.
But Sakazuki would never allow the Whitebeard to defeat their Marines, trample on their Marines, and then act so arrogantly!
Therefore, Sakazuki's worst-case scenario plan was to ensure that there were no winners in this war!
If our Marines can't win, then your Whitebeard Pirates won't live either!
As for how many Marines would be sacrificed to achieve this, Sakazuki could withstand the pressure. He was such a ruthless person... at least in this kind of situation, he was extremely ruthless and absolutely able to carry out his will!