Naval Meeting

Upon returning to Marine Headquarters, Sengoku and his crew immediately went to visit Sora, who was lying in the intensive care unit.

The life force of the void is extremely weak. Although it has a strong regenerative ability, the body's instinct leads it to use most of its life force to fill the void in its chest.

With the help of the Navy's advanced medical technology, their lives were kept afloat.

Even with the most advanced medical technology, such injuries are difficult to treat; the body must rely primarily on its own recovery capabilities.

In the conference room of the Marine Headquarters, all the high-ranking officers were gathered. This was the first such large meeting since the start of the Golden Sea Battle.

Even high-ranking naval officers who were unable to attend due to important missions could not miss the opportunity to participate in the video conference via video Den Den Mushi. Most of them were stationed in their respective regions and participated in the video conference through Transponder Snail.

The G7 Marine Branch is in a much better position than the other Marine Branch in the four seas. The situation is not as bad, but it is not much better either. The patrol area has been reduced by about half.

In order to maintain the survival of the Marine Branch, in addition to the daily fishing, Vice Admiral Prodi, the base commander of the G7 Branch, Vice Admiral to sea even more diligently and actively sought out pirate attacks.

Prodi's immense strength meant that most pirates were no match for him.

This sea area has already earned the infamous reputation of being a "pirate navy," which is being spread among pirates, referring to the G7 Branch led by Vice Admiral Prodi.

To ensure the survival of the branch, Vice Admiral Prodi set his sights on the pirates.

After defeating these pirates, Vice Admiral Prodi wouldn't capture them. The Navy is struggling to afford food, so why would they travel all the way to Impel Down? Besides, feeding pirates would cost a lot of food, making that even more impossible.

Prodi is not a hawk, so he won't Pirate Kill unless they are pirates who have committed serious crimes.

These pirates didn't fare much better. All their treasure was taken by Vice Admiral Prodi to replenish the G7 Branch's inventory, and all the valuables on their ships were taken away without exception—things the Navy wouldn't have bothered with in the past.

Pirate ships that should have been destroyed were spared, and they can be sold for a lot of money.

In the end, although these pirates survived and were released by the Navy, they were left penniless. Their long-term efforts had been completely plundered, leaving them feeling extremely bitter and humiliated.

The G7 Branch Marines, led by Vice Admiral Prodi, are notorious for their ruthlessness, having decimated numerous pirate crews. Their infamy has made many pirate crews avoid the G7 Branch altogether.

In their eyes, the G7 Branch of the Navy was extremely formidable. One of their most famous achievements was that a group of pirates had been incredibly unlucky and had been captured by Vice Admiral Prodi four times.

The captain is quite capable and well-known in this area. With his strength and influence, making money is naturally faster, since he robs it.

Each time they were arrested and released, they would regroup and set sail again.

After being arrested four times, they finally broke down, being harvested like leeks time and time again. It was from their mouths that Prodi's reputation as a "devil" was spread.

They fled the area, vowing never to return.

At first, the Navy in the G7 Branch was a little embarrassed and couldn't bring themselves to do it, but with a shameless yet trustworthy Vice Admiral like Prodi, they were gradually infected by Prodi, and the spirit of Prody spread throughout the entire G7 Branch in a short period of time.

As naval personnel, they experienced what it's like to be bandits, and their targets were pirates. They didn't feel any psychological burden; on the contrary, they felt quite exhilarated.

This is precisely why, while other navies are facing increasing pressure and worsening circumstances, the G7 is actually doing relatively well.

However, only two people in the G7 Branch have the capability to lead a team on their own to raid pirates at sea Kake and Vice Admiral Prodi.

"Kake Commodore and Lieutenant Colonel Novoya are back!" someone in the G7 Branch shouted excitedly, gazing at the distant sea.

"We're sure to have made a lot of progress!"

It was clearly visible that behind the warship, two pirate ships were being towed. The pirate ships were empty, but traces of battle could still be seen.

As for the pirates, the cruel ones were definitely killed on the spot, while those whose crimes were not serious were let go.

Kake stepped off the warship, accompanied by Novoya.

Novoya walked alongside him, showing no awareness that his rank was lower than Novoa's.

With his hands in his pockets and a gentle smile on his face, Novoya had integrated into the G7 Branch in just a few months and had become a prominent figure in the G7 Branch with his amazing performance.

Improved strength leads to further development of abilities.

In just a few months, Novoya received instruction from Vice Admiral Prodi. With a solid foundation, Novoya learned the Marine Six Styles and incorporated the various power generation and explosive techniques of the Marine Six Styles into his own physical skills.

Furthermore, he focuses on Tekkai and Kami-e, these two styles are more focused on the control of the body and the mastery of Life Return, and Novoya has a clear understanding of himself.

The Six Powers alone are not suitable for him. As a user of the Steam-Steam Fruit, the combination of Devil Fruit power and physical skills is the most perfect. He only needs what he needs.

Having witnessed Novoya's learning ability and potential, Vice Admiral Prodi devoted himself to teaching him. In addition to his own training, Novoa also Kake the strong Kaji as a sparring partner. These days, Novoya's life can be described as very fulfilling.

"Why did you call us back so early? Has something important happened?" Novoya asked, looking at Kake.

The war in the New World had just ended when Vice Admiral Prodi issued a summons, ordering them to return to the G7 Branch immediately. It's easy to guess that this was related to the Marine Headquarters.

"Yes, it's a headquarters meeting; all the top naval officers need to be there." There was nothing to hide, and besides, he had already guessed it from Novoya's expression, Kake nodded.

He could clearly sense Novoya's progress; it was truly astonishing.

"That shouldn't concern me," Novoya said with a soft laugh.

"I don't know." Kake shook his head. When Lieutenant Vice Admiral Prodi called, he specifically told him to go back with Novoya, so it must be related to Novoya.

Soon, the two arrived at Vice Admiral Prodi's office at the G7 Branch. In addition to Vice Admiral Prodi, there were two other high-ranking naval officers, who were considered Prodi deputies.

At the Marine Headquarters, admirals are considered high-ranking officers, so Kake Commodore is also qualified to attend the meeting.

Of course, this is a large-scale meeting. Generally, only Vice Admiral and above in the navy can attend important meetings, such as the Shichibukai meeting.

Such large-scale meetings are extremely rare, and they are basically used to announce things to these cornerstones of the navy.

It's basically all mobilization. More than 20 years ago, there was a similar mobilization targeting the Rocks Pirates. The real secrets, of course, are only known to the Vice Admiral and other high-ranking naval officers.

What exactly is being mobilized for this time? They couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

"Novoya, you should know what happened by now," Prodi said with a smile as Novoya entered.

"Hmm." Novoya nodded, a hint of doubt in his eyes.

"Then stay here, stand behind me, and just listen in." Prodi beckoned to Novoya.

This is considered one of the unspoken rules in the Navy. Kake's eyes revealed a knowing look. When Kuzan was young, before he became Vice Admiral, he was able to attend meetings, of course, by following behind Garp.

The same applies to others, especially after graduating from naval academy, they are assigned to various powerful naval officers for training.

After graduating, Kake was assigned to Borsalino's command and began participating in naval conferences with Borsalino early on, but he had little say and was not involved in the discussions.

But this right alone already puts him far ahead of his colleagues.

Novoya hadn't expected his progress to be so smooth, to be able to participate in high-level naval meetings so early; he had thought it would take several more years of hard work.

"Then I shall gladly accept your offer." Novoya smiled and nodded slightly, then produced two bottles of wine from somewhere, placed them on the table, opened one, and poured a large glass for Vice Admiral Prodi. "Old man, this is a rare find that I had no trouble finding, and I'm presenting it to you as a token of my respect."

The aroma of the wine is irresistible; one whiff tells you it's a rare and exquisite wine.

"Novoya, are you bribing me?" Vice Admiral Prodi suddenly became serious.

"How could that be? As one gets older, one should learn to enjoy life. This is just a token of my appreciation; please accept it." Novoya's expression remained unchanged; he had already quite grasped Lieutenant Vice Admiral Prodi's temperament.

"Haha, that's true. I'm almost at retirement age, but I can still work for another twenty years." Prodi raised his glass and savored the wine.

Novoya's actions Kake speechless. He found a seat, poured himself a full glass, and went about his business.

"Hey kid, this is Novoya's tribute to this old man." Kake's mustache bristled at Prodi's actions, and he couldn't help but curse.

However, Kake ignored everything and in the blink of an eye, half of the wine in the glass was gone.

"Sigh, these kids nowadays, they have no respect for the elderly." Prodi sighed. If you didn't know his eccentric personality, you would have really thought he was angry.

"If you want a drink, pour yourself one too, just don't tell anyone," Kake said to the other two Commodore.

They were very familiar with each other, and besides, they had been craving the food for a long time. Kake Jia Ji finished speaking, they took action.

Drinking is fine, but it's not right to just let them watch. It's better to get involved together and build camaraderie.

Regardless of his appearance and his numerous failed marriage proposals, Kake incredibly capable in interpersonal relationships. He has many friends in the Navy, thanks in large part to his close friend Borsalino, from Borsalino Kake learned a great deal.

Checking the time, it was almost time. I turned on the Transponder Snail, revealing the screen inside.

This was a huge conference hall, where high-ranking naval officers sat in their seats, exuding a powerful aura.

Meanwhile, the Commodore and Rear Admiral admirals stood or knelt on the ground around them.

Wait quietly.

Many people had their bodies wrapped in bandages, their injuries not yet fully healed.

Meetings must be on time; that's a Navy rule. Unless it's a superstar like Garp who has the authority to make everyone wait for him.

As you can see, the place wasn't full; many of the seats were empty.

They all knew very well what the empty spaces represented: they meant that the victims had already been killed, and the number was truly shocking.

The Navy dispatched eleven Marine Vice Admiral to the Golden Sea, but all of them perished in battles against pirates; not one survived. The number of lower-ranking Navy officers was even greater, resulting in devastating losses.

Including the two who died in the New World War, that brings the total number of lost Marine Vice Admiral to fourteen.

The number of Marine Vice Admiral has reached an unprecedented number, almost reaching single digits: Garp, Tsuru, Prodi, two other branch Vice Admiral like Prodi, two veteran Headquarters Vice Admiral, and three Giant Vice Admiral.

Among them, Prodi has four other Vice Admiral who are all quite old and have reached the age where their abilities are declining and it is time for them to retire.

Among the Vice Admiral who sacrificed their lives were veteran Marine Vice Admiral, as well as many Marine Vice Admiral had been promoted after the promotion ceremony.

Those who can become Marine Vice Admiral are generally proficient in using Two types of Haki, but now they have all sacrificed themselves.

At the same time, nearly half of the admirals below them also perished, and the navy's strength had completely plummeted to rock bottom.

Wos stood silently behind Prodi without saying a word.

Not many people paid attention to him, except for a few who knew him and glanced at him.

The Sengoku seated at the head of the table, seeing that everyone had arrived, sighed, and then loudly announced, "The meeting begins!"

Then, Sengoku turned his gaze to the side and said, "Tsuru, tell me about the current state of the navy."

"Hmm." Crane nodded.

"The navy has suffered heavy losses. Since the start of the Golden Sea Battle, fourteen Rear Admiral Vice Admiral have been killed,... rear admirals have been killed,... commodores Commodore been killed, and the number of naval officers and colonels killed or wounded has reached... people. According to joint statistics from various branches, the total number of naval casualties is... people..."

As Crane uttered those shocking figures, the air in the entire conference room seemed to freeze. The sailors below stared wide-eyed, unable to believe it.

Although they could guess that the navy would suffer heavy losses, they did not expect it to be so devastating, all in such a short time, because of a Golden Sea Battle.

The statistics deeply stung their hearts. Some clenched their fists in anger, some couldn't help but shed tears, and others covered their ears, not wanting to hear any of it.

Seeing the myriad aspects of human nature, the people of the Sengoku were also suffering, and felt a sense of powerlessness.

The navy's strength has been reduced by half, or even more.

Even He's voice trembled slightly when he uttered those numbers.

When these statistics were presented to them, they were filled with unimaginable anger and grief.

"Injury to the bone" is an understatement; it was a complete "bone break," causing the navy's size to drop by a significant amount.

Besides death, there were various other losses.

"Tell me about the current situation of the navy." Sengoku closed his eyes, feeling utterly exhausted. He seemed to have aged ten years overnight; he was so tired that he even had the urge to resign as Marshal.

Even with the powerful vitality and physique of the Sengoku, they were struggling to hold on, relying entirely on willpower to persevere.

"The navy's current situation is extremely bad. Let's talk about the internal situation first. Their food and pay have been overdue for several months, their ammunition and equipment are in short supply and almost exhausted, and they don't have many warships left. At present, the navy can be said to be unable to wage war."

"On the Grand Line, the Navy's strength is compressed to the extreme, barely surviving. Only the G7 Branch is still in a relatively good state." As he spoke, Tsuru glanced at the image on Prodi's side.

The others were the same; after all, Prodi's actions left them speechless. They had all heard about the glorious deeds of the G7 Branch.

"As for the four seas, they are completely out of control, and some Marine Branch are practically extinct." With that, Tsuru sighed.

"The chaos across the seas is too much for the navy to handle, leading to a large number of marines leaving the navy and significantly weakening its numbers and strength, in addition to the pirate attacks."

"According to intelligence, the navy has lost the trust of the world during the war, and various kingdoms and Affiliated Nation are building their own navies to resist pirates."

"Many members of the navies formed by these kingdoms originally belonged to our Marine Branch."

This is blatant poaching, trying to steal talent from the Navy, and they've already succeeded. Moreover, they didn't use illegal means; these individuals voluntarily left the Navy to join these kingdoms.

The rapid decline in the naval situation took the West Blue Dark Council by surprise, and a large number of marines left the navy in order to survive.

If that's the case, why bother with a scheme to usurp their territory? Wouldn't it be simpler to just absorb them all directly?

However, to avoid drawing too much attention, it would be better to involve other Affiliated Nation. The kingdoms are interconnected, and besides, they are already building their own navies, so it would be more convenient to simply absorb their existing navies.

They have no qualms about doing this because it concerns their own interests. With so many Affiliated Nation together, they are not afraid of even the World Government, let alone the navy.

So they agreed without hesitation and acted immediately and without any pretense.

They even ruthlessly occupied these Marine Branch.

The territories where the navy establishes Marine Branch are mostly owned by Affiliated Nation, provided by Affiliated Nation. This is because proximity to Affiliated Nation allows for better protection of Affiliated Nation interests, and the funds for establishing these Marine Branch also come from the Affiliated Nation.

Since that's the case, the branch was established by me, and the land is mine. Since the navy doesn't have the ability to protect them, then leave and return the branch to me.

Everyone knows that true power lies in what you control. Since there's no need to hand over the Heavenly Gold, allocating a portion to develop the navy is more than enough.

"Except for a few Marine Branch that are still holding on, the rest have basically been swallowed up by these Affiliated Nation. They have started building their own navies and no longer need us."

"What do you mean?" a navy officer asked, bewildered.

"The era when the Affiliated Nation of the four seas depended on the Marine Headquarters is over. They have their own navies, and these navies have nothing to do with us."

He let out such a sigh. The times were changing too fast. After returning from the war, the changes felt somewhat surreal to her.

"More than ten kingdoms in the West Blue issued a joint statement to establish the West Blue Navy, a navy that maintains order in the West Blue and belongs solely to the West Blue. The headquarters of the West Blue Navy was established on Griffith Island, near the center of the West Blue. To distinguish it from the regular navy, the West Blue Navy is also known as the 'West Sea Guard,' meaning the sea guardians who protect the West Blue."

"Similar ideas exist in other sea areas as well, but they are still in the planning stages. Compared to establishing a navy independently, joint establishment requires less investment, yields greater benefits, and can avoid naval wars between kingdoms."

"They did nothing wrong; the navy today is indeed no match for them." As she spoke, Tsuru gave a self-deprecating laugh.

There was complete silence, and I didn't know what to say.

"Then, what should we do? The World Government isn't the World Government anymore, is it? And what about our Navy?" a Navy officer said, his eyes revealing undisguised anger towards the World Government, along with some confusion.

There are many people within the Navy who hate the World Government and the Celestial Dragons, and a large part of the Navy's losses are due to the World Government.

The prestige of World Government has declined, and people are no longer as afraid of or respectful of World Government as they used to be.

Now, all the pent-up anger has finally erupted.

The World Government would no longer be the World Government; many people present pondered this statement.

The World Government lost the four seas, which meant it lost half the world, not to mention that the New World is now in the hands of pirates.

With the vast majority of Affiliated Nation comprising the Four Seas, World Government that cannot represent the entire world is no longer World Government. So, can the navy still represent the world?

"The Navy is the Navy, and that won't change." At that moment, Sengoku's voice rang out. He spoke earnestly, and his voice reassured everyone present.

The loss of the four seas has the greatest impact on the World Government, but a much smaller impact on the Navy. The overall combat strength of the four seas was already very weak, and could not compare with the Grand Line or the New World.

The navy's main strength lies in the Grand Line; the only concern is that many naval personnel come from all over the world.

"Let's leave the Four Seas aside for now. The government hasn't taken any action yet, and we don't know what will happen. For now, let's focus our energy on the Grand Line. Now, the question we need to discuss is what the navy should do next," Sengoku said earnestly.

This is a matter of the navy's survival; it is of paramount importance.