The Five Elders' Response!

Kong frowned, falling silent as he stared at the footage playing on loop.

The images flashed by rapidly—

Luo Tian suppressed Zephyr in combat, his black slashes colliding with pitch-black fists, each clash causing the very space to tremble.

Tsuru, attempting to support the transport ships, was restrained in mid-air by an invisible force, her body twisting like a marionette; it was the effect of Banshō Ten'in.

Immediately following, that sword-qi dragon slash arrived right before Tsuru's eyes.

In the nick of time, Tsuru activated Wash-Wash Fruit: Purify to break free from the restraint, using a Purification Wall to weaken the slash's power before parrying it with Rankyaku.

However, Luo Tian's slash was far too overbearing, and Tsuru was still wounded.

Swordsmanship at the level of a Great Swordsman, a Devil Fruit ability that touches upon the laws of space, a calm mind...

Kong slowly exhaled:

"All of this, coming from a young man?!"

He remembered the report Sengoku had submitted: before joining the Rocks Pirates, Luo Tian had once repelled the commander Ochoku during a conflict.

Although Ochoku was notorious, his strength was ultimately a notch below core commanders like Whitebeard, Shiki, and Charlotte Linlin.

Yet, in such a short time, Luo Tian had grown to the point where he could suppress Zephyr and severely wound Tsuru!

Even more terrifying was the latter half of the recording, where Luo Tian's duel with Garp shook the heavens and shattered the earth, with him not losing the upper hand in the slightest!

Kong's expression grew increasingly grave.

The threat this boy posed to the Navy could no longer be described as a "Supernova."

This was a "disaster."

A "monster" capable of shaking the foundations of the Navy and even altering the landscape of the New World.

"This Luo Tian must be eradicated as soon as possible."

Kong stared at Luo Tian's figure on the screen, his voice heavy:

"Issue the bounty."

"Based on his current performance, the bounty... shall be provisionally set at 2.5 billion Beli."

"2.5 billion?!"

Garp looked up abruptly, a look of shock flashing in his eyes:

"Fleet Admiral, that kid is troublesome, but isn't 2.5 billion too high for a first bounty? That's already approaching Whitebeard's level!"

Currently, Whitebeard's bounty stood at 3 billion Beli, the highest among the three core commanders of the Rocks Pirates.

"High?"

Kong looked coldly at Garp:

"He was able to hold off Zephyr and Tsuru simultaneously, trade blows with you head-on without losing ground, and single-handedly turn the tide of battle, causing the Navy's meticulously planned encirclement to fail completely—"

"Do you still think 2.5 billion is high?"

Garp was left speechless.

"And this is only the beginning."

Kong's expression remained solemn:

"At his rate of growth, the next time we meet, the bounty might need to be raised again."

The office fell into silence once more.

After a long while, Sengoku spoke helplessly:

"Fleet Admiral, regarding the matter of the Heavenly Tribute... how should we explain this to the World Government?"

At the same time, Garp, Zephyr, and Tsuru also looked at Kong; this was the most troublesome problem at hand.

The Heavenly Tribute being plundered not only concerned the Navy's reputation but also involved the interests of the Celestial Dragons, the world's nobles.

Those high-and-mighty nobles would never let this go.

"Hmph!"

Kong swept his gaze over the four of them and said coldly:

"This matter can only be reported truthfully to the Holy Land."

"But there is a technique to how we say it."

He stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to the four:

"For this operation, I did not report the specific details of the plan to the Five Elders in advance; I only informed them of the news that the 'Rocks Pirates might plunder the Heavenly Tribute' and requested to mobilize forces to strengthen the escort."

"Therefore, in the report, this is not a failed encirclement, but a failure in protection."

"We were not there to encircle the Rocks Pirates, but to reinforce the escort for the Heavenly Tribute. But because the strength of the Rocks Pirates far exceeded expectations, combined with the bizarre abilities of that newcomer Luo Tian, the escort fleet suffered heavy losses and the Heavenly Tribute was stolen."

"As for the appearance of Garp and Tsuru..."

Kong looked at Sengoku:

"Just say that you sensed something unusual and mobilized them for support at the last minute, but it was already too late."

Sengoku's eyes lit up.

In this way, although the Navy would still have to bear responsibility, the nature of the situation would be completely different.

It would shift from "an active offensive that ended in a crushing defeat" to "a passive defense overwhelmed by superior numbers."

While it was still a failure, the level of disgrace for the latter was much lighter, and it would be easier to obtain the understanding of the World Government.

"As expected of the Fleet Admiral..."

Tsuru whispered in admiration.

Kong waved his hand, his expression remaining heavy:

"But the news cannot be hidden forever. The Five Elders are not fools; they will eventually learn the truth."

"Therefore, seize the opportunity to make up for your mistakes."

Holy Land Mary Geoise.

The headquarters of the World Government, the center of power in the world.

Amidst the white architectural complex, Celestial Dragons in fine robes strolled leisurely, surrounded by slaves.

On the top floor of the government building, inside a spacious office.

"Bang!"

The Five Elder with blond hair and a short beard slammed the table, shouting sternly:

"What did you say?! The Rocks Pirates hijacked the Heavenly Tribute?!"

"Bastards! What exactly is the Navy doing?!"

The other four Five Elders also wore grim expressions.

The Five Elders.

The highest authorities of the World Government, the five people standing at the pinnacle of the world, could be said to be below only one person, yet above ten thousand.

At this moment, their fury was enough to reduce a country to ashes.

Publicly attacking a Navy fleet and hijacking the Heavenly Tribute.

This was no different from slapping the world nobles, the Celestial Dragons, in the face, and it trampled the dignity of the World Government, built over eight hundred years, into the dirt.

Sengoku, Zephyr, and Tsuru stood before the Five Elders, stating the battle situation truthfully.

They had long since prepared their rhetoric, reporting in detail the "failed escort" version instructed by Kong, and attached the footage recorded by the Visual Den Den Mushi.

Of course, it was the edited version.

Facing the reprimands of the Five Elders, the three of them lowered their heads in silence, maintaining a very humble posture.

Why was Garp not seen?

Because Garp had always disliked the Celestial Dragons and was very dissatisfied with certain actions of the World Government.

To avoid conflict and prevent Garp from being unable to suppress his disgust for the arrogance and tyranny of the Celestial Dragons, Kong, Sengoku, and the others unanimously decided not to let him come.

Having him reflect at Marineford was better than having him cause trouble here.

"The Navy represents the face of the World Government! Now that the Heavenly Tribute has been hijacked, the dignity of both has been swept away!"

"It is useless to assign blame now; the top priority is dealing with the Rocks Pirates."

"Indeed."

The bald Five Elder, holding the Shodai Kitetsu, slowly opened his eyes:

"The Rocks Pirates are growing stronger in the New World, already seriously threatening the balance of the world."

"Their power was already formidable, and now they have added a monster of a newcomer like Luo Tian..."

"If they are allowed to continue developing, it will inevitably endanger the World Government's control over the seas."

"That's right, that kid named Luo Tian—if he is allowed to grow, it is only a matter of time before he surpasses Rocks."

"Therefore, we cannot let the Rocks Pirates continue to grow."

The five of them spoke one after another.