Traitor!

Issho's orders were quickly relayed. The force required to coordinate with his operation was the Science Unit led by Dr. Vegapunk. The young officer commanding the Science Unit was Sentomaru, who had lived on Egghead Island since childhood.

Although many other allied units had also gathered at New Marine Headquarters, the tsunami Dragon had caused with his powers had severely affected Cake Island. In such conditions, the combat strength those units could bring to bear was truly limited.

Only the Sea Beasts unit could display its proper fighting strength in such a harsh environment.

Orders from the higher-ups were passed down layer by layer. Units that had not received orders could only hold their positions. Although they had learned that the Straw Hat Pirates had breached the defenses of the underground treasury, Issho did not send any further reinforcements to aid Abel and the others.

Since Abel and the others had already been defeated, there was no point in sending mediocre forces in after them.

Of course, more importantly, as the New Marines learned more about the battle before the underground treasury, Issho also received reports concerning Kuma's unusual behavior.

"Report! The surveillance unit has restored monitoring of the underground battlefield."

"Vice Admiral Bartholomew has arrived at the battlefield and made direct contact with the Straw Hat Pirates."

"But..."

The communications soldier who had come to report was evasive, filled with hesitation and uncertainty as he spoke. Under Baccarat's questioning, he could only report truthfully. To earn Issho's trust, he took out an image Den Den Mushi from his coat and directly played the surveillance footage from before the underground treasury for everyone in the office.

Only then did Issho and the communications officers present understand what the soldier had meant by Kuma making direct contact with the Straw Hat