A Difficult Choice
With gritted teeth and tears streaming down her face, Ain led most of her men in a retreat.
Zephyr, Binz, Shuzo, Judge, Ichiji, Reiju, Niji, and Yonji exchanged glances, finding themselves in a very awkward situation.
At least that's how it appears on the surface.
Although Zephyr, Binz, and Shuzo were embarrassed, they still had some doubts. After all, no matter how hard they thought about it, they couldn't figure out who had leaked the information.
After all, among the five: Zephyr, Ain, Binz, Shuzo, Dalmatian.
Zephyr, Ain, Binz, and Shuzo trust each other completely. There is no possibility of a leaker, and Dalmatian is the most likely culprit.
However, Dalmatian's actions now are quite courageous.
In this situation... even doubting him is a sin.
Who could it be?
After much thought, it seems that Germa 66 is the most likely candidate...
As for Judge, Ichiji, Reiju, Niji, and Yonji, they were indeed in an awkward situation. They felt embarrassed by the questioning looks they were being given.
However, there are some things.
As long as it hasn't been exposed, let's pretend it never happened. What they need to do now is stall Zephyr and his group. Once things are settled with Moke, they can start closing in here.
At that time, Germa 66 will have done a great service for the Moke Pirates.
Zephyr turned to Shuzo: "Take some men and pick up Ain, bring him here. Let's make sure nothing else goes wrong!"
Shuzo: "It's the teacher!"
Half a day later.
At Marine Headquarters, Aokiji frowned deeply.
He originally thought that once Zephyr led his men there, the North Blue would stabilize. Besides, he had brought the entire Marine Academy with him.
But I never expected this.
The Marine Branch stationed in Tokikake and Dalmatian were successively captured.
The Tokikake he was there was because he had just entered North Blue.
It's understandable that it was captured; after all, it was too late. But what about the Marine Branch stationed in Dalmatian?
Zephyr has already arrived in North Blue and is stationed at this branch.
Where did he go?
He couldn't believe that someone as strong as Zephyr could be defeated by a mere Cavendish.
Now it's all right.
With Cavendish having captured all three of the North Blue's largest Marine Branch, the morale of the entire North Blue forces has likely plummeted to rock bottom.
Moreover, various forces are starting to stir!
He had even foreseen that the entire North Blue would descend into chaos. Various factions and pirate crews... Just thinking about it gave him a headache.
He then looked at the next piece of information.
Goodness!
They really didn't say a word!
This is intelligence sent back by Drake, saying that Hawkeye Dracule Mihawk intends to form Emperor Level pirate crew and begin recruiting powerful individuals throughout the New World.
Of the eleven Supernova alone, he recruited him, Basil Hawkins, Apoo, and later Urouge. He recruited four of them directly.
There are also some veteran powerhouses.
Silver Dragon, one of the Great Swordsman of the New World.
The three most powerful pirate crews in the New World are East Germany, Bloodwave, and New West. The captains of these three crews are all top-tier experts.
The captain of the Dongde Pirates, Zoan Mad Lion-Mad Lion Fruit, has reached the Awakening level.
Captain of the Bloodwave Pirates, Paramecia Devil Fruit User).
The captain of the Xinxixi Pirates is a rare female pirate. She is Paramecia Devil Fruit User... She is an artist by nature, and this Devil Fruit further enhances her abilities.
It's an absolutely terrifying existence.
In terms of strength, besides Big Mom, only Boa Hancock Yamato are on the same level. She, Yamato, and Boa Hancock are definitely the strongest female pirates after Big Mom.
Even Catarina Devon, who was known as the most vicious female prisoner in history, was no match for them.
But Catarina Devon is an absolutely terrifying pirate. She was previously imprisoned on Level 6 of Impel Down, which shows how strong she is.
Even so, she's still a notch weaker than the captain of the Xinxixi Pirates. That shows just how terrifying she is...
Moreover, her abilities have reached the level of Awakening.
One thing can be gleaned from the bounties offered on these three individuals.
1.55 billion, 1.72 billion, 1.8 billion...
These three pirate crews are definitely the strongest pirate crews below the Emperor Level. Each of these three captains is worthy of being the first mate of Emperor Level pirate crew.
The key point is that they have some quite capable people under their command.
In total, there are nearly ten cases with bounties exceeding 100 million yuan, and three or four cases with bounties exceeding 300 million or 600 million yuan.
If all such people were recruited by Hawkeye Dracule Mihawk...
So, in terms of overall strength, the pirate crew assembled by Hawkeye Dracule Mihawk might not be as strong as the Moke Pirates or the Whitebeard Pirates, but compared to the Red-Haired Pirates, they are far inferior.
After all, the Red-Haired Pirates don't have many members... and the most important one is Red-Hair, who is ridiculously strong.
His hand unconsciously tapped the table, producing a very rhythmic sound. The more rhythmic the tapping, the more chaotic his mind was.
Because at this point, Hawkeye Dracule Mihawk definitely possessed the strength of an Emperor Level pirate crew.
However, the problem lies in...
What should we do now?
Acknowledge his position?
Directly increasing the bounty to thrust Hawkeye Dracule Mihawk's crew into the spotlight, making him the fourth pirate emperor of the New World?
Should we suppress this news for now?
Hawkeye Dracule Mihawk becoming the fourth Pirate Emperor in the New World has both advantages and disadvantages for the Navy.
At an opportune time.
Once Hawkeye Dracule Mihawk is publicly revealed and his status as the fourth Pirate Emperor is acknowledged, territorial disputes will inevitably erupt in the New World. At that time, the Navy can take a break and recuperate.
Take a good rest and recover.
At the same time, it will also be possible to recruit strong individuals from the general population and integrate them into the navy.
Most importantly, it will free up manpower. Then, we can send Kizaru over again. There won't be any more trouble in the North Blue.
However, another problem will also arise.
In this turbulent time...
Another pirate emperor has emerged in the New World. This will affect the morale of the pirates, and more importantly, it will alarm the entire world.
It might even lose the support of the people.
Because, recently, the World Government and the navy have really disappointed us.
Ordinary people wouldn't think that the emergence of another pirate emperor would throw the New World into chaos; that would only benefit the Navy. They would just think the Navy is useless... which is why another pirate emperor has been born in the New World.
Coupled with the previous major defeats, public morale will definitely waver.
At that point, they'll have a hard time recruiting soldiers. They'll probably have to resort to forced recruitment, but that would only push the public to the opposite side of the Navy and the World Government.
It's a vicious cycle.
Therefore, Aokiji is now faced with a difficult choice.