Marine Meeting, Olycia Ian?

Marine Headquarters conference room.

Inside a vast office.

The Navy's top brass had gathered.

At the head of the table, Fleet Admiral Sengoku wore an unpleasant expression. He took a deep breath, then looked at Yellow Monkey. "Tell us exactly what happened between you and that man named Ian on Maple Island!"

Yellow Monkey was exhausted. After returning to headquarters from Maple Island, he had already been chewed out by Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Now he was being publicly executed?

Did they really think Yellow Monkey had no pride?

Still, facing a Sengoku who was clearly angry, he did not dare talk back...

After all, Sengoku was his superior. He could not afford to provoke him...

After muttering, "How terrifying," Yellow Monkey recounted what had happened on Maple Island, emphasizing Ian's strength. "That guy is practically a monster. Not only is his swordsmanship formidable, but his physical abilities are no weaker. And he does possess Devil Fruit powers... ice, like Admiral Aokiji! Furthermore, his body undergoes changes when he uses his abilities. Just as Vice Admiral Onigumo speculated, it should be one of the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan!"

"Ian? That name has never appeared before. Is that all we have, a name? What about his surname?" Vice Admiral Tsuru took a sip of green tea and raised her head as she spoke calmly.

Yellow Monkey shook his head. "He only gave me one name."

"He refused to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and even openly attacked a Navy admiral. He sounds like quite the unruly fellow..." Aokiji lifted half his sleep mask, speaking with drowsy eyes.

Akainu, who adhered to Absolute Justice, merely snorted. "Since he dared attack Navy personnel, that makes him an enemy. People like him must be eliminated as soon as possible!"

"..."

The other vice admirals qualified to attend the meeting also voiced their opinions. Aside from a few who remained silent, everyone held different views.

Sengoku swept his gaze across everyone present and knocked on the table. Once he had drawn all eyes to himself, he pulled a document from the stack on the desk and slapped it onto the board behind him.

He took a deep breath. "We have received some information from the World Government regarding Ian."

Everyone's attention was drawn by Sengoku's words, and they all turned to look.

Even Garp, who usually ignored such matters and was crunching away at rice crackers nearby, looked over while eating.

"The reason Ian did not reveal his surname was likely because he had concerns. He may have come from the same place as King the Conflagration, one of the Three Calamities!" Sengoku looked at Yellow Monkey and spoke calmly.

At those words, everyone fell silent for a moment. A pin could have been heard dropping.

Then the room erupted into an uproar.

Yellow Monkey was especially incredulous. "Hey, hey, that can't be true, can it? He came from the same place as King the Conflagration? No wonder his physique is so powerful!"

Even Aokiji sat upright. "A survivor of that nation?"

Akainu narrowed his eyes slightly. "He has quite the background."

"The Olycia Tribe, a race as famous as the Lunaria Tribe! His name should be Olycia Ian!" Sengoku exhaled. "The Lunaria Tribe is born with the power to control flames, while the Olycia Tribe is born with the power to control ice. They are natural enemies! These two races are known as the 'Twin Poles'!"

"His power is ice? Then his abilities are somewhat difficult to determine. The intelligence also said that he could use a lightning-based attack. Is that his true ability?" Aokiji exhaled, his expression grave.

Upon hearing that Ian was born with the power to control ice, Aokiji, as the user of the Ice-Ice Fruit, naturally paid the closest attention.

"We still have too little information about him. If that ice is his innate ability, then the power resembling a Mythical Zoan should be his Devil Fruit ability. Is it some kind of Mythical Zoan that controls lightning?" Onigumo could not help recalling Ian's battle with Donquixote Doflamingo. Ice had been Ian's primary power, but those lightning attacks had also been formidable.

As if recalling something, he slowly added, "And during his last battle against Donquixote Doflamingo, he did not seem to use any particularly powerful swordsmanship. Did he believe Donquixote Doflamingo was not qualified to force him to use his full strength?"

"A conceited yet confident fellow!" Vice Admiral Momonga commented.

"His swordsmanship rivals Hawk-Eye's, he belongs to one of the Twin Poles races, and he has eaten a Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit. A truly extraordinary figure has appeared!" Hearing this, Garp slapped the table and burst into laughter. "Those World Government bastards are going to have a headache!"

"Shut up, Garp! What kind of nonsense are you saying?!" Sengoku was so furious at Garp's absurd words that his mouth nearly twisted out of shape.

What did he mean, the World Government would have a headache?

As the leader of the World Government's greatest force, was Sengoku not supposed to have a headache too?

That was right. Sengoku had a headache right now. Such a powerful enemy had appeared in the first half of the Grand Line, and he was someone who threatened both the World Government and the Navy. How could Sengoku possibly rest easy?

Sengoku was more or less prone to persecution delusions. Otherwise, in the original story, he would not have provoked Whitebeard, who had little ambition, and launched the world-shaking War at Marineford...

"Tch, I'm not even allowed to say it?" Garp curled his lip, but he did not speak again.

After glaring at Garp, Sengoku continued, "Olycia Ian has now displayed hostility toward the World Government and the Navy. Discuss how we should handle this matter going forward."

Akainu looked at Sengoku and spoke flatly. "Since he is an enemy, send troops to eradicate him!"

The other Hawk Faction officers nodded in agreement. The Hawk Faction could not tolerate even the slightest threat, so they naturally wanted to eliminate Ian directly.

If they let him go unchecked, who knew what major incident he might cause?

How long had it even been since Ian appeared? He had already committed three earth-shaking acts!

He killed Donquixote Doflamingo, fought Hawk-Eye to a draw, and repelled Navy Admiral Yellow Monkey!

Any one of those feats alone would have been enough to shake the world, let alone all three being accomplished by the same person!

Aokiji exhaled a breath of cold air. "To capture someone who can fight Hawk-Eye to a draw and whom even Admiral Yellow Monkey could not defeat, how much manpower would the Navy have to commit?"

Yellow Monkey glanced at Aokiji. Why bring me into this?

Akainu glanced at Aokiji, meeting him head-on. "Are we supposed to sit by and do nothing? He is only one man. Though he is not weak, deploying two admirals should be enough to capture him!"

Aokiji did not argue. He merely stated his opinion. "I do not oppose capturing criminals, but action without a plan will only cause unnecessary casualties!"

Akainu did not care much for those words, but he said nothing further. Sengoku would make the final decision; Akainu was merely offering a suggestion.

Aokiji also fell silent, closed his eyes, and pretended to sleep as he waited for Sengoku's decision.

The Hawk Faction and Dove Faction officers below both spoke up, voicing their views as they debated fiercely.

Of course, the two sides merely differed in philosophy. They did not become red-faced and hostile.

Sengoku knocked on the table again, and the room fell quiet. After glancing around at everyone, he said, "First, set a bounty. As for how to deal with Olycia Ian, there is no need to rush. The information we have on him remains vague, and perhaps he still has other cards up his sleeve. Yellow Monkey also said that, before he left, Olycia Ian had intended to use some kind of ability..."

"That's right." Yellow Monkey nodded hurriedly at those words. The first reason he had left was that the Navy forces had already withdrawn, so he felt there was no need to continue fighting.

The second reason was... when he sensed the aura Ian had released at that moment, he had actually felt a trace of fear. It gave him the same oppressive feeling as facing the world's strongest man, Whitebeard, when he used the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power...

His Observation Haki had gone wild, warning him to leave that place immediately!

Otherwise... he might very well die...