The Navy's Response

"Miss, are you waiting for Smoker? I advise you to stop waiting. He's already lying over there. It'd be more appropriate for you to go find him." Before Carmen could answer Tashigi, a purple bird carrying several people flew onto the pirate ship. A man in a black trench coat among them spoke to Tashigi.

"Locke, you're back! Come here, let me see if you're hurt!"

Seeing the man, Carmen hurried over and began checking him over.

That was right. The ones who had ridden the giant bird back to the ship were Locke, Big Bear, and the others. At the edge of the island, Locke had met up with Big Bear's group, then used his ability to conjure a massive bird for them to ride back. Unexpectedly, they had just returned when they heard Tashigi's words, prompting Locke to explain.

"What? Impossible! How could you possibly defeat Colonel Smoker?" Tashigi said with disbelief written all over her face.

"Don't believe me? I'll take you to see." As soon as Locke finished speaking, another purple bird appeared, seized Tashigi, who was unable to move, by the shoulders, and flew toward the distant 16th Branch.

Watching Tashigi get carried farther and farther away by the bird, Locke threw the Colonel Nezumi he had been holding onto the deck.

"Set sail. We're going back to Bisi Island!" Locke said to Big Bear and Carmen.

As the two went to get the ship moving, Locke turned to Second Bear and said, "Move them into the room first, then treat them."

Second Bear nodded. He and Locke each carried one person on their backs and headed toward Second Bear's private medical room.

"How are they?" Only after laying the two down did Locke finally have time to ask Second Bear about their condition.

"Panda's fine. He just has a few broken ribs and some minor internal damage. He'll recover in a few days," Second Bear explained.

"What about Yun Zhinnan?" Locke asked again.

"His condition is much more serious. I don't know what kind of enemy he encountered, but muscles all over his body have been damaged to varying degrees. There are also cuts of different sizes all over his body," Second Bear said gravely.

"Is his life in danger?" Hearing Second Bear describe it so seriously, Locke immediately grew tense.

"Not at all. But his recovery will be slow. Even with his physical condition, it'll take him at least a week before he can get out of bed and walk. He can't do any intense exercise for a month," Second Bear quickly explained upon seeing Locke tense up.

"Whew!" Hearing that, Locke let out a small sigh of relief.

After telling Second Bear to take good care of the two, Locke left the room and came up onto the deck.

By then, the ship had slowly begun moving. Watching the Marine base grow farther and farther away, Locke felt no stir in his heart.

Ever since setting out to sea, he had known that one day he would clash head-on with the Marines. He simply hadn't expected it to happen so soon. But Locke had never regretted it. Since Big Bear and the others had boarded his ship, they were his companions. Did avenging his companions require waiting for the right time?

Locke turned around and stopped looking at the Marine base, which was nearly vanishing beyond the horizon. Instead, he found a rope in the cabin and tied the still-unconscious Colonel Nezumi to the mast.

Locke's group had no intention of killing him yet. They planned to take him to Bisi Island and let Big Bear and the other two personally deal with him before their families' graves, so as to comfort their departed spirits.

Marine Headquarters, Marineford, the Fleet Admiral's office.

The Navy's supreme commander, Sengoku, was diligently handling official business. However, there was another person in the office.

The man wore a comical dog-head hat, his exposed beard already gray-white. He sat on a sofa nearby with his feet on the coffee table in front of him, eating donuts one after another as though this were not the Navy Fleet Admiral's office at all.

"Garp, enough! If you have something to say, say it directly. Stop disturbing me while I work!" Unable to endure it any longer, Sengoku roared at Garp.

"Hey, hey, I'm just eating donuts. How am I disturbing you?" Garp said as he stuffed another donut into his mouth.

"You..." Before Sengoku could finish, the Den Den Mushi suddenly rang.

"Buru! Buru..."

"Answer it first." Garp pointed at the Den Den Mushi and said to Sengoku.

"Who is this?" Sengoku said as he picked up the Den Den Mushi.

"Reporting, Fleet Admiral, this is Marine Colonel Smoker." Smoker's weak voice came from the Den Den Mushi.

"Oh, Smoker. What is it?"

"Reporting, Fleet Admiral, the Marine East Blue 16th Branch has just been attacked by the Phantom Pirates. The losses are severe."

"What?!" The moment Sengoku heard the news, he flew into a rage and crushed the Den Den Mushi in his hand.

"Guard, bring me another Den Den Mushi," Sengoku ordered the soldier standing outside the door.

At this point, Garp, seated to the side, realized that something major might have happened. He said nothing more and simply continued eating his donuts.

The guard soon brought another Den Den Mushi, and Sengoku contacted Smoker again.

"What exactly happened? Tell me everything in detail," Sengoku said to Smoker again.

"Not long ago, the Phantom Pirates attacked the Marine 16th Branch for some unknown reason and destroyed every building on the island. I happened to arrive at the time and fought their captain, but I was no match for him and was knocked unconscious. Then, for some unknown reason, the group retreated," Smoker briefly recounted the situation to Sengoku.

"What about the casualties?" Sengoku asked again, his face now completely dark.

"Other than personnel out on patrol, there were two thousand people stationed at the base. Four hundred died, and everyone else was injured. An old soldier named Old Qin suffered comminuted fractures throughout his body. Of all officers at the rank of colonel and above, fifteen were killed in battle, leaving only five alive. Among them, the branch's highest-ranking officer, Colonel Nezumi, was taken away bound. The reason is unknown," Smoker continued.

"Bastard!" This time, Sengoku did not crush the Den Den Mushi. Instead, he slammed his palm down and split the desk before him in half.

"Alright, I'll arrange everything else. Get to Loguetown and take up your post immediately!" Sengoku gave Smoker his orders without saying anything further, then hung up directly.

"Did he just mention Old Qin?" Garp suddenly spoke.

"If you hadn't said anything, I nearly would've forgotten. That Old Qin should be one of the soldiers from your ship—the one who was too old but refused to leave the Marines, insisting on becoming a gate guard. I was the one who assigned him to the East Blue 16th Branch," Sengoku said, looking at Garp as though he had just remembered something.