Marine Headquarters, Marineford. The Fleet Admiral's Office.
Several of the Marines' top brass had gathered there. Their shouting sent the soldiers patrolling outside hurrying past, afraid of getting dragged into it.
"Several" was generous. There were only three people in the office. Even counting Sengoku's seagull and goat, that made just five living creatures.
The argument, of course, was over the photograph Rowit had taken.
Akainu, a staunch believer in Absolute Justice, saw a golden opportunity. Kaido had suffered a devastating injury and might take ages to recover. With him far away in Alabasta, they could strike before he returned and wipe out his forces.
Vice Admiral Tsuru disagreed. If the Beasts Pirates were so easily broken by their leader's defeat, the Marines would have destroyed them long ago.
Tsuru wanted to spread the news instead. It would bolster the Marines' reputation while exposing Kaido's weakness, enticing the Supernovas who caused trouble every year and the ambitious great pirates to challenge him. Let them do the killing!
Sengoku leaned toward Tsuru's plan, but Akainu's was not without merit.
After all, the Marines had never driven Kaido into such dire straits before. Looking at the heart exposed through the wound in Kaido's chest, Sengoku sucked air through his teeth.
Even a Monster like Kaido would have trouble recovering from that!
If the Marines deployed in full force now, they really might destroy the Beasts Pirates in one fell swoop and turn the Four Yonko into three!
But that raised another problem. The rest of the Beasts Pirates would be no easy opponent even without Kaido. His three All-Stars were formidable, and his soldiers were absurdly capable. In an all-out fight, the Marines would have only a sixty-forty advantage, and their casualties would be dreadful.
And if the Marines shifted their forces,