Loguetown

East Blue, Loguetown, Marine Headquarters

As the day of the public execution of the Pirate King Roger drew closer, more and more pirates arrived in Loguetown. Among them were quite a few notorious Great Pirates from the Grand Line. Both the Marines and the World Government became increasingly tense.

At that moment, the Marines were holding their final meeting. The atmosphere in the conference room was strange.

Because of the special circumstances, members of the World Government were also attending today's meeting alongside the Marines.

The two sides were clearly divided, sitting on opposite sides of the room.

As the highest-ranking officer in Loguetown, Sengoku was in charge of the meeting. After briefly explaining the preparations the Marines had made, he delivered his concluding remarks.

"Loguetown and the area around Reverse Mountain have already been heavily surrounded by our Marines. This time, we will definitely ensure that these pirates never leave alive."

But some people seemed not to care about that.

"This has nothing to do with us, Admiral Sengoku. The Five Elders sent us here this time not to help the Marines, but because of the murder of Saint Donquixote Mjosgard."

The speaker was a broad-shouldered man with black hair. He wore a suit, had a vicious expression, and his mouth was twisted to one side.

His name was Spandine. He was the highest-ranking officer of CP9 and also one of the members of CP0.

Sengoku did not answer. Instead, it was Vice Admiral Tsuru, seated below Garp on the Marine side, who spoke. She originally had no need to come to Loguetown, but after the incident involving the death of a Celestial Dragon, Fleet Admiral Kong had specially transferred her there.

"Regarding Saint Donquixote Mjosgard's death, haven't our Marines already handed the relevant report over to you?"

"We received the report, but not the person. We need to interrogate the relevant personnel before we can obtain more information."

As Spandine spoke, his gaze faintly swept toward Vice Admiral Kizaru, seated below Tsuru.

But Kizaru acted as if he had not noticed at all. He leisurely sipped his hot tea, occasionally smacking his lips.

The only person who could rival Kizaru was Vice Admiral Garp, seated above Tsuru. He was picking his nose with his little finger, then rolling the result between his fingers and flicking it around.

As for Aokiji, he also looked utterly lazy.

Seeing this scene, Tsuru sighed inwardly. This was precisely why Kong had sent her here.

The several men here were all far too unreliable.

So she stepped forward to defend her people.

"There is no need. The report clearly states that the pirate named Ye Mu possesses Conqueror's Haki. The ordinary Marines present were knocked unconscious by it and knew nothing. As for Gasparde, he is still lying in the hospital, and he has already told us everything he could. I questioned him myself, and there are no other questions. As for Kizaru, it cannot be blamed on him that he failed to capture those two pirates. Their Devil Fruits—the Flame-Flame Fruit and the Rumble-Rumble Fruit—are extremely troublesome. I don't need to explain that to you; you understand it yourselves. Moreover, according to Kizaru's account, they also possess Observation Haki no weaker than his. As for Armament Haki, although they did not display it, anyone capable of releasing Conqueror's Haki should not have failed to master Armament Haki as well... Even if an admiral were dispatched, it would be difficult to keep such troublesome opponents from escaping..."

Tsuru's words were extremely forceful, leaving Spandine speechless.

But he would not submit so easily. After all, he had the World Government behind him.

"Even so, Gasparde cannot escape the death penalty for failing to protect a Celestial Dragon... We must take him back..."

"Hmph..."

Tsuru snorted coldly.

"By your logic, the four members of CP9 who were there failed to protect the Celestial Dragon as well. As the commander of CP9, shouldn't you also take your own life in atonement?"

Spandine instantly slammed the table and stood up, roaring.

"Vice Admiral Tsuru, you're twisting words to force your argument!"

At this moment, Sengoku finally stepped forward to mediate.

"Enough... Stop arguing... The most important matter right now is Roger's execution. That is the consensus of the World Government. Until then, put everything else aside... This is also the order of the Five Elders..."

Sengoku's words brought the incident to an end. Beneath the table, Garp secretly gave Tsuru a thumbs-up, only to receive a glare from her in return.

But Spandine was still somewhat unwilling to let the matter go.

"Are we really going to let those two vicious criminals off just like that?"

Tsuru also understood the principle of combining firmness with leniency. Although she had contradicted Spandine for the sake of the Marines, that did not mean she was willing to let those two pirates off.

"According to the intelligence, the Sky Pirate Crew now consists of only three people, including Fisher Tiger. But I believe everyone understands the Sky Pirate Crew's strength. Capturing those two pirates would probably require combat power at the admiral level. Now that Fish-Man Tiger has joined them, that man's strength is also at the vice admiral level. So although the Sky Pirate Crew is only just starting out, they absolutely cannot be treated like newcomers... However, no matter what, our Marines cannot spare anyone to deal with them right now. If you are willing, you can handle the matter yourselves..."

"..."

Tsuru's words instantly put Spandine in an awkward position. It was not that the World Government lacked high-level combat power. CP0 also had some powerful fighters. But those people were extremely valuable, stationed in Mary Geoise to protect the Celestial Dragons. Sending them out for two pirates was simply impossible.

As for his CP9, four members had already died. Even if the remaining members were dispatched, they would probably only be throwing their lives away. Not to mention that each of them had their own missions, so they could not spare many people at once.

Seeing that Spandine said nothing, Tsuru tried to smooth things over.

"In that case, I suggest issuing bounties first... As the saying goes, great rewards bring forth brave men. Besides, it will help us discover their whereabouts..."

But Spandine did not agree.

"No. The news that a Celestial Dragon was killed absolutely cannot get out..."

Hearing this, Garp could not help laughing.

"Don't all the pirates in Loguetown already know?"

That was true, but Sengoku knew how capable the World Government was at controlling the news. They could still suppress it.

After all, this world's geography was far too complicated. Aside from the World Government and the World Economy News Paper, there was no other way to spread information across the entire world.

"The matter of the Celestial Dragon's death must naturally be concealed. Issue the bounties under the pretext that they attacked a Marine warship."

Spandine thought it over and realized that this was the only option.

"Then how high should the bounties be?"

Vice Admiral Tsuru asked the crucial question.

Sengoku thought about the information regarding the Sky Pirate Crew that they had obtained from Kizaru and Gasparde. After pondering for a moment, he spoke.

"If these two pirates want to make a name for themselves throughout the world, then our Marines will help them achieve that dream..."

"Sky Pirate Crew Captain Ye Mu, an extremely evil criminal and Flame-Flame Fruit user. Bounty: 540 million Beli. Dead or alive..."

"Sky Pirate Crew Vice Captain Enel, an extremely evil criminal and Rumble-Rumble Fruit user. Bounty: 500 million Beli. Dead or alive..."

"Sky Pirate Crew member Fisher Tiger, an extremely evil criminal and Fish-Man. Bounty: 380 million Beli. Dead or alive..."