The Navy's Response

At Marine Headquarters, Marineford, the morning sun streamed through the tall windows and onto the long conference table.

Yet the atmosphere here was heavy and tense.

The World Government had informed the Navy early that morning of the earth-shattering events at Mary Geoise the night before, ordering them to capture the criminals and recapture the escaped slaves.

Fleet Admiral Sengoku sat at the head of the conference table, his gaze fixed on the two photographs sent by the World Government.

The person in one of the photos looked handsome yet carried an air of wild defiance. He was precisely the source of Sengoku's burning anger.

Bang!

Fleet Admiral Sengoku slammed his fist onto the conference table and roared furiously:

"That brat again! It would've been one thing if he'd only been killing pirates lately—we could've turned a blind eye.

"But instead, he had to take a huge dump right here! He caused such a massive incident last night, not only helping that fish-man free all the slaves, but also killing so many Celestial Dragons."

At those words, a white-haired old man in the conference room suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hahaha!"

"Well done! I've hated the sight of those Celestial Dragons for a long time. The brat did a fine job killing them!"

The old man's voice sounded especially jarring in the silent conference room.

"Garp! Watch your position!"

Sengoku frowned and rebuked him.

Garp did not care in the slightest, picking his nose with a finger.

"Am I wrong?"

Sengoku was helpless before his old companion as well. He knew Garp's personality. This man known as a hero had always possessed his own unique way of thinking.

The others in the conference room also felt that the Celestial Dragons were no good people, but they did not dare express it openly like Garp. After all, Garp held a unique status and prestige.

After finally digging something out, Garp even brought his finger close to sniff it.

Then, with a look of disgust, he flicked the black lump away.

Whether it was deliberate or not, the thing landed squarely on Sengoku's cloak.

When Sengoku suddenly noticed a black thing on his clothes, he did not understand what it was. He pinched it between his fingers, rubbed it, then examined it.

When he turned and saw Garp's hand, he instantly froze. There was no need to ask what that thing was.

Sengoku could no longer tolerate this disgusting bastard. Clenching his fist, he punched Garp straight in the face.

Bang, bang, bang~

Punch after punch came down.

The others had no idea what was happening and hurriedly stopped Sengoku, saying as they did:

"Fleet Admiral, calm down! Garp only said the Celestial Dragons deserved it. You don't have to beat him to death!"

"Exactly!"

At that moment, Garp stood up, his face swollen into a pig's head, and shouted indignantly:

"Why are you hitting me?"

"Garp, you disgusting bastard!"

"You flicked your booger over there!"

The others also saw the huge black booger in Sengoku's hand. They retreated several steps in disgust, thinking, We shouldn't have stopped the Fleet Admiral. This disgusting Garp would deserve it even if he got beaten to death!

Garp also saw his handiwork and repeatedly apologized.

Then he found a corner seat and carefully sat down, not daring to look at the enraged Sengoku.

At that moment, Chief Officer Tsuru, who had been quietly drinking tea, set down her teacup and calmly put an end to the two men's fooling around.

"We should resolve this matter as quickly as possible.

"Otherwise, we won't be able to answer to the World Government."

Sengoku also understood the severity of the situation. Especially when it came to recapturing the slaves—if it was not handled properly, the public's trust in the Navy would take a heavy blow.

After pondering for a moment, he made a decision.

"As for these escaped slaves, capture them if they are pirates. If they are ordinary civilians, let them go. That should be the best solution for now."

He then added:

"As for Fisher Tiger, the mastermind behind freeing the slaves, the civilians now regard him as a hero. The Navy need not show itself; we only need to secretly assist the government in apprehending him."

Everyone in the conference room expressed their agreement with this decision.

Chief Officer Tsuru frowned slightly and raised another crucial question:

"What about that brat? He killed so many Celestial Dragons. Dealing with him is the highest priority."

She paused, then continued, "The Ohara incident failed because of him as well."

When Aokiji heard Ohara mentioned, his expression changed slightly, but he said nothing and merely lowered his head in silence.

Hearing that, Sengoku could not help cursing:

"That little shit-stirrer!"

He knew there was more to that boy than met the eye. Rayleigh and Gaban might both stand behind him, and worry appeared on Sengoku's face.

"I don't know whether they are with the boy. If they are, this will be troublesome."

Fleet Admiral Sengoku swept his gaze across everyone present. When his eyes finally settled on Garp, Garp seemed to sense something and immediately pretended to feel unwell.

"Ugh! I don't feel well. I want to throw up. I'm going to see a doctor."

He had no desire to Make a Move against a brat he found rather likable.

Seeing Garp openly slack off like this, Sengoku was about to roar when a man in a yellow pinstriped suit stood up.

"What a terrifying brat. Let this old man go!"

The speaker was Kizaru, one of the Three Admirals.

In truth, it was not because of any sense of justice. With such an incident having occurred at Mary Geoise, the government needed a Marine Admiral to protect the Celestial Dragons, and he did not want to do that sort of guard duty.

In his view, going after Allen was much better. Allen was so strong that he could slack off a little during the fight. If he could not win, he could just run away. That was perfectly normal, and no one would blame him.

Protecting the Celestial Dragons was different. He could not run if he lost, and if a Celestial Dragon got hurt, he would be scolded again.

Seeing Kizaru volunteer, Sengoku's expression improved somewhat.

"Good! Kizaru, I'm counting on you."

Kizaru was secretly delighted, but he said:

"I'll be back in no time."

With that, he turned into a streak of light and flew out.

After thinking it over, Sengoku felt that sending only one Admiral against Allen did not seem secure enough, so he turned to Aokiji.

"Aokiji, take five Vice Admirals with you!"

"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"

After accepting the order, Aokiji swiftly left with his men.

Next, Sengoku said to Akainu:

"Akainu, go to Mary Geoise and protect the Celestial Dragons."

Though Akainu wanted to kill that brat, he could only accept the order.

"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"

After the meeting ended, Gion learned from Chief Officer Tsuru about what had happened the night before, as well as the fact that the Navy was sending two Admirals and five Vice Admirals to deal with her dear younger brother, Allen. She immediately panicked.

Her face was filled with worry, impossible to conceal.

She knew that the Admirals possessed tremendous strength and Top Tier Devil Fruit Abilities. Although Allen was strong too, he was surely no match for an Admiral.

In truth, she and Allen had met privately several times already. During those encounters, she had unknowingly fallen for him.

Chief Officer Tsuru, standing beside her, noticed that something was wrong with her younger sister and asked with concern:

"Are you feeling unwell somewhere? Why do you look so pale?"

Gion hurriedly replied:

"No, no, I'm fine, Sister Tsuru. I'll head back first."

With that, she hurried away.

Her heart was filled with anxiety. She only wanted to call Allen as soon as possible and tell him that the Navy was coming after him.

Watching Gion's departing figure, Chief Officer Tsuru was startled and thought to herself:

Could my younger sister have fallen for that brat?!

At that thought, Chief Officer Tsuru felt a headache coming on. She knew this matter was troublesome. It seemed she would have to find an opportunity to have a proper talk with her younger sister.