Chapter 77

"Ooh..."

Borsalino twisted his mouth and drawled sarcastically, "Young people these days are truly frightening~~"

Sakazuki sat upright, an intensely serious expression on his resolute face, and spoke.

"For Absolute Justice, we must dispatch troops immediately and wipe out every last one of these damned pirates."

Doberman nodded in agreement. "Admiral Sakazuki is right. We cannot simply ignore these vicious scum."

"I propose sending a Headquarters Colonel to the East Blue immediately to arrest them all."

With a cigarette between his lips, Onigumo said savagely, "Pirates have grown more and more brazen lately. They don't take the Marines seriously at all."

"For justice, we must strike hard. We cannot hesitate any longer."

The other Hawk Faction officers nodded one after another, voicing their agreement.

Kuzan did not remain silent. He yawned and said, "The East Blue is a long way away. By the time we get there, those pirates will be long gone."

Yamakaji nodded and added, "Admiral Kuzan is right. Help that far away won't arrive in time. These pirates aren't dead. They won't just wait there for the Marines to show up."

"While this Chris is a promising young man, he isn't worth mobilizing Headquarters on such a scale."

Momonga looked at the officers present and spoke without a trace of a smile.

Momousagi sat quietly without offering an opinion, inwardly reflecting on the situation.

Chris has finally caught the Marines' attention. Now we'll see how much his bounty will be.

During their last conversation, Chris had told her that he would make a name for himself before becoming one of the Shichibukai.

After all, if a nobody suddenly took down Crocodile, it could be dismissed as a fluke.

If the Marines used that as an excuse to refuse him a place among the Shichibukai, wouldn't all his effort go to waste?

But there was no need to worry about that now. Chris had caught Marine Headquarters' attention. All he needed to do was defeat Crocodile.

Then his place among the Shichibukai would be secure!

"Let me offer my thoughts!"

At that moment, Staff Officer Tsuru rested her chin on her hands, her eyes gleaming with wisdom as she began to speak slowly.

As always, the moment she spoke, everyone stopped their discussions and turned toward her, waiting for her analysis.

That alone showed why she was known as the Marines' strategist.

"Tsuru's about to give us her opinion again! Hahaha..."

Garp looked at Staff Officer Tsuru and laughed without restraint.

Tsuru ignored the old man and continued, "Clearly, the Chris Pirates planned for a long time before setting sail."

"The people aboard that ship don't look like rookies at all. They seem more like people who've been to the Grand Line. Every one of them has extensive combat experience."

"A Logia Miasma Fruit, a Paramecia Sound Wave Fruit... those are all powerful Devil Fruits."

Staff Officer Tsuru lowered her gaze slightly toward the table and said with absolute certainty, "According to our information, these crew members are ruthless. They kill without blinking."

"Yet they obediently follow Chris's orders. That tells us Chris himself must be extremely powerful."

"Doberman suggested sending a Headquarters Colonel to arrest them. If my assessment is correct, that would end in certain defeat."

"To deal with this group's strength, we would need at least a Headquarters Rear Admiral, perhaps even a Vice Admiral."

"In my opinion, even a Rear Admiral would find them extremely difficult to handle and could be defeated."

Having been mentioned by Staff Officer Tsuru, Doberman was the first to respond, sounding puzzled. "These scum have never even been to the Grand Line."

"Besides, they were completely unknown before this. They've never even had bounties."

"Isn't deploying a Headquarters flag officer for their very first arrest excessive?"

Onigumo nodded and took a drag on his cigarette. "I also think we're making a mountain out of a molehill. There's no need for it."

"Sending a flag officer against a bunch of rookies who haven't even been to the Grand Line would disgrace the Marines."

"If we do that, we'll effectively be telling the world one thing—the Marines are incompetent when faced with pirates!"

"So, personally, I don't believe we should deploy anyone at that level."

Borsalino leaned back in his chair, legs crossed and arms folded, still speaking in his peculiar drawl. "Young people these days really are terrifying. They've scared this old man to death."

In a rare moment of participation, Kuzan spoke with a languid expression. "Staff Officer Tsuru's analysis is spot-on. We really do need to take them seriously."

Momonga nodded and added, "This isn't an overreaction. This group truly is different."

"Rather than risk sending a Rear Admiral, we should send a Vice Admiral straight away and arrest them all."

Garp slapped the table and burst out laughing. "Then send this Vice Admiral! I wonder if this old man is strong enough."

Sengoku immediately glared at him. "Damn you, Garp! You just want to go back to the East Blue. Not a chance."

"You'll stay right here at Headquarters! You're not going anywhere, understood?"

At that moment, Sakazuki spoke, his expression stern.

"Deploying a Vice Admiral is somewhat excessive, but it is reasonable if it serves Absolute Justice."

"We should use our greatest strength to crush these scum. Then we'll see who still dares oppose the Marines."

Sengoku nodded and looked at the assembled officers, speaking solemnly. "This group is too strong, and they have enormous potential."

"If we let them enter the Grand Line, they'll become another headache for us."

"So we must act before they mature. We cannot give them any opportunity."

"Now, tell me. Who is willing to go?"

Sengoku turned toward Garp and said coldly, "Not you. Stay put."

Garp burst out laughing. "Sengoku, stop picking on me! This old man's been feeling poorly lately. How could I possibly go back to the East Blue? Hahaha..."

The officers exchanged glances, but no one spoke up immediately.

After all, this was a thankless assignment.

Traveling from Marine Headquarters all the way to the East Blue would take so long that everything would be over by the time they arrived.

Besides, the Chris Pirates weren't dead. They could move around.

Anyone sent to arrest them would undoubtedly have to spend some time chasing them before catching up.

In short, it was an utterly tedious assignment, and no one wanted to go.

Tsuru is still as impressive as ever. Sadly, things between us can never be what they once were. Sigh...

Momousagi gazed silently at the table and sighed inwardly.

She deeply respected and loved this wise older woman.

Although they weren't sisters by blood, their bond was even closer than that of real sisters.

Staff Officer Tsuru had always looked after her, treating her as a younger sister.

But now, she had betrayed the Marines and joined the pirates.

The two of them were enemies now!

Still, Momousagi would not regret her choice. She firmly believed everything she had done was right.

The Celestial Dragons committed every kind of evil, lording over everyone and oppressing people around the world...

This era had to change. Things could not continue like this.

Everything she had done was for justice...

(A reader in the review section mentioned the relationship between Momousagi and Staff Officer Tsuru, so I touched on it here. Also, a Headquarters Vice Admiral is about to make his move. The coming battle will be interesting! ︿(￣︶￣)︿)

Chapter 77

"I'll go."

Onigumo took a drag on his cigarette and said sternly, "Rest assured, everyone. For Absolute Justice, I will capture every last one of them."

Sakazuki turned to look at his subordinate and nodded, speaking without a smile.

"With you handling this, those scum won't escape. Go with confidence."

Borsalino leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs and tilting his head, courting trouble as always.

"Ooh..."

"Even Vice Admiral Onigumo is heading out. Young people these days really are terrifying~~"

Sengoku looked at Onigumo and said solemnly, "I can rest easy with you going. It's settled, then."

"Now let's discuss their bounties, especially that fellow Chris."

Garp burst out laughing and said loudly, "Sengoku, since we're sending a Vice Admiral, surely the bounty should be at least a few hundred million! Hahaha..."

Momonga looked at Garp and said with a faint smile, "The Chris Pirates haven't entered the Grand Line yet. They're only rookies with a little more strength than most."

"If we give them excessively high bounties, we'll only be advertising the pirates' strength. I don't think that's appropriate."

Doberman sneered and remarked casually, "They'll be sitting in Impel Down before long anyway. Their bounties don't matter."

Chaton shrugged and, in a rare moment of speaking up, said, "The way I see it, they may have plenty of potential, but they're still rookies."

"No matter how high their bounties are, they can't exceed a hundred million. They have to stay below that."

"After all, we've never heard of a pirate in the Four Seas receiving an initial bounty of over a hundred million."

Yamakaji gave a gentle smile and said courteously, "Many factors go into setting a pirate's bounty."

"The threat they pose to the Marines, the harm they cause civilians, their potential..."

"From what we've seen so far, the Chris Pirates haven't harmed civilians. Their impact hasn't been that terrible."

"However, they have tremendous potential and pose a considerable threat to the Marines, so their bounties can be relatively high."

"Why not set it at an even hundred million? Neither too high nor too low."

The Dove Faction officers all nodded in agreement.

At that moment, Staff Officer Tsuru spoke. She nodded lightly, wisdom shining in her eyes, and said slowly, "Yamakaji is right. I think a hundred million is appropriate."

With Staff Officer Tsuru agreeing, the Hawk Faction officers had little more to say. One after another, they fell silent.

"Then it's settled. Captain Chris will have a bounty of one hundred million Beli."

Sengoku tapped the table, making the final decision.

Borsalino twisted his mouth and drawled, "How frightening~~"

"A rookie with a bounty of a hundred million Beli. This old man is scared to death..."

Momousagi stared silently at the table, unable to help marveling inwardly. Chris really is extraordinary. His very first bounty is already so high.

The meeting continued, and bounties were assigned to the members of the Chris Pirates one by one...

The next morning.

On the deck of the Chris.

"Caw, caw~~"

The News Coo beat its wings and flew away, continuing its newspaper deliveries.

"Just what you'd expect of our first mate, always keeping an eye on the seas and watching how the world changes."

Gin stopped his training, looked at Lafitte, and spoke with an indifferent expression.

Burgess glanced at him and said contemptuously, "I heard you wanted to become first mate. That's hilarious."

"You black bastard, do you even have the strength for it? Wihahahaha..."

Doc Q looked at Gin with an eerie smile. "Once I become first mate, you can challenge me. I'm very interested in you. Hehe~~"

Hawkins was playing with his cards as he said in a low voice, "Your features haven't changed. You cannot become first mate."

At that moment, Lafitte smiled faintly and spoke gently.

"Excellent. The captain's in the paper. We finally have bounties."