Meanwhile, at Marine Headquarters.
Marineford, in the conference room.
By then, the conference room was packed with important figures, including Vice Admirals, staff officers, Admiral Candidates, and even an Admiral.
Unlike previous meetings, however, this one was missing three particular people.
The first two were Marine Admiral Kuzan and Navy Hero Garp.
They had suffered grievous injuries during the Impel Down incident and had been sent to Bullet Island for treatment.
Yet several days had passed without any news, making it difficult not to suspect that their lives were already hanging by a thread.
The last was Marine Admiral Sakazuki.
Even Kizaru had attended such an important meeting, yet Sakazuki was absent.
Clearly, he was still at the World Government, handling some supposedly important business.
Of course, this information had come from Onigumo and had nothing to do with Sakazuki.
The atmosphere in the conference room was oppressive, not only because of their devastating losses, but also because of the situation outside.
Now that many pirates had heard that Marine Headquarters had suffered a devastating blow, forces across both the Four Seas and the New World had begun testing the waters.
The news released by the News King might be true, but they still clung to a sliver of hope. What if it was false?
They were probing, gambling.
If Kuzan and Garp continued to remain out of sight, it would not just be the pirates of the Four Seas and the New World who rose up, but every force across the world.
After all, once Marine Headquarters, which maintained the world's balance, suffered a blow, countless forces saw hope, and even an opportunity to vie for power.
Beep, beep!
At the head of the table, Sengoku hung up the Den Den Mushi, his voice as low as it could