"The second thing."
The meeting room fell silent again.
Ace was captured by the Navy.
The public execution will take place in just one month.
Bullet frowned. "That Fire Fist? The one under Whitebeard?"
"Right."
"Has the Navy gone mad? Publicly executing Whitebeard's man?"
Tesoro shook his head.
"This is clearly a challenge to Whitebeard."
"The Navy isn't crazy."
They wanted to use Ace's life to intimidate the New World.
Crocodile exhaled a smoke ring.
"But doing so will only push Whitebeard into a corner. Given Whitebeard's personality, he will definitely send out all his forces."
"That's right."
Roy nodded.
" Whitebeard will not abandon his son. Neither the Navy nor Whitebeard can back down from this battle."
Roy stood up, walked to the New World map hanging on the wall, and pointed to the location of Marineford, the Marine Headquarters.
" Paramount War."
The greatest war on this sea will break out soon.
No one spoke in the meeting room, but everyone's eyes changed.
The direct confrontation between the Marine Headquarters and the Whitebeard Pirates is a war of this magnitude that hasn't occurred since the end of the Rocks era.
The last major battle at God Valley was fought when Garp and Roger teamed up against Rocks, and the entire God Valley was sunk to the bottom of the sea.
This time, the scale will only be larger.
"We will not be absent."
Roy turned around and looked at everyone.
" Hachinosu, all forces mobilized."
Bullet slammed his fist on the table. "It should have been done a long time ago!"
"Wait a moment."
Crocodile raised his hand.
What are our strategic goals?
Help Whitebeard fight the Marines?
Or should we take advantage of the chaos to seize territory?
"None of those."
Roy's voice was calm but cold.
"We have only one goal—to eliminate as many of the navy's mid- to high-ranking personnel as possible."
" Whitebeard and the Navy are fighting to the death; that's their business."
We're not going to join in that fun.
Our mission is to seize the opportunity to plunder the naval forces on the battlefield.
"Kill as many as you can, especially those of Rear Admiral and above."
"That's ruthless." Tesoro whistled.
"The Navy has targeted us enough over the years."
"Take advantage of this war to wipe out their mid- to high-ranking officers, ensuring they won't recover for the next ten years."
Roy tapped Marineford on the map with his finger.
"This is what Hachinosu should be doing."
" Moria." Roy turned to the screen.
"Exist!"
"You stay in the Florian Triangle and wait for Luffy come down from the Sky Island. Then do as I told you before."
Give him a good lesson—but don't be too harsh, and don't be too fake either.
That kid needs pressure to grow.
"Clear!"
Moria grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth.
"However, after that kid beat up Crocodile in Alabasta last time, his bounty increased quite a bit."
I'd like to see just how capable he really is now.
"He's a bit more capable than you think," Crocodile muttered quietly from the side.
"There's one more thing."
Roy looked at everyone again.
"In this Paramount War, everyone except Bonney, who was too young to participate, was mobilized."
Each of you should make arrangements for your respective departments: those who should stay behind should stay, and those who should go into battle should go into battle.
"Complete all preparations within a month."
"Who will stay behind?" Kuma asked, his voice as steady as ever.
" The Red Count."
Roy said,
Redfield remained on Hachinosu.
He's a veteran powerhouse; with him in charge, even if the Navy wanted to launch a sneak attack, they'd have to think twice."
Count Red Count Red in agreement.
"The third thing."
Roy extended his third finger.
"After the Paramount War, the landscape of the ocean will be completely reshaped."
Regardless of whether Whitebeard wins or loses, a vacuum will always appear in his territory.
Even if the navy wins, it will be severely weakened.
That will be the time to truly divide up the New World.
Roy glanced around at everyone,
"Therefore, I ask you all to get yourselves into peak condition before the Paramount War."
Make the necessary preparations.
After this battle, what we at Hachinosu need to do is not just reap the rewards from the navy on the battlefield—"
"Instead, we aim to be the sole voice on this vast ocean."
When the meeting ended, no one was in a hurry to leave.
Bullet and Tesoro were discussing what fruits they each wanted, and the two almost got into a fight in the conference room when they got excited.
Crocodile leaned back in his chair, staring thoughtfully at the Seastone box Roy had placed on the table.
Hawk Eyes had already sheathed his sword and stood up. He paused at the door and glanced back at Roy.
"That Roy,"
" Kuina's swordsmanship is now on par with that of an average Vice Admiral."
Will she also participate in this war?
Roy looked at Kuina.
Kuina stood up, her grip on Ame no Habakiri tightening slightly.
"Mr. Roy, I want to join the war."
"Can."
Roy nodded.
But not on the front lines.
You will stay with Kuma, responsible for the rear evacuation of wounded and battlefield support.
The Paramount War is not a martial arts competition; people will die.
"I'm not afraid."
"Whether you're afraid or not is one thing; whether you can survive is another."
Roy's tone was unusually serious.
"I promised Koshiro that I would bring you back to the East Blue alive."
Don't make me break my promise.
Kuina paused for a moment, then nodded emphatically.
Lucci leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, waiting for Kuina to pass before speaking.
" Captain Roy, all the Marine Admiral will be present at Paramount War."
I want to give it a try with the Admiral.
Roy glanced at him. "Are you confident?"
"No."
Lucci spoke very frankly.
But I need this pressure.
I've already mastered the Six Powers and Devil Fruit; any further breakthroughs will require real combat experience.
"Can.
But don't get stuck on it.
Your life is worth more than a Admiral's.
Lucci Singularity and turned to leave.
Only Roy and Crocodile remained in the meeting room.
Crocodile stubbed out his cigar in the ashtray.
You didn't finish what you were saying, did you?
"What?"
"About Whitebeard."
Crocodile looked at Roy,
Others may not understand you, but I've been with you for so many years, don't I know your personality?
You couldn't possibly be participating in the war just to harvest naval power.
"You have other plans regarding Whitebeard, don't you?"
Roy was silent for a few seconds, then smiled.
" Crocodile, sometimes you really give me a headache."
"Speak."
" His Whitebeard has aged."
Roy stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the lights of the harbor outside.
Even if he had a Pure Gold ring to maintain his physical condition, his age was still a factor.
Regardless of whether he wins or loses the Paramount War, whether he can survive is still uncertain.
"You want to win over the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates?"
"It's not about winning them over."
Roy turned around,
"It's about giving them a place to go."
With Whitebeard's numerous subordinate pirate crews, their leaderless state Pops death left them vulnerable to being Kaido, recruited by Red Hair, or forced to fight amongst themselves.
This was a catastrophe for the New World.
"You want to recruit them?"
"Not necessarily all of them."