Vic and his men disappeared with their pirate ship. The Marines had already reacted and the best swimmers plunged into the sea. The enemy had left. If Kizaru had died in the end, it would have been a huge joke.
When the marines found Kizaru, Kizaru had already swallowed a lot of seawater. After being rescued, the ship's doctor squeezed the seawater out of his stomach before starting other treatments. His fractured arm needed to be immobilized and hung up, and his internal injuries also needed to be treated with medication.
Although Kizaru is Logia Fruit user, it's impossible for him to transform into an elemental form and then revert to his original body. His injuries and fractures wouldn't heal on their own. Moreover, Kizaru didn't regain consciousness after being treated by the ship's doctor. Many parts of his body were wrapped in bandages, even his head. It's unclear whether he was hit too hard by Vic or had been submerged in the sea for too long.
The officer was still unconscious, and only two warships remained. This interception was a complete failure, and they could no longer pursue Vic and his men.
The remaining vice Vice Admiral then discussed the matter and had the shipwrights piece together the warships damaged by Kizaru, hoping to find two or three more warships that could still sail.
The dozen or so warships brought a considerable number of personnel, and it would have been too much of a strain to transport them all by just two warships. Fortunately, Kizaru had damaged different parts of each warship, and in the end, he managed to piece together two warships.
The last four warships, which didn't look very intact, carried everyone towards the Marine Headquarters. The other warships, which were completely unable to sail, were left behind, with the possibility of being salvaged if the opportunity arose.
Although Kizaru was defeated by Vic, and Vic could have killed him at any time, this does not indicate the value of his future Marine Admiral.
Every Marine Admiral possesses exceptional vitality, combat prowess, and escape abilities. However, Kizaru happened to encounter Vic, who was a natural counter to him, rendering his speed advantage ineffective and leading to this outcome.
Kizaru woke up two days later. He did not change the decisions of the other Vice Admiral. The pursuit of Vic was just for show, and now that he had been beaten up like this, it could be said that he was forced to complete the mission perfectly.
Now that the mission is complete, it's time to return to headquarters to report. With a sufficient excuse, the Navy will no longer openly and specifically get involved in the pursuit of Vic.
The World Government wouldn't risk deploying Vic centuries-old, meticulously crafted naval system to directly confront Vic, as that would be extremely detrimental to their consolidation of control over the seas.
Furthermore, if all the Navy's manpower is diverted to deal with Vic, the entire sea will fall into even greater chaos. With no one to suppress the pirates, you can imagine what kind of scene that will be.
The situation that the World Government has painstakingly built up over the years is about to crumble in an instant. The Affiliated Nation will no longer trust the World Government, and the Heavenly Tribute can forget about it. How can the World Government and the Celestial Dragons continue to leech off them?
The Five Elders are all shrewd and experienced; they couldn't possibly be unaware of this. Therefore, faced with the formidable Vic, the Navy had no choice but to let the matter drop and leave it to the World Government to resolve.
Kizaru also learned from the marines on deck what Vic had said before leaving. He felt a bit conflicted. Although he was just putting on an act, he didn't know about the other people he brought Vic.
Both sides treated each other as enemies, and will always be enemies, but even under these circumstances, Vic still let them all go!
He could tell that Rebecca and the others weren't fighting seriously, otherwise none of them would have made it back. Why force such loyal and righteous people to become pirates? Even Kizaru centrist, felt sorry for them, and he also owed them a huge favor.
When Kizaru, with his arm in a cast and hanging around his neck, returned to Marine Headquarters with the wrecked warship, the marines on duty at the dock were shocked.
Although Sengoku and Kong learned about the process and outcome of this incident through Den Den Mushi, they did not pass it on, and not many people knew about it.
So they were extremely surprised to see Kizaru and his crew in such a sorry state. Kizaru's group was no weak force; a Admiral Candidate leading so many Headquarters Vice Admiral and still ending up like this. If Kizaru said he had encountered Whitebeard, they would have believed him.
Kizaru quickly left with his men without leaving a word. He had already been warned by Sengoku that the outcome of this mission could not be reported to the Navy, and he had conveyed this instruction to all the Navy personnel who had gone on this mission.
The news from Morgans was also suppressed and not released. This matter only needed to be known by the Five Elders. If others knew, it would have a Admiral Candidate impact on Kizaru, who was about to be promoted to Marine Admiral.
The Marine Admiral are the navy's highest fighting force, yet they have been defeated by a young man who defected from the navy. If everyone knew this, it would cast doubt on the value of the Marine Admiral's position, and it would certainly have a very negative impact on the navy.
Kong and Sengoku were stunned by Kizaru's appearance. Although Kizaru had given a general report on the phone before, they were still somewhat bewildered by the actual situation.
They clearly remembered that on the plaza outside the headquarters building, not long after arriving at headquarters, Vic stood up for someone and fought against Onigumo. At that time, Vic couldn't even beat a Vice Admiral and only managed to defeat Onigumo by exhausting his Armament Haki.
How much time has passed? Even Kizaru is no match for him anymore? This rate of growth is truly terrifying, and he will become an enemy of their Navy in the future. This makes them both regretful and worried.
What he regretted was sending Vic on that damned mission that led him to defect from the Navy. What he worried about was Vic's growth rate. As long as Vic didn't encounter any accidents, he would most likely grow into a top-tier powerhouse like Whitebeard.
This is not good news for the Navy. Whitebeard is already a headache enough, and then there's Charlotte Linlin and Kaido. Will they have to add another one Vic to the mix?
Their navy was already somewhat stretched thin, and now they've pushed another high-end combatant to the other side. The future situation is destined to become even more difficult. They are now beginning to understand why the Five Elders want to implement the Seven Warlords of the Sea system.
For the World Government, this system is unilateral; the Navy and the World Government can break this agreement at any time and directly sanction those former pirates.
However, the Shichibukai dare not openly defy the World Government's will within the contract, otherwise they would still be wiped out. Therefore, using pirates to balance the pirates when the Navy's strength is insufficient is a good decision.