Of course.
Tempting as it was, temptation was still just temptation—
and position determined perspective.
No matter how sweet or alluring the bait Alex dangled in front of them,
he was still, undeniably, the murderer of a Celestial Dragon.
How could the Marines possibly rely on such a person to help eliminate the Four Emperors?
They had their pride too, you know!
Whether it was Sengoku, Garp, or the other two Admirals,
almost none of them seriously considered the idea from the very beginning.
From start to finish, everyone's objective was crystal clear:
That man had to be captured.
And so—
The Marine top brass began discussing, one after another, how they might possibly apprehend that arrogant madman.
"Sengoku, this is honestly pretty troublesome,"
Garp said while chewing on a donut, frowning slightly.
"That guy can fly. That alone is a huge problem."
If he could fly, then he was no longer constrained by the sea.
Which meant the Marines couldn't corner him on an island and conduct a siege.
He could leave whenever he wanted—and the Marines couldn't catch up.
After all, the Marines couldn't fly.
"He doesn't just fly,"
Aokiji added calmly from the side.
"He's not even a Devil Fruit user. Didn't Kizaru say it himself? He's not afraid of seawater at all."
…What?
The room fell silent.
That meant the guy could go into the sky and into the sea.
The difficulty of capturing him doubled instantly.
"This makes no sense,"
Akainu said, deeply frowning, unable to understand it.
"If he's not a Devil Fruit user, then how can he fly?"
Not just flying—
based on the battle footage, his speed and strength were utterly terrifying.
He could also generate some kind of invisible force field.
In other words, he clearly possessed superhuman abilities!
A superpowered individual…
who wasn't a Devil Fruit user?
It just didn't add up.
So what exactly was that man?
"No need to overthink it,"
Kizaru suddenly spoke up.
"He already said it himself—he'll come to Marineford personally in three days."
"That guy is way too arrogant,"
Garp exclaimed in surprise.
He publicly killed a Celestial Dragon, beat a Marine Admiral into a pulp,
and not only did he not run—he was actually coming straight to Marine Headquarters?
How little regard did he have for the Marines?
"Hmph, what an arrogant madman!"
Akainu snorted coldly, killing intent flashing across his face.
"If he's willing to come seeking death, then that's perfect!"
"Pass down my orders,"
Sengoku immediately commanded.
"Launch a full-scale manhunt across the entire sea!"
"At the same time, Marine Headquarters must make full preparations."
Sengoku obviously wasn't going to take Alex at his word alone and believe he would really come to Marineford.
The pursuit could not stop.
But given Alex's terrifying strength, Marine Headquarters naturally had to be on high alert as well.
"All right, that's it. Meeting adjourned!"
After dismissing the Admirals, Sengoku grabbed the relevant evidence and hurried out.
The matter was too serious—
he needed to personally go to Mary Geoise and report everything to the Five Elders.
—
"At what point did such a terrifying figure appear on the seas?"
"No wonder even Kizaru couldn't stop him!"
Without question—
When the footage was played before the Five Elders,
they too were deeply shaken.
Judging by the horrifying strength that killer displayed,
even the Five Elders themselves had no confidence in defeating him!
After all, even they couldn't beat a Logia Admiral like Kizaru into that kind of state.
Perhaps—
Only Lord Im himself had absolute confidence of victory.
In an instant,
The Five Elders understood why the Marines had failed so badly this time.
Much of their earlier anger over the Marines' failure dissipated.
As for Alex's proposal—working with the Marines to eliminate the Four Emperors—
Sengoku also reported it to the Five Elders, given how重大 the matter was.
On this point,
The Five Elders and the Marines were in complete agreement.
They would never cooperate with someone who had murdered a Celestial Dragon.
That man had to be captured.
"Leave,"
one of the Five Elders said coldly.
"Your current top priority is to capture that man—no matter the cost!"
With that, they waved Sengoku away.
—
Back at Marine Headquarters, Sengoku followed the Five Elders' orders to the letter.
He mobilized every resource that could possibly be mobilized to hunt down Alex.
The search was so thorough it was as if they had turned the entire sea upside down.
But unfortunately—
Ever since that madman disappeared from Sabaody Archipelago,
he seemed to have evaporated from the world.
No matter how hard they searched, they couldn't find a trace.
Even when the three-day deadline Alex himself had mentioned arrived,
there was still no sign of him.
"Still nothing?"
Inside Sengoku's office, the three Admirals and Vice Admiral Garp had gathered once again.
Sengoku swept his serious gaze over his core confidants and asked.
"These past few days nearly worked me to death,"
Kizaru complained lazily.
"Sengoku, you really need to give me a raise."
Seeing Sengoku's face darken slightly, he quickly added,
"But that guy's hiding really well. I've got nothing on my end. What about you?"
As he spoke, Kizaru glanced at the other two Admirals.
"No leads on my side either," Aokiji shook his head.
"Hmph, lucky for him he hides so well!"
Akainu snorted angrily.
"Let me find him, and I'll make him understand that Marine justice is not something he can trample on!"
Crunch.
Garp took another bite of his donut.
"Just where did that guy disappear to?"
Everyone's expressions grew heavier.
The longer a manhunt dragged on, the worse it became.
If they hadn't found him in three days, the chances afterward were even slimmer.
Still—
Today was the day Alex had said he would visit Marine Headquarters.
Would he really come?
"You don't need to work so hard to look for me, you know."
"Didn't I say it already? I'd come myself."
At that very moment—
Sengoku, Garp, and the three Admirals suddenly saw a figure pass straight through the wall.
He appeared right in front of them.
As if nothing were amiss, he spoke calmly to the room.
It was him!
That man had really come!
Sengoku, Garp, and the three Admirals all changed expressions at once.
Knowing full well that the entire Marine force was hunting him down,
yet still daring to appear so casually before them—
This man was truly arrogant beyond belief.
Indeed.
After watching the footage, they all acknowledged that his strength surpassed that of any Admiral.
But now—
Three Admirals, a Fleet Admiral, and Vice Admiral Garp were all present.
With a lineup like this, who wouldn't die if they came?
Did this man really believe
he could handle this kind of lineup as well?
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