The New World, Marine Headquarters.
The entire Marine Headquarters was shrouded in a solemn atmosphere, with all officers gathered and standing by.
Inside the Fleet Admiral's office, the desk was covered with transponder snails.
From time to time, the transponder snails reported news from afar.
'C08 reporting. Marco, the former 1st Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, leading Jozu, Vista, and nine other executives, has boarded the bikudōpu. Also... they should have noticed me, but they haven't made any moves.'
'Are they that fearless? Those detestable fellows!' Akainu slammed a fist onto the desk. The desk shook violently, startling the transponder snails on top of it.
Their gazes involuntarily turned in the same direction, where a calm-looking transponder snail was staring ahead indifferently.
For some reason, the other transponder snails felt the aura of a powerful being from it.
When will our transponder snail race finally rise?
'Don't be in such a hurry, Sakazuki. I don't think they're necessarily coming for us,' Tsuru said. 'Their course is a bit off.'
'Whether they're coming for us or not, I hate this feeling of sitting around and waiting for death,' Akainu said fiercely. 'Since when have the Marines fallen to such a state!'
'The Marines' strength hasn't changed; it's even grown stronger. It's just that there have been changes on the pirates' side. Originally, the Four Emperors didn't interfere with each other, and some were even hostile. Now that Buggy has become one of the Four Emperors, the situation has changed.'
Tsuru said as she carefully observed the nautical chart.
'If the Four Emperors had united during the Marineford War, the Marines would have been at a disadvantage as well.'
Kizaru imagined the scene of Whitebeard, Red Hair, Kaido, and Charlotte Linlin teaming up to attack Marineford. 'That truly would be terrifying!'
'The Marines' combat power is still insufficient. If the original vision could have been realized, with twelve Admirals in place, we could have wiped out all these pirates,' Akainu recalled a top-secret plan he had seen.
'Then we would have faced a knife in the back; the World Government would never allow the Marines to become that powerful.' Tsuru glanced at Aramaki and said pointedly, 'If power is uncontrolled, in the eyes of certain people, there's no difference between the Marines and the pirates.'
Since Akainu became the Fleet Admiral, Tsuru had already noticed some troubling signs.
In the eyes of the Celestial Dragons, the Marines should first be the thugs they keep, and only then an existence that maintains justice.
But Akainu lacked Sengoku's tact. He spoke of justice all day long and was not at all favored by the Gorosei.
'Alright, I roughly understand what the Buggy Pirates are planning to do.' Tsuru drew a line on the chart. 'Their target is Totto Land.'
'Marco, Katakuri, and Dragon... they all have one thing in common: a grudge against the Blackbeard Pirates,' Tsuru said. 'Buggy must have exploited this to form the Pirate Alliance.'
Reasonable and well-founded. I agree with Vice Admiral Tsuru's analysis. It seems I can breathe a sigh of relief,' Kizaru said.
Just then, a voice came from the transponder snail on the desk. 'Fleet Admiral Sakazuki, there's unusual activity from News Coos around the world. They've begun using transponder snails to force a live broadcast signal!'
'A live broadcast?' Akainu was momentarily stunned.
'Is that fellow Buggy addicted to live broadcasting?' Tsuru said with a bitter smile. 'This makes it the third time, doesn't it...'
Only the Pirate Alliance, which had just sent shockwaves through the Marines, could make Morgans work this desperately.
'But it's undeniable that Buggy's rise began with the broadcast at Marineford. Before that, Buggy was just a small-time pirate with a bounty of tens of millions,' Kizaru said.
'It wasn't a rise from that moment, but rather the moment his ambitions were exposed. If we hadn't accidentally discovered he was a member of Pirate King Roger's crew, he might still be in the shadows, plotting a conspiracy to subvert the world,' Akainu said.
'Could there be some misunderstanding here?' Kizaru felt that Buggy's personality was a bit too flamboyant to be as Akainu imagined.
'Borsalino, if given two years, could you build such a powerful force from scratch?' Akainu asked.
'I couldn't...' Kizaru felt that even if he were given twenty years, he would still be all alone. Just thinking about such things was a hassle.
'So Buggy must have planned this long ago. If he hadn't been given the title of one of the Four Emperors, he would have continued to quietly develop Buggy Dispatch, step by step, becoming the world's largest military dispatch company. It would have been even harder to deal with him then.'
Akainu wanted to continue his theory on the Buggy threat, but the transponder snail began to urge him.
'Fleet Admiral Sakazuki, should we arrest those News Coos?'
'Don't act yet. Black Horse, can you intercept their signal?' Akainu asked.
'Of course, but should we just ignore the News Coos?' Black Horse asked.
'We can't stop them anyway. Even if they can't broadcast, Morgans will still distribute newspapers to the world the next day. In that case, we might as well see what Buggy and the others are up to...' Akainu said.
'Very well, I'll take care of it immediately,' Black Horse said.
Before long, a projection lit up inside the Fleet Admiral's office.
Inside, an albatross was shouting and making a scene.
'Please wait patiently for a moment, everyone. The big news that will shake the world is about to begin. This time, it's first-hand information from the scene!'
The camera turned toward an island. The island was shaped like a multi-tiered cake, with cream, candy, and donuts everywhere. All the buildings and tools were made of food.
'Has that fellow, Morgans, teamed up with the pirates?' Akainu noticed that Morgans was on the pirates' ship.
'Brulee, how is the situation on Whole Cake Island?' Buggy's voice came from off-screen.
Aboard the bikudōpu, Buggy was using a mirror to communicate with Brulee.
'Captain, there are no longer any of our Big Mom Pirates on Whole Cake Island; it's entirely occupied by the Blackbeard Pirates.'
'Then there's no need to distinguish between friend and foe. We'll wipe them all out this time, leaving not even a chicken or dog behind,' Buggy said.
On Whole Cake Island, the revelry was still ongoing, and Aokiji, who was standing off to the side, suddenly felt a shiver.
'Zehahahahaha! What's wrong, Kuzan? You don't seem to like the atmosphere here, do you?' Blackbeard laughed wildly.
'You might not believe it if I told you...' Kuzan hadn't expected Blackbeard to be watching his every move. This guy's energy was a bit excessive.
'I...' Just as Kuzan was about to explain, one of Blackbeard's crew members ran up holding a transponder snail. 'Captain, a live broadcast signal has come through. The content being broadcast is our Whole Cake Island!'
'What?' Blackbeard stood up. 'Turn it on and let's see.'
The transponder snail opened the projection, showing the scenery of Whole Cake Island, and a voice could be heard.
'We have arrived at our destination. First, we must give a warm greeting. Children, make sure to protect your eyes!'
'Fission: 15,000 Tons—Rett Boy!'
A black bullet flew into the sky above Whole Cake Island, and then the members of the Blackbeard Pirates felt as if they saw a second sun appearing in the sky.
In an instant, Whole Cake Island became as passionate as fire, with a deafening sound that even disturbed the entire world.
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A/N: 40+ Advance Chapter Has Been Uploaded.
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