Upon hearing these words, the surrounding members of the Rebel Army immediately broke into a buzz of discussion.
None of them were fools; they knew that with "Madman Will" present, a civil war within the kingdom was likely impossible now.
Therefore, negotiation might indeed be a feasible solution.
Koza had come to the same conclusion in his heart.
So, after a brief hesitation, he nodded and said:
"No problem. We will do exactly as you suggest, Mr. Will."
"We will select representatives from the Rebel Army today."
"Then, we will head to the capital, Alubarna, with all due speed to meet the King."
"Very well."
Will nodded upon hearing this, a hint of satisfaction revealing itself in his eyes. He then continued:
"Alright, everything that needed to be said has been said. I'll head back to the capital and wait for you there."
As soon as his voice fell, and before Koza could say anything further, Will turned abruptly.
He stomped the ground with force and leapt high into the air, his figure once again flying off toward the capital.
Watching that figure gradually disappear into the horizon, the heavy burden that Koza had been carrying in his heart seemed to have been taken away along with him, and he felt his entire being relax.
Subsequently, he turned around, looked at the crowd with a serious expression, and shouted:
"Alright everyone, let's hurry up and select our representatives to go to the Kingdom's capital!"
Meanwhile.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
In a spacious office located on the upper levels.
A tall man wearing a Marine cap topped with a seagull icon, with black hair pressed down around his ears, sat reading documents at his desk. He wore black-rimmed round glasses, had a mustache, and a long, braided beard on his chin.
He was draped in a Marine coat emblazoned with "Justice." Beside his desk stood a small white goat, currently chewing on something.
Clack—!
With a loud noise, the office door was suddenly pushed open with force from the outside.
Subsequently, a tall, muscular man with a stern expression strode in.
He wore a Marine "Justice" coat over a dark red suit, with a rose pinned to his left breast pocket. He wore a Marine cap on his head and black leather gloves on his hands. His face bore a grim, unsmiling expression, and his gaze appeared incredibly steely.
As soon as this man walked into the office, the man sitting at the desk couldn't help but frown slightly. He slowly looked up and said:
"Sakazuki, what have you come here for again?"
Sakazuki ignored the impatience on the other man's face. He walked straight to the desk and asked in a stern tone:
"Sengoku, is there still no news on that guy?"
Hearing this tone, which sounded almost like an interrogation, Sengoku's brow immediately tightened. Instead of answering right away, he lowered his voice and scolded:
"Sakazuki, how many times have I told you? Address me by my rank when we are on duty!"
Sakazuki's expression stalled. After two seconds of silence, he spoke again in a muffled tone:
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, is there any news on 'Madman Will'?"
"Not yet."
Sengoku shook his head slightly, answering slowly with a grave look in his eyes:
"After entering the Grand Line, it's as if that fellow simply vanished."
"Logically speaking, given that madman's personality, it shouldn't be possible for him to be this quiet."
"But months have passed, and he hasn't caused even the slightest commotion."
"This situation actually makes me feel somewhat uneasy."
Upon hearing these words, Sakazuki responded immediately, as if he had prepared for this:
"In that case, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, send me there."
"Hm?"
Sengoku raised his eyebrows slightly, feeling a bit surprised. He asked curiously:
"Sakazuki, why are you paying so much attention to this rookie pirate lately?"
Without any hesitation, Sakazuki answered bluntly with a serious tone: "I can't be bothered to care about that guy beating up the Celestial Dragons."
"But killing that many Marines is unacceptable!"
"If we let him roam the seas freely like this, the dignity of the Marines will inevitably suffer!"
When he first learned of what the man had done, compared to the Celestial Dragons getting beaten, he cared far more about the large number of Marines the man had killed.
The Marines of the East Blue 16th Branch, as well as those stationed at the Bridge Kingdom—the numbers added up to at least several hundred.
And yet, they were all killed by a single pirate.
This was simply a humiliation for the Marines!
Even if it was later discovered that those Marines had committed various crimes, they should have been dealt with internally by the Marines.
How could they allow a pirate to run in and intervene at will?
Since the opponent hadn't shown his face in the Grand Line recently, and Sakazuki didn't have much to do at Marine Headquarters lately, he planned to seize this opportunity.
He intended to find the guy quickly and arrest him directly before his strength became even more troublesome, then throw him into Impel Down.
Only in this way could the overall dignity of the Marines be better maintained.
However, Sengoku did not choose to agree.
He clasped his hands together, resting his chin on them, and said in a serious tone:
"You are right, Sakazuki. The dignity of the Marines is indeed very important."
"But the opponent is just a rookie pirate, with a bounty of only 650 million Berries."
"Furthermore, Vice Admiral Garp was already sent to capture him previously."
"Therefore, until the World Government issues further orders, there is no need for you, a Marine Admiral, to go on a manhunt."
Speaking of this, he seemed to remember something and added:
"Oh right, I almost forgot to tell you."
"Captain Smoker, originally stationed in Loguetown, has voluntarily applied to enter the Grand Line to pursue 'Madman Will'."
"Therefore, if that guy dares to show his face in 'Paradise' again, we can track his specific movements through Smoker, and then quickly dispatch a Vice Admiral to execute the arrest."
"So rest assured, Sakazuki, that guy won't be able to run for long."
After saying this, Sengoku couldn't help but secretly feel a headache coming on.
That troublemaker Smoker actually dared to leave his original post without authorization, taking his men into the Grand Line to chase "Madman Will."
If Sengoku hadn't been secretly helping to manage the aftermath, Smoker would likely have already been charged with desertion.
Then there was that old geezer Garp, the Sakazuki standing in front of him now, and the perpetually lazy Borsalino.
Not a single one of them gave him any peace of mind.
It was making him dye his hair more frequently lately; otherwise, his head full of white hair couldn't be hidden at all.
Among the three current Marine Admirals, he felt that only Kuzan's personality was somewhat better.
At the very least, Kuzan didn't constantly make him feel annoyed and give him headaches.
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