"Tenmasa."
"Summon the three admirals and Douglas Bullet."
"Notify Sengoku, Garp, and Tsuru."
"Assemble in the Supreme Conference Room in thirty minutes."
After deciding to make a final stand against Whitebeard, Rosen ordered Tenmasa to gather the commanders.
"Yes, sir."
Tenmasa immediately sensed the impending war. His heart tightened as he turned to carry out the orders.
---
Thirty minutes later, the Supreme Conference Room at Marine Headquarters was filled.
Sengoku, Borsalino, and Tsuru—stationed at HQ—had arrived early. Gion pushed open the door, and Rosen strolled leisurely to the head of the round table.
He flicked a finger.
Crack.
Black lines spread through the atmosphere, space tearing apart to form swirling voids—Garganta.
Across the world, the same phenomenon occurred.
New World, Marine HQ G-1 and G-2. North Blue's Special Science Group facility. East Blue, First Branch. The skies above each base split open.
Sakazuki, Douglas Bullet, Garp, and Kuzan stood waiting. Without hesitation, they leaped into the black voids.
Ten minutes later, all commanders emerged in the Supreme Conference Room.
The clock struck the half-hour mark.
The room held the entire Marine high command: Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Vice Admiral Garp, Admirals Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan, Douglas Bullet—Rosen's adopted heir—Chief of Staff Tsuru, and Director Tensei.
Garp, usually chaotic, sat punctual and silent.
Rosen held absolute authority within the Marines, and this gathering meant history would be rewritten.
"Is everyone present?"
Rosen's voice cut through the silence. Tenmasa stood.
"Three days ago, all forty-three allied crews under Whitebeard assembled. The Whitebeard Pirates have withdrawn from their territories."
"War?" someone breathed.
The word sent shivers through the room. This wouldn't be Marineford—defending a fortress. This was a naval invasion of the New World against the world's strongest man.
Edward Newgate's sea-splitting tremors could swallow entire fleets. His air-shattering quakes could level mountains. In the chaos of naval warfare, with Haki clashes and Devil Fruit collisions triggering tsunamis, the only foothold would be the deck beneath their feet.
Sengoku leaned forward. "Have you located Buckingham?"
Buckingham—Zephyr's target, the woman who funded the pirate that destroyed his family. Controlling her meant controlling the battlefield.
"Found her," Tenmasa said. "Under Whitebeard's protection."
Sengoku's eyes gleamed with cold calculation. "A pity. If we'd captured her first, we could have forced Whitebeard to attack Marine Headquarters on our terms. Like with Portgas D. Ace."
Rosen's voice silenced him. "That strategy is obsolete."
Every eye turned to the young Admiral.
"The era of pirates seizing islands with a few ships and ruling them as kings is over." Rosen's voice was ice. "The Four Emperors, the entire pirate world—they will learn this lesson. The Marines now dictate the age."
His words ignited the room. Even Sengoku and Garp felt their blood stir. Ending the Great Pirate Era had been their impossible dream. Now, it was within reach.
Rosen continued. "Whitebeard's naval destruction is unparalleled. Conventional fleets would be annihilated and burden us with protecting sailors. We won't repeat Marineford's mistakes."
He gestured to the map. "We deploy only the Science Unit. The Science Group's battle suits and artificial Devil Fruits render massed infantry obsolete."
Sengoku frowned. "That's arrogant. Even with technology, the Four Emperors command fleets of thousands. If they abandon territory and swarm the New World's islands, our bases—"
"Will be fine." Rosen cut him off. "Because the pirates won't be raiding. They'll be running."
He stood, his presence filling the room. "One soldier in a second-generation battle suit, armed with an artificial Ancient Zoan, is worth a thousand. That's the new paradigm. Not numbers, but overwhelming power."
"Consider it," Rosen said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "An army of ten thousand marines versus one Admiral. Which side would you bet on?"
The silence in the room was absolute.
Sengoku's mind raced, discarding decades of tactical doctrine. Garp's knuckles whitened as he leaned forward. The three admirals exchanged glances—this was beyond strategy. This was a revolution.
"Then we face Whitebeard with only the Science Unit?" Sakazuki growled. "Absolute Justice demands overwhelming force."
"Absolute Justice demands victory," Rosen corrected. "We will be the hammer that shatters the old world. The Science Unit will strike Whitebeard's core forces. The Four Emperors will learn that territory taken can be territory lost."
He turned to the map, finger tracing the path from Marineford to the New World.
"Whitebeard protects his 'sons.' Buckingham is one of them. We'll use her as bait—not for negotiation, but for annihilation."
Rosen's eyes burned with cold fire. "The Great Pirate Era ends now. Not with a war of attrition, but with a demonstration that Marine supremacy is absolute."
The room erupted—not in protest, but in a single unified roar of assent.
The age of pirates was over. The Age of Marines had begun.##
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