Drake slipped into a secluded corner.
After scanning his surroundings to ensure no one was watching, he reached into his pocket and took out a small black Den Den Mushi.
This was an encrypted model—impossible to eavesdrop on.
He dialed the number belonging to the Fleet Admiral of the Marines.
At that moment, Sengoku was inside his office, his brows tightly furrowed.
He was deep in thought over the imminent war against the Whitebeard Pirates.
There were countless matters that required deployment.
The New World could not be neglected either—especially the strongholds of the Beasts Pirates.
Wano Country.
Dressrosa.
Punk Hazard.
Each location required twenty-four-hour surveillance.
They had to prevent the Beasts Pirates from exploiting the Marines' divided attention to make any sudden moves.
It had to be said—Sengoku truly lived up to the title of the "Wise General."
His grasp of military strategy was exceptional.
He had already anticipated that the Beasts Pirates might try something during this critical period.
Unfortunately—
He had no idea that Luo Xing had already invented the Anywhere Door.
Nor did he know that Luo Xing had subdued Gecko Moria and taken control of his zombie army.
As a result—
Sengoku focused all his attention on Wano, Dressrosa, and Punk Hazard…
Completely leaving Thriller Bark out of his calculations.
Just as he was pondering, the Den Den Mushi suddenly rang.
Sengoku's heart skipped a beat.
He recognized the signal immediately.
It belonged to Drake.
As one of the Marines' most important and deeply embedded undercover agents, Drake carried an enormous burden.
Not only did he have to monitor the Worst Generation—
Once he entered the New World, he also had to infiltrate the Beasts Pirates themselves.
For that very reason, the Devil Fruit he had consumed perfectly matched their style—
The Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Ancient Zoan, Allosaurus Model.
Drake was cautious, flexible, and meticulous.
For him to make contact now could only mean one thing—
Important intelligence.
Sengoku did not dare delay and immediately answered.
"This is Sengoku. Report."
Drake's voice was just as concise.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I have discovered a man in Sabaody who is suspected to be the Fifth Emperor—Luo Xing."
"What?!"
Sengoku was so shocked he shot to his feet.
His voice nearly broke.
"Are you certain?! How many members of the Beasts Pirates are present? What are they planning?!"
"It's almost certain," Drake replied.
"I saw the three Cybertronians that previously defeated the Pacifistas."
"As for numbers—the Beasts Pirates didn't bring many people. That man only has two subordinates with him."
"However… the Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock, is moving together with him."
Hearing this, Sengoku actually relaxed somewhat.
The reason for his earlier shock was that he had thought Luo Xing had personally led the Beasts Pirates to attack Sabaody.
But with only two followers and three Cybertronians, that was clearly impossible.
As for Hancock being involved—
That didn't surprise him much.
After all, she had attended the fairy-bean auction in Dressrosa back then.
It wasn't strange that she had met Kaido's son-in-law before.
Sengoku's thoughts raced.
What he couldn't understand was—
How had Luo Xing quietly left Wano and arrived at Sabaody without alerting a single Marine spy in the New World?
And with so few people at his side…
What exactly was he planning to do at Sabaody?
Sengoku frowned deeply.
Drake's voice sounded again.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, please dispatch a Marine admiral."
"This is a perfect opportunity to capture the Fifth Emperor."
Sengoku agreed almost immediately.
Regardless of Luo Xing's purpose, his current security was at its weakest.
Kaido, King the Wildfire, and the others were all in the New World.
They couldn't possibly arrive in time.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
If not for the imminent war with Whitebeard, Sengoku would have sent all three admirals at once to seize Luo Xing without fail.
Those monstrous inventions of his—
They posed far too great a threat to both the Marines and the World Government.
Sengoku ordered Drake to keep Luo Xing under constant surveillance and not lose track of him.
After that, he summoned the three admirals, Tsuru, Garp, and Bartholomew Kuma, and relayed Drake's intelligence.
Everyone was shaken.
The hot-tempered Akainu was the first to slam the table.
"I'll go kill him!"
"As long as that man lives, the world will never know peace!"
For Akainu, killing Luo Xing wasn't just justice—
It was personal vengeance.
He had never forgotten the disastrous battle at Dressrosa.
Back then, King, Queen, and Jack had beaten him to the brink of death.
His soldiers had suffered catastrophic casualties.
With Akainu's personality, how could he not harbor hatred?
And the reason the Calamities possessed such terrifying power—
All traced back to the Monster Cells invented by Luo Xing.
In truth, Akainu's greatest enemy was Luo Xing himself.
But Sengoku rejected his request.
"The war with the Whitebeard Pirates is imminent, Sakazuki."
"In my plan, your power is indispensable. You cannot leave Marineford."
"The same applies to Kuzan."
Sengoku's strategy for the upcoming war was clear.
Lure the Whitebeard Pirates into Marineford Bay.
Raise the seastone walls around the harbor.
Trap them completely—
Then have Akainu unleash Meteor Volcano, forming a closed killing field.
The flaw in this plan was obvious.
Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit could trigger massive tsunamis and drown all of Marineford.
To counter that threat—
They needed Aokiji's ice powers.
Which meant—
Neither Akainu nor Aokiji could move.
That left only one admiral.
Kizaru.
Kizaru showed no resistance at all and stood up leisurely.
"Then I'll make the trip."
At Punk Hazard, he hadn't contributed much, resulting in the destruction of ten Pacifistas.
He was, in fact, quite interested in the man who had created the Cybertronians.
If Luo Xing could be captured easily, Kizaru didn't mind lending a hand.
But if it required risking his life…
Well, the old man's back wasn't what it used to be.
Sengoku knew Kizaru's temperament all too well.
But there was no alternative.
After a moment of thought, he said,
"Tsuru, you'll accompany Kizaru to Sabaody."
Tsuru nodded in agreement.
Sengoku had actually wanted Garp to go as well.
But Garp's mind clearly wasn't here anymore.
Ever since Fire Fist Ace had been captured, Garp had remained silent and despondent.
Sengoku could more or less guess the relationship between Garp and Ace.
At that moment, Garp suddenly spoke.
"Sengoku… I want to go to Impel Down and see Ace one last time."
"Don't worry. I won't do anything out of line."
Sengoku's sharp eyes fixed on him.
He knew Garp wasn't lying.
After a moment's thought, Sengoku said,
"Garp, I trust you understand the meaning of the word 'justice' that you carry on your back."
"Go to Impel Down and see Fire Fist Ace."
"Then escort him to Marineford."
Garp nodded silently.
His expression was heavy with sorrow as he turned and left.
The decisions were made.
Akainu and Aokiji remained at Marineford.
Kizaru and Tsuru set out for Sabaody to capture the Fifth Emperor.
Garp went to Impel Down to escort Fire Fist Ace.
Everyone departed on their respective missions.
On the Marine warship bound for Sabaody—
Bartholomew Kuma was also present.
Kizaru raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Kuma, you're going too?"
"Planning to see what this Fifth Emperor looks like?"
Kuma remained silent.
Tsuru said calmly,
"Kuma, your ability will be extremely useful for this operation."
Still, Kuma said nothing.
In truth, he had no intention of assisting in the capture of Luo Xing.
He was going there for someone else.
A pirate.
Monkey D. Luffy.
Kuma had been closely monitoring the Straw Hat crew and knew they were currently in Sabaody.
With Admiral Kizaru, Chief of Staff Tsuru, numerous Pacifistas, and countless Marines mobilized—
Dragon's son would soon be facing tremendous danger.
As a commander of the Revolutionary Army—
Before completely losing his sense of self,
Kuma wished to help Monkey D. Dragon one last time.
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