Vice Admiral Tsuru glanced at Sengoku and said somewhat speechlessly, "Given the strength of those two, is there anything on this sea that could actually make them suffer?"
"Where has that Buddha-like wisdom of yours gone?"
Sengoku said helplessly, "I'm not afraid of something happening to them. I'm afraid that Kaido and Big Mom... might end up being left behind at Hachinosu."
Vice Admiral Tsuru feigned surprise and said, "Isn't that a good thing? If the Four Emperors become the Two Emperors, then wouldn't this sea belong to us Marines?"
Sengoku said, "This sea has its own balance. Breaking that balance is never a good thing."
Tsuru curled her lip. "You old geezer, why worry so much? You're not the only one on this sea who can read the situation. Hera and Beckman won't act recklessly."
Sengoku nodded. Thinking of the man standing beside Shanks—Beckman, whom some called the strongest Emperor's Right Hand—his racing heart finally settled down.
On the other side, Hera, who was aboard the Argo, also received a call from Garp.
"Hahahahaha! Long time no see, Hera! Have you seen the news?"
Hearing Garp's boisterous voice from the transponder snail, Hera helplessly moved the snail a bit further away.
"What do you mean 'long time no see'? Didn't we just meet at Marineford not long ago? Also, it's about Ace, isn't it? I'm looking at the news right now."
"I can't help it; I really miss you, Little Hera! Don't you miss your grandfather?"
Hera looked at the transponder snail in her hand with a look of speechlessness, unsure of what expression to use when facing this old man.
Beside him, Garp's adjutant, Bogart, was also quite speechless, but he still took the initiative to remind his superior, "Vice Admiral Garp, you haven't mentioned the mission yet."
Garp quickly snapped back to his senses and said, "Head to Sphinx, Whitebeard's hometown. According to reliable information, Ochoku and the others are also heading there."
Hera nodded and continued to ask, "Are we the only top-tier Marine combatants? Is there anyone else?"
Hearing this, Garp laughed. "Don't worry, the two of us are enough. Oh right, that brat Sengoku mentioned that we shouldn't start a war with Kaido and Big Mom, but he didn't say anything else."
Hera nodded and said, "Alright, then I'll see you at Sphinx."
Afterward, she hung up the call with Garp, pulled out the eternal pose pointing to Sphinx kept by the Marines, and tossed it to Theseus.
"Set sail! Our next objective: Sphinx."
Hancock asked Hera with some curiosity, "Ace is that young man from the Marineford War, right? Isn't he your brother? How are we going to help him when we get there?"
Hera smiled and said, "Didn't Fleet Admiral Sengoku say it? Just don't let Kaido and Big Mom get involved. As for Ochoku, I believe in Ace; he'll handle that jumping clown just fine."
"So what if he's a remnant of the Rocks Pirates? A guy who only dares to hide on an island isn't qualified to be an Emperor of the Sea."
The roar of the Argo's engines echoed across the entire sea as it headed toward Sphinx at full speed.
Ochoku and his group at Hachinosu, as well as Shanks and Ace, were also making their way toward Sphinx. For a moment, the entire sea was in an uproar due to the collective movement of the Four Emperors.
Douglas Bullet and Patrick Redfield, who were preparing for the Pirate Festival, also paid attention to this battle, but because the Pirate Festival was currently in a critical stage of construction...
...and many areas required the use of Bullet's Combine-Combine Fruit for construction, the two of them abandoned the idea of going to watch the spectacle.
The other remaining Supernovas from the Sabaody Archipelago incident also mobilized, each with their own schemes, heading toward Sphinx.
There were even many pirates who had long since wanted to lay claim to the Whitebeard Pirates' territory; they gathered together, ambition burning in their eyes, causing them to lose their sanity.
Not long after, with the roar of its engines, the Argo was the first to arrive in this sea. After contacting Garp, they found the warship where Garp was located and joined up.
Garp looked at the Argo racing toward him and at Hera on the ship, a smile appearing on his face.
"You did a good job with that business in Dressrosa. Kuina has grown as well; she can already defeat one of the Shichibukai, Doflamingo, on her own."
"As for the performance of the others, Rosinante, who returned earlier, has already reported to Sengoku. When you all return, there should be rewards waiting."
Hera broke free from Garp's embrace, not believing for a second that there would be any rewards.
"Tch, that stingy Fleet Admiral Sengoku—what kind of reward could he possibly give? Besides, as of now, Vice Admiral is already the limit for their rank. The World Government won't allow the Marines to have another Admiral or two."
Garp patted Hera's shoulder and said with a laugh, "Aren't there still codenames? Once you return, they'll probably arrange a few more titles for your Crew members."
"Let's not talk about that for now. This sea has become quite lively. However, this grand gathering isn't something that just any random riffraff can attend."
A red glint appeared in Hera's eyes. Within the range of her Observation Haki, she had already discovered many pirates who wanted to fish in troubled waters.
"It seems Ace and Ochoku haven't arrived yet. In that case, let's first clean up these clowns who don't know their own limits. This is Whitebeard's hometown; it's not a place where just anyone can lay their hands."
Garp nodded. He could naturally sense the things Hera could sense.
However, having already intended to retire, he had no intention of participating in the hunt. Instead, he docked his ship by the shore and waved his hand: "Alright, this old man won't get involved. I'll just set up camp here and wait for you all to return."
Although Garp wasn't interested, the crew of the Argo, under Hera's influence, was naturally very interested in hunting pirates and even started making bets.
With an order from Theseus, the people on the ship showed off their various abilities, flying out toward the locations they had detected to deal with the pirates they had found.
Hearing that before setting out, the Argo Crew members hadn't even consulted her before putting her in the reward slot...
...and that under Kuina's suggestion, the person who killed enemies with the highest cumulative bounty would get a One-Day Date Voucher with Hera.
Such a grand reward even made Hancock's heart skip a beat. She said, "Hmph, with my beauty, I don't need this to go on a date with Hera."
But her body honestly dashed out to search for pirates.
Hera, who originally wanted to protest being used as a reward, was about to speak when she saw the warning gazes from the surrounding Argo members. She silently lowered her raised hand.
She tacitly accepted the fact that she had become a prize.
She tacitly accepted the fact that she had become a prize.
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