The moment Cyrus finished speaking, the Den Den Mushi showed an extremely human-like blank expression.
Only after quite a while did the Den Den Mushi's eyes finally move.
"Wait a minute. Don't just decide things on your own! The Marines never said we'd accept those people."
Garp had clearly been stunned.
Even the speed of his speech had slowed, each word coming out one by one.
Evidently, even the legendary Marine Vice Admiral had been left dazed by Cyrus's sudden move.
"Cyrus, if this old man remembers correctly, you and the Marines should count as enemies, right?"
Garp's words only made the smile on Cyrus's face deepen.
"The only one truly hostile to me is the World Government. As for my contact with the Marines, aside from you, I've only fought your three Admirals.
"Besides, have you forgotten my other identity? I'm the chairman of the Hunter Guild, and the Hunter Guild has Pirate Hunters who capture pirates."
"So I'm informing you in advance so you can prepare their bounties."
"Uh, bounties?"
"What?"
Hearing the surprise in Garp's voice, Cyrus narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Are the Marines planning to refuse my bounty money?"
"Ahem, no, no. But I don't have the final say in that. I'm just a Vice Admiral! You should be contacting Sengoku."
"Then I'll have to trouble Vice Admiral Garp to pass the message along for me."
"What a pain. But what's the exact time?"
Garp was clearly speechless, and even his tone became somewhat unfriendly as he asked.
"I'll set out three days from now. As for when I'll arrive, I'm not sure."
"Hey, hey, Cyrus, what kind of answer is that? Since you want us to receive them, you should at least give us a specific time. You can't expect so many of us to just keep waiting, right?
"What if you brat wander around the sea for several months?"
"Please rest assured, Vice Admiral Garp. Unlike the Marines, who are idle most of the time, I'm very busy."
The moment Cyrus said that, the other end of the Den Den Mushi fell silent.
Clearly, Garp had heard the mockery in those words, but he could not refute it.
As for other people, perhaps that was one thing.
But he really did spend most of his time slacking off.
"Fine. I'll tell Sengoku. As for whether the Marines will accept them, this old man can't say for certain."
"Vice Admiral Garp, you misunderstand. I'm not asking. I'm informing you. Whether you want these people or not, you'll have to take them."
"You brat…"
Garp was just about to flare up at Cyrus's tone when Cyrus hung up the Den Den Mushi.
Looking at the Den Den Mushi in his hand, Cyrus raised his other hand and brushed the sword leaning beside him.
"How will the Marines respond?"
The bounty money was one aspect.
Another was that Cyrus was feeling a little restless.
With the Hunter Exam approaching, he also needed to give the Marines and the World Government a warning to prevent them from interfering too heavily.
...
While Cyrus was making his own calculations, Marine Headquarters became lively.
Vice Admiral Tsuru, who had been outside investigating Doflamingo's whereabouts, was recalled.
The three Admirals who had been carrying out missions outside, along with a group of Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals, were all summoned back to Marine Headquarters.
Several days later, the Fleet Admiral's office at Marine Headquarters was packed with people.
Marine officers of all shapes and sizes had gathered there.
Sengoku sat behind his desk with a grave expression.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I still have work to do! What exactly is this about?" Kizaru asked with his lips pursed.
The others also looked curious.
When they had been recalled, none of them had expected such a huge commotion.
Looking around now, almost the entire top combat force of the Marines was gathered in this office.
"At this point, there's only one person who could cause a commotion like this."
Akainu narrowed his eyes and spoke in a heavy voice.
"Oh, Cyrus?"
Aokiji raised his eyes toward Sengoku and spoke.
The moment that name appeared, the entire office immediately fell silent.
Why had the Marines felt restrained at every turn during this period?
Was it not because of that man?
Cyrus, the chairman of the Hunter Guild.
The man many people across the sea now regarded as the strongest in the world.
The man who had defeated legendary pirates such as Big Mom, Whitebeard, and Golden Lion.
"Could it be that we're going to have a decisive battle?"
Kizaru's eyes widened.
The moment Cyrus was mentioned, his ribs began aching faintly.
With such a large gathering, had the World Government finally made up its mind?
"Of course not!"
The moment Sengoku heard Kizaru mention a decisive battle, his face darkened.
His answer made quite a few people secretly let out a breath of relief.
"But it is indeed related to Cyrus. Tsuru, you explain."
Sengoku looked toward Vice Admiral Tsuru.
"All right."
Tsuru stood, then looked around the room.
"This situation is very special. Of course, if it is handled poorly, it might truly lead to a decisive battle."
The moment Tsuru opened her mouth, Sengoku's face grew even darker.
"You should all know that Cyrus defeated Whitebeard and Big Mom."
Tsuru ignored Sengoku's expression and continued speaking.
Everyone in the office nodded.
Naturally, they knew about such a major event.
"Right now, Whitebeard and the others are all in Cyrus's hands. And now, he is preparing to send them into Impel Down, then collect their bounties from the Marines."
The moment Tsuru said this, the entire office became so quiet one could hear a pin drop.
Everyone's mouths opened, their faces going blank.
This news was truly unexpected.
Throw Whitebeard and Big Mom into Impel Down?
Just thinking about it felt unbelievable!
"Wait."
Kizaru suddenly raised a hand and looked at Tsuru with some confusion.
"If that's the case, then can't we just send people to receive them and put them into Impel Down? Even with Golden Lion among them, as long as Impel Down is more careful this time, they won't be able to escape."
Although Kizaru was surprised, recently he had also heard plenty of stories about Hunters from the Hunter Guild capturing pirates and exchanging them for bounties.
The only difference this time was that the pirates being captured were Whitebeard and the others.
"But Cyrus will personally escort Whitebeard and the others to Impel Down."
Tsuru turned toward Kizaru and spoke calmly.
"Uh…"
Kizaru's expression shifted.
He finally understood why such a large group had gathered here.
He also understood why Tsuru had said that one mishandled step could lead to a decisive battle.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, are you planning to deploy everyone and attempt to take Cyrus down at Impel Down?"
Akainu took a deep breath before asking.
"No. This is only to guard against Cyrus making a move against Impel Down."
Sengoku shook his head directly.
"Cyrus's personality is very difficult to understand, and it is also difficult to predict what he will do next. All of you understand the importance of Impel Down. If Cyrus makes a move against it this time, it will be a major blow to the Marines."
Sengoku's expression was serious as he spoke.
Everyone understood why Sengoku said that.
Most of the dangerous pirates captured by the Marines were sent into Impel Down.
As for exactly what kinds of pirates were inside Impel Down right now, no one truly knew.
"Ah, wasn't a batch already released last time anyway? Even if some more run out this time, it wouldn't be that big of a deal."
Garp picked his nose and glanced sideways at Sengoku as he spoke.
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
Sengoku looked at Garp with a dark expression.
"No, Vice Admiral Garp."
Aokiji suddenly spoke, drawing everyone's attention.
"Cyrus may not necessarily be trying to release those pirates. During my missions recently, I also received some information, including matters related to the Hunter Guild."
"They're collecting Devil Fruits."
Aokiji rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful as he spoke.
"It seems the Hunter Guild has an internal bounty related to Devil Fruits," Tsuru added.
"Hey, hey, there's no need for all of you to overthink this."
Seeing everyone fall into thought, Garp immediately looked somewhat speechless.
"If Cyrus really wanted to do that, he would have said so when he contacted this old man earlier. Since he said he was sending people over this time, that should be his main purpose.
"As for everything you just mentioned, it's all speculation."
"What I'm worried about is an accident."
Tsuru sighed and looked at Garp.
"If what we just mentioned truly happens, or if Cyrus has no intention of releasing the pirates inside Impel Down and only wants to destroy the prison itself, then the ability users inside may not survive.
When that happens, the sea may suddenly see a large number of Devil Fruits appear."
As Tsuru spoke, she looked toward Sengoku.
The greatest purpose behind Impel Down's existence was to imprison ability users, causing those abilities to sink into silence and no longer appear on the sea.
If those ability users died, their Devil Fruits would be reborn somewhere randomly across the sea.
By then, the number of ability users moving across the ocean might increase sharply in a short period of time.
After all, once an ordinary person ate a Devil Fruit, they would immediately become a fairly powerful individual.
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