"What's wrong, Fleet Admiral Kong? You look like you just ate shit—under that much pressure?"
The crude words came from the equally crude and boisterous Garp.
Having followed Sengoku inside, Garp ignored Kong's terrifying expression—it wasn't the first time he'd seen it—and headed straight for the cabinet behind Kong. He rummaged through it for a while before finally pulling out Kong's treasured rice crackers from the most hidden compartment.
Ignoring Kong's suddenly even more livid expression, Garp took the rice crackers to the tea table, intending to brew a cup of tea and properly enjoy the delicious snack.
These were the good stuff—top-tier rice crackers specially supplied to the upper echelons, namely the Celestial Dragons.
The entire Navy high command received only a very, very limited quantity. Basically, only Kong, as the Fleet Admiral, had a certain allocation.
After all, rice crackers were just snacks—delicious, yes, but without many significant merits.
But Garp didn't care about any of that. Deliciousness was the greatest merit. Every time he came to Kong's office, he would rummage around and swindle away Kong's meager stash.
This left Kong utterly speechless. He would hide the rice crackers in advance each time, yet without fail, Garp would find them and devour them all in one go.
Kong had cursed Garp more than once, saying he had a dog's nose that could sniff out anything.
That scoundrel Garp wouldn't show any courtesy to Kong, the Fleet Admiral. He'd just laugh heartily, brush it off, and do it again next time without a care.
Over time, Kong didn't even know how to get angry anymore.
"Garp, mind the setting. Be serious—what kind of behavior is this?"
Kong couldn't be bothered with him, but Zephyr couldn't. Watching Garp's outrageous antics, Zephyr's face darkened as he spoke to him in a low voice.
They were in the office of the Navy's highest leader, after all. Garp was being far too arrogant.
"Ahh~"
"Crunch, crunch~"
Comfortable. This was the life. Those useless Celestial Dragons—why should they get to enjoy such fine rice crackers?
Ignoring Zephyr, Garp first savored a bite, closed his eyes, and let out a long, contented sigh. Anyone who didn't know better might think he was high.
After a moment, he opened his eyes and said to Zephyr, "Relax, Zephyr. Come on, let's share some. Look at Fleet Admiral Kong right now—does he even have time to scold me?"
"Judging by his expression, those five old geezers, the Five Elders, must have put immense pressure on him again. Let's wait a bit."
"Pressure?"
Kong sneered and tossed the directive onto the table. "They have no idea how difficult deep-sea operations are! They're demanding we immediately tear down Rocks' flag!"
"While it's not an immediate requirement, they're still putting tremendous pressure on our Navy. Damn it all."
Kong gritted his teeth, clearly troubled.
Tsuru stepped forward at this point, picked up the directive, quickly scanned it, and frowned deeply. "Designating Fish-Man Island as a red zone? I didn't expect Brian to stir up such a big mess again. This is really troublesome."
"What? The Beasts again?"
Sengoku's previously calm face suddenly stiffened, turning somewhat gloomy and somber.
"Yes, Beast Brian has taken Fish-Man Island. The Five Elders have ordered that Fish-Man Island be designated a red zone first, to be recaptured together when we mobilize our forces in six months."
Tsuru spoke as she handed the order to Sengoku, also feeling a headache coming on.
"One Mythical Zoan Beast Girl and three Common Type Beast Girls? Damn it, that configuration is indeed difficult to handle."
Sengoku tapped his fingers on the desk, his voice low: "Brian's move of cutting the ground from under our feet is truly insidious to the extreme! What he left behind is a strategic tumor that cannot be ignored yet cannot be easily touched!"
It must be said, Sengoku has grown. In the past, he would have lost his composure over Brian's actions, but now he can analyze rationally even at a time like this.
Tsuru looked at him with some surprise in her eyes—had Sengoku recovered?
"Fleet Admiral Kong, our current focus must remain on the great decisive battle in the New World six months from now. Any dispersal of our forces would be fatal to us!"
Sengoku analyzed, having prepared for half a year, they could not stop now, nor did they intend to.
"What? The Five Elders are being so soft this time? This still means sending us Navy to our deaths, those bastards."
Garp suddenly looked up, clenching his fists tightly, the Haki within him almost bursting forth.
"Including that bastard Brian—he knows full well we can't spare enough strength to deal with him right now! That's why he dares to plant his flag so arrogantly on Fish-Man Island!"
Garp took a deep breath, turning his gaze to Sengoku: "Sengoku, we must think of a way! We can't let the pirates think the Navy is powerless to stop their expansion!"
Sengoku sighed, his tone filled with helplessness: "Garp, calm down! Our opponent is the entire Rocks Pirates, not just one Brian."
"For now, we will temporarily follow the Five Elders' order, designate Fish-Man Island as a top-level restricted zone, and avoid initiating combat."
"But at the same time, the Navy will secretly mobilize our best intelligence personnel to track the movements of Brian's main fleet with all our might!"
"We must ensure Fish-Man Island cannot make any further subversive moves before the final decisive battle!"
Garp slammed his fist heavily on the table in front of him, producing a loud bang. In the end, he could only accept this frustrating decision, though he was so angry he could hardly even eat his rice crackers.
"That bastard Brian—I'll settle the score for this deep-sea flag-planting in six months, along with all the previous grudges, with interest!" Garp said coldly.
"So, Fleet Admiral Kong, shall I proceed to adjust the headquarters' strategic deployment according to this highest order?"
Sengoku looked at Kong, his fingers gripping the order turning somewhat pale, clearly his mood was not as calm as it appeared.
That bastard Brian—just seeing his name made Sengoku's anger nearly uncontrollable.
Over these past few months, his sleep quality had been very, very, very poor. Every time he closed his eyes, he felt as if Brian was smiling right in front of him.
If not for his strong physical constitution and the headquarters doctors exerting great effort, forcibly using medication to make him fall asleep, Sengoku might not have been able to hold on.
"Alright, proceed as planned."
"Sigh, when will this ever end?!"
Kong shook his head, leaving the matter for Sengoku to handle.
With the frequent major incidents over these past few months, Kong, who was originally still in his prime, suddenly felt as if he was aging prematurely.
It wasn't that he had reached a certain age, but rather that his heart had grown weary—he was on the verge of buckling under the pressure. Unconsciously, Kong found himself entertaining thoughts of retirement.
More than once, he sat alone in his office, deep in thought, pondering who would be most suitable to take over the Navy after him.
Originally, Kong had always held high hopes for Sengoku, and over the years, he had been grooming him as the primary candidate.
Unfortunately, since the end of the last major naval battle, Sengoku's condition had remained unstable, leaving Kong uncertain whether Sengoku could still lead the Navy to greater heights.
Yet, aside from Sengoku, the Navy truly had few alternatives. Garp was out of the question, and Zephyr, whom Kong had privately spoken with, showed no interest in the position either.
How difficult this was————
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