"Bastard!!!!"
An ear-splitting roar exploded from the top floor of the Fleet Admiral's office in Marineford. The sound was so loud that the windows of the entire building shook.
Inside the office, Fleet Admiral Kong slammed his fist, which looked like it had been forged from solid steel, onto his desk. The hard mahogany surface cracked instantly, spiderweb-like fractures spreading across it.
"Can someone tell me what exactly happened?!"
Kong's face was dark with rage. The crushing pressure coming off him made the air in the room feel frozen. He paced back and forth through the office like an enraged lion.
"Almost all of the Marines' top combat power was sent out! A Buster Call led by five HQ Vice Admirals! Plus the World Government's CP9! And what was the result?!"
Fleet Admiral Kong stopped in place, his shadow falling over everyone in the room. "Almost all of Ohara's demons escaped! CP9 was wiped out, and even their chief, Spandine, is dead! How am I supposed to explain this to the Five Elders?!"
He slammed his hand onto another report on the desk. "Tell me, what were the five Vice Admirals doing?!"
"When was the last time the Marines suffered a humiliation like this?!"
Faced with the Fleet Admiral's fury, the others in the office reacted in different ways.
"Crunch... crunch..." On the sofa, Garp casually kept eating. The sound was absurdly loud in the silence of the office.
He even picked his nose and spoke in a lazy tone. "Kong, aren't you making too much of this?"
"Garp!!" Blue veins bulged on Kong's forehead.
"Come on, don't be so angry." Garp crossed his legs and spoke as if none of this had anything to do with him. "If those professors were really just studying history, then they weren't exactly 'demons,' were they? Making this much noise over it... the World Government is really overdoing it..."
"Garp, you bastard!!" Before Fleet Admiral Kong could explode, Sengoku stood up first. His face darkened as he roared, "Is this really the time for those kinds of sarcastic comments?! Are you openly questioning the World Government's decision?!"
"Enough. Quiet down." The Great Staff Officer, Tsuru, who had remained silent the whole time, finally spoke. She calmly pushed forward several urgent reports from the West Blue that had just been compiled.
Tsuru's voice was steady and composed. "The main reason this operation failed is that an enemy appeared out of nowhere."
She picked up the first report. "This is Kuzan's report. On Ohara, he encountered a man who called himself 'Arise.' In a direct confrontation... Kuzan was defeated by the man's overwhelming strength. His arm was also seriously wounded by a slash from the enemy."
Sengoku took the report, his expression turning grim. "Kuzan... was defeated in a direct fight?!"
"That's not all." Tsuru's expression became even more serious. "Based on the investigation at the scene, Spandine and his CP9 men were wiped out instantly by a single slash. There were no signs of a second attacker. At this point, it is highly likely that the one who wounded Kuzan and the one who wiped out CP9 were the same person."
"Someone that strong... if Kuzan couldn't handle him, then among the Vice Admirals on the scene, no one except Sakazuki could have fought him."
Sengoku continued. Even though Kuzan was still only a Vice Admiral, he had already surpassed the others of the same rank by a wide margin.
"There's more," Tsuru continued. "Sakazuki had already ordered the fleet to turn around and was prepared to chase down the escaping ship no matter what."
"However, a terrifying superstorm suddenly broke out in that sea area without any warning. The storm was so intense that it threatened the safety of the warships themselves. Sakazuki had no choice but to call off the pursuit. He could only watch that ship disappear into the storm."
"Puhahahaha!"
"Crunch... crunch..." Garp, who had been sitting on the sofa, casually kept eating.
"Even that magma brat got shown up?" Garp laughed openly. "Looks like even heaven was on their side!"
The vein at Sengoku's temple throbbed. He shot Garp a sharp glare, but said nothing.
"Finally," Tsuru said as she picked up Rosinante's report, "according to Rosinante's testimony..." Her tone turned slightly strange. "During the chaos, he saw that man appear. At the critical moment, Rosinante used the power of the [Calm-Calm Fruit] to create a silent zone and hide himself."
At the mention of Rosinante, Sengoku froze. His eyes locked onto the report in Tsuru's hand.
"Although he managed to stay hidden..." Tsuru paused, "that man took Smoker and Aiden with him."
"At this point, it's basically certain that he was the same Arise who defeated Kuzan."
"Took them?!" Sengoku was stunned. Beneath the mix of emotions on his face, there was even a brief flash of relief. Relief that the one taken was not Rosinante. But it was immediately swallowed up by even greater anger. "He actually dared to take Marine soldiers right in front of us?!"
Tsuru glanced at him and continued calmly, "Smoker is a rare Logia user. Aiden is also one of the elite camp's most promising recruits. This is a major loss for the Marines."
"Enough. I understand." Fleet Admiral Kong sat back down. The terrifying fury from before had cooled, replaced by the cold decisiveness of a commander.
"The problem now is how to explain this to the Five Elders." He looked at the reports on the desk. "The complete destruction of CP9 is a scandal. Kuzan's defeat is even worse. We need a solution right now to calm the anger from above."
Sengoku immediately understood what Kong meant. "You mean... put the failure of the Buster Call, the destruction of CP9, and Kuzan's defeat entirely on Arise?"
"Exactly. And it's the truth." Fleet Admiral Kong snorted coldly.
"Start preparing a wanted poster for Arise immediately." Kong looked at Sengoku. "He defeated Kuzan and wiped out CP9 in an instant... his bounty..."
Sengoku thought for a moment and said slowly, "...500 million. It has to start at 500 million Berries."
"Good!" Kong made the final call. "Set it at 500 million! I want him hunted across the entire world. I want him to have nowhere to run!"
"The decisions are as follows:
"First, classify 'Devil Arise' as a top-priority threat. Issue a bounty of 500 million Berries, dead or alive!"
"Second," he said, looking at Sengoku, "the two trainees, Smoker and Aiden, will be temporarily listed as 'Missing in Action.' We will not give the public too many details."
"Third, Ohara has been destroyed, so the goal of deterrence has been achieved. The Buster Call ends here."
Fleet Admiral Kong's gaze swept across everyone in the room. "Meeting adjourned! I want Arise's wanted poster spread across the entire world as fast as possible!"