New World, Red Port.
A vast gathering of high-ranking Marine officers had assembled within the sector, their presence driven by a dual set of strategic objectives.
First, with the World Government's highly anticipated Reverie rapidly approaching, the command structure needed to iron out the security protocols and escort assignments for the attending royal bloodlines. Second, they had to systematically analyze the shifting global equilibrium and devise counter-measures to adapt to the new era. Every individual who had secured a seat at this table was the absolute elite of the elite within the Marine architecture, each holding immense prestige and authority.
For the most part, the room was anchored by Vice Admirals.
The Marine Hero, Garp, was naturally present among the council. He was actively throwing back large mugs of sake and devouring massive chunks of meat, all while the surrounding officers exhaustively debated the recent deployment of the Straw Hat Pirates and the emergence of the four brothers.
Vice Admirals Momousagi and Chaton were seated nearby, along with Marine Rear Admiral Hina.
"Garp! Your grandson, that Straw Hat kid Luffy, has had his bounty scaled to a staggering 1.6 billion Berries!" Momousagi noted, turning her sharp gaze toward the veteran. "At this stage, he has officially transformed into a massive vortex consuming the pirate world."
"But the most critical variable haunting our strategic calculations remains the Legendary Four Brothers. As of this date, two of them have been verified to command a baseline combat output that sits firmly within the Yonko tier. If their growth curves continue along this trajectory, they will inevitably pose a catastrophic threat to the Marines."
Her wording was heavily restrained, but every rational strategist in the room could see the underlying data: the collective threat of these four siblings had officially eclipsed that of a conventional Emperor's crew.
Because they operated as a completely unified front of four exceptional powerhouses who drew no boundaries between one another!
The exact microsecond these four entities chose to consolidate their variables to execute a single objective—and that objective happened to run counter to Marine interests... Just running the simulation was enough to make one's skin crawl.
"Ahahaha...!" Garp burst into a booming fit of laughter, tearing another mouthful of meat from the bone. "I genuinely failed to calculate that those brats would scale their parameters to this height so quickly! Though as far as Luffy is concerned, his baseline metrics still lag far behind the true masters."
"The structural balance of the world is actively collapsing, so how the hell are you still projecting amusement, Garp-chan!?" Momousagi interjected, her tone laced with exasperation.
"Come now... there's zero need to scale up your anxiety metrics," Garp replied, his features gradually re-stabilizing into a calm, unreadable mask. "The situation has officially breached a threshold where our forces lack the leverage to contain it."
"What an active Yonko-tier combat signature implies is a data point everyone in this room understands perfectly."
"The solitary entity capable of neutralizing an Emperor is another Emperor. Furthermore, due to the impending Reverie, Marine Headquarters has zero surplus military assets to deploy into external grids. Let the pirates sort out the fallout of Wano Country within their own parameters."
Hearing his assessment, not a single officer voiced a counter-argument.
The era was evolving at an unprecedented velocity—or rather, the growth metrics of these four brothers were accelerating far too rapidly. It appeared as though the shifting tides of this era were being forcefully driven by the hands of these four siblings, their continuous ascension throwing the global architecture into absolute turbulence.
And since one of the primary catalysts behind this chaos was Vice Admiral Garp's own flesh and blood, it left the council in a delicate position regarding critiques.
When it came to Garp, there wasn't a single soul within the Marine ranks who didn't harbor the absolute highest tier of reverence for him. The mantle of 'Marine Hero' wasn't an honorific assigned through casual administrative loops; it represented the absolute pinnacle of glory achievable within their ranks. Furthermore, they were intimately familiar with Garp's core psychology—he was a man fundamentally incapable of committing treason against the concept of Justice.
"By the way, Momousagi, what exact directive did Fleet Admiral Sakazuki issue regarding the Wano Country variable?" Chaton asked, turning to face his colleague.
Momousagi let out a helpless sigh. "He explicitly stated that due to the Reverie's logistical demands, the Marines possess zero surplus manpower to dispatch. Furthermore, Wano Country is a non-affiliated nation, placing its geographic coordinates entirely outside our administrative jurisdiction."
"See?" Garp said, waving a casual hand. "Maintaining total non-intervention is the most mathematically sound choice we can make right now."
Moving forward, every officer present was bound to their respective high-priority assignments; the security grid for this Reverie had effectively cannibalized the entire operational strength of the Marines. Even though they occupied the apex of the executive branch, they had zero clearance to remain idle—especially during a timeline where personnel deficits were popping up across every sector. Even Garp, who had technically transitioned into a semi-retired state, had been assigned a strict roster of duties.
Though, to a certain degree, those assignments were entirely dependent on Garp's voluntary consent; otherwise, no amount of fleet admiral decrees would yield any results.
Right at that exact microsecond, the heavy doors of the council chamber swung open, and a brilliant, fire-red silhouette stepped through the threshold, instantly drawing the collective focus of the room.
The incoming officer was draped in a striking, crimson-red dress that cut short, exposing a pair of exceptionally long, pristine legs to the air. Her facial features possessed a flawless, ethereal perfection that was nothing short of breathtaking. A single glance was enough to permanently anchor one's cognitive focus; her beauty felt entirely detached from the mortal plane, a visual anomaly that belonged strictly to the heavens.
Yet, hanging loosely over her shoulders was the standard-issue Marine 'Justice' coat, and secured casually at her waist was a slender, elegant rapier. The data was clear: this stunning woman was a high-ranking officer within the Marine hierarchy.
"Ah, Weitian, you've arrived," Garp called out, offering a casual nod before returning his focus to devouring the massive bone of meat clutched in his hand.
The woman designated as Weitian strode directly through the rows of seating, pulling up a chair to settle smoothly right beside Garp's coordinates.
"Garp-chan. I am initiating a transit to Wano Country," Weitian declared, cutting straight to the data point without a shred of preamble.
The entire room: "???"
Even Garp's cognitive processing stalled for a split second. What in the world is this girl calculating? What exact game is this high-maintenance princess playing at?
"Now hold on, Weitian... the timeline dictates that with the Reverie on the horizon, we have zero clearance to allocate military assets to handle the Wano variable. Furthermore, Sakazuki explicitly laid out that Wano is—"
"I am deploying solo!" Weitian interjected sharply, cutting Garp's explanation clean in half.
"This..." The surrounding Vice Admirals exchanged a series of thoroughly bewildered glances, completely unable to process the underlying motivation prompting her to force a deployment to Wano Country.
However, their survival instincts ensured they kept their queries to themselves. They knew exactly which lines not to cross.
This woman, Weitian, was anything but a standard asset; she was universally recognized as the absolute number-one prodigy among the rising generation of Marine powerhouses. Despite her youth—having barely crossed the twenty-year threshold—she had already traded blows with the Yonko, Red-Haired Shanks!
Not long ago, intelligence reports confirmed that Weitian's vanguard detachment had experienced a high-intensity encounter with the Red Hair Pirates. She had engaged Shanks in a direct duel, and through her tactical mastery, every single subordinate under her command had successfully mapped back to base alive.
Following that display, a heavy wave of rumors had circulated indicating she was prime for an immediate promotion to Admiral. If the World Government hadn't already utilized the Military Draft to secure two new apex Admirals to fill the vacancies, the absolute first asset among the Vice Admirals to claim the seat would have been Weitian.
As for why the upper echelons privately branded her as a handful, it was because her stubbornness and disregard for standard military bureaucracy mirrored Garp's to a T. To expect her to step into the Admiral seat and operate as a direct, subservient security detail for the Celestial Dragons was a statistical impossibility.
Operating entirely on her own independent logic loops had long since become her standard baseline. Take this current scenario: the moment she stated her intent to chart a course for Wano Country, not a single officer in the room calculated it as an irrational move. If anything, given the massive scale of the structural fallout occurring in the New World, it would have been an anomaly if she didn't mount a reaction.
The critical bottleneck, however, was whether Fleet Admiral Sakazuki would ever clear the deployment...
"I will interface with Sakazuki directly to re-calibrate his parameters," Weitian noted calmly. Under the stunned glares of the council, she pivoted on her heel and strode straight toward the Fleet Admiral's private office.
The remaining Vice Admirals: "..."
A few moments later, the sheer volume of the exchange began to filter back through the structural walls of the corridor.
"WHAT!? You intend to alter your coordinates to Wano Country? For what exact purpose!?"
"I have administrative business to finalize!"
"Are you completely blind to the fact that the Marines are currently facing an extreme operational manpower deficit!? Give me a single logistically sound variable to justify this deployment!" Following that outburst, the acoustic volume dropped significantly, the remaining text fading into muffled murmurs.
Back in the banquet hall, the gathered Vice Admirals stared at one another, the collective shock in their eyes impossible to mask.
By the time the briefing officially concluded, Weitian strode back into the chamber, her long legs moving with a fluid, captivating grace.
Disregarding the barrage of stunned stares lock-on her coordinates, she walked straight up to Garp. "Garp-chan, I require a private data exchange with you."
"Weitian... don't tell me Sakazuki actually approved your transit parameters?" Garp blinked, pausing his movements.
"He cleared the deployment, though his calculations remain incredibly petty. He attached a strict restriction dictating that I am prohibited from mobilizing a single Marine subordinate to reinforce my position. Heh, as if I ever held the intention of dragging dead weight into a hot zone to begin with," Weitian noted with a dismissive chuckle. Reaching out, she firmly gripped Garp's arm, pulling the veteran toward the exit. "Let's move, I need to download some sensitive files from your memory."
She left the remaining Marine high command standing entirely paralyzed in her wake.
Weitian's dominant energy was simply off the charts!