Chapter 51: Garp, Sengoku, and Tsuru
Kong understood what Fleet Admiral Black meant.
They had not given up searching for the Rocks Pirates.
However, if the Rocks Pirates took any specific action that didn't target the Marines or the World Government, they would abandon the pursuit.
This meant that if the Rocks Pirates attacked a Member Nation or Kingdom, the Marines would only put on a show and would not directly confront them.
If the target was the Marines or the World Government, the Marines would definitely discover them.
This was because the Marines had a large coverage network in the front half of the New World.
If the Rocks Pirates approached, they would be discovered immediately.
In such a situation, the Marines would actively withdraw, waiting for the main force to gather before confronting the Rocks Pirates.
As for anything else, they could only say sorry.
The current Marines needed time to gather strength.
Steel Bone Kong would go to the New World to preside over the war.
Incidentally, he would capture or directly kill the Son of Jaeger.
For the sake of the greater good, what needed to be abandoned could only be abandoned.
Acting rashly would only lead to more losses, causing the current strength of the Marines to decline further.
As long as Hades was captured or killed, they could give an explanation to the World Government and the Member Nations.
An explanation was enough.
As for the Member Nations, since they had already been destroyed, who would care?
If anyone was to blame, they could only blame their bad luck for being targeted by the Rocks Pirates.
Although there was some reluctance, this was already the best plan, the best for the Marines.
"Depart now, mobilize an Army of 30,000 and five Vice Admirals to the New World. The strength of the Marines must be unified."
Black issued the order.
Only a more assertive Kong could deter the various Factions in the New World and unite the entire Marines into a single entity.
When necessary, Black would also personally take action to face the Rocks Pirates, who were even stronger than they were ten years ago.
"Next, I will report the matter to the Five Elders."
Such a matter had to be reported to the Five Elders.
Given the ambition of the Rocks Pirates, it was highly possible they would directly attack Marine Headquarters or Holy Land Mariejois.
This was also to make the World Government pay attention to this news and provide the Marines with assistance in intelligence.
At the same time, the World Government needed to increase its support for the Marines, providing grain, munitions, and even direct financial support.
A single move affects the whole situation; undercurrents were surging.
Marine Warships sailed out of the Crescent Moon Bay of Marine Headquarters, led by Steel Bone Kong with his arms crossed.
Five Marine Vice Admirals accompanied the Army.
Behind him were his key training targets: the carefree Marine Commodore Garp, Marine Commodore Sengoku, and Marine Captain Tsuru.
"What happened? Such a big commotion, is there going to be a war?"
Sengoku and Tsuru had already sensed that something was wrong.
The scent of war was too strong.
A full Army of 30,000, with supply ships and food ships specifically transporting supplies following behind the Marine Warships.
At the Port, Marine Soldiers were constantly moving boxes containing supplies and grain onto the ships.
Especially fruit, which was one of the most precious supplies on the Great Sea, capable of treating scurvy.
The Great Fleet had already set off first.
These supply ships would follow later, with a portion of the fleet escorting them.
Everyone looked very urgent; no one was foolish.
In this situation, they all realized that war was coming.
"Yes, the Rocks Pirates have made a move."
Kong did not hide anything from his direct lineage, his key training targets.
"What follows is the beginning of a truly crazy period. You all must be prepared," Kong said seriously, not wishing for them to sacrifice themselves before they truly grew up.
In his eyes, Garp and Sengoku's strength and military rank were completely mismatched.
The vast majority of Marine Vice Admirals were not their opponents; their growth speed was astonishing.
Garp relied solely on a pair of iron fists.
As for Sengoku, after eating the Great Buddha Fruit, he was a perfect individual embodying mind-body-technique unity.
Tsuru's strength was also not weak; she relied more on her wisdom.
"Haha! No matter who the opponent is, I'll give them a profound lesson with these fists!"
Garp had absolute confidence in his strength, swinging his fists in the air.
His sturdy physique contained astonishing strength.
"Prepare yourselves quickly. In terms of top-tier combatants, we are at a disadvantage. You two guys need to grow up as quickly as possible."
A mature woman with dark blue hair, loose bangs, and a ponytail calmly stated.
Tsuru had already joined the Marine Staff Headquarters and had access to a large amount of intelligence, clearly understanding the overall strength gap between the current Marines and the Rocks Pirates.
To be honest, apart from military strength, the Marines had no advantage whatsoever.
And as for military strength, if the Rocks Pirates wanted to, they could completely rally even greater numbers.
The only advantage was probably that the Marines had the support of the World Government.
The Rocks Pirates, on the other hand, were merely a group gathered by mutual interest and could not truly unite.
But this era was the true dark period for the Marines.
In the struggle against Pirates, they had never gained the upper hand, and it had been this way since ten years ago.
All the Marines felt immense pressure, and the various Factions were uniting under this great enemy to fight together.
In Tsuru's view, the current internal problems of the Marines were numerous, but they were solvable, and she had already noticed the plan of the Fleet Admiral and Admiral Kong.
However, many people would die.
It seemed the burden was being placed on the young Marines.
It was precisely because of this that young Marines like Garp could be continuously discovered, valued, and promoted.
There were too many persistent problems that required drastic measures.
Sacrificing for Justice was also part of the power struggle, and it was an overt strategy.
Tsuru and Sengoku had already seen this point.
And Garp and Sengoku undoubtedly possessed the potential to become top-tier combatants, especially Garp, who had astonishing talent in body technique and Haki, which even Kong marveled at.
Under Kong's deliberate sparring, these past two years were their period of rapid strength growth.
Coupled with the Marines' propaganda over the past two years, Garp and Sengoku were now the leading new stars of the current Marines, with a large number of Marine Vice Admirals having been defeated by them.
The two were like protagonists in a picture book.
With the support of Kong and Black, their rise was unstoppable.
What they lacked was merit, but for two powerful individuals, this was nothing.
Although Kong had not yet succeeded to the position of Fleet Admiral, it seemed the future Marine Admirals had already been decided.
This also made the internal competition within the Marines even more intense.
Currently, there were four Admiral Candidates.
Cruyff, representing the North Blue Faction and the Neutral Faction.
Ferdinand, representing the East Blue Faction and the Dove Faction.
De Gea, belonging to the Hawk Faction.
Neuer, belonging to the Dove Faction.
Two Marine Vice Admirals from the Four Seas Faction, and two Headquarters Vice Admirals.
Looking at the current three Admirals, there was Kong from the Hawk Faction, Puyol from the West Blue and Neutral Faction, and Davis from the South Blue and Hawk Faction.
From this, it could be seen that the Hawk Faction was absolutely dominant in the current Marines, with two Marine Admirals.
The Neutral Faction had one, and the Dove Faction had none.
However, Fleet Admiral Black belonged to the Dove Faction, so the Dove Faction had not weakened.
Among the four Admiral Candidate positions, two were given to the Dove Faction as compensation, while the other two were one Neutral and one Hawk Faction.
At the same time, among the positions of Marine Admiral and Admiral Candidate, the Four Seas Faction each occupied one seat.
This showed the current strength of the Four Seas Faction.
Through the determination of these positions, the Path of Balance was fully displayed.
The Hawk Faction was strong, but not excessively so.
It was just that the strong inclusion of the Four Seas Faction made it more complex.
(end of chapter)