Chapter 255: Naval Operations

Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

In the Admiral's Office.

Crunch, crunch...

The sound of senbei being bitten into and breaking filled the room, accompanied by the occasional gulping of water.

Sengoku, holding a thick stack of white papers, had just entered his office when he was greeted by this cacophony, resembling a series of firecrackers going off.

In almost an instant, Sengoku's eyebrows furrowed tightly together, and his expression darkened with annoyance.

"Garp!"

Sengoku angrily glared at Garp, who was half-lying on the office sofa, and shouted, "Why are you in my office? And why are you eating my senbei?!"

"Because I ran out of donuts... crunch... and I figured you'd have some snacks here... gulp... ah! All done! That was great!"

Showing no trace of the decorum of a Vice Admiral, Garp tossed the empty senbei packaging aside, picked up a teacup, and drank, letting out a satisfied sigh.

Veins bulged on Sengoku's forehead. He silently moved the documents in his arms to free up his right hand, ready to deliver a "friendly punch" to the old rascal.

But in the next moment, Garp's words made Sengoku calm down.

"Tsuru told me you had a new batch of black pepper senbei in your office... and they were indeed delicious!"

"Tsuru? She told you?"

Sengoku quickly walked to his desk, put down the papers, and rested his arms on the tabletop, fingers interlaced.

"It seems she has something she wants to discuss with us."

Having fought and worked together for decades, Sengoku knew Tsuru's personality very well.

"Really?" Garp scratched his head, still not quite understanding, "Does she want to talk about the new senbei flavors?"

"Talking about snacks?" Sengoku gave Garp an exasperated look. "We might as well discuss Whitebeard's idiot son!"

"Hahaha! Sengoku, so you also find that little fool annoying!"

Garp burst into laughter, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

"Who would've thought that someone like Whitebeard would have such a big, silly son!"

Recently, the news of Golden Lion Shiki's escape from Impel Down had caused a massive uproar across the seas.

Garp and Sengoku were ordered to lead a fleet to the New World, tasked with eliminating the remnants of the Flying Pirates, while also meeting with Edward Newgate, aka Whitebeard.

They wanted to see if the two old era pirates were exchanging any information.

The first objective failed.

When Sengoku and Garp tried to locate the remnants of the Flying Pirates using naval intelligence, they found nothing. The once-dominant crew, now reduced to a few scattered survivors, had vanished a few days prior, along with the island they had been on. The location where the island had been was now just a stretch of turbulent sea.

Even someone as thick-skinned as Garp knew this was definitely Shiki's doing!

Only Shiki, with his Float-Float Fruit, could make an entire island disappear so effortlessly.

After searching the nearby seas in vain, Garp and Sengoku had no choice but to head to where the Whitebeard Pirates were currently located.

After an initial explosive skirmish as a "greeting," Sengoku and Garp managed to learn from Whitebeard that Shiki had indeed visited the Moby Dick after escaping from Impel Down, openly revealing his ambitions to Whitebeard.

Shiki intended to disappear for a while, then return to show the new, peaceful era what real pirates were like.

Although Whitebeard didn't know exactly what Shiki was planning, he shared this information with Garp and Sengoku. It wasn't that he couldn't keep it a secret; it was all part of Shiki's plan.

"If the Navy comes looking for you, tell them about this. I want them to live in constant fear of the unknown... hahaha!"

Both Garp and Sengoku knew how dangerous Shiki was, especially with his Float-Float Fruit, and they took this information very seriously.

However, they couldn't help but be distracted by the new figure on the Moby Dick, a large boy who called Whitebeard "Dad."

Whitebeard had always wanted a united "Family," but his crew members typically called him "Pops." This boy, however, called him "Dad," which was unprecedented.

Garp and Sengoku even learned the boy's name: Edward Weevil.

Back in the Admiral's Office, Sengoku didn't laugh as freely as Garp. Instead, he wore a serious expression.

"As much as I hate to admit it, from the boy's name and build, even if this 'Weevil' isn't Newgate's biological son, he's definitely connected to him."

Garp, unconcerned with such details, asked eagerly, "Who do you think Newgate's wife could be? What does she look like? When did they get together?"

Sengoku shot Garp an annoyed look and retorted, "Speaking of that, where's your wife, monkey?"

"Uh, uh..."

Garp's face turned bright red as he coughed awkwardly.

Just then, Vice Admiral Tsuru entered the office, holding a well-organized report, her expression calm.

"Sengoku, Garp, what are you two talking about? Your exaggerated voices can be heard from outside the door."

"Nothing! Tsuru, why are you here?" Garp jumped up from the sofa in a fluster, hurriedly changing the subject. "We were discussing the new flavor of rice crackers."

"Really?"

Vice Admiral Tsuru's eyes swept back and forth between Garp and Sengoku, deciding not to expose the private conversation between these two middle-aged men.

Sengoku adjusted his glasses and casually asked, "Tsuru, you had Garp come to my office. Do you have some new information to share?"

"Yes, a bit about Shiki the Golden Lion's recent movements," Vice Admiral Tsuru said, pulling out a few sheets from the document folder she held and handing them to Sengoku. "Several islands on the Grand Line have disappeared again. Based on the calculated route, it seems they are heading towards the Calm Belt."

"Is Shiki planning to hide in the Calm Belt for a while?" Sengoku frowned.

"Even the Navy can't navigate fleets there. For him, it's a perfect, undisturbed sanctuary."

"Our intelligence division has no further explanations. Who knows what Shiki the Golden Lion is truly thinking?" Tsuru shook her head, handing Sengoku a large stack of remaining documents, holding onto just two thin pages.

"These are recent reports from the four blues, regarding the 'Immortal Drifters.' That peculiar group has disappeared completely."

Sengoku flipped through a few pages of the documents, then looked up in confusion. "Is there something important about these Immortal Drifters?"

"The significance lies not in the Immortal Drifters themselves, but in a certain individual they might be connected to," Tsuru said, handing Sengoku the last two pages.

"White Ghost."

"White Ghost?!"

Sengoku immediately tensed up, his expression turning serious as he took the documents, finding them filled with information about a minor gang from the West Blue.

"The Razor Gang from the West Blue? I've never heard of them."

"This intelligence was collected secretly by the West Blue Naval Branch after the Ohara incident," Tsuru explained calmly, glancing at Sengoku. "According to our reports, White Ghost first gained notoriety in the West Blue by annihilating the Capone Gang."

"After the Capone Gang's destruction, a new gang, the Razor Gang, quickly emerged on Capone Gang's former base, Otefi Island."

"Although there is no direct evidence, the Razor Gang's leader, Tommy Shelby, possesses the Paramecia-type Pop-Pop Fruit. This fruit appeared at a North Blue auction over two years ago, during a time when White Ghost was reportedly active in the area for unknown reasons."

Tsuru continued, "Additionally, the auction was hosted by the Donquixote Family, led by Donquixote Doflamingo."

Sengoku's pupils contracted slightly at the familiar name, involuntarily thinking of his adopted son.

"Our intelligence indicates significant trade between the Donquixote Family in the North Blue and the Razor Gang in the West Blue, a rare occurrence among criminal organizations."

"Unlike the Donquixote Family's limitless crimes, the Razor Gang mainly engages in legitimate business, only occasionally dealing in arms. This is quite unusual among gangs!"

Sengoku asked, "Tsuru, do you suspect White Ghost is behind the Razor Gang?"

"No, I believe White Ghost was instrumental in establishing the Razor Gang, but the actual leader remains Tommy Shelby."

"Why does any of this matter?" Garp interjected.

"I recall White Ghost was recently active near the G-13 branch, cleaning out pirates from Mock Town and then demanding a bounty from the Navy... hahaha, that pirate is quite amusing!"

"Flint Hill almost got scolded to death by Zephyr!" Tsuru brought the conversation back on track.

"This is why I don't think White Ghost is the Razor Gang's mastermind. His activities are too disconnected from the Razor Gang's operations in the West Blue."

"I'm a bit confused, Tsuru," Sengoku said, frowning as he reviewed the documents.

"Shiki, the Immortal Drifters, the Razor Gang, White Ghost... there doesn't seem to be any connection."

"Except for Shiki, the other three are linked," Tsuru replied. "If you read the reports carefully, you'll see that the Razor Gang's strength largely relies on the Immortal Drifters."

"Recently, the Immortal Drifters disappeared. The Razor Gang, lacking substantial combat power, will undoubtedly face attacks from other West Blue forces."

"If the Razor Gang was indeed established by White Ghost, they might seek his help. Then we could locate White Ghost!"

Garp asked, "Aren't gangs outside the Navy's jurisdiction?"

"How different are gangs from pirates?" Tsuru replied calmly. "Despite the Razor Gang's relatively good reputation, a gang is still a gang. Besides, I only plan to add a bit of pressure to see what happens."

Sengoku asked seriously, "Tsuru, how confident are you about this?"

"Honestly, I'm not very confident," Tsuru shrugged. "This is all speculation, just part of my duty in intelligence."

Seeing her old comrades, Tsuru added, "But this is the only known chance we have to find White Ghost."

"Leaving a pirate with a bounty over 1.6 billion Berries roaming free, especially one without a fixed base, is too dangerous, isn't it?"

Sengoku finally understood. He looked at Garp, then turned to Tsuru.

"Tsuru, are you suggesting we issue another Buster Call on White Ghost, like the one Fleet Admiral Kong ordered on Redfield?"

"No," Tsuru denied, "White Ghost is more troublesome than Redfield. A Buster Call's large scale won't work."

Tsuru revealed her plan, "If possible, I want Sengoku and Garp to secretly go to the West Blue and observe."

For reasons unknown, Garp commented, "Isn't that overestimating White Ghost's strength?"

"Garp, you can't understand how difficult he is without facing him," Sengoku said calmly, standing up and organizing the documents. "I'll go see Fleet Admiral Kong."