Chapter 46 Naval Headquarters

The first half of the Grand Line.

Naval Headquarters, Marineford, Marine Building.

Sengoku, the Marine Marshal, sat in his office, a sad look on his face.

"What an eventful time it has been!"

Sighing, Sengoku stood up and walked towards the balcony.

This location offered the best view in the entire Naval Headquarters, with an unobstructed sight of everything.

However, unlike the previous bustling headquarters, it now seemed a little deserted. There were fewer Marines, and many warships had left.

The reason was simple: preparations for the World Summit, held every four years by the world government, were about to begin.

Logically, there was still more than half a year left, so there was no need to start preparations now.

However, the Marine had to be busy with the routine tasks before every World Summit and the current special circumstances.

These tasks were the World Patrol and Sky Gold.

The World Patrol involved forming powerful fleets composed of Marine and world government officials one year before each World Summit. These fleets traveled to various member countries to notify them of the upcoming summit and to display their strength.

If this weren't enough to make the Marine nervous, the involvement of the Celestial Dragons, the world's nobles, added to the headache.

Sky Gold was the treasure paid as tribute to the Celestial Dragons by the member countries of the world government every year.

Each of these tasks alone would be a headache for the Marine responsible for protection, leaving no room for error.

But now, both tasks had to be handled simultaneously.

What's even more troublesome was that the current chaotic situation at sea was somewhat beyond Marine's control, which really worried Sengoku.

Naturally, he wasn't worried about ordinary pirates who dared to attack Marine warships, but there were always some daring ones.

For example, the swordsman who had been giving him a lot of headaches recently: Mihawk!

Since the abominable Roger launched the Great Pirate Age, there have been more and more uncontrolled pirates on the sea.

The prestige of both the Marine and the World Government had been seriously challenged, especially two years ago when Fisher Tiger, a fishman, climbed the Red Line with his bare hands, invaded the holy land of Mariejois, and rescued the slaves.

Thinking of this, Sengoku couldn't help but look back at his desk.

Hidden in the bottom cabinet was an order issued by the world government not long ago: to form the Seven Warlords of the Sea to curb these pirates.

Sengoku was naturally unwilling to accept this order. He also knew that the Marine's internal attitude towards this order was opposed. But unfortunately, neither he nor the entire Marine had the right to disobey. All they could do was follow orders.

However, in order to minimize the impact of this plan, Sengoku was using various excuses to delay its implementation. But he also knew that the delay would not last long...

At that moment, suddenly, the Den Den Mushi in his pocket rang.

He answered the call, and the voice he heard made him tremble inwardly.

Because the man on the other end of the line was likely the most vehement opponent of this plan among the Marine's top brass.

Fortunately, Sengoku knew it was not such a coincidence, so he asked directly:

"Zephyr, what's the matter?"

An urgent voice came from the other end of the phone.

"No, Sengoku, I just want to tell you that the vampire Gnar has been captured. I am escorting him to Impel Down. I need you to inform them to be prepared to receive the prisoner."

"I see."

Sengoku did not have any obvious emotional changes due to the arrest of the vampire Gnar.

Although the Devil Fruit, the pirate's phantom beast species, and his experience of joining the Marine had indeed attracted attention, compared to the current chaotic situation at sea and the terrifying monsters in the New World, such a kid who had just left the sea did not occupy too much of his thoughts.

Moreover, Zephyr was already deployed, so it was not difficult to deal with a small pirate.

However, there was one thing he cared about.

"Where's Nico Robin?"

"Sorry, not found."

Sengoku didn't think much about it, because if the Marine wanted to catch Nico Robin, they would have caught her already.

"I understand. Thank you for your hard work. I will notify Impel Down to prepare, and then you should come back and have a good rest. Marine Academy cannot do without you."

"Understood."

Just when Sengoku thought something was wrong, suddenly, Zephyr's cough sounded on the phone, and it seemed serious, which made Sengoku ask with concern:

"Are you okay, Zephyr?"

"Hahaha, it's nothing. Time is just unforgiving. After coming back this time, let Kuzan and the others take the lead. I am getting old."

This surprised Sengoku, and he frowned as he thought of something.

"Is that kid very difficult to deal with?"

"Well, if I hadn't used all my strength, I might have let this kid escape. By the way, this kid awakened Conqueror's Haki during the battle with me."

"!!!"

At this moment, Sengoku's expression also changed. Using his full strength and encountering Conqueror's Haki surprised him greatly.

Fortunately, the pirate had been caught.

"Thank you for your hard work this time. I will mention your proposal to the Five Elders. It's time for these young people to step up. Have a good rest after you come back."

"Understood."

As the call ended, Sengoku looked serious.

Too many monsters had been appearing at sea recently. This pirate, that woman named Hancock, and also Mihawk, Jinbei, Doflamingo... each one was really troublesome.

It seemed that the Shichibukai plan was urgent.

Additionally, they needed to find a way to combat the arrogance of these pirates.

Thinking of this, Sengoku directly ordered the Marine's intelligence department to spread the news of the arrest of Vampire Gnar through the news outlets.

Unfortunately, it didn't have much effect.

In this sea that has been overwhelmed by the treasures of the Pirate King, countless pirates appear every day like a flash in the pan, and then quickly disappear.

Two days later, in the first half of the Grand Line, on the sea heading to Enies Lobby, three warships were sailing rapidly.

Zephyr looked at the news of the arrest of the vampire Gnar in his hand, sighed slightly, and handed the newspaper to his disciple, Ain.

Ain took the newspaper with a complex look on his face and slowly moved to the bottom of the entire warship, in front of a huge cage...

This revised version aims to improve clarity, correct grammar, and ensure consistency in character names and titles.

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