Chapter 58: Marine Headquarters Meeting

Chapter 58: Marine Headquarters Meeting

After a long while, the sustained roar from the seas near Elegia subsided. The battle had come to a close.

The Red Hair Pirates, sensing that Louis and his group were far away, finally broke away from Garp, paying the price of the entire crew being seriously injured.

Grand Line - Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

In the middle of the night, every high-ranking officer still at Marine Headquarters, whether they were resting or not, received a notice from the Fleet Admiral's office: report to the high-level conference room at Marine Headquarters for a meeting.

...

Fifteen minutes later, all high-ranking officers stationed at Marine HQ had arrived.

As far as the eye could see, over fifteen figures in "Justice" capes and clean, tidy suits sat upright and silent. In the two seats closest to the head of the table sat a middle-aged woman with white hair and a few wrinkles on her face. She wore simple clothes, her Justice cape draped casually behind her, her gaze incredibly deep. Opposite her was a tall, lanky man of about three meters, dressed in a yellow and white pinstriped suit, nonchalantly trimming his nails.

In the conference room, with the exception of the lanky man, everyone's face was grave and solemn. To be summoned at this hour meant that in some corner of the sea, a major incident that the World Government could not ignore had occurred, or was about to occur.

This was not an unfamiliar experience for them. Many had, in the major incidents that followed these meetings, personally witnessed the deaths of colleagues who had sat in this very room with them. Although they had dedicated themselves to justice and did not fear death, it didn't mean they wished for such major incidents to happen.

Just then, a man in a white Marine uniform, wearing a cap decorated with a seagull, with neatly combed black hair and frog-like glasses, pushed open the door. He walked into the conference room with his adjutant and several colonel-ranked officers from the intelligence department.

The man in the lead was none other than Sengoku, who had recently been promoted from Marine Admiral to Fleet Admiral. His expression was extremely serious, his eyes filled with gloom.

Sengoku's arrival brought the various flag officers in the room back from their thoughts. They exchanged glances with their closer colleagues. Sengoku's expression and gaze made the hearts of the high-ranking officers sink, and the solemnity on their faces only increased.

Then, under Sengoku's signal, the intelligence officers began to distribute a stack of documents to all the senior officers present.

"Everyone, take a look at Bogard's preliminary report," Sengoku said, pulling out the head chair and sitting down, his expression serious. "The rest of the information will have to wait for the intelligence department to gather it from Elegia."

For a moment, the sound of rustling paper filled the conference room. The information recorded in the documents was not long. Within a few short minutes, people began to put the papers down one after another.

The Vice Admirals all frowned, silently lighting their cigars and cigarettes. In just a moment, the entire conference room was filled with smoke and a choking smell. It was clear that the content of the report was so outrageous that it had sent them deep into thought.

Soon, every officer, including the tall, lanky man, had put down the report, and they too lit up cigars. The lanky man even shed his casual posture, sitting upright in a rare display of seriousness. He was holding a photograph, carefully examining the boy in the picture with his snow-white wings spread high, a cold expression, and golden hair flying in the wind.

After a long while, the white-haired, middle-aged female flag officer put down her report and sighed. "Another natural-born monster?"

"And one with extreme malice towards the Marines."

On the table in front of her, the report stated that all the soldiers on Garp's ship had suffered severe burns, and over 20% of them had died after rescue attempts failed.

"Vice Admiral Garp's attacks could only cause the opponent to be momentarily stunned?" a gentle-faced, middle-aged man with a large beard around his chin asked. "Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?"

To this, Sengoku replied with a strange expression, "Those were Garp's own words."

Then, Sengoku looked around at everyone and said concisely, "According to Garp's intel, the boy whom Red-Hair called Louis has white wings on his back, an exceptionally outstanding appearance, and a halo hovering above his head."

"He possesses the ability to manipulate fire of extremely high temperature. From a great distance, he was able to ignite the sails of the warship and the soldiers' uniforms. Most of the soldiers who were not skilled in Armament Haki died after rescue attempts failed."

"In addition, he has a healing ability. In a very short time, he healed all the members of the Red Hair Pirates who had been injured by Garp."

"His speed is extremely fast. Garp believes that within the Marines, only Borsalino can catch him!"

"His strength is immense. Even a Vice Admiral would be defeated in a very short time if they faced him."

"It is presumed that he is the user of the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Seraph."

...

Very young, top-tier defense, high-temperature flames, healing, and among the fastest on the sea. Most importantly, he held extreme malice towards the Marines.

This series of descriptions applied to one person left the high-ranking officers with incredibly complicated expressions. The good news was that this meeting wasn't about sending them to fight the monsters in the depths of the New World. But the bad news was that in some corner of the sea, a monster with extreme malice towards the Marines was on the rise.

For a moment, all the flag officers present were reminded of the years when Charlotte Linlin had rampaged across the seas. Many of them had come from that era and had witnessed step-by-step how that invulnerable monster had grown from a little brat with astonishing destructive power into a monster standing at the pinnacle of the world.

Decades later, another such monster had been unleashed. This made them all realize that they could not let him grow up safely.

A Vice Admiral with roughly drawn facial features slammed the table and shouted, "Fleet Admiral, I propose that the Vice Admirals join forces to search for that monster in the East Blue!"

"Seconded!"

"Agreed!"

"I am willing to go!"

"Me too!"

To this, the white-haired female flag officer crossed her arms and glanced coolly at the volunteering officers. "Are you going to go and increase his bounty? If Garp couldn't break his defense, you think you can?"

"..."

The officers fell silent, saying no more.

Just then, Fleet Admiral Sengoku knocked on the table, drawing everyone's attention. "The situation is not yet unmanageable," he said. "Garp said that the opponent's Haki is not yet that strong. He can be dealt with using a special Paramecia-type Devil Fruit ability."

Garp's combat experience was unquestionable. Although he hadn't inflicted any substantial damage, he had found a way to counter the opponent shortly after the battle began. Before his Haki grew stronger, use a tricky Paramecia Devil Fruit against him.

Fleet Admiral Sengoku's gaze fell on the tall, lanky man beside him. "Borsalino, you'll make a trip to the East Blue. I will discuss this with the World Government. While drafting his bounty, I will also request assistance from the World Government's Paramecia users."

Borsalino: "..."

"I'll go too. I'm also a Paramecia user. Although it's not a special type, it's tricky enough," the middle-aged female flag officer on Sengoku's other side said flatly.

Sengoku thought for a moment and then nodded lightly.

Then, he knocked on the table again and said with a frown, "Next is the matter concerning Roger's apprentice—Red-Haired Shanks. He has already shown the tendency to grow into a top-tier monster..."

"..."

"In addition, we must also quickly search for Roger's other apprentice. If found, report it immediately. That one is hiding even deeper and may be no less dangerous than Red-Haired Shanks. We must dispatch high-end combat power to capture him!"

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