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After Stella calmed down, Buggy took her towards the hotel entrance. They soon arrived at the hotel door.
As Buggy and Stella reached the door, Enel and the others emerged from their hiding places.
"Stella, are you alright? I was so worried about you."
Tesoro, emerging from the darkness, hugged Stella tightly as soon as he saw her, as if afraid she would disappear again.
"I'm fine, Tesoro. I'm good now. Don't worry. Tesoro, thank you."
Stella gently stroked Tesoro's back, comforting him. She hugged him tightly and expressed her gratitude for his efforts.
"It's good that you're alright. I'll protect you from now on. I'll never let you face such danger again."
"Hmm."
Hearing Tesoro say this, Stella's face turned red. Her eyes were filled with joy. The two of them were lost in their own world.
A few hours later, at Marine Headquarters, Marineford, in the Fleet Admiral's office, Sengoku was holding a Den Den Mushi, looking agitated.
"What? A Celestial Dragon was beaten up and almost died? Damn it, these guys are so restless. Why did they go to Sabaody Archipelago? Why didn't they just stay in Mariejois?"
"Fleet Admiral, it's true. I'm at Roswald's residence right now."
"Sakazuki, immediately investigate the situation and report back to me."
"Fleet Admiral, I already have a suspect in mind. He might be the one who did this."
Sengoku's eyes lit up with anger when he heard Sakazuki say this. He immediately asked anxiously, "Who is it?"
"Fleet Admiral, Buggy's pirate crew arrived at Sabaody Archipelago. And they were staying near the Celestial Dragons before. It's highly likely they did this."
Hearing Sakazuki say this, Sengoku was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect Buggy's crew to appear and do such a thing. Before, the Marines had been closely monitoring Buggy's crew's movements. But for some reason, their itinerary was sporadic. Sometimes, even the Marines' information network couldn't find them. This made it impossible for them to attack Buggy's crew. And because Sakazuki was blocking Sabaody Archipelago, the Marines didn't go to great lengths to find Buggy's crew.
After thinking for a while, Sengoku said, "Did Borsalino go back? You two hold him off first. I'll send an Admiral. This time, we're going to completely wipe out Buggy and his crew."
Although Sengoku highly regarded Sakazuki and the other's strength, he felt that the two of them working together to deal with Buggy was more than enough. But this incident involved the Celestial Dragons, so he had to send a Marine Admiral to handle it.
Sakazuki frowned when he heard Sengoku say this. Then, he looked at Roswald, who was lying on the bed. He also understood the reason. He said thoughtfully, "Understood. I was planning to deal with Buggy and his crew after Borsalino came back. But I didn't expect this Celestial Dragon incident to happen. So, my actions were delayed."
Sengoku also heard the unwillingness in Sakazuki's tone. He knew that Sakazuki wanted to take care of Buggy and his crew personally. But there was no way around it. A Celestial Dragon had been hurt, so a Marine Admiral had to go. It was a matter of attitude.
"Don't rush into action. First, investigate Buggy's situation and his crew's situation. Then, deploy your forces to prevent them from escaping by sea. Wait for the Marine Admiral to arrive, then start your operation. This time, we're going to make sure they can't escape."
"Understood, Fleet Admiral."
With a hint of unwillingness, Sakazuki hung up the Den Den Mushi. He didn't pay any more attention to the Celestial Dragon lying on the bed. He left to start preparing for the upcoming battle.
After putting down the Den Den Mushi, Sengoku called the Marines outside the office and asked, "Is Vice Admiral Zephyr still at Marine Headquarters?"
"Fleet Admiral, Vice Admiral Zephyr left Marine Headquarters at dusk."
"He left so soon? I thought he was going to leave tomorrow. Go and call Garp for me."
Zephyr's departure was Sengoku's idea. He had asked Zephyr to go to the latter half of the Grand Line, the New World. But he didn't expect him to leave in the middle of the night. Sengoku also knew why he was in such a hurry to leave. The New World was now in turmoil. The older generation was gradually retiring, and the new generation was busy seizing territory. Sengoku, who was guarding the place now, was already stretched thin. It was because of the urgency of the situation that Zephyr was in such a hurry to leave.
Hearing Sengoku's instructions, the Marine soldier immediately saluted and ran out of the office towards where Garp was.
"Kong-san, what's up? You called me in the middle of the night."
Before Garp even reached the office, his loud voice had already reached Sengoku's ears.
"A Celestial Dragon has been hurt. We need someone at the Admiral level to go. And now that Zephyr and Sengoku aren't here, it's up to you to go."
Sengoku told Garp the whole story of the Celestial Dragon and also mentioned Buggy.
"Hahaha, so a Celestial Dragon got hurt. What does it have to do with us? Let the World Government handle it. I'm not a Marine Admiral. I don't want to go."
Hearing that a Celestial Dragon had been hurt, Garp laughed sarcastically. He also expressed his thoughts. He didn't want to get involved in any Celestial Dragon business.
Hearing Garp say this, a look of helplessness flashed across Sengoku's face. He knew Garp's attitude towards the Celestial Dragons. He expected this reaction.
"Please, brother. There's no one else. Do me a favor and go. Although you're not an Admiral, your status is enough. You don't need to deal with the Celestial Dragons. Leave the Celestial Dragon business to Sakazuki and the others. You just need to show your face and keep things under control."
Hearing Sengoku's slightly pleading tone, a look of struggle appeared on Garp's face. Honestly, he really didn't want to deal with Celestial Dragon business. He hated those arrogant fools. He didn't want to get involved in their affairs at all.
But since Sengoku had said this, he couldn't refuse. In terms of status, Sengoku was his superior. He had the right to order him to go. In terms of personal feelings, Sengoku had always taken good care of him. They were even like teacher and student. It was impossible for him to refuse when the other party asked him to show up.
"Alright, this time I'll do it for Kong-san's sake. Next time a Celestial Dragon gets hurt, I won't go."
Hearing Garp say this, Sengoku breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that even if Garp was reluctant, he would definitely agree to go. But this was after all going against Garp's wishes.
Actually, he didn't want Garp to go either, but he really had no other choice. He didn't have anyone else to spare.
"Alright, alright, alright. Next time a Celestial Dragon gets hurt, I definitely won't make you go."
Although Garp agreed, he still looked reluctant. He walked out of the Fleet Admiral's office and immediately gathered his subordinates, preparing to head to Sabaody Archipelago.
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