Let's discuss the Marines.
After Admiral Kizaru (Polusalino) retreated, he quickly rushed to the temporary office of Fleet Admiral Sengoku to report the situation.
Sengoku found the report extremely stressful. A Celestial Dragon was killed, another was knocked unconscious, Captain Tashigi was suspected of aiding the pirates, and the legendary Silvers Rayleigh had appeared. What a disaster!
Sengoku couldn't help but yell, "Polusalino, were you dawdling again? If you had arrived sooner, none of this would have happened!"
Kizaru immediately protested, "I am wrongly accused, Fleet Admiral Sengoku! If you don't believe me, you can ask the sailors who were with me. My ship was advancing at full speed with no delay at all." He continued, "And if you want to blame someone, shouldn't you blame the Celestial Dragons for ignoring our advice and insisting on staying at the Sabaody Archipelago? The Straw Hats are a vicious Five Emperors crew ; anyone who meets them should naturally avoid them!"
Hearing this, Sengoku glared fiercely at Kizaru. Of course, he knew that the Celestial Dragons had brought this on themselves. However, you truly couldn't blame a Celestial Dragon for anything because they were considered incapable of being wrong. The fault could only lie with the pirates, or, failing that, with the Marines themselves.
Now that one of the Celestial Dragons was dead, the problem was catastrophic!
Furious, Sengoku immediately called Vice-Admiral Garp. As soon as Garp answered, Sengoku began to curse.
"Garp! Your grandson has done a wonderful thing! He actually killed a Celestial Dragon at the Sabaody Archipelago. It is truly shocking. Prepare to collect your grandson's dead body!"
"He killed one of those scumbags? That's not a good thing… cough, cough! Pretend you didn't hear that; I didn't say it!"
"Garp! You old idiot!"
Garp retorted, "Sengoku, stop shouting. Blame the Celestial Dragons for crossing paths with Luffy! Luffy is one of the Five Emperors now, and you know what kind of garbage the Celestial Dragons are. They went looking for trouble themselves, so how can you blame Luffy?"
Sengoku spat back, "…Anyway, just wait and watch how your grandson dies!"
Sengoku angrily hung up the Transponder Snail. He never should have called Garp; that stubborn man cared about nothing as long as he knew his grandson was fine. This only made Sengoku angrier.
There was no alternative. Sengoku took a deep breath to control himself and then called Commander-in-Chief Kong.
As expected, he was severely reprimanded by Kong, who ordered the Marines to immediately encircle and suppress the Straw Hat Pirates.
Sengoku almost wanted to weep. Didn't Kong realize the current state of affairs? The Marines were in the middle of moving their headquarters to the New World, and everyone was concerned about the upcoming duel between Akainu and Aokiji. Who was going to worry about besieging the Straw Hats right now?
And besides, saying "encircle and suppress" was easy, but the opponent was a Five Emperors crew. If they didn't send at least three Admirals, who would dare attempt the operation? Wouldn't that be suicide?
Sengoku talked so much that he nearly begged. Kong finally understood the gravity of the situation and decided to send the Army Admiral, Fujitora (Issho, referred to as 'Heiteng' in the original), to help. As for the Marine forces, only Kizaru was currently available. He felt that sending Kizaru, along with Vice-Admiral Gion and Vice-Admiral Tokikake (referred to as 'Kaji' in the original), who were both Admiral candidates, should be sufficient.
However, Sengoku was not optimistic about this specific encirclement operation.
Just as the Marines began making their preparations, the Straw Hats received news via the contact line with CP9.
"The Marines and the Army are planning to surround us? Kong is truly audacious. He's spending so many resources for one dead pig; isn't he afraid of getting no return?"
Carl listened to the news provided by Trafalgar Law and was very surprised by Kong's decision.
However, the enemy was approaching aggressively, and the coating process on the Thousand Sunny was more than halfway finished. Luffy and the others had not yet returned. The situation was starting to look slightly bad. The Marines and the Army had indeed chosen a perfect time, as the Straw Hats simply couldn't run away right now.
"Carl, what should we do?" Law began to grow anxious. He pointed out that with Kizaru from the Marines and Fujitora from the Army cooperating, the Straw Hats would definitely suffer without their captain and second-in-command. Furthermore, with the two Admiral candidates and multiple Marine Vice-Admirals that the Marines would inevitably send as a precaution, the Straw Hats might not be able to escape.
Law worried, Could the Straw Hats become the first of the Sea Emperors to be wiped out before even truly entering the New World?
"What's the rush? This is just a minor issue," Carl said calmly.
He didn't seem concerned. He took out his Transponder Snail and immediately dialed Sabo.
"Moshi Moshi, Carl, what's going on?" Sabo connected right away.
"Oh, here's the situation…"
Carl explained the Marine's plan and then continued, "Sabo, this is a great opportunity. The Marine Admiral and the Army Admiral are not at Mariejois, and the place is basically empty. Think about all the wealth there; think about all the slaves held there. It would be a perfect source of funds and recruits for your Revolutionary Army." He added, "With money and troops, you might even find some Devil Fruits."
Sabo replied, "Carl, you bastard, don't make the temptation so obvious!"
"You saw the temptation yourself, didn't you? And Sabo, Bartholomew Kuma must be at Mariejois, too!"
Sabo fell silent. Indeed, as Carl had pointed out, now was an excellent moment. The vast wealth of the Celestial Dragons included resources like Devil Fruits. If the Revolutionary Army seized this chance to rob them, they would be financially secure. The slaves held by the Celestial Dragons, whose hatred had reached its peak, would be the best source of soldiers.
Most importantly, Sabo desperately wanted to rescue Kuma. Thinking of Kuma's state during the Summit War, Sabo felt distressed and had constantly wanted to save his comrade. Now, the opportunity was right in front of him!
"I promise you, whether it's for Luffy or for Kuma, we have to make a move on Mariejois!"
After hanging up the phone, Carl smiled at Law.
Law naturally understood Carl's meaning: as long as Mariejois was attacked, Kizaru and Fujitora would certainly be recalled. Never mind besieging the Straw Hats, they might instead be dragged away by Carl's scheme. By then, Mariejois would suffer massive losses, and Kizaru and Fujitora would also be held accountable.
Brilliant!
However, Law remained cautious. He worried that the Revolutionary Army might not move fast enough. If Kizaru and Fujitora quickly took down Carl, it would be too late for the Revolutionary Army to attack Mariejois.
Carl saw through Law's thoughts and said with a smile, "Don't worry, I'm not so easy to defeat. And if things get really bad, I can just bring Mr. Rayleigh into it!"
Rayleigh, who was drinking mid-cabin, suddenly sneezed, completely unaware that he was being included in the plan.
Law finally relaxed. The Straw Hats were his essential reliance for defeating Donquixote Doflamingo. Nothing could happen to them before Doflamingo was taken down!
Of course, Carl also called Luffy just to be completely sure. Upon hearing that Byrnndi World had been defeated, Carl immediately felt relieved. If any problem arose, Usopp could bring Luffy back at full speed, and all problems would naturally be solved.
As for Luffy and the others, they were bustling with the banquet preparations. It was probably the first time the people of Amazon Lily had held a feast with men, and they were awkward at first. They soon broke into laughter, however, at the sight of Luffy's and the crew's strange dancing.
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