Not long after, a substantial amount of intelligence regarding the Roger Pirates was delivered. Admiral Sengoku immediately distributed the information. Even Finn received a copy.
Simultaneously, Vice Admiral Garp and Chief of Staff Tsuru also received the documents through their ships' communication systems.
Soon, everyone began reading.
Since this was the most recent intelligence on the Roger Pirates and not particularly dated, the assembled officers managed to sort through it quickly. Some clues indeed emerged.
"It seems the Roger Pirates are searching for something all over the world?" Borsalino frowned slightly.
Sakazuki nodded curtly. "It appears so. Therefore, it seems they're entering the New World for a specific purpose."
Finn desperately wanted to tell them the Roger Pirates were searching for Poneglyphs, the ancient historical texts.
But he couldn't speak. After all, he had no way to explain this knowledge. Once he spoke, Admiral Sengoku would ask how he knew. How could he possibly explain?
There was no explanation he could give.
But just as Finn was contemplating how to reveal this information subtly, Vice Admiral Garp suddenly spoke.
"Poneglyphs!" Vice Admiral Garp said gravely.
The others all turned toward Garp with surprise, their expressions filled with confusion and puzzlement.
"Poneglyphs? What are those guys looking for those for?" Admiral Sengoku asked, genuinely surprised.
Though the World Government had expressly prohibited studying and reading Poneglyphs, for now, neither the Marines nor the World Government took them particularly seriously.
Because for more than eight hundred years, though Poneglyphs had been scattered throughout the world, few people could read and understand the information carved upon them.
Therefore, even if someone obtained one, it was essentially useless.
Admiral Sengoku was genuinely confused here. Why would the Roger Pirates, instead of robbing and plundering, be searching for Poneglyphs?
Had they tired of being pirates and decided to play at being scholars?
Wasn't that absurd?
"I don't know what they want to do with Poneglyphs, but this is indeed true. I've discovered this pattern several times while pursuing them. Perhaps there are treasures or secrets hidden within the Poneglyphs?" Garp thought for a moment before responding.
He hadn't taken this matter particularly seriously before, so he hadn't reported the issue extensively.
After all, no one had observed the Roger Pirates doing anything alarming because of it.
Garp had simply thought it was coincidental.
But now, combining Finn's previous speculation with analysis of this substantial intelligence, Garp felt the Roger Pirates might have genuinely discovered something within the Poneglyphs.
This return to the New World might also be for a Poneglyph!
Seeing this, Admiral Sengoku stroked his beard again and finally said, "There's no time to determine why they're searching for Poneglyphs. Based on our current deductions, we haven't found anything else yet. Let's continue with this thread. For now, let's assume they entered the New World to find Poneglyphs..."
At this point, Admiral Sengoku picked up the Den Den Mushi on the table. "Search around the Edd Sea, the Chalanna Sea, and the Rees Wilson Sea for any information regarding Poneglyph locations."
"Yes, Admiral Sengoku!" the Marine on the other end responded quickly.
Then silence fell. Admiral Sengoku set the Den Den Mushi aside and looked at the information and nautical charts on the table, frowning periodically as if still considering new angles.
At that moment, Chief of Staff Tsuru seemed to recall something. "If I remember correctly, Poneglyphs... contain records about Ancient Weapons, correct?"
Ancient Weapons?
Everyone froze momentarily. Then Admiral Sengoku seemed to remember something. His expression suddenly darkened. "I seem to recall that as well!"
Currently, not many people paid attention to Poneglyphs.
After all, the scholars at O'Hara hadn't caused any trouble yet.
Before this, no one had considered this angle for quite some time, so even senior officers like Admiral Sengoku genuinely lacked focus and understanding regarding this matter.
However, as high-ranking Marine officials, they still possessed some knowledge. They simply hadn't recalled it immediately.
Now, as soon as Chief of Staff Tsuru spoke, Admiral Sengoku seemed to grasp something significant.
"What are Ancient Weapons?" Gion leaned close to Chief of Staff Tsuru and whispered.
Obviously everyone had heard. Admiral Sengoku took a deep breath and explained directly, "According to rumors, in ancient times, there existed three weapons capable of destroying the world.
They were Pluton, God of the Underworld; Poseidon, God of the Sea; and Uranus, King of Sky. However, these powerful Ancient Weapons have been lost to history and haven't appeared for hundreds of years.
In fact, I'm not certain whether these Ancient Weapons actually exist, whether they're legend or fact. I'll investigate when we return to Headquarters. However, the World Government has circulated information that Ancient Weapons are recorded within Poneglyphs.
Therefore, Poneglyphs have always been taboo, with research and reading prohibited... Of course, as history has progressed, there are no longer people who can read the ancient script, so this prohibition has essentially become obsolete."
Listening to Admiral Sengoku's explanation, Kuzan, Borsalino, Sakazuki, Gion and others were hearing this story for the first time.
After pondering momentarily, Sakazuki frowned deeply. "So we have reason to suspect the Roger Pirates may have deciphered the ancient texts? They're hoping to locate Ancient Weapons within Poneglyphs to destroy the world?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Vice Admiral Garp said gravely, "Impossible! Although Roger is a bastard, he's not so cruel or insane!"
"But he's a pirate regardless. The evil within him cannot be underestimated. We cannot ignore this possibility!" Sakazuki said bluntly.
Sakazuki possessed an extremely strong character. He was tremendously brave but couldn't tolerate any ambiguity. Unlike Borsalino who hadn't determined his position and the lazy Kuzan, Sakazuki was now a firm believer in "Absolute Justice."
Hearing Sakazuki's response, Garp looked somewhat displeased. But ultimately he didn't argue with his fellow Marine for the sake of Roger, a pirate.
Though he didn't think Roger wanted to destroy the world, he still sat firmly and squarely in the Marine camp. That point had never wavered.
"Regardless of Roger's intentions or actions, in this kind of situation, we'd rather kill the guilty by mistake than let the guilty go free. It seems we need to increase the threat assessment of the Roger Pirates. Hopefully we can capture them all in one stroke this time," Admiral Sengoku said gravely.
This essentially characterized the matter conclusively.
From this exchange, Finn understood the Marines' attitude and position regarding Ancient Weapons.
Admiral Sengoku had said the ruthless words "kill by mistake rather than let go," which already proved much.
But Finn wasn't surprised at all, even though Admiral Sengoku seemed quite kind ordinarily.
That was toward his own people. When genuinely ruthless, he was terrifying.
Just as everyone studied and discussed these matters, the Den Den Mushi Admiral Sengoku had placed on the table suddenly rang.
Admiral Sengoku didn't waste time. He quickly picked it up. "Report the situation!"
"Yes, Admiral. According to our investigation, intelligence records indicate there's a Poneglyph on an Island not far from the Edd Sea," the Den Den Mushi responded promptly.
A flash of irritation appeared in Admiral Sengoku's eyes. He wanted to ask why he hadn't known such important information before.
Why hadn't the Poneglyph been recovered?
But he quickly suppressed his anger because he knew it wasn't his subordinates' fault. If Finn hadn't been here today, they wouldn't have considered these angles, much less paid attention to Poneglyphs that had been dormant so long.
In fact, only after the O'Hara incident, the World Government would begin paying attention to Poneglyphs again and slowly start recovering them.
And now, thanks to Finn, the Marines had noticed in advance these long-dormant "dangerous goods." Who knew if this might have far-reaching impacts?
However, Finn felt it probably wouldn't. After all, Roger didn't genuinely want to destroy the world. Once he died in a few years, this matter would conclude. The Marines were responsible for maintaining ocean stability and didn't have energy to obsess over Poneglyphs. Over time, they'd probably stop caring again.
"I understand!" Admiral Sengoku hung up the Den Den Mushi, then looked at everyone. "Perhaps the Edd Sea is where we need to be."
"Though these speculations are all based on 'guesswork' so far, it's indeed the only possibility we can see clearly at present. Rather than gambling on blanks in the other two sea areas, we should bet on Edd Sea!" Chief of Staff Tsuru said decisively.
She was absolutely correct. These current speculations were all "imagined from thin air." No one knew what the truth was.
But this was better than before. At least it was a direction.
In this case, choosing the more likely Edd Sea as priority was definitely superior. There was no reason to try their luck in the other two areas.
The others agreed. The senior Marine officers quickly reached consensus. After a brief discussion, Admiral Sengoku ordered the warships to proceed toward the Edd Sea at full speed.
At this point, this brief pre-battle Marine meeting concluded. Finn had officially appeared on the grand stage of the Marines' top brass.
For now, he felt quite good about it.
After shutting down the video Den Den Mushi, Admiral Sengoku smiled, patted Finn on the shoulder. "Well done, Finn. Thanks to you this time, otherwise we'd have no direction. If we truly end up finding them in the Edd Sea later... then you'll receive first credit!"
Finn smiled without arrogance. "With the wisdom of Admiral Sengoku and Chief of Staff Tsuru, I believe you would have reached these conclusions even without me."
He wasn't merely flattering. He genuinely believed it. After all, he still couldn't rule out the possibility that the storm was why the battle ended too quickly for the Marines to arrive.
"There's no need for excessive modesty here. The Marines need people with genuine capabilities. I hope you can perform even better in the future..." Admiral Sengoku encouraged Finn once more before walking out of the command room.
Borsalino and Sakazuki also filed out. Sakazuki didn't glance at Finn, but there was perhaps slightly less coldness in his bearing than before.
Borsalino, however, paused at the doorway and gave Finn that sleazy smile. "Not bad, Lieutenant Commander. Keep it up."
Once alone in the command room, Finn allowed himself a moment of satisfaction.
He'd done it. He'd guided them toward Edd War without revealing his foreknowledge. He'd demonstrated strategic value at the highest levels of Marine command.
Admiral Sengoku had promised him first credit if they succeeded.
But Finn knew the truth. The battle would end in a storm. Shiki would be devastated. Roger would escape.
The Marines would arrive to find only wreckage and perhaps a wounded Golden Lion.
Still, even that would be a victory. And he'd be credited with the strategic insight that got them there.
Not bad for his first major mission.
He walked to the window, looking out at the New World's dark waters.