East Blue, Loguetown, Marine Headquarters
As the day of Pirate King Roger's public execution drew closer, more and more pirates flooded into Loguetown. Among them were even some infamous pirates from the Grand Line. Both the Marines and the World Government were on edge.
At that moment, the Marines were holding their final strategy meeting. The atmosphere in the conference room was tense and unusual.
Due to the gravity of the situation, today's meeting wasn't just attended by the Marines—members of the World Government were also present.
The two sides sat divided, facing each other across the room.
Sengoku, currently the highest-ranking Marine in Loguetown, was leading the meeting. After briefly outlining the Navy's preparations, he moved on to his conclusion.
"Loguetown and the area around Reverse Mountain have been tightly surrounded by Marine forces. This time, we won't let a single pirate escape."
But not everyone seemed concerned with that.
"This has nothing to do with us, Admiral Sengoku. The Five Elders didn't send us here to help you Marines—they sent us to deal with the matter of Saint Donquixote Mjosgard's death."
The speaker was a burly man with black hair, dressed in a suit, wearing a twisted sneer on his face. His name was Spandine, the current leader of CP9 and a member of CP0.
Sengoku didn't respond. Instead, the one who answered was Vice Admiral Tsuru, seated among the Marines beneath Garp. Originally, she hadn't needed to come to Loguetown, but following the incident with the slain Celestial Dragon, Fleet Admiral Kong had personally reassigned her here.
"We already gave you a full report on the death of Saint Donquixote Mjosgard, didn't we?"
"You gave us a report, yes, but we need the personnel. Only by interrogating them directly can we gather more intel."
As Spandine spoke, his gaze drifted subtly toward Vice Admiral Kizaru, seated lower down in the ranks.
But Kizaru seemed completely unfazed, leisurely sipping his tea and occasionally smacking his lips in satisfaction.
The only one who matched Kizaru's indifference was Garp, who sat in a higher seat, casually picking his nose with his pinky and flicking whatever he found across the room.
Aokiji, for his part, looked just as laid-back.
Watching the scene unfold, Tsuru sighed to herself. This, precisely, was why Kong had sent her here—these guys were far too unreliable.
So she stepped in to defend her fellow Marines.
"There's no need for that. The report clearly states that the pirate named Yemu possesses Conqueror's Haki. The regular Marines were knocked out instantly—they saw nothing. As for Gasparde, he's still lying in a hospital bed and has already told us everything he knows. I've questioned him myself—there's nothing more to dig up.
"As for Kizaru, you can't blame him for failing to capture those two pirates. They're users of the Mera Mera no Mi and Goro Goro no Mi. I don't need to explain how troublesome that combination is—you know it as well as I do. Plus, based on Kizaru's account, they also wield Observation Haki on par with his. And while they didn't show signs of Armament Haki, anyone capable of unleashing Conqueror's Haki almost certainly has mastery over Armament as well."
"With enemies like that, even a full Admiral would struggle to stop them."
Her words carried weight and authority, leaving Spandine speechless.
But of course, with the World Government backing him, he wasn't about to back down so easily...
"Even so, Gasparde is guilty of failing to protect the Celestial Dragon... We have to bring him back..."
"Hmph."
Tsuru let out a cold snort.
"By your logic, there were four of you from CP9 present, and none of you managed to protect the Celestial Dragons. As the commander of CP9, shouldn't you be the first to atone with your life?"
Spandine slammed the table and stood up, shouting angrily.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, that's absurd!"
At that moment, Sengoku finally stepped in to mediate.
"All right, enough arguing. Right now, Roger's execution takes priority. That's the consensus of the World Government. Everything else will have to wait... That's an order from the Five Elders."
With Sengoku's words, the matter was tentatively settled. Under the table, Garp gave Tsuru a thumbs-up, only to earn a roll of her eyes.
Still, Spandine was clearly frustrated.
"We're just going to let those two ruthless criminals go?"
Tsuru, while defending the Marines, also understood the importance of balance. That didn't mean she was going to let those pirates walk free.
"According to intel, the Sky Pirates currently consist of just three members, including Fisher Tiger. But we all know how powerful they are. To capture those two, we'd likely need Admiral-level force. Now that the fishman Tiger has joined them, with strength estimated at Rear Admiral level, we absolutely cannot treat the Sky Pirates like common rookies... However, the Marines simply don't have the manpower to deal with them right now. If you're willing, you can take care of it yourselves..."
...
Tsuru's words left Spandine visibly uncomfortable. It wasn't that the World Government lacked top-tier forces—CP0 had powerful agents—but those individuals were invaluable and stationed in Mary Geoise to protect the Celestial Dragons. Dispatching them for two pirates was out of the question.
Four members of CP9 were already dead. Sending the rest would likely be a suicide mission. On top of that, they each had their own assignments, and there was no way to pull more agents at once.
Seeing Spandine's silence, Tsuru offered a compromise.
"In that case, I suggest we issue wanted posters. As the saying goes, heavy rewards bring out brave men. It would also help us track their movements."
But Spandine refused.
"No. The news of the Celestial Dragons' deaths must not spread."
Garp chuckled at that.
"Didn't all the pirates in Loguetown already hear about it?"
Even so, Sengoku knew the World Government had the means to suppress the news. Given the fragmented geography of the world, only the World Government and the World Economic News Agency could distribute information on a global scale.
"The Celestial Dragons' deaths will be covered up. We'll issue the bounties under the pretense that they attacked a Marine warship."
Spandine gave it some thought. That was the only viable option.
"How high should the bounties be?" asked Vice Admiral Tsuru.
Sengoku considered the intel received from Kizaru and Gasparde regarding the Sky Pirates. After a moment of thought, he spoke.
"Since those two pirates want to make a name for themselves... let's help them achieve that dream."
"Yemu, captain of the Sky Pirates, extremely dangerous individual, Mera Mera no Mi user—bounty: 540 million Berries. Dead or alive."
"Enel, first mate of the Sky Pirates, extremely dangerous individual, Goro Goro no Mi user—bounty: 500 million Berries. Dead or alive."
"Fisher Tiger, member of the Sky Pirates, extremely dangerous individual, fishman—bounty: 380 million Berries. Dead or alive."