The vice admiral who spoke to Kong in such a manner was named Spike.
As the commanding officer of Navy G-2 Branch located in the New World, Spike had been stationed there for years, with countless pirate lives stained on his hands.
Had it not been for the emergency summons, he would still be holding his post in the New World.
Within the current hierarchy of Navy leadership, aside from the Fleet Admiral, the three Admirals, and the trio of Sengoku, Garp, and Zephyr, Spike held the most influential voice.
The Hawks faction led by Spike, though not yet a majority at headquarters, wielded an iron-fisted approach no less formidable than it would be decades later.
Beside Spike, five or six other vice admirals nodded in agreement, showing their support.
This reflected the Hawks' current minority presence at headquarters—indeed, not large.
However, it was noteworthy that these officers were all in their prime, possessing formidable strength.
Young soldiers all craved military honors!
The desire for advancement was plainly written on the faces of every Hawk, from top to bottom.
The Navy's decision to actively seek the Celestial Dragon's ransom faced its strongest opposition at headquarters from the Hawks.
To them, bowing to pirates was the greatest disgrace a Navy member could suffer.
In their view, the Navy's recent crushing defeat in the New World had indeed resulted in heavy losses.
But precisely because of these severe losses, they believed the Navy should launch a major military campaign in the New World to fiercely intimidate the pirates there.
Only by using violence to quell violence would these mad pirates learn fear and become subdued again.
As for the Celestial Dragon's life?
What did it matter to them? If they died, even better—their deaths would push the Navy and even the World Government to take action in the New World.
Though unspoken, this was the underlying message, and Kong understood it perfectly.
It could only be said that the predecessors of the Navy Hawks were in no way inferior to figures like Akainu decades later.
In some respects, they were even tougher than Akainu's generation!
For these very reasons, Kong found the Hawks particularly troublesome.
The Navy was deeply divided over the Celestial Dragon issue, with factional strife intensifying rapidly because of it.
It was beginning to race toward the stark factional conflicts that would define the Navy decades later.
This was another anomaly caused by Brian's arrival in this world.
After all, according to the original timeline, factional struggles shouldn't have escalated this quickly.
The current three giants of the Navy's new generation—Garp, Sengoku, and Zephyr—were all doves.
How could the Hawks possibly have so much room to thrive?
However, the Navy's decision to bow to pirates over the Celestial Dragon had indeed influenced a large number of new recruits.
These recruits shifted their mindset and actively joined the Hawks, further accelerating the faction's growth.
"Hah~"
"Spike, our primary concern right now must be the safety of Saint Naya. Other considerations are off the table."
"I understand your perspective, and that leads us to the second topic of today's meeting. Please take your seat."
"Yes, Fleet Admiral."
"Let's continue the meeting and move on to the second agenda item."
Seeing Spike reluctantly take his seat, Kong resumed control of the meeting and moved on to the second agenda item.
"As everyone knows, pirates have been rising up frequently in the first half of the Grand Line and the four seas, with unrest breaking out everywhere."
"Headquarters has received numerous requests for help and complaints from member nations of the World Government."
"Under orders from the World Government, Headquarters has decided to focus on anti-piracy operations in the first half of the Grand Line and the four seas."
As he spoke, Kong looked toward three people in the third row - the future of the Navy.
"Sengoku, Garp, Zephyr, this operation will be led by the three of you."
"Headquarters has only one objective: eliminate all pirates completely. No captures - execute them on the spot."
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"
Garp and the other two quickly stood up, saluted, and accepted the mission.
"Everyone, this anti-piracy operation must be swift and decisive. We absolutely cannot afford to fail in the first half of the Grand Line and the four seas."
"Let the pirates of the world know that even when the Navy occasionally has problems, we won't tolerate their encroachment."
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"
All Navy officers stood up and saluted.
"Alright, everyone may leave now. Sengoku, Garp, Zephyr, and Tsuru, please stay."
Tap tap tap~
Soon, all the Vice Admirals, including the three old-timer Admirals, filed out of the room.
Only a few people remained in the conference room.
Of course, CP0 was still there, having remained silent since earlier, merely recording everything quietly.
"What about the Five Elders? Has it been confirmed?"
Kong looked toward the lead CP0 agent and inquired.
The matter of how much and in what manner the Five Elders would contribute to the redeemed supplies was still an issue.
"Saint Saturn has given his response. The supplies can be provided as previously agreed - your Navy will be responsible for one-third of them."
"The remaining two-thirds will be supplemented by the World Government."
The flat tone felt like salvation to Kong.
"Good~~"
This was finally some good news. It was unexpected that the World Government, that wealthy organization, was willing to contribute so much.
But regardless, although the Navy was taking a big financial hit this time, it wouldn't completely drain their reserves, and he was quite satisfied with that.
"Additionally, Saint Saturn has stated that for the next year, your Navy's military funding will be doubled."
"The requirement is for the entire Navy to prepare for war, with the goal of dealing with the Rocks Pirates one year from now."
"At that time, our CP organization will also provide assistance."
Falling from heaven into hell - that described Kong's current mood.
Right after good news came bad news - what a curse.
He was getting old, and his heart really couldn't take this.
But since the Five Elders had spoken, he had no grounds for refusal and could only nod.
"Yes, I understand. Please inform the Five Elders that the Navy will make preparations in advance."
"Hmm!"
The operation against the Rocks Pirates one year later was something Kong had somewhat mentally prepared for.
Since Rocks dared to attack the Celestial Dragons, the Five Elders would never tolerate him.
In the past, Rocks was too powerful and located far away in the New World with its many secrets, which was why the Five Elders had left him alone.
As long as he didn't touch upon the Void Century, the Five Elders' tolerance was relatively high.
This time, the Rocks Pirates had brought about their own destruction, and no one could stop their demise.
Of course, these were the exact words of the Five Elders.
What they didn't know was that Rocks was also preparing to strike first against them one year later, putting God Valley in grave danger.
It all came down to who would be faster!
"I've kept everyone here because there's one final matter to address."
"We need to determine the bounty for Brian, the new executive of the Rocks Pirates."
"Additionally, Shiki, who was responsible for the recent Celestial Dragon kidnapping incident, also requires a bounty adjustment."
"And all their subordinates as well."
"Tsuru, please share your opinion."
Now was finally the time for the strategist to step forward.
Tsuru nodded, pulling out a stack of documents from the side, and said.
"Understood, Fleet Admiral. This is the intelligence I've compiled."
"In my opinion, Beast Brian's bounty needs to be unprecedented in scale..."