Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Navy’s Response
Grand Line, Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
In the sunny office of the Fleet Admiral, a sturdy old man with a broad chest and tanned skin sat behind a desk, diligently handling documents. His white hair and beard, forming a shape resembling the character "山" (mountain), indicated that this person was not young.
The old man is the current Fleet Admiral of the Marines: Kong.
The Marines are a force directly under the World Government, operating under the guise of justice to maintain law and order in the oceans worldwide.
Because of this, a large amount of intelligence information from around the world is constantly compiled and sent to Marine Headquarters, awaiting the response and action of the high-ranking Marines.
In recent times, the number of affairs that Marine Headquarters needs to handle has suddenly shown an explosive increase.
There's no way around it. Since Gol D. Roger reached the pinnacle as the Pirate King, people from all over the world seemed to be stimulated as if by a strong force, rushing to the seas with the dream of becoming the next ruler of the ocean.
The number of pirates is increasing every second, and correspondingly, the pressure on the Marines worldwide has soared.
Shing—!!
The sharp tip of the pen suddenly slashed across the neatly arranged white official document, leaving a huge mark. The force behind the stroke was evident, reflecting the frustration of the person holding the pen.
"Damn Roger! Damn pirates!"
Behind the office desk, Fleet Admiral Kong crumpled the discarded official document into a ball and forcefully threw it into the almost overflowing trash can.
In the past half month, he had practically been living in the office, dealing with administrative documents day and night, hardly getting a moment of rest.
Admirals were already the world government's top combat force and the strongest force within the Marine Headquarters. The position of Fleet Admiral was even more carefully selected from among the Admirals!
It could be said that almost every Marine Fleet Admiral was an unparalleled powerhouse in terms of strength, character, and abilities, standing at the pinnacle of the sea in almost every aspect.
However, despite being such a powerhouse, Fleet Admiral Kong found himself trapped in the tiny office due to the overwhelming paperwork. How could one not feel stifled?
The idea of retirement had crossed Fleet Admiral Kong's mind more than once.
However, the replacement of the Fleet Admiral is not so simple; it's not something that can be done just by wanting to change.
The most crucial point is that even if there are outstanding candidates for Fleet Admiral pre-selection, the Admirals, and there must be a newcomer who can step forward and take on the responsibilities of the vacated Admiral position!
For eight hundred years, the turnover of Fleet Admiral and Admiral in the Navy has always occurred at the same time without exception!
But every time he thinks about this, Admiral Kong's head hurts even more.
Outstanding, even perfect, candidates for Fleet Admiral are not lacking. In Admiral Kong's view, Sengoku, the Buddha, will undoubtedly be the next outstanding leader who can lead the Navy!
But for Admiral positions... it's not enough!
Especially someone who clearly possesses Admiral-level strength but stubbornly insists on sticking to the Vice Admiral position, refusing to budge – that stubborn idiot!!
"Damn Garp!!!"
Just thinking about that lazy good-for-nothing, Fleet Admiral Kong couldn't help but mutter a curse under his breath.
Speaking of it, scolding Garp seems like it's a traditional habit of the Fleet Admiral?
Just then, a knock on the door sounded, and the expression of Fleet Admiral Kong quickly returned to calm.
"Come in."
After receiving permission, a communication soldier walked in from outside the office.
The young soldier first looked at Fleet Admiral Kong with enthusiasm, then respectfully saluted.
Fleet Admiral Kong put down his pen and asked casually, "Is there something?"
"Yes!" The communication soldier answered loudly, "Reporting to Fleet Admiral Kong, there has been a very strange occurrence recently, with a probability of it spreading from all corners of the sea, and there are many similar situations in the Grand Line as well."
Fleet Admiral Kong pinched his brow, and said in a deep voice, "Is it about pirates again?"
"No." The communication soldier replied, "It's a group of refugees."
"Refugees?" Fleet Admiral Kong raised his eyebrows, curious, "What strange things could happen with a group of refugees? Wait, you said it's happening simultaneously in all seas, including the Grand Line?"
"Yes!" The communication soldier nodded vigorously. "Originally, matters related to refugees are not within the jurisdiction of the Marines, but the relevant information is too strange, so the branch of the Navy had to report it."
Pausing for a moment, the communication soldier continued, "In the last five days, a group of strangely behaving refugees has suddenly appeared all over the world. Most Marine bases have reported similar information."
"That group of refugees has peculiar behaviors, often inquiring about the local residents. Most of them will disappear into thin air at a specific time and reappear in front of people after some time."
If Adrian were present at this moment, he would surely completely understand the meaning behind the communication soldier's words.
As a player, it is only natural to have strange behaviors and peculiar movements. Inquiring about local residents is just to trigger missions and earn experience. Disappearing into thin air at specific times is also logging off for rest.
However, for the people in the world of One Piece, the various situations exhibited by players are indeed quite strange.
"A large group of people suddenly disappeared into thin air?" Fleet Admiral's expression became inexplicably serious.
"Yes, exactly like that!" The communication soldier nodded vigorously. "There was news earlier that when a certain pirate crew in the North Sea attacked a town, they also captured a large number of refugees. However, by nightfall, all those people had disappeared without a trace. What's even more surprising is that the refugees were all locked in iron cages at that time! And—"
At this point, the communication soldier cleared his throat and swallowed hard. "The most important information transmitted during that incident is that those refugees, every single one of them, is immortal!"
"What?! The immortal?!"
不死者 (bùsǐzhě): "immortal" or "immortal"
The Fleet Admiral was greatly shocked. If he could barely accept the previous information, this news was truly mind-blowing!
"Yes, sir!" The communication soldier replied seriously. "Moreover, it's not just an isolated case in the North Blue. Similar incidents have occurred everywhere. After someone kills those refugees in that incident, their bodies turn into a white light and disappear, then after a certain period, they resurrect at a specific location."
"Is this a special situation caused by Devil Fruit abilities?" The Fleet Admiral frowned. "But I've never heard of any Devil Fruit that could affect such a wide range..."
After silently contemplating for a moment without any results, Fleet Admiral Kong inquired again.
"How many of those refugees are there roughly? What's the specific distribution? Lastly, what is the power level of those refugees?"
"The total number of refugees has not been accurately counted, but it should not be less than a thousand at the minimum. They are distributed from the Four Blues to the first half of the Grand Line, but there haven't been any discoveries in the New World for now," the communication soldier replied one by one.
"As for their strength, it's weak, very weak. Those immortal refugees generally don't even have the strength of an ordinary human child! A well-trained Marine soldier can at least take on twenty of them!"
Fleet Admiral Kong's expression paused for a moment. He scratched his head; he had already prepared himself for a more significant impact, but if these immortal refugees were only this weak, it wouldn't cause any severe problems. The local Marines could easily suppress them.
"Is there any other additional information from the Marine branches that noticed similar situations before?"
"Not at the moment!" the communication soldier replied, "However, Vice Admiral Tsuru of the Intelligence Department has dispatched specialized personnel for investigation."
"Oh? Who did Vice Admiral Tsuru send? And where did they go?"
"The specific personnel were not disclosed by Vice Admiral Tsuru, but she mentioned that the mission location is the West Blue, the Kano Country."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone