Chapter 91: Chapter 91: Meeting
On the island of Doria.
Adrian and Sakazuki had been in an intense yet boring battle, lasting for nearly half a day. Neither of them could gain a decisive advantage, and in the end, the battle remained inconclusive.
Due to this unexpected interference, the search operation on Doria Island came to an abrupt halt.
However, the consequences of this battle did not cease.
On the Grand Line, at the Marine Headquarters, at Mary Geoise.
In a brightly lit, vast office, Fleet Admiral sat at the head of the conference table, his gaze focused on the elite Marines gathered around the table.
"The meeting materials have been distributed to everyone. I believe you all have some understanding of the recent events," Fleet Admiral Kong said in a solemn tone. "Regarding the situation in the South Blue, does anyone have any valuable insights?"
At the right end of the conference table, a purple-haired man wearing a purple suit and rimless glasses said with a look of disgust on his face:
"If you ask me, the Marines should never have agreed to the World Government's orders! I don't know how the civilians in the South Blue will see us now! Justice? Such a large-scale massacre..."
"Be careful what you say! Zephyr!" Fleet Admiral Kong interrupted Zephyr, "No matter what, the Marines is the Marines of the World Government! The World Government's orders cannot be refused!"
Although Zephyr had retired from the front lines for several years, he still had a strong fighting spirit.
"My opinion is still the same! If the Marines Headquarters still wants to accept new recruits from the South Blue, then it is best to stop the joint operations with the World Government departments in the South Blue!"
"Besides, is the son of the Pirate King necessarily the next Pirate King?"
The conference room fell silent for a moment.
It was well known that among the Marine's high-ranking officials, Zephyr was deeply affected by the deaths of his family and children.
"Cough, cough!"
Fleet Admiral Kong cleared his throat and tried to change the subject. "Actually, we are aware of the intense reaction in the South Blue..."
He gave a look to Admiral Sengoku, who was sitting to his left.
Sengoku, the Admiral with round glasses, nodded in understanding and picked up a stack of reports to read.
"Since the joint operation began, there have been xx incidents of obstruction in the South Blue. In addition to the spontaneous resistance of the local South Blue civilians, there are also a small number from neutral pirate hunters who used to hunt pirates for a living. The most outstanding example is a battle that took place on Doria Island yesterday."
Sengoku paused for a moment and pushed his glasses up. "A pirate hunter that everyone calls 'White Ghost' from the West Blue intervened after accidentally witnessing a joint search by Marines soldiers and World Government agents. He first defeated Captain Doberman, then used his Devil Fruit ability to put all Marines soldiers and government agents on the island into a sleep. He then easily left after a battle with Vice Admiral Sakazuki."
"The specific battle information is as follows: Captain Doberman was seriously injured, Vice Admiral Sakazuki was lightly injured. The enemy... was unharmed!"
A slight stir erupted in the meeting room.
Unlike Captain Doberman, who had only recently graduated from the elite training camp last year, Vice Admiral Sakazuki was among the first batch of graduates from the Marine's elite training camp. He had accumulated enough merit several years ago to successfully be promoted to the position of Vice Admiral at headquarters.
Strong physical skills, excellent Haki, especially the attack power and destructive power that is almost like a natural disaster. At this moment, Vice Admiral Sakazuki is definitely one of the top few existences among the Vice Admirals of the headquarters!
It is hard to imagine that Vice Admiral Sakazuki, who is so powerful, would be injured by an unknown West Blue pirate hunter, even if it was just a minor injury!
"Excuse me, Admiral Sengoku! May I interrupt for a moment?" A tall and thin man with black explosive curly hair raised his hand and said in a strong voice, "I wonder how the damage to the Marines soldiers on Doria Island is?"
Sengoku's expression was strange for a moment. "Vice Admiral Kuzan, if you have carefully read the report, you will notice that in this battle, apart from Captain Doberman and Vice Admiral Sakazuki, no one else was injured. Those who were on the mission, the Marines soldiers and government agents, after careful examination by the local doctors, were found to have only fallen into a deep sleep…"
Kuzan was stunned for a moment, withdrew his arm, and scratched his head awkwardly. "Just sleeping? No other injuries?"
Borsalino, dressed in a white striped suit and a black hat, was flipping through the data report with interest. He said, "Yes, it's really terrifying control. Even Sakazuki's magma didn't affect it…"
Sengoku cleared his throat and continued reading:
"White Ghost, real name Adrian, age unknown, Devil Fruit user with the ability of the Ghost Fruit, suspected swordsman, emerged in the West Blue since last year, notable experiences include… According to information from the West Blue Branch Marines Base, White Ghost has shown extremely favorable attitudes towards civilians, maintains a friendly relationship with the Marines, but shows no mercy towards pirates and underworld forces."
After everyone in the meeting room had processed the information, Admiral Sengoku said, "Alright. Now, let's discuss our thoughts on this individual."
A hawkish Marine admiral spoke first, "No matter what the White Ghost's past behavior was like, he is now directly hindering the actions of the Marines and the World Government. I suggest issuing a wanted poster and preemptively snuffing out this threat in the cradle!"
Kuzan sneered, "What is the reason for issuing a wanted poster? For obstructing the World Government and the Marines from slaughtering innocent civilians?"
Borsalino smiled and interjected, "I also think that this way of handling it is not very appropriate, eh~"
Another hawkish Marine shouted, "But the White Ghost's actions have damaged the prestige of the World Government and the Marines. For such a potential threat, we should just directly eliminate him completely! To nip the problem in the bud!"
A dispute seemed to be on the verge of breaking out.
At this moment, Vice Admiral Tsuru, who had been silent all along, glanced through the intelligence report in her hands. She sighed and spoke:
"Swordsmanship at the level of a Swordmaster, mastery of the [Ryūō] Armament Haki, so I'm sure he also have Observation Haki. Plus the mysterious Ghost Fruit ability, a flying ability user… To issue a wanted poster for such a character, which admiral is willing to go to the South Blue again?"
The Marines generals who were arguing suddenly stopped and came to their senses.
Yes, if even Vice Admiral Sakazuki couldn't defeat the White Ghost, then they would be unable to harm the White Ghost as well.
In other words, to deal with the White Ghost, it might require the intervention of a Admiral!
But where could the headquarters pull out a Admiral-level force at this time?!
Fleet Admiral was busy with affairs, Admiral Zephyr was responsible for training new recruits, and Admiral Sengoku was in charge of the New World...
The only one who could move freely was Vice Admiral Garp, but he was said to have taken a leave of absence to go home…
At this time, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, who had been silent for a long time, said:
"No matter what, the White Ghost's actions have indeed obstructed the actions of the World Government and the Marines. This is an indisputable fact. Notify the subordinates to prepare to issue a wanted poster…"
"Hmph!" Zephyr snorted coldly but ultimately didn't say anything.
Tsuru sighed again. "So, what should we set the initial bounty at? Facing off against Sakazuki and not being defeated, that's at least the level of a 300-million-beri pirate, right?"
Fleet Admiral Sengoku pondered for a moment.
"Temporarily set it at... 95 million berries!
"Bounty level: ONLY ALIVE!"
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