In the New World, at the G-5 Marine Base, soldiers hurried in and out, busily carrying out their military duties.
A full day had passed since the Charlotte Silence War.
They still knew very little about exactly how everything unfolded, but they had managed to outline the general shape of the battle.
A report personally compiled through overtime by Tashigi lay on the base commander's desk.
Acting Base Commander, Rear Admiral Smoker, clamped two cigars between his teeth, exhaling faintly acrid smoke as he stared blankly at the rotating ceiling fan.
As the Marine base closest to the "Old vs New Yonko War" between Davy Jones and Charlotte Linlin, G-5 was obligated to investigate any disturbance and report back to Marine Headquarters.
Smoker and Tashigi had prepared thoroughly. Scouts were deployed in every direction—but never too close, to avoid getting dragged into the conflict.
They couldn't know the precise actions of Davy Jones and Big Mom, but they could trace the general path of their forces.
Smoker watched as the two sides drew closer and closer, certain that a massive battle was imminent.
He was even prepared to personally scout the frontlines if necessary, to gather up-to-the-moment intelligence.
Smoker and Tashigi had previously guessed the war could last around a week, devastating the surrounding regions.
Yet in not even two full days after Davy Jones and Charlotte Linlin met—
The Big Mom Pirates had been almost completely wiped out?
How was that possible?
Smoker couldn't figure it out no matter how many times he reviewed the data.
If multiple scouts hadn't returned with matching reports, he wouldn't have believed it.
When had the Big Mom Pirates become this fragile?
If they were really that soft, Marine Headquarters would've cleaned them up long ago.
And yet, under the assault of the Davy Jones Pirates, they couldn't even last two days—they collapsed outright?
What on earth had happened?
Smoker could analyze the aftermath and deduce Big Mom's many reasons for defeat.
For example:
—They left the familiar waters of Totto Land and boldly attacked the unfamiliar territory of the Davy Jones Pirates.
—Their formation stretched out, their fleet scattered, and they had to endure undersea assaults from Davy Jones' forces.
—Internal disagreements within the Big Mom Pirates, forced long-distance marches that exhausted the lower-level soldiers, who had to enter battle immediately with insufficient rest and limited ammunition and weaponry.
Smoker could write an entire book on the subject—and publishing it wouldn't be difficult.
But the most important factor remained:
Charlotte Linlin lost to Davy Jones.
As long as Big Mom didn't fall, all of the above issues would have merely contributed to a bloody victory.
But once Big Mom lost, everything was decided.
Smoker wondered, before this "Yonko War" began, how many people truly believed Big Mom would lose and the "Deep Sea King" would win?
Big Mom had ruled Totto Land for decades. Her power was overwhelming. Most people would've placed their bets on her—including the Heavenly Yaksha, Doflamingo.
But a small minority, like Smoker, had believed from the start that Davy Jones would win.
The closer Smoker got, the more clearly he could sense the threat Davy Jones posed…
And yet he was powerless to do anything.
Marine Headquarters had forbidden G-5 from engaging. Even if his stubbornness flared and he ignored orders to attack, his entire force would be throwing themselves into a meat grinder.
Smoker would never gamble with the lives of Tashigi and the G-5 soldiers on a battle impossible to win—one that would cost total casualties without achieving any strategic purpose.
Finally, Smoker came out of his contemplative haze and decided to contact Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
He picked up the den-den mushi's receiver, and the creature opened its eyes from sleep.
After a long wait, the line connected with the den-den mushi in the Fleet Admiral's office on the other side of the Red Line.
Smoker gave Sengoku a concise report of the situation.
The Marines had welcomed Sengoku's return to the Fleet Admiral seat, though the outside world murmured all kinds of sarcastic commentary.
But Smoker understood how important Sengoku's continued presence was to Marine Headquarters—this had nothing to do with "clinging to power" or "dictatorial control," as outsiders mocked.
Sengoku could have acted as freely as Sakazuki or Kuzan—retire immediately without caring about the Marines' state, and no one could have stopped him.
But instead, Sengoku endured the criticism and sat back in the Fleet Admiral's chair, choosing the path of strategic dormancy—a path guaranteed to gather more scorn.
Throughout the call, after a few initial questions, Sengoku mostly listened in silence.
Occasionally he grunted a quiet "Mm," or "Mm-hmm," as if listening to an insignificant report.
Once Smoker finished laying out everything the G-5 base had learned, Sengoku finally spoke again—
But on an entirely different topic.
"Smoker," Sengoku said, "Rear Admiral Tashigi has improved significantly after her psychological treatment."
Since Tashigi's condition resembled Kuzan's, and no solution had yet been found for their "curse" issue, she had been sent to Marine Headquarters to recuperate.
Smoker hadn't expected Sengoku to bring up Tashigi and froze for a moment.
But he did care about his friend's condition, and asked, "Can she return to frontline duty?"
"The doctors are optimistic," Sengoku replied. "Also—regarding Vergo. It's been confirmed he was a spy planted by Doflamingo. Hard to believe… we never saw it."
Smoker noticed Sengoku repeatedly shifting topics and frowned.
"Fleet Admiral…"
"I know what you want to ask." Sengoku sighed. "Listen carefully. Your job is to continue observing the movements of the Davy Jones Pirates. Soon, I will issue two orders."
"First, G-5 will relocate to a new site. Second, you will be promoted one rank higher, and Tashigi two ranks higher. You will be in charge of establishing the new G-5 base."
Smoker was startled, then slowly exhaled as he understood Sengoku's helplessness.
Right now, G-5 was like a piece of meat sticking directly into the jaws of the Davy Jones Pirates. If they didn't withdraw in time, they would end up like the Big Mom Pirates.
Marine Headquarters still had no reliable combat power to support Smoker and G-5. Therefore, avoiding battle was the best option.
When had Marine Headquarters become like this?
It must have started with the Paramount War.
Before that, under the old Yonko system, Marine Headquarters had still maneuvered with skill.
That one great clash had severely weakened them.
Then Sakazuki and Kuzan's ideological conflict escalated into internal warfare.
It indirectly resulted in Sakazuki's death, Kuzan's departure, and Kizaru left struggling alone, dealing a devastating blow to Marine Headquarters.
Even so, Smoker still disliked such meaningless promotions.
He had accomplished nothing noteworthy—yet because the Marines needed personnel, he was being raised to Vice Admiral, and Tashigi to Major…
Sengoku seemed to read Smoker's thoughts from his silence.
His tone became deeper.
"Ever since Davy Jones entered the New World, he first killed Sakazuki, and now has felled Charlotte Linlin. He truly never kills anyone insignificant…"
Smoker pondered this for a moment, finally understanding Sengoku's resignation, and didn't stubbornly argue as he once might have.
"Fleet Admiral, I will abide by your orders."
"Good…" Sengoku paused, then added, "Endure a little longer, Smoker. Through the World Military Draft and internal selection, I've already chosen four candidates for Admiral."
The so-called "Admiral Candidates" were those who could potentially fill the vacancies left by Sakazuki and Kuzan.
"Who are they?" Smoker couldn't help asking.
"You should have heard of them—they're all quite famous." Sengoku said.
"Issho, Aramaki, Gion, Tokikake."
Smoker recalled their names and their reputations.
Their combat strength was indeed extraordinary, and several of them weren't even originally Marines—more like wandering guardians of justice.
"Have you already chosen who will become admiral?"
"Yes. One of them is decided, but not yet announced." Sengoku didn't worry Smoker would leak the information—Smoker was not the type.
"'Fujitora' Issho. A fine admiral's name, isn't it?"
"And the others?"
"There are only two vacant admiral positions. Too many monks for too little porridge… I plan to give them all a shared mission. Their performance will determine the final choices."