"Uh..."
Vice Admiral Tsuru glanced at everyone and brought up a person they had overlooked, "It seems the battle on Garp's side isn't over yet..."
"That guy Garp..."
Marshal Sengoku also remembered his old friend, hesitating slightly on his face.
If Garp gets wind of today's events, that blabbermouth might spill it anytime, thinking everything is just trivial...
Besides...
Garp has always been notorious for being a loose cannon.
To prevent any future mishaps, the affair between the Navy's top brass and the Konoha Pirates shouldn't be known to that old fellow, right?
"The less people know about our matter, the better,"
Red Sand Sasori openly stated Sengoku's concern and continued softly, "No need to worry, you can go rescue Vice Admiral Garp now. We will soon leave Alabasta; we have more important matters than attacking the Five Elders..."
"..."
Sengoku nodded thoughtfully and, after a moment of contemplation, took out a white Radio Snail from beside him and handed it to Red Sand Sasori.
"This is an eavesdrop-proof white Radio Snail,"
Sengoku introduced the Snail's purpose and continued, "If there's any action requiring your collaboration, I'll contact you through the Snail in a one-way link; if there's anything requiring Navy cooperation, you can use the Snail to reach me directly. I can issue orders under the title of Navy Admiral, avoiding further suspicion that Borsalino and Kuzan are involved with you..."
It's a cautious plan from Sengoku.
If the Konoha Pirates continuously contact him in a one-way manner, it also means Sengoku can maintain the Navy's independence, instead of the Konoha Pirates arbitrarily ordering the Admirals around, preventing future uncontrollable situations.
If the Konoha Pirates really overthrow the Heavenly Celestial Dragon in the future, the Navy would still hold considerable autonomy, merely terminating all Konoha Pirates-related problems under his capacity as Navy Admiral...
"..."
Red Sand Sasori reached out and accepted the Radio Snail from Sengoku.
Just as Sengoku felt a sense of relief, thinking his plan worked, Sasori took out two rings and tossed them to Kizaru and Aokiji.
"These are our communication tools,"
Red Sand Sasori explicitly mentioned the communication method via the rings, "Inject your Chakra into these rings, and we will receive your messages. No need to bother Marshal Sengoku for every minor issue; the Admirals are capable enough to handle it..."
"..."
Sengoku clenched his fists.
That reasoning was truly flawless!
He claimed he could resolve all issues as the Navy Admiral; the opposition presented the rationale that minor problems shouldn't bother the Navy Admiral, thereby directly communicating with the two Navy Admirals...
This...
How could he refute this?
Can't really break relations over such trivial matters, right?
Forget it... forget it...
He decided to talk properly with Aokiji and Kizaru later, asking when they joined the Konoha Pirates. Judging from the rings, they didn't appear to be spies planted long ago by the Konoha Pirates...
Coincidentally, at that moment, Uchiha Madara returned to the Golden Underground Palace, but Garp wasn't with him, causing Sengoku to feel tense.
"That guy's bones are really tough..."
Uchiha Madara grinned, enjoying the fight, "Among the Taijutsu experts I've met, that guy almost matches you now, Hashirama..."
"Did you kill Garp?"
Sengoku clenched his fists, his arms starting to tremble.
"If you go to save him now, perhaps it's still not too late..."
Uchiha Madara chuckled lightly, indifferent to Garp's fate. This battle had been tremendously exhilarating; at least, he acquired plenty of novel tricks from fighting Garp...
"Mr. Madara is precise with his actions,"
Red Sand Sasori spread out his palm and spoke softly, "Regardless, go rescue Vice Admiral Garp now; we'll leave Alabasta first."
"By the way..."
"If any issues arise later, consult a particular individual. The Alabasta incident, including the Navy's top meeting for our encirclement and our subsequent plan to counter you, was orchestrated entirely by him..."
"If unexpected situations don't occur..."
"You'll likely go to him soon..."
After finishing, the people of the Konoha Pirates departed.
"Let's go find Garp first!"
Sengoku could not afford to ponder much, hurriedly leading his men to Uchiha Madara and Garp's battleground, and finding the severely injured Garp in the desert, allowing him a sigh of relief.
At least...
He didn't have to bear too much guilt and pressure.
If his old friend Garp perished here, Sengoku couldn't fathom how he would continue collaborating with the Konoha Pirates. Perhaps, for the sake of averting world-destroying tsunamis threatening the future, he would persist in working together, though the process would be agonizing...
Remembering Karin's miraculous medical skills, Aokiji voluntarily suggested, "I'll call someone over to treat Vice Admiral Garp immediately..."
"That bunch from the Konoha Pirates mentioned..."
Kizaru recalled the words spoken by the red-haired youth from the Konoha Pirates before leaving and sighed, "How terrifying... could it really be that young man planned all this?"
Indeed...
They guessed it right!
Finding the critically injured Garp led them to think of Karin who could heal him, naturally leading them to consider the Navy Lieutenant who seemed to exhibit such exceptional foresight...