Marinford.
Only Vice Admiral Tsuru remained.
Marshal Sengoku and Vice Admiral Garp left Marinford.
Their departure before the war did not stir any waves. Yakushi Kabuto not only didn't send anyone to stop them, but even provided convenience for them.
Vice Admiral Tsuru was somewhat surprised by this and felt a slight unease because Yakushi Kabuto almost never made any mistakes. Even in the Navy, when there were occasional mishaps, they were in service of the Akatsuki organization.
Vice Admiral Tsuru was worried.
Sengoku is the Navy Admiral, and Garp is a Navy Hero,
Why would Yakushi Kabuto allow these two highly esteemed figures, capable of shaking the morale of the Navy during war, to leave Marinford before the war began?
"Is Senior Tsuru curious?"
Yakushi Kabuto adjusted his glasses and spoke with a light laugh: "Are you curious why I didn't send anyone to intercept Marshal Sengoku and Vice Admiral Garp?"
"Hmm..."
Vice Admiral Tsuru slowly furrowed her brows, her expression full of seriousness: "Do you... have other arrangements? You wouldn't leave any gaps..."
"Because I know who you are going to..."
Yakushi Kabuto's smile became more subtle, slowly spreading his hands: "All the Navy around Marinford is under my control, and there is only one place where the Navy might be your hope..."
Yakushi Kabuto slightly shook his head as he said this and said softly, "No, rather, it's my hope too!"
"..."
A drop of sweat gradually appeared on Vice Admiral Tsuru's temple.
The former Navy Staff Officer spoke somewhat incredulously: "You and Vice Admiral Uehara Naraku have never been at odds, is he also your subordinate..."
"No, Senior Tsuru got it wrong!"
Yakushi Kabuto shook his head, adjusted his glasses, and spoke with a light laugh: "Perhaps it's because Lord Naraku is too low-key, causing Senior Tsuru not to notice his true identity, but that's understandable..."
Yakushi Kabuto watched Vice Admiral Tsuru, his lips curling into a slightly wicked smile: "Because that is always how Lord Naraku operates; you can only see what he lets you see... If he doesn't want you to know, you will never know."
"..."
Sweat continued to accumulate on Vice Admiral Tsuru's cheeks.
Yakushi Kabuto looked at the increasingly distressed Vice Admiral Tsuru and continued with a smile: "Senior Tsuru never deliberately noticed, right? I never actively targeted Lord Naraku; in fact, I show him more respect than anyone else..."
This was indeed true.
Even in Marinford, Yakushi Kabuto tried his best to act according to Uehara Naraku's wishes, while still maintaining his hidden identity.
"..."
Vice Admiral Tsuru's body trembled slightly.
The old lady finally recalled some neglected minor details.
If Yakushi Kabuto and Uehara Naraku were present together, Yakushi Kabuto would often specially prepare juice for Uehara Naraku, and even when Sengoku reprimanded Uehara Naraku, he would try his best to defend him...
But because of preconceived notions and Yakushi Kabuto's normal tone of voice, they believed more that Yakushi Kabuto was threatening Uehara Naraku...
Also...
Only Uehara Naraku!
Only Uehara Naraku, among all the Vice Admirals, was oblivious to Yakushi Kabuto's intelligence strategy, not even caring about Yakushi Kabuto's attitude towards him!
Because Uehara Naraku knew...
Yakushi Kabuto never posed a threat to him.
"Who exactly is Uehara Naraku?"
Vice Admiral Tsuru's fingers trembled gently as her hands slowly reached for her Radio Snail, continuing to ask: "Is he also a member of Akatsuki?"
"Lord Naraku, he is..."
Yakushi Kabuto smiled and extended a finger.
A little white snake suddenly shot out from him, swallowing Vice Admiral Tsuru's Radio Snail in one gulp, then returned to Yakushi Kabuto's side!
After cutting off Vice Admiral Tsuru's means of external communication, Yakushi Kabuto's face gradually showed a serious expression.
"A god walking among humans."
Yakushi Kabuto slowly clasped his hands, revealing an amused smile: "Perhaps this sounds strange, but to speak of his other identity, maybe it will pique your interest more!"
"What identity... the leader of Akatsuki?"
Vice Admiral Tsuru had already guessed, because she remembered that there had been mentions on the ocean that the leader of Akatsuki was said to be a true god.
Yakushi Kabuto looked at Vice Admiral Tsuru's tense expression, lightly nodded with a smile: "Yes, Lord Naraku is the most powerful leader in Akatsuki's history, and the man truly commanding Akatsuki to conquer this world..."
"..."
Even though Vice Admiral Tsuru had already guessed in her heart…
However, when she truly learned about Uehara Naraku's identity from Yakushi Kabuto's mouth, there was still a hint of uncontrollable astonishment in her eyes.
Vice Admiral Tsuru remembered that when Uehara Naraku was once a member of Baroque Works, his bounty order first appeared in front of them, and at first glance, Garp thought this guy was extremely dangerous…
Thinking back now…
Garp's intuition always seemed very accurate!
Though he usually seemed unreliable, when real trouble arose, Garp was actually more dependable than anyone!
Moreover…
Vice Admiral Tsuru also recalled the capture of Red-haired Shanks.
Perhaps it was because the Red Hair Pirates captured the hidden identity of Uehara Naraku as a prisoner, which directly led to their captain Red-haired Shanks being captured…
Vice Admiral Tsuru felt her scalp tingling, unable to distinguish what was true and what was false in all that had happened in the past…
Under the manipulation of Akatsuki…
Every event in the past seemed to have a shadow of darkness.
Just as Vice Admiral Tsuru was still pondering, a messenger deputy walked up to Yakushi Kabuto, with a serious expression, "Vice Admiral Yakushi Kabuto, five minutes ago, our submarine observed three Moby Dick ships, they are half an hour away from Marinford!"
"Half an hour, huh?"
Yakushi Kabuto pondered for a moment, pushed his glasses, looked at the messenger beside him, and softly instructed, "Open the Gate of Justice first! According to my estimation, we should still wait a longer time…"
"Yes!"
The messenger deputy respectfully retreated.
"Alright, let's continue talking about Marshal Sengoku's matters!"
Yakushi Kabuto turned to look at Vice Admiral Tsuru, smiling as he continued, "Back then, the World Government destroyed all the records of the Rocks Pirates, but for Akatsuki, those things aren't a secret. There are two people involved within Akatsuki…"
Yakushi Kabuto's smile grew more meaningful, "If I'm not mistaken, Marshal Sengoku and Vice Admiral Garp will bring Lord Naraku's Navy to find a way to meet Whitebeard, right? You're trying to reenact the old events of the Rocks Pirates' demise thirty-six years ago…"
Yakushi Kabuto watched as Vice Admiral Tsuru's expression drastically changed, squinting his eyes, "What a pity, everything they do falls under Lord Naraku's eyes. Senior Tsuru, why don't you guess how Lord Naraku will treat Marshal Sengoku and Vice Admiral Garp?"
"..."
Vice Admiral Tsuru's expression became increasingly unpleasant, her brow furrowed, "It seems our last hope is also extinguished…"
"No, you succeeded."
Yakushi Kabuto shook his head, calmly speaking, "It's just a bit sad. Without truly witnessing Lord Naraku's power, there will always be those who wish to resist Lord Naraku's will, and he is a god who manipulates life and death cycles!"
A glint flashed across Yakushi Kabuto's glasses as the corner of his mouth curved up again, "A god would absolutely not care about a few ants joining forces.
Everything these ants do is under the watch of the god's gaze, and he will watch them discuss how to confront him, then slowly extend his finger to crush them. Perhaps this is a rare joy for a god walking in the human world…"
"..."
Vice Admiral Tsuru's hand trembled slightly.
Now she could do nothing, the only thing she could do was pray that Sengoku and Garp wake up a bit and don't fall for it!
Who would have thought…
The last Vice Admiral willing to follow Sengoku's orders… turned out to be the leader of Akatsuki!
But…
Vice Admiral Tsuru's intentions can no longer reach the sea.
Sengoku and Garp took a small boat and left Marinford in a hurry, reaching the outer sea of Marinford, where they boarded Uehara Naraku's Orange Battleship.
"Find a way to locate Whitebeard Pirates and the Revolutionary Army!"
Sengoku, with a serious face, looked at Uehara Naraku and immediately issued orders to the only Vice Admiral he could command now, "Before they reach Marinford, you must find the ships of Whitebeard Pirates and the Revolutionary Army. We must act quickly!"
"Yes…"
Uehara Naraku waved a signal for his deputy to command the battleship while looking at the solemn Sengoku, softly asking, "Marshal, has something happened over at Marinford?"
"Yes, you've probably heard some of it too…"
Sengoku nodded, speaking in a low voice, "Akatsuki invaded the Navy, Yakushi Kabuto usurped naval power, many Navy Admirals at Marinford have been corrupted by Yakushi Kabuto, we must eliminate Akatsuki, find a way to stabilize the world that is about to fall into chaos…"
When Sengoku said this, he glanced at Uehara Naraku and continued in a deep voice, "Now that the World Government has been destroyed, we need to contact Whitebeard and the Revolutionary Army to eliminate Akatsuki together... for now, don't worry about the smaller issues, there is nothing more important than eliminating Akatsuki!"
Sengoku did not want the alliance with the Whitebeard Pirates to displease Uehara Naraku, who was now his only subordinate that he could command.
Uehara Naraku didn't mind at all.
Even Uehara Naraku hesitated for a moment before asking, "If we are to contact the Whitebeard Pirates and the Revolutionary Army, what will happen to Luffy-san, his brother Ace, and Sabo-san…?"
"Hahahahahahaha…"
At that moment, Vice Admiral Garp burst out laughing, exuberantly patting Uehara Naraku on the shoulder, "Uehara brat, I was wrong about you, now I'm really starting to like you…"