He knew full well that engaging the full strength of the Rocks Pirates in a head-on battle right now would carry a minuscule chance of victory and immense risk.
But there are places, there are principles, that must be defended, even if it means betting the entire Marine force!
Furthermore, if the battlefield could be successfully guided to the open sea, relying on the Marine's massive fleet and troop superiority, perhaps... there would be a glimmer of hope.
"Yes, Fleet Admiral Kong."
The female secretary didn't question him at all; she immediately sat at the communication desk nearby, picked up the receiver of the transponder snail on the table, and began to methodically dial the number to relay the latest orders.
Kong paced the office irritably, the hard soles of his boots striking the floor with dull thuds.
He looked out the window at the azure sky and the tranquil Marineford naval port, a deep sense of powerlessness and rage intertwining within him.
"Damn it! If it weren't for the cursed system requiring Marineford to keep at least one Admiral-level combatant stationed at headquarters, both to guard the base and to respond to the absurd demands of those 'World Nobles' at any time... we could have gathered all our high-end combat power this time! Perhaps... perhaps there would really be a chance to take down Rocks, this major threat, in one fell swoop!"
He slammed his fist hard into his other palm, making a dull sound.
Even if he could recall Garp, Sengoku, and Zephyr, facing Rocks and that group of monsters under his command, he still had no confidence in his heart.
An unrealistic, even somewhat absurd, thought suddenly flashed through his mind:
"If... if the battlefield could be set at Marineford... relying on the fortress defenses and all our troops, plus me joining the fight personally, the chances of victory would definitely increase greatly..."
But this thought was only a flash; he shook his head himself, revealing a hint of bitter self-mockery.
(What am I thinking... How could pirates be stupid enough to actively attack the Marine headquarters? They aren't crazy...)
(...No, that guy Rocks is the biggest madman of all!)
However, no matter how crazy Rocks was, Kong also understood that actively attacking Marineford was a suicidal act for any pirate.
He cast aside this unrealistic fantasy, his gaze becoming sharp and firm again, and roared at the lieutenant colonel who was still waiting for orders in the office:
"What are you still standing there for! Initiate the highest level of combat readiness! Order all Vice Admiral-level officers currently deployed to move towards the New World G-1 Branch! Requisition all available warships and supplies! Hurry!"
"Yes! Fleet Admiral!"
The clouds of war, due to the movements of Rocks, shrouded the sea.
...
Thousands of meters above the vast, azure sea, the clouds looked like a sprawling white continent.
In this high altitude, which is hard for ordinary people to reach, a sinister-looking Pirate Crew ship—the "gibeck"—hanging the iconic double-horned skull flag, was floating against all reason, driven by the Flutter-Flutter Fruit ability of Golden Lion Shiki, breaking through the clouds, sailing silently and swiftly.
On the deck, the atmosphere was not exactly harmonious.
"Hey, woman! Let's have a fight! I can feel it, you are very strong!"
A voice filled with eagerness and excitement broke the silence of the voyage.
A young Kaido, with two horns growing on his head, a quite burly build, and body proportions that had not yet become distorted, stood in front of Charlotte Linlin, his eyes Burning with a desire for battle.
This was the first time he had felt the powerful aura of the rumored "queen of thunder" at close range, and his warlike blood immediately began to boil.
Charlotte Linlin did not hide the disgust on her face, and her nodachi, like swatting away a fly, kept Kaido, who had gotten too close, dozens of meters away.
As Charlotte Linlin grew taller, her weapon also grew longer; the blade in her hand was now twelve meters long.
"Get lost! You brat, stay away from This old lady!"
"Brat" here was not just a mere derogatory term, but an objective description—because at this moment, Kaido was emitting a strong, mixed scent of sweat, alcohol, and some kind of beastly body odor.
For Charlotte Linlin, who was accustomed to the clean, even girl-scented environment of the Totto Land Sea Area she managed, the group of unkempt, "primitive"-smelling rough men on the Rocks Pirates ship was simply an olfactory torture.
She could tolerate the rough food, but this hygiene situation was truly unbearable for her. If not for the bit of shelter and intelligence Rocks provided when she first entered the New World, she would have really wanted to spread her Dragon Wings immediately and get away from this "moving source of stench."
"Gurararara!" Beside her, Edward Newgate, who was sitting cross-legged and drinking heavily from a huge barrel of liquor, let out a hearty laugh.
"Kaido brat, completely despised by Linlin, huh?"
He wiped the liquor stain from the corner of his mouth and said to Kaido with a bit of mockery:
"However, if you want to challenge Linlin, kid, you better be prepared to face death. Once she makes a move, she never knows what it means to show mercy. Except for the very few guys she takes a liking to, not many challengers have been able to leave alive from under her thunder."
"Is that so?! That is exactly what I'm begging for! I have never truly tasted the flavor of death! Come on! Fight! Wororororo!"
Kaido was not afraid; instead, he was even more excited, emitting his signature laughter from his throat, and casually picked up the Mace "hachisai-kai" leaning nearby.
Looking at this hotheaded youth who was like a beast in heat, Charlotte Linlin's eye twitched, her hand gripping the scabbard tightened, and she forcibly suppressed the urge to really slash at him.
"All of you, settle down!" From the huge statue on the prow, came the impatient roar of Rocks.
"This is my 'Gibeck's Sword'! If you two want to fight, get the hell off my ship and fight!"
He knew all too well the destructive power of these two monsters; once they started fighting on the ship, this Pirate Crew ship of his would probably turn into a pile of wooden splinters in an instant.
As for stopping them? He never even thought about it. In his creed, the law of the jungle is the heavenly principle; only the strong have the qualifications to survive and be taken seriously by him. The weak? They don't even have the qualification to breathe on his ship.
"Hmph!" Although Kaido's desire for battle was high, he was not completely brainless. Feeling the unkind gazes from the other officers on the ship, he resentfully put away his Mace.
More importantly—he couldn't fly. At this altitude of thousands of meters, if he really pissed this woman off and got kicked off, that would be a huge problem. He would mark this debt down for now.
"Kid who likes to fight, be patient!" Shiki, who was controlling the ship's course, bit on his cigar and turned back with a ferocious grin,
"We'll be at the destination soon! By then, there will be plenty of enemies for you to fight until you puke! Just hope you don't die first when that time comes! Zehahahaha!"
As if to verify his words, the huge Pirate Crew ship began to penetrate the thick clouds below. As their field of vision gradually cleared, the outline of an island appeared before everyone's eyes.
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