"Sengoku, is this intelligence reliable?"
Kong placed the documents regarding Demon Eye Ryūjin onto the table, his brows tightening slightly as he looked toward Sengoku.
Even though he already knew the report had been carefully verified, otherwise Sengoku would never have brought it before him, he still could not stop himself from asking.
Because everything related to Demon Eye Ryūjin was simply too absurd.
It completely shattered the rules of the world.
A single person should never be able to possess so many abilities at once. According to common knowledge, anyone who consumed more than one Devil Fruit would die instantly.
Yet Ryūjin had overturned that law entirely.
"Fleet Admiral, the intelligence has been confirmed multiple times. There are no mistakes in the report."
Sengoku adjusted his glasses and answered with a serious expression.
"For one man to possess this many powers simultaneously, it has never happened before in recorded history."
Kong's expression became even heavier.
"We have continued investigating Ryūjin's background, but there are still no leads," Sengoku continued in a low voice.
"His past is completely blank. He suddenly appeared in the East Blue several months ago, and before defeating Dracule Mihawk, there is absolutely no trace of him anywhere."
Kong slowly rubbed his temple.
The more he listened, the more troublesome the situation became.
"Fleet Admiral, Ryūjin is demanding forty Devil Fruits in exchange for the Three Admirals. How should we proceed?"
Sengoku looked directly at Kong.
That was the real reason he had come.
Kong leaned back in his chair and calmly replied, "Tell me your thoughts first."
"Our Marines cannot afford to lose the Three Admirals," Sengoku said firmly.
"Forty Devil Fruits is a massive demand, but it is still within our ability to gather them."
The Marines already possessed several Devil Fruits in storage. On top of that, they controlled vast intelligence networks and could purchase additional fruits through underground brokers and black market auctions.
Forty Devil Fruits would be difficult to collect, but not impossible.
The real problem was not the fruits themselves.
It was the Marines' reputation.
If the Marines agreed to Ryūjin's demands, their prestige across the seas would take a devastating blow. They would become the laughingstock of the entire world.
After that, how would the Marines maintain authority?
Wouldn't every pirate become bold enough to provoke them?
But if they refused the exchange and truly lost the Three Admirals, the Marines would suffer the same collapse in deterrence anyway.
It was a complete dilemma.
"Continue," Kong said while tapping the table lightly. "You already have a plan."
Sengoku nodded slowly before speaking.
"The Marines cannot gamble with the Admirals' lives, so we must complete the exchange."
"However, Ryūjin cannot be allowed to continue roaming free. If we let him walk away after humiliating the Marines like this, our authority will disappear completely."
"My proposal is simple. We comply with his demands and retrieve the Three Admirals first. Once the exchange is complete, we immediately launch a Buster Call and eliminate him."
A standard Marine Buster Call consisted of five Vice Admirals, ten Rear Admirals, ten warships, and thousands of elite Marines.
Those warships were built by the shipwrights of Water 7 and possessed overwhelming durability and firepower capable of confronting Sea Kings directly.
The scale alone was terrifying.
But Kong immediately pointed out the flaw.
"Ryūjin has already defeated all Three Admirals. A normal Buster Call will not be enough."
Sengoku answered without hesitation.
"This operation will be led personally by me. Vice Admiral Garp will also participate."
Kong's eyes narrowed slightly before he nodded.
If the Admirals were successfully rescued beforehand, then the operation would include Sengoku, Garp, and the Three Admirals together.
That lineup was monstrous.
Even a Yonko crew would not survive against such overwhelming force.
No matter how powerful Ryūjin was, handling that level of pressure should have been impossible.
"Sengoku," Kong said slowly, "if possible, capture him alive."
Kong still wanted to uncover the secret behind Ryūjin's multiple abilities.
Of course, both men understood the unspoken meaning behind those words.
If capturing him alive proved impossible, then Ryūjin would have to die.
"I understand, Commander."
Sengoku nodded before speaking again.
"However, if we mobilize that much strength, Marineford's defenses will become dangerously weak..."
Before he could finish, Kong waved his hand dismissively.
"I will personally oversee Marineford."
Sengoku's eyes immediately brightened.
With Kong remaining behind, there would be no issues.
Most younger Marines believed the Three Admirals represented the Navy's greatest military power.
Only veterans from Roger's era understood the truth.
Vice Admiral Garp was the true monster of the Marines.
The hero who fought against the Rocks Pirates and hunted the Pirate King across the seas.
But Sengoku knew something even deeper.
The strongest man within the Marines was neither an Admiral nor Garp.
It was Kong.
During Roger's era, the terrifying pirate known as the Red Count once emerged, a monster whose individual power rivaled an entire Yonko crew.
At eighty years old, Kong fought the Red Count for ten days and ten nights.
Although Kong narrowly lost in the end, he exhausted the Red Count enough for Garp to capture him and imprison him in Impel Down.
Now, despite being over a hundred years old, Kong looked more vigorous than ever.
Even Sengoku could no longer estimate the true extent of his power.
"There is another issue," Sengoku said heavily.
"News about the Three Admirals falling into Ryūjin's hands will spread across the seas soon. As for the Five Elders, I hope you can mediate the situation."
The Marines cared about the Admirals.
The Five Elders might not.
Sengoku understood this bitter reality clearly.
To the Celestial Dragons, even Admirals were merely weapons and watchdogs.
Nothing more.
The Five Elders cared more about preserving the World Government's dignity than the lives of the Admirals themselves.
If they ignored the hostages and ordered Ryūjin's immediate extermination, Sengoku's entire plan would collapse.
Among the Marines, only Kong still possessed enough standing to negotiate with them directly.
Kong remained silent for a moment before replying.
"Do what you must. Leave the rest to me."
Sengoku finally relaxed slightly.
After leaving Mary Geoise, he immediately began issuing orders throughout the Marines.
Every available channel began gathering Devil Fruits.
At the same time, another order was prepared.
Sengoku looked toward his secretary and spoke coldly.
"Raise Demon Eye Ryūjin's bounty to seven billion Berries."
The secretary froze.
"F-Fleet Admiral Sengoku... did you say seven billion?"
Her voice trembled from shock.
Seven billion Berries.
An amount that had never appeared before.
Even Whitebeard's bounty stood at only five billion.
The Pirate King Gol D. Roger himself had only reached 5.5 billion.
Yet Ryūjin's bounty exceeded them both.
But after the initial shock faded, the secretary quickly understood.
Ryūjin had defeated and captured three Admirals in succession, then openly extorted the Marines for forty Devil Fruits.
He had publicly trampled the Marines' authority beneath his feet.
Compared to that, perhaps seven billion was not excessive at all.
Meanwhile, in the New World.
Inside the headquarters of the World Economy News Paper.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A News Coo pecked rapidly against the window.
Morgans immediately looked up with excitement flashing in his eyes.
"Another report about Demon Eye Ryūjin?"
Ever since Ryūjin defeated Mihawk, Morgans had kept constant attention on him.
After Ryūjin captured an Admiral and ignited the entire world with chaos, Morgans had practically become obsessed.
He had deployed countless News Coos solely to monitor Ryūjin's movements.
The bird before him was one of them.
Morgans opened the window quickly.
The News Coo chirped wildly while flapping its wings excitedly.
As Morgans listened, his entire body began trembling.
Several seconds later, he slammed both hands onto the desk.
"Demon Eye Ryūjin captured all Three Admirals at once?! This is unbelievable!"
For a brief moment, even Morgans hesitated.
Publishing this kind of news would completely humiliate the Marines before the world.
Would they hunt him down afterward?
But the hesitation vanished instantly.
His eyes became burning with excitement.
Wasn't this exactly what he had always wanted?
The greatest news in the world.
The kind of story that would shake the seas themselves.
Morgans immediately grabbed his pen and began writing frantically.
That very afternoon, newspapers spread across the world like wildfire.
At nearly the same time, Ryūjin's updated bounty posters were released throughout the seas.
The entire world exploded into chaos.
"Seven billion Berries?!"
"Is that bounty even real?!"
"Even the Yonko never reached that level!"
"No wonder, he captured the Three Admirals!"
"What kind of monster is Demon Eye Ryūjin?!"
Shock spread everywhere.
The New World, the Grand Line, the Four Blues.
Everywhere.
Even aboard the Moby Dick.
"Pops, something huge happened!"
Marco rushed forward while holding a newspaper.
Whitebeard casually accepted it with a grin.
But after reading the headline, his expression changed immediately.
"Ryūjin captured all Three Admirals simultaneously...?"
Cold sweat slowly formed across Whitebeard's forehead.
Diamond Jozu shouted in disbelief.
"Has he gone insane?! Does he want an all out war with the Marines?!"
Vista inhaled sharply.
"He can defeat all Three Admirals... just how strong is he?"
The entire crew stood frozen in shock.
Then Squard swallowed hard before speaking carefully.
"Pops... if this is true, does that mean Ryūjin might actually be stronger than you?"
The atmosphere instantly exploded.
"What nonsense are you saying?!"
"Nobody can surpass Pops!"
"You trying to start a fight?!"
Squard was immediately drowned in furious shouting from the other commanders.
But Whitebeard suddenly burst into loud laughter.
"Gurararara!"
"That Ryūjin brat... I really want to meet him now."
Although Ryūjin had captured the Three Admirals, Whitebeard still believed true strength could only be decided in battle.
As for who was stronger, only a real fight would answer that.
Marco then added another piece of information.
"Pops, Ryūjin's bounty has officially reached seven billion Berries."
The deck erupted again.
Whitebeard's bounty was only five billion.
Even Roger's was lower.
Many commanders immediately became dissatisfied.
Some even shouted about challenging Ryūjin personally to defend Whitebeard's honor.
Whitebeard simply laughed loudly again.
"My sons, stop worrying about such things."
Then his expression slowly became serious.
"Since Ryūjin captured the Three Admirals, the seas are about to become very unstable."
Without the Admirals acting as deterrents, countless pirates would soon begin making their moves.
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