New World, Headquarters.
Footsteps echoed wildly in the corridors of the headquarters building as large numbers of naval personnel rushed toward the port.
"Faster, faster! Don't delay!"
The naval vice admirals in charge were shouting orders, urging a large number of naval soldiers to board the ships and quickly set sail in one direction.
In the office at the very top, Sakazuki still held fragments of the Den Den Mushi's microphone.
In his excitement, he crushed the microphone.
In the seat in front of him, He shook his head, his expression neither sad nor happy, and said, "I don't know if this is a blessing or a curse..."
Kuro has captured Shanks!
He destroyed the ship that came to block Shanks' way and captured him as well. Or rather, Shanks surrendered on his own and released Ben Beckman in exchange for it. But that didn't matter. To the Navy, it was as if Kuro had captured Shanks.
After excitedly crushing the microphone, Sakazuki reacted instantly, which led to a large-scale naval deployment, all to pick up Kuro who was returning.
They need to meet Shanks and prepare on the front lines to prevent the Red-Haired Pirates from launching a counterattack.
As for what that guy said about not letting his pirate crew attack the Navy, Sakazuki isn't the type to hand over the choice to the enemy; preparations are necessary.
Besides, he never believed in pirates in the first place.
"Of course it's a blessing!"
Sakazuki said in a deep voice, "The capture of that red-haired guy represents another victory for our navy!"
"But you know what kind of person that guy really is."
Crane said meaningfully, "Among pirates, his priority is very low."
"That's a pirate too!"
Sakazuki sneered, "Any pirate should be completely eliminated! He blocked Kuro's path because of his true nature, so he thought he could act with impunity. Kuro did the right thing; he showed us that no pirate is beyond capture!"
After a moment of silence, Tsuru said, "What's done is done, so this is the only way. But there's one thing I need to remind you, Sakazuki. We already lost face once when we fought Whitebeard last time. We can't afford to lose face again this time. You need to be prepared to withstand the pressure from above."
“I know what to do, Granny Crane,” Sakazuki’s voice was incredibly deep.
Although the Marineford War was declared a victory with the deaths of Whitebeard and Ace, the Navy didn't actually gain any prestige after the live broadcast. Instead, they were overwhelmed by Whitebeard's dying words, "One Piece is real." In addition, Shanks' appearance at the time prevented the Navy from achieving the desired effect in front of the world. If Kuro hadn't slashed Shanks and sank Blackbeard into the sea, they wouldn't have had any effect at all.
The Navy won, but the positive effects it brought were actually similar to, or even less than, the effect of Whitebeard's dying words.
In addition to the Impel Down incident, their navy actually didn't win. Among the forces that were involved in the incident and had strong intelligence, their navy completely lost face.
Among these issues is the aforementioned problem: the Impel Down incident was not disclosed.
Now that Shanks has been captured, given the past cooperation between the two, there's a high chance they'll repeat the same mistakes. Sakazuki's priority is to prevent them from causing any more trouble.
If this continues, the navy's prestige will soon be gone!
Mary Geoise.
Sakazuki wasn't the only one to receive the message; when he received it and ordered the Navy to meet Kuro, the Five Elders also received the message from headquarters.
This is obviously impossible to hide.
"Is this his own way of handling things?"
Between those in power, the curly-haired old man frowned and said, "The impact is too great."
The long-bearded old man said, "I really didn't expect that he would be able to capture the redhead."
"What should we do? Once it's in his hands, it won't be so easy to let go. Should we get help beforehand and send the red hair back?" the red-skinned old man asked.
“It’s not that easy.” The old man with the map shook his head and said, “Kuro actually did a good job. It’s in line with the Navy’s style of doing things. He didn’t kill Shanks. He is very clear about the connection between Shanks and us. If we let him go, that kid will have a problem with it, and the Navy as a whole will also have a problem with us.”
The curly-haired old man sighed, "If we don't let go, the balance will be completely broken. Why did it have to be red hair of all people..."
"Because he was blocking the way."
The old man with the map glanced at them and said, "Kuro was sent by us. He knew about this, but he still stood in front of us. We couldn't get rid of him. He has high hopes for Garp's grandson."
"That's the son of that wicked man, Dragon!"
The old man with the knife sneered, "The people of the D clan are never satisfied!"
He continued, "A pirate is still a pirate. The only good thing is that Shanks surrendered, but he still died there. There's still room for things to be salvaged."
"Then let's throw him into Impel Down. We'll use him as leverage to keep the Red-Haired Pirates quiet. At least for now, we can't make any big moves. We have to wait until things settle down in Wano Country," the long-bearded old man said.
“Then let Sakazuki handle it himself. He sent someone to meet him, didn’t he? It’s fine to put him in Impel Down. If we have any questions, we can bring him out for interrogation,” the red-skinned old man said.
"agree."
The other four nodded.
...
"Tsk, why did you have to come and block my way if you had nothing better to do? If you trust Straw Hat Boy so much, you should have just waited and seen how things went."
In the office of the Golden Lion, Kuro opened a bottle of wine, preparing to hand it over, but then he thought of something, released the bottle, and let it float to the mouth of Shanks, who was bound by chains and had his collarbone pierced.
Clooney and Lida watched Shanks warily from his side.
This guy couldn't be kept by anyone else, so Kuro simply took him to his office and put him under his personal supervision.
Thanks.
Shanks opened his mouth, bit the bottle opening, took two sips, and then looked at the overall layout of the office, laughing, "You're really extravagant, this layout must be expensive."
Kuro leaned back in his chair and took a bite of his cigar. "I earned what I deserved through my own labor, unlike you, who stole everything."
Shanks shrugged, looked at Kuro, and answered his earlier question, "I told you long ago, you're a variable. Every day I keep you occupied, Luffy's chances of winning increase. If you don't interfere, I think he'll definitely win. You see, you're still escorting me, and I'll still keep you occupied."
"You've got a good plan, but I don't think a two or three-day delay will make your optimistic outlook on the future come true."
Kuro smiled, straightened up, placed his hand on the table, and slowly said:
"Red-haired, you're old, but I'm not. The one who can represent the 'future' is me, the youngest admiral in naval history."
Yes, I do want to retire.
But I'm a general now!
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