The latter half of the Grand Line, known as the New World, had been completely occupied by the various pirate crews ever since the former Fleet Admiral Kong suffered defeat there.
The Navy had attempted several times to regain control of those waters, but every effort was met with united resistance from the pirate crews. Each attempt ended in failure.
Now, however, the major pirate crews had all entered a period of relative weakness. Sengoku had keenly sensed this once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity.
If the Navy deployed its forces properly this time, it might be able to completely reverse its unfavorable position in the New World.
His idea was good, and the timing he had chosen was also appropriate. Admiral Akainu was even willing to serve as the vanguard for the Navy.
Unfortunately, before Sengoku clearly expressed his stance as Fleet Admiral, Akainu shouting slogans alone could not change anything. Most people still maintained a pessimistic attitude.
The reason was simple. Although the pirate crews were shrinking their battle lines, their core strength had not been damaged. Advancing into the New World at this time still carried enormous risks.
Even Vice Admiral Tsuru, the Navy's Great Staff Officer, held a conservative view. The painful memories of repeated crushing defeats over the past decade were simply too vivid.
If the Navy rashly marched into the New World, it would easily cause the pirate crews to unite once again in common hatred against them.
As for the three Admirals, there was even less to say.
Kizaru, that lazy slacker, would rather drink tea all day and clock in and out of work on schedule. If something troublesome appeared, he avoided it whenever possible.
Aokiji had become more passionate than before, but his thinking had also grown more flexible. When it came to advancing into the New World, he kept completely silent.
Only the radical Akainu was left blowing his beard and glaring in frustration. With the other two factions refusing to state their positions, there was nothing he could do.
Seeing the pessimistic attitude of the high-ranking officers, Sengoku—despite being Fleet Admiral—could not force the matter through alone.
In the end, he had no choice but to shelve the plan for now. His hope of achieving one final accomplishment before retirement died before it could be realized. All he could do was silently pray that circumstances would eventually change.
Thus, a formal meeting among the Navy's high command ended with great expectations but little result.
After the meeting, Vice Admiral Tsuru and Vice Admiral Garp stayed behind. Seeing the gloomy expression on their old comrade's face, Tsuru could not help but offer some advice.
"Sengoku, you're being a little too impatient."
"Hm?" Sengoku turned his head toward Tsuru, who looked concerned. He gave a bitter smile and shook his head helplessly.
"I just think this is a good opportunity. The Navy has let go of the New World for far too long."
"You've already done very well," Tsuru said as she rested her chin on her hands, her expression drifting into memory. "Back then even the Four Seas were in chaos, not to mention Paradise."
After a moment, she looked at Sengoku seriously.
"The Navy only achieved its current strength after years of recuperation and growth. None of this would have been possible without your leadership."
"But precisely because of that, we cannot afford even the slightest mistake."
"A new era has arrived. The Navy must maintain its peak condition to face whatever changes may come."
"Wahahaha!"
Garp burst into laughter and looked at Sengoku with a teasing expression.
"Sengoku, Little Tsuru is right. We're all getting old. Stop thinking about stirring up trouble. Living peacefully is good enough!"
"You old bastard, is that what I meant?!"
Tsuru was furious. She grabbed the cup beside her and threw it straight at him.
"This idiot… the older he gets, the less serious he becomes!"
Sengoku, who had been deep in thought after hearing Tsuru's words, now had a face as dark as the bottom of a pot.
Unable to tolerate it any longer, he swung his hand and launched a golden palm strike straight toward Garp.
"Damn it, Garp—get the hell out of here!"
Boom!
Poor Garp was holding his teacup and had only laughed halfway when he and the sofa beneath him were blasted straight out of the office.
"Ahh! Sengoku, I'll be back!"
"..."
Looking at the large hole blasted through the office wall, Sengoku rubbed his forehead with a headache.
Whenever that idiot Garp was around, he could never keep his temper under control. But then again, that bastard was simply too infuriating.
Just as the Navy's plan to advance into the New World collapsed…
Elsewhere, after two days of sailing, Leno and his group finally welcomed a bright and sunny day.
On the deck, Leno was lying under a parasol as usual, completely relaxed, with Monet attending to him nearby.
That woman had fully treated herself as Leno's maid. Even after he told her several times not to, she continued doing as she pleased. Eventually, Leno simply stopped bothering.
Baby 5 was more interesting. For some reason, she and Hancock just couldn't stand each other.
Even after being turned to stone several times, she still refused to admit defeat, as if the two of them had to determine who was superior.
The little rabbit who had just boarded the ship recently, however, had won everyone's affection. At the moment, she was sitting on the railing fishing together with Chopper and Yamato.
Watching Yamato and Chopper pull up fish one after another, Carrot shouted in frustration.
"Why?! You can all catch fish, but I can't?!"
"Hey, Carrot… if you replace the carrot on your hook with normal bait, you'll definitely catch something."
Chopper was utterly speechless seeing her fish with a carrot. It was really too willful.
Carrot felt very wronged. After all, it was her favorite food. Why wouldn't fish bite it?
In the end, she gave up fishing entirely, pulled the carrot off the hook, stuffed it into her mouth, and hopped over to Leno.
"Captain Leno, I want dessert!"
"Huh?! Me too! Me too!"
Hearing the word "dessert," Chopper and Yamato instantly threw away their fishing rods and rushed over to Leno, staring at him eagerly and waiting to be fed.
Leno opened his eyes helplessly and took out a large cake.
"This is the last piece. There's no more after this."
Ever since Leno brought out the desserts he had taken from Whole Cake Island two days ago, these guys had been coming to beg for food whenever they had free time.
It hadn't even been that many times yet, but the rations he had saved for himself were already completely emptied.
Watching the three of them devour the cake like starving wolves, he said irritably,
"If you want desserts, go ask Carmen. At worst, Mikita can make some too. Why do you always come to me?"
"The flavor is different!"
Carrot answered confidently while eating. Chopper and Yamato immediately nodded in agreement.
The food from Whole Cake Island was simply too delicious. You could never get tired of it!
At the bow of the ship, Nami heard the commotion and was just about to come over to share some when she noticed a News Coo flying overhead.
She waved her hand.
The bird flew down, dropped a newspaper into her hand, saluted her, and then flapped its wings and flew away.
Nami was quite surprised, but since it saved her some Berries, she was happy enough not to question it.
After glancing at the contents of the newspaper, her mouth fell open in shock. Then she shouted,
"Everyone! Something happened again at Whole Cake Island! Kaido and BIG MOM have started fighting!"
"Nani?!"
Yamato hurriedly swallowed the cake in her mouth and rushed over. After reading the newspaper, she became furious.
"That bastard Kaido… is he looking for allies now?"
...
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