Marine Headquarters · Marineford
The sky was a pale gray, with low-hanging clouds pressing down heavily over Marineford, as if mirroring the weight in the hearts of those below.
Today, the Navy Headquarters held a collective funeral for Rear Admiral Hake of the G-10 Branch and his subordinates, who had fallen in the operation to pursue the Jellyfish Pirates.
Hundreds of newly erected gravestones stood silently in a corner of the Hero Cemetery. White flowers and naval flags swayed gently in the cool sea breeze.
Sengoku stood alone by the window of his office, watching the crowd below gradually disperse.
The Justice coat draped over his shoulders seemed heavier than ever before.
As the chief planner and on-site commander of this operation, he understood rationally that casualties were inevitable on the battlefield. Yet the sense of responsibility for his comrades' deaths—and the regret of failing to see the mission through—still weighed heavily on his heart.
Especially the urgency in Hake's final distress call, and the silent declaration of his Vivre Card burning away—those moments replayed over and over in Sengoku's mind.
Knock, knock.
A sharp knocking sound broke his thoughts.
"Report!"
An aide pushed the door open and stepped inside, placing a thick file gently on Sengoku's desk.
"Brigadier General Sengoku, this is the preliminary detailed report on the attack against G-10 Branch, along with the staff department's reassessment draft of the Jellyfish Pirates and their captain, Riberra Sami. Additionally—"
The aide paused briefly.
"Admiral Kong has convened a top-level strategic meeting. You are requested to proceed immediately."
"Understood." Sengoku gave a slight nod.
The aide saluted and quietly withdrew, leaving the office in silence once more.
Sengoku turned around, walked to the desk, and picked up the report.
His eyes swept rapidly across the cold lines of data.
The G-10 Branch warship: hull sustained light damage. Total personnel: 417. Confirmed survivors: zero.
Commander Rear Admiral Hake: deceased. Multiple comminuted fractures across the body, internal organ rupture, with signs of high-intensity toxin infiltration. Cause of death determined as dual fatal factors—overwhelming crushing force and lethal poison.
The deck and upper structures bore evidence of large-scale, intense combat. The destruction patterns indicated that the enemy possessed both terrifying physical strength and wide-area toxic lethality.
Riberra Sami, captain of the Jellyfish Pirates, possessed the horrifying capability to confront and annihilate a standard naval warship commanded by a Rear Admiral within a short period of time.
At the end of the report, several enlarged photographs were attached.
A warship deck stained with an eerie hue.
The shocking wounds covering Rear Admiral Hake's corpse.
And a newly updated wanted poster of Riberra Sami.
Sengoku slowly closed the report and shut his eyes.
Every word, every number, every image had been deeply etched into his mind.
He straightened his coat and strode toward the highest strategic conference room, located in the deepest part of the headquarters building.
The atmosphere inside the conference room was heavy.
Around the long, dark wooden table sat the core admirals currently stationed at headquarters.
At the head seat, Admiral Kong wore a grave expression.
Seeing Sengoku take his seat, Kong swept his gaze across the room and spoke in a deep voice:
"Gentlemen, I believe you are all already aware. Rear Admiral Hake of G-10 Branch, along with all 417 brave naval soldiers under his command… have been completely wiped out during the mission to pursue the Jellyfish Pirates."
As his words fell, the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.
Vice Admiral Bass slammed his fist onto the table.
"Damn it! A mere pirate crew dares—dares—to inflict such devastating losses! This is an outrageous provocation against Marine justice! We cannot allow this to continue. We must immediately assemble our forces and annihilate them with overwhelming force!"
The other admirals showed anger as well, murmuring among themselves.
Kong raised his hand to quiet the room, then turned his gaze to Sengoku.
"Sengoku, you were the primary officer in charge of this pursuit and the highest-ranking commander to make contact with the target. Do you have anything to add regarding this incident, the Jellyfish Pirates, and Riberra Sami?"
Sengoku stood up.
He did not rush to deflect responsibility or offer excuses. Instead, he began speaking in a calm, objective tone.
"This mission failed to achieve its objective and instead resulted in heavy losses. As the on-site commander, I bear undeniable responsibility. However, before discussing accountability, we must first clearly understand the enemy we are facing— Riberra Sami and his Jellyfish Pirates. Their level of danger and rate of growth likely far exceed any of our previous estimates."
He paused briefly, allowing everyone to focus.
"Based on my personal observations and analysis—first, regarding Riberra Sami's strength. From the moment Rear Admiral Hake sent out his emergency distress call to when I personally witnessed Riberra Sami departing the battlefield on a high-speed vehicle, no more than fifteen minutes elapsed."
"In that short span of time, a fully staffed standard warship under the command of a Rear Admiral had already been completely neutralized. And ultimately, no survivors were confirmed. Most critically, from what I observed, Riberra Sami himself did not appear to have suffered any serious injuries."
A wave of suppressed gasps spread through the room.
Fifteen minutes—to annihilate a warship?
And without sustaining damage?
"Second, according to the preliminary post-mortem examination of Rear Admiral Hake, his entire skeleton suffered extensive comminuted fractures—clear evidence of unimaginable crushing force. Combined with other battle traces at the scene, it can be inferred that Riberra Sami possesses overwhelming physical strength and close-combat capability, at the very least surpassing that of a standard Rear Admiral. I believe his threat level has already reached the threshold of a Vice Admiral. In terms of destructive power and survivability, this assessment is close to reality."
"Third, he possesses an extremely fast and highly maneuverable small watercraft. Our standard warships were completely unable to match its speed during pursuit, rendering conventional naval encirclement tactics largely ineffective."
"Finally, when I personally attempted to intercept him, he demonstrated an exceptionally precise ability to evade danger. Combined with his prior movements through artillery fire, I have sufficient reason to suspect— Riberra Sami has already begun to grasp Observation Haki."
"Observation Haki?!"
"A pirate from the West Blue, rising for only a few years?!"
The admirals could no longer hold back their shock.
Haki was an exceedingly rare ability among pirates in the first half of the Grand Line. It was typically only mastered by those who had long been tempered in the New World or possessed extraordinary talent.
For Riberra Sami to possess such an ability meant that not only was he already powerful, but he also held the key potential to become a top-tier powerhouse. His future threat level would grow exponentially.
"In summary," Sengoku concluded, " Riberra Sami and the Jellyfish Pirates represent a major threat that has already caused structured casualties among Marine officers at the Rear Admiral level. I recommend immediately adjusting his bounty and formulating a specialized encirclement plan involving coordinated deployment of multiple Vice Admiral-level forces. His advance must be cut off before he reaches the Sabaody Archipelago."
He looked toward Kong, awaiting the final decision.
In the conference room, all eyes were likewise fixed upon him.
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