Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 298 What kind of trash dares to mess with our Navy Admiral?

After everyone's attention was focused on the important matter at hand.

Professor Zephyr began, "Let Stussy explain the information about Mary Geoise. She is the one among us who knows the most about the current situation in Mary Geoise."

Stussy, who was called upon by Professor Zephyr, immediately stood up, walked to a projection screen at the back of the conference room, and held a thin pointer in his hand, saying, "Then, I will give a brief overview of the current situation in Mary Geoise."

As soon as she finished speaking, Tina and Tashigi, who were cooperating on the side, immediately turned on the projector, and soon several photos were displayed on the screen.

Stussy pointed at the picture above with his pointer and said, "Commander-in-Chief, Steelbone Kong, before I left Mary Geoise, Mr. Steelbone had already been secretly arrested and placed under house arrest. As for whether he is still detained in Mary Geoise, there is no definite information. Perhaps he has been transferred somewhere in the East Blue. One of our goals in this attack on Mary Geoise is to rescue Commander-in-Chief Steelbone."

Soon, Stussy gave a detailed account of the locations of several secret prisons where Commander-in-Chief Steelbone would likely have been imprisoned if he hadn't been transferred away from Mary Geoise.

Everyone listened attentively.

Bane had hardly ever met this former Grand Admiral of the Navy, who was the big shot who single-handedly promoted Sengoku, Garp, Zephyr, and others.

He didn't have any particular feelings for Cyborg, but it was clear that the older generation of big shots like Garp and Zeff took it very seriously.

After finishing recounting the story of Commander-in-Chief Steelbone, Stussy pointed his pointer at another person's picture, his tone turning serious as he said, "The current God of Scientific Defense, Figarand Gringle, as far as I know, currently controls the entire defense and military of Mary Geoise. In addition to serving as one of the Five Elders, he is also the current commander of the Celestial Dragons' most mysterious combat unit—the Knights of God."

"The Knights of God have always been mysterious, and even we in the Navy don't know much about them. Do you have any information about them?" Smoker asked first after hearing this.

Stussy immediately nodded and said, "Yes."

Tashigi quickly switched to the next slide, which then showed some hand-drawn portraits.

"Even though I was once a high-ranking operations commander in CP-0, I never received a single photograph of the Knights of God. However, based on my personal impressions, I drew some portraits of the Knights of God as I know them," Stussy pointed to the five portraits on the drawing before continuing, "The current commander of the Knights of God is Figarand Gringu, whom I just mentioned. Below him are five individuals known as 'Great Knights.' According to our understanding within CP, these five Great Knights possess extremely strong abilities, and they have even claimed to be no less powerful than the Admirals of the Marine Headquarters."

When Stussy said this, many of the naval officers wore a mocking expression.

Sakazuki snorted coldly, his expression full of disdain.

Kuzan smiled slightly, but his eyes held a hint of disdain.

Borsalino shook his head, looking speechless.

Bane, also an admiral, smirked and said, "These days, it seems like any Tom, Dick, or Harry dares to mess with us admirals on this high seas."

Which naval admiral hasn't fought his way out of various fierce battlefields and rolled through piles of corpses?

Bane is currently the least senior of the admirals, but he has experienced several major battles, especially the battle against Kaido in Dressrosa, where he almost died.

As a result, there are always some clueless guys who jump out today saying they are no worse than a Navy Admiral, and tomorrow another one who says they are stronger than a Navy Admiral. Such guys are not uncommon on the high seas, but what is the reality?

In reality, the general is still holding a meeting here, while those guys have long since been reduced to ashes.

"A general isn't just about sheer strength; they also possess incredibly rich combat experience. Countless battles against formidable foes, life-or-death struggles, and victories have allowed them to remain standing and be hailed as the highest fighting force." Smoker said dismissively, pausing slightly before adding, "These five members of the Divine Knights, who claim to possess general-level combat power, what commendable achievements do they have?"

As soon as Smoker finished speaking, Lieutenant General Dol, not far away, quipped, "Let alone those five, what achievements does the entire Knights of God actually have that are worth boasting about?"

Upon hearing this, Karp spoke up at the opportune moment, saying, "Back in God's Canyon, they did cause a bit of trouble."

Upon hearing this, everyone wore a mocking expression.

As I said before, strength and experience must be combined to truly become "combat power".

A naval admiral is not only strong and capable in handling various combat situations, but also experienced and adept at handling them; this is what constitutes combat effectiveness.

On the other hand, whether it's the Five Elders or the five great knights of this so-called Order of Gods.

Bane didn't even bother to comment on them. Leaving aside the Great Knights, whom Bane didn't know, the Five Elders were all five mythical beasts, each brimming with vitality. In the original story, they appeared during the Eghardt incident and were practically impossible to kill.

With such confidence, what a mess did they make in actual combat?

It didn't project any sense of power or intimidation, giving off a subpar impression.

Of course, Bane could completely understand their behavior. After all, they were a group of noblemen who had been living in Mary Geoise for years and enjoying a supreme status. They might all have impressive Haki and Devil Fruit abilities, but they basically had zero combat experience.

Judging from their performance, if they didn't have such strong vitality that they could survive being reduced to ashes, they would have all perished in Egerhead long ago.

If the Five Elders are like this, the Knights of God are probably not much better off.

Their most frequent occurrences are during human hunts, where they pull off some shady maneuvers, which could be considered as gaining a substantial amount of "killing experience" every three years.

How could it not be laughable when five people suddenly appeared out of this bunch of scum, calling themselves Great Knights and claiming to have combat power no less than that of a Navy Admiral?

Seeing the disdain on everyone's faces, Zephyr, though sharing the same thoughts, still tapped the table and said, "I know you all find their words laughable. Perhaps they've never understood what a Marine Admiral represents, and have always been arrogant, believing they possess formidable fighting power. But even so, we cannot make the same mistake because of the enemy's ridiculousness. Arrogance is the greatest cause of defeat. I demand that you never underestimate any enemy you face!"

"Yes!" Upon hearing Zephyr's words, the navy personnel in the conference room immediately sat up straight, declaring that they would never underestimate any opponent.

After this wave subsided, Stussy continued, "Aside from Gringu and these five great knights, the Order of the Gods has thirteen knights. The entire Order of the Gods has a total of nineteen knights, representing nineteen Celestial Dragon families. However, apart from these knights, the Order of the Gods also has a large squire combat force. As far as I know, the total number is 19,000, meaning each knight has 1,000 squires."

After a slight pause, Stussy's expression turned serious as he said, "Compared to these knights composed of Celestial Dragons, those squires are not inexperienced fighters. Most of them are of slave origin, and in the Divine Abode of Mary Geoise, there are often slave gladiatorial tournaments, and the winners are usually recruited into the Divine Knights."

"Looking at it this way, these squires seem to be even more troublesome than those knights," Garp clicked his tongue.

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

"However, they probably don't have real combat experience, only relatively rich personal combat experience. It's about right to regard them as the combat strength of a colonel-level officer in the headquarters, isn't it?" Borsalino raised an eyebrow and said.

Bane listened to the discussion without speaking, and only after the noise had almost subsided did he smile and say, "Our Flame Squad needs some suitable enemies to test them, doesn't it?"

The Flame Force consists entirely of elite naval personnel, making them arguably the most formidable group within the basic military force. They are also equipped with the most advanced equipment currently available in the entire Melvyu Navy. In addition to possessing dual-color Haki, each member has been injected with RC serum, and the officers are all Devil Fruit users.

Due to their unique nature, they don't have much practical experience. Of course, this practical experience refers to their practical experience after they have formed a system. After all, all members are selected from the elite, and individuals are naturally selected from the best of the best. Without experiencing at least two large-scale battles, they do not meet the selection criteria.

The last time they appeared was against the Beasts Pirates' special forces unit, the Devil Fruit User Corps.

As a result, in just one night, they wiped out Kaido's Beasts Pirates' army of Devil Fruit users, who were considered their trump card, on a certain island.

This shows just how terrifying its combat power is.

"Then, as for the Knights of God, why not leave it to the Flame Force to eliminate?" Zephyr said, looking at Borsalino.

Borsalino is currently an admiral candidate at the Melvure Naval Headquarters and the commander of a special forces unit. This special forces unit is basically similar to the previous science unit, but more complex, and the Flame Unit is one of them.

So theoretically speaking, the most elite fighting force in Melvure is all in the hands of that old scoundrel Borsalino, which shows how much Bane and the others trust him!

But in reality, Borsalino repeatedly declined to take over these elite troops because, as a seasoned veteran, he knew very well that such elite forces meant there would often be tough enemies and missions to deal with. What did that mean? It meant a heavy workload, which was completely incompatible with his slacking-off mentality, right?

However, it was all for naught. Zeff, who had never really liked Borsalino, wouldn't give Borsalino any choice and forced him to take on these jobs.

"Teacher, you really know how to cause me trouble." Borsalino gave Zephyr a somewhat resentful look, and then said, "I know, I will do my best to annihilate the Knights of God."

"I'm not asking you to do your best, don't try to be clever with me here. I'm telling you to annihilate the Knights of God!" Zephyr glared at Borsalino and said.

In the original story, Zephyr ultimately died at the hands of Borsalino. The two seemed to have a deep conflict, and Borsalino showed almost no mercy in his attack.

But things are completely different now. Although Zephyr still often talks about Borsalino, the two haven't let their conflict escalate to an irreconcilable point. In fact, Bane sometimes even feels that they have a good relationship.

"Yes, yes, we must annihilate them and ensure the mission is completed," Borsalino reluctantly agreed.

The others watched as this guy was forced into this situation and all looked somewhat amused. Kuzan even pretended to be serious and said, "I really envy you, Borsalino, getting such an important mission right off the bat."

(End of this chapter)