Marineford War: I Will Stand in the Sky

Immediately afterwards, the three admirals of the Navy, "Akainu" Sakazuki, "Aokiji" Kuzan, and "Kizaru" Borsalino, entered and sat down.

Following closely behind were numerous vice admirals who wielded power and influence within the navy, who also took their seats.

Sure enough, this was an important meeting of the Navy's top brass. Apart from a very small number of vice admirals, almost all of them were present in the meeting room, quickly filling it to more than half capacity.

Just as Fleet Admiral Sengoku glanced around and was about to announce the start of the meeting, he suddenly noticed that the seat reserved by Vice Admiral Garp was still empty.

"Where is Major General Yan?" Marshal Sengoku asked, his tone full of dissatisfaction.

Vice Admiral Tsuru glanced around at the high-ranking naval officers present, and just as he was about to say something, a gentle yet magnetic voice rang out from the doorway.

"Sorry, I haven't been back for so long. I just asked for directions. I shouldn't be late yet, right?"

As the words fell, Yann, now dressed in a suit, strode in, gave a formal military salute to Marshal Sengoku, and began to speak.

"Rear Admiral Tefier Yann of the Marine Headquarters has completed the mission of recruiting Boa Hancock into the 'Seven Warlords of the Sea'. This is to report."

"Ah."

Marshal Sengoku nodded, responding to the mission reason recorded by Arn six years ago when he left Marineford, and then spoke.

"Please take a seat, Major General Yann."

"Yes."

Yann gave another military salute, and with a quick glance around, he immediately noticed that the only empty seat left in the entire hall was the one next to Lieutenant General Garp, who was extremely conspicuous.

Moreover, Lieutenant General Garp kept waving at Yann.

……

Ya'en.

Left with no other choice, Yann could only bite the bullet and sit next to Vice Admiral Garp, whom he least wanted to be around, and put on a serious expression, trying his best to avoid communicating with Vice Admiral Garp.

Just as Yann sat down, he felt a tap on his shoulder, and then Lieutenant General Garp quietly slipped something towards Yann from below.

?

Ya'en.

Looking down, Yann discovered that it was a small bag of rice crackers.

As for Lieutenant General Garp, he winked and whispered, "These are your old man's treasured senbei. I just borrowed them this morning. Want to try some?"

borrow?

Are you sure it wasn't theft?!

Yann immediately adopted a posture of not looking to the side, avoiding inadvertently sharing the stolen goods, and instead sharing the wrath of Fleet Admiral Sengoku with Vice Admiral Garp.

However, when Yann looked up, he noticed that General Borsalino, who was sitting in front of him, had also turned around and was lying on his side, completely ignoring the Fleet Admiral Sengoku in front of him, and was giving Yann a small greeting.

At that moment, Ya'en felt as if he had been intimidated by Lieutenant General Tsuru. He shouldn't have bothered changing into a formal suit; he should have just dressed however he was comfortable. (To be continued)

[Chapter 423. A Forced Show]

Anyway...

As Yann glanced around, he saw that, apart from Vice Admiral Garp beside him eating non-stop, Admiral Kuzan seemed to have fallen asleep, Admiral Borsalino had started trimming his nails, and even Vice Admiral Tsuru was holding a teacup with both hands and sipping tea with his eyes closed.

On the contrary, Admiral Sakazuki, nicknamed "Akainu," sat upright and waited meticulously for the meeting to begin.

For some reason, Yan felt a pang of heartache for Marshal Sengoku. It must be very difficult for him to have such a group of subordinates.

"Crack..."

Ya'en picked up a senbei (rice cracker) and popped it into his mouth, his eyes brightening slightly as he praised, "It tastes good."

"right?"

Lieutenant General Garp, looking as if he had found a kindred spirit, took out a bag from his pocket and handed it to Yann, saying...

"I just don't know where Sengoku bought his senbei. I've been searching for over ten years and still haven't found a source."

"Eh? Lieutenant General Garp, you don't know?" Yann asked, somewhat surprised.

"Don't know what? Click..." Lieutenant General Garp asked.

"Well..."

"Most of the books in the old man's house are about desserts..." Yann said softly.

"Quiet!!"

The next moment, the Warring States Marshal at the front of the conference room suddenly roared, exuding an aura of majesty that made people dare not look him in the eye.

"The situation at sea has reached a critical point, are you still so complacent?"

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the conference room, which had been gradually shifting towards a tea party, became solemn.

"Now that there are three more 'sea emperors' on the high seas, isn't the situation bad enough?"

The Warring States Marshal questioned angrily.

“Edward Whitebeard, Kaido the Beasts, and Charlotte Linlin the Big Mom—these three men who wreak havoc on the seas and bring disaster to countless civilians have brazenly proclaimed themselves ‘Emperors of the Sea.’ What an irony this is for the peace and justice that the Navy wants to protect.”

The next moment, the Warring States Marshal, furious, picked up the report in his hand and slammed it in front of him, saying...

"You can check with the intelligence department to see how much the number of pirates flooding into the Grand Line has increased since the names of those 'Sea Emperors' spread."

"Twice, more than twice as much!"

"This trend must be curbed, otherwise the ever-increasing number of pirates will bring countless disasters to the sea..."

However, while the Fleet Admiral Sengoku kept talking, the many high-ranking naval officers below outwardly appeared indignant, but their various underhanded actions never ceased.

Around the conference room, several reporters were using camera Den Den Mushi (snail phone) to take pictures from various angles.

"As expected, this was all a show..."

Yann muttered to himself, confirming his earlier guess and realizing that this seemingly grand meeting was actually a show put on for the whole world.

The reason is exactly as Fleet Admiral Sengoku just said: it was a reaction to the increasingly fierce pirate wave after three "Sea Emperors" appeared in the "New World" seas.

After all, given the World Government and Navy's established strategy of abandoning the "New World" sea area, the Navy simply did not have the conditions to eliminate those three "Sea Emperors".

Furthermore, even if the Navy had prepared a plan to deal with those three "Sea Emperors," it would be impossible for them to reveal it directly in front of so many vice admirals.

Great pirate crews... have been sending infiltrators to infiltrate the Navy quite a few times over the past few hundred years.

In simpler terms, this was the Warring States period marshal deliberately flexing the navy's muscles, warning those "sea emperors" in the "New World" waters who had become increasingly arrogant and inflated in recent years not to make any unwise choices.

After all, in the past six years, with the navy's forces almost completely withdrawing from the "New World" waters, those great pirates have been rapidly expanding and developing in a way that is almost like swallowing a whale.

The Whitebeard Pirates formed a truly large fleet. In addition to dividing their elite forces into sixteen divisions, they also gathered a total of forty-three powerful pirate crews under their command. The Whitebeard Pirates' flag was even planted on Fishman Island beneath the Red Line.

The "BIG MOM Pirates" formed alliances with various forces on the sea through family marriages, accumulating a large number of combatants and becoming a behemoth with a network of relationships and influence that spread throughout the sea.

As for the "Beasts Pirates," they have infuriated the Marine Headquarters, not only because they are constantly recruiting a large number of Zoan-type Devil Fruit users and their combat power is growing stronger day by day.

Kaido of the Beasts takes pleasure in attacking the Navy and has engaged in numerous direct battles with them. Despite repeated defeats, he continues to fight, seemingly using the Navy as a tool to boost his reputation. The Navy, however, is completely helpless against Kaido of the Beasts.

All these factors ultimately led to the emergence of three "sea emperors" who were subtly dividing up the "New World" seas.

The high status and prestige of those three "Sea Emperors" were even comparable to that of the navy, causing the situation at sea to become increasingly turbulent, to the point that the navy had to make a statement in this way.

Then, after the Warring States Marshal's continuous half-hour statement without repeating himself.

The three admirals of the Navy also spoke in turn, expressing that their stance on upholding justice at sea is unwavering, and that they have the confidence, ability, and conditions to safeguard peace and justice at sea.

Just as Arn thought this show meeting, intended to intimidate the pirates of the "New World" from afar, was about to end, Fleet Admiral Sengoku turned his gaze and spoke.

"Next, please welcome Rear Admiral Arne, the naval hero, to speak."

???

Ya'en.

Arn, who was sharing the delicious senbei with Garp, was suddenly stunned, and the sound of him biting into the senbei became a little louder.

"Crack..."

At this moment, Yann was the focus of countless eyes, and the half-eaten rice cracker in his hand was even more conspicuous.

However, while cursing inwardly, Yann remained outwardly calm, showing no embarrassment whatsoever, and stood up directly, walking towards the conference room podium.

Looking around, Yann simply held up the half-eaten rice cracker in his hand and spoke.

"The tide of the times will inevitably surge forward, unstoppable!"

"Some say that the emergence of the 'Sea Emperor' is a historical inevitability, a choice of the sea, and a direction for the future."

"But don't forget, they are just pirates after all. To the Navy, they are merely one of the pirates they need to eliminate."

"In the past eight hundred years, there have been many more so-called 'pirate emperors' on the sea, but the tides of time have carried away all of them."

"Only Marineford, representing immortal justice, remains steadfast and unwavering on the sea!!!" (To be continued)

[Chapter 424 Promotion to Lieutenant General]

Only Marineford, representing immortal justice, remains steadfast and unwavering on the sea!

At that moment, the reporters present all overturned their original headlines for the news articles and decided to use this sentence as the new headline.

That's truly... a shocking statement!

Not only were the vice admirals who had been making small moves below stunned, but even Fleet Admiral Sengoku, who had only wanted to see Yan make a fool of himself, was completely moved.

These words... struck a chord with the Warring States marshal.

Pirates are ultimately fleeting figures, disappearing into the rolling tides of history; only Marineford, representing the justice of the Navy, stands steadfast from beginning to end.

As long as Marineford stands, justice will prevail!

For a moment, the flash of the camera Den Den Mushi kept flashing, freezing the image of Yan standing on the podium, full of passion and enthusiasm.

However, a reporter soon noticed the eye-catching half-eaten rice cracker in the composition captured by the camera den Den Mushi.

"Major General Yann, may I ask, what is the meaning behind the rice cracker you are holding in your hand?" an excited reporter asked, mustering his courage.

What does it mean?

How do I know what it means?

Caught red-handed secretly eating rice crackers, Ya-en, forced to go on stage to perform, showed no change in expression. With a quick thought, she spoke.

"Did you notice? This half-eaten rice cracker..."