The natural system started off strong, but the navy finally reached its peak!

His gaze swept over Akainu. "Right now, you're probably still lying in a hospital bed, contemplating life."

This also refers to the final moments of the Marineford War, when Akainu attempted to finish off Luffy and Ace, only to be sent flying by a single punch from an enraged Garp.

If Aokiji hadn't intervened in time and pointed out that Garp was merely a "grandfather who had lost his grandson" at the time...

Given the terrifying strength and killing intent Garp displayed at that time, he pursued in a fit of rage.

Akainu's injuries are far more serious than just needing to lie in bed for a while.

And this sentence hit Akainu's sore spot perfectly!

Because, in Akainu's heart, Garp's punch truly made him feel betrayed by justice.

Akainu's expression instantly darkened, and a scorching aura began to emanate from his body uncontrollably.

The ground beneath my feet emitted a faint, scorching sound as if it were being baked by the high temperature.

He stared intently at Aokiji, his jaw clenched, veins bulging on his neck, but he didn't immediately retort.

One person felt the lava boiling.

A chill ran through the person.

"Kuzan..." Akainu's voice was forced out through clenched teeth, carrying a suppressed warning, "Don't push me any further!"

He felt his rationality being slowly eroded by the other person's cold mockery and exposure of his shortcomings.

"Am I forcing you?"

Despite the almost tangible killing intent, Aokiji did not back down. Meeting Akainu's fiery gaze, he countered with a question...

"Sakazuki, from beginning to end, have you never truly realized just how extreme and dangerous your version of 'justice' really is?!"

"Wasn't what happened in O'Hara enough to make you reflect? Justice without a shred of humanity, justice that can sacrifice everything. Is this what you call 'absolute'?!"

As the conflict was about to escalate, the magma around Akainu surged even more violently, as if it were about to explode completely at any moment.

Just then, Aokiji uttered a sentence that instantly froze the atmosphere, a sentence that even carried a hint of frantic probing.

"Or perhaps..." His gaze sharpened, meeting Akainu's violent eyes directly.

"We must follow closely behind Gern..."

"On this holy land of Mary Geoise..."

"Shall we have a fight too?!"

"!!!"

These words were like a thunderclap, exploding throughout the passageway!

Following closely behind Gern? Fighting a battle on the Holy Land?

Gorn's rampage at the Holy Land was an unrepeatable legend within the Navy, and a disgrace the World Government was unwilling to mention.

At this moment, Aokiji actually proposed that the two of them should also emulate Gern and engage in a death match between two admirals right here!

Akainu isn't that crazy yet.

In the end, Akainu said nothing more, but gave Aokiji a colder glare before stepping into the descending passage.

As Aokiji watched his retreating figure, the cold smile on his face gradually faded, turning into a barely audible sigh. He shook his head and continued walking upwards.

The conflict between the two has now reached a breaking point.

Chapter 497 Gern is busy again

New World, G-10 Base

The highly publicized political maneuvering at the medal-awarding ceremony has just concluded.

Gurn didn't even have time to savor the victory before throwing himself into much larger and more complex practical work.

Inside the G-10 base office, documents were piled up like mountains, and the constant ringing of Den Den Mushi (snail phone) filled the air.

Just as he had predicted, taking over Whitebeard's territory was only the beginning; the real challenge lay in how to consolidate and solidify it.

This is not simply a matter of conquering the territory; it also involves appeasing vassal kingdoms, controlling sea routes, and integrating resources.

And to deal with the inevitable infiltration and counterattacks from the other four emperors.

What's more, now they've added two more daunting tasks.

The first priority was the establishment of the new Marineford.

The Naval Headquarters was moved to the New World, and expanded and renovated on the basis of G-2 Base.

This involves astronomical sums of money, materials, and manpower, as well as the design of complex defensive fortifications and the re-coordination with surrounding forces. Its scale far exceeds that of rebuilding the old Marineford.

Secondly, there was the strategic adjustment in the first half of the Grand Line.

Although the strategic focus has shifted, the "paradise" will never be left unattended.

How to maintain basic order in the first half of the journey without scattering the main force in the New World, and deter those restless pirates?

At the same time, it is necessary to avoid the world government using this as an excuse to intervene, which requires extremely ingenious planning and personnel arrangements.

In short, there's a ton of work to do!

However, Gern also demonstrated an astonishing ability to coordinate and be efficient, befitting his terrifying strength.

He didn't waste time on trivial matters, but instead focused on the core issues first.

My finger tapped rapidly across the different colored Den Den Mushi (snail phones), and commands were clearly recorded and quickly transmitted.

Regarding the New World: He signed several military orders issued in the name of "Grand Admiral of the New World Navy".

He ordered Barrett to lead an elite fleet to sweep away all unruly or opportunistic pirate crews within Whitebeard's former territory with lightning speed, thus establishing a high-pressure deterrent.

He ordered Tesoro to use his economic skills to quickly take over and integrate Whitebeard's important commercial islands and underground trading channels, cut off the economic penetration of the other four emperors, and renegotiate.

Enel and Kuma were ordered to patrol the perimeter of the G-10 base in the New World, with a focus on monitoring any unusual movements by Big Mom and Kaido's forces.

The construction of the new headquarters involved direct encrypted communication with Sengoku, sending the original blueprints of the G-2 base and data on the surrounding sea area.

He also requested that the Warring States period, in his capacity as marshal, promptly produce a preliminary expansion plan and budget.

Using the huge sum of money he "extorted" from the World Government, he immediately launched the preliminary project.

He knew that he had to involve the Warring States period deeply in order to minimize internal resistance and bind the old general to his cause.

As for the first half of the Grand Line, which has already become a self-indulgent exercise, a letter of recommendation was drafted.

The suggestion is to first mobilize a group of lieutenant generals from headquarters who are tough-minded and have strong execution capabilities, such as Momonga and Onigumo.

They take turns stationed at key nodes in the first half of the operation, conducting highly mobile patrol strikes.

They were given the authority to make decisions on the spot in order to make up for the temporary lack of high-end combat power.

........

After handling official business at a high intensity for several hours, even with Gern's energy, he felt a bit mentally exhausted.

I subconsciously rubbed my temples and looked up to relax my gaze, but my eyes fell on the comfortable sofa on one side of the office.

Sengoku was slumped there, completely unladylike, holding a bag of senbei (rice crackers) and crunching them loudly, with a steaming cup of tea beside him.

His relaxed demeanor contrasted sharply with the mountains of documents and the incessantly ringing Den Den Mushi on Gern's side.

He's practically another version of Garp!

Seeing this, Gern's forehead creased with fury. He gritted his teeth instinctively and spoke with a hint of resentment.

"My Warring States Marshal".

"If I remember correctly, you are still nominally the head of the Navy, the Fleet Admiral, right?"

"Are you really that ashamed of yourself?"

Faced with Gern's "accusations," Sengoku remained completely unfazed, even comfortably shrinking further into the sofa.

He picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, and then replied lazily in an extremely irritating tone, mimicking Kizaru's manner.

"Oh dear~ Our Grand Commander Gern, you're not quite right about that." He shook the bag of rice crackers in his hand.

"You insisted on starting this mess yourself!"

"Relocating headquarters and integrating the new world—with such a huge undertaking, who else would be busy if not you?"

Zhan Guo put down his teacup, sat up straighter, and gave a "you've finally met your match" smile.

"What? Do you really think it's so easy and comfortable to sideline me as the marshal and leave me in this position like a clay statue?"

He pointed a finger at the mountain of documents in front of Gern, his tone carrying a hint of knowing mockery and a touch of revenge.

"Even if your subordinate Tesoro is very capable and skillful, he can't possibly control everything by himself, can he?"

"Putting aside everything else, just the transfer of high-ranking officers that requires the 'Marshal's' seal and authority to approve..."

Military expenditures exceeding a certain amount, and documents involving diplomatic matters of member states…” Sengoku shrugged.

"Most of the time, he doesn't even have the authority to approve them!"

"Shouldn't we just pile them up here with you, the 'Grand Commander,' or... theoretically, shouldn't we send them to me?"

"Damn it..." Gern cursed under his breath as he looked at Sengoku's shameless "I'll just watch you do your thing" attitude.

That makes sense, though. Someone who can hang out with Garp can't be anything serious. It's just that because of his position as Fleet Admiral, he's showing his true colors now that he's relaxed a little.

But there's no way around it; after all, power isn't easy to acquire, and responsibilities and tasks follow.

Every beginning is difficult. Want to be a true master?

Then we need to sort out these tedious but crucial specific matters first.

"Hmph!" Gern snorted coldly, no longer looking at the leisurely old man.

He refocused his energy on the sea of ​​documents in front of him, but a slight smile unconsciously crept onto his lips.

This challenge of outwitting and outmaneuvering an old fox while handling enormous affairs, though tiring, is exactly what he wants.

Because everything is unfolding according to its own script.

Chapter 498 A Sudden Death Match

Over the next few months, Gern worked in the New World G-10 & G-2 (New Headquarters Construction Zone).

Spinning back and forth like a high-speed gyroscope, it handles a series of complex tasks such as taking over territory, establishing a new headquarters, and laying out the Grand Line.

There was hardly a moment of free time; he was so busy he barely had a break.

Meanwhile, within the navy, a war without gunfire was escalating.

Although both Akainu and Aokiji explicitly rejected the World Government's provocative "proposal" in their own ways, the World Government clearly did not give up.

Since the boss doesn't care, then the underlings will have to push you along!

Therefore, the World Government continued to secretly support the Akainu faction in terms of resources and public opinion.

They attempted to maintain internal divisions within the Navy to prevent a situation where Guern became the sole dominant figure.

And now, precisely because of this, the Warring States period, which was originally responsible for maintaining peace between the two factions, has completely abandoned its checks and balances, and is even intentionally indulging them.

(He was happy to have some free time and saw it as a test of Gern's ability to control the situation.)

The conflict between Akainu's radicals and Aokiji's conservatives, like a wild horse that has lost its last restraint, is becoming increasingly tense and is almost openly heated.

Especially with the decision to relocate headquarters to the New World, the original power structure and territorial divisions were completely disrupted.

How should the cake of the new world be divided?

Who controls the interests in the first half of the Grand Line?

Which faction will fill the important branch positions in the new headquarters?

Every question touches a nerve with both sides.

As a result, in just four months, no fewer than thirty "coordination meetings" have been held, chaired by lieutenant generals and attended by core members of both factions!

The atmosphere at the meeting also deteriorated rapidly, as could be seen with the naked eye.

Initially, both sides managed to sit at the negotiating table and attempt to "talk" through words, despite the tense atmosphere.

This then escalated into a heated argument involving slamming tables and glaring at each other, with each side accusing the other of having flawed ideas, being slow to act, and even "covering up evil."