Chapter 253

He agreed without hesitation to Vergo's attack on the City of Gold and stated that he would personally explain this matter to the Five Elders.

The power of money was infinite; Tesoro actually had many secret transactions with the World Government.

This was the reason why no one had dared to target Tesoro until now.

To move against Tesoro, one definitely had to get the approval of the Five Elders; Akainu taking this matter upon himself showed how much he valued Vergo.

But Vergo's next sentence made even Akainu hesitate a little.

"Fleet Admiral Sakazuki, the position of Admiral hasn't been finalized yet, right?"

"After eliminating Tesoro, I want to go to Headquarters and compete fairly for the position of Admiral with the newly joined Fujitora and Green Bull."

Akainu fell silent.

In terms of seniority and merits, Vergo was of course more qualified to become an Admiral than Fujitora and Green Bull.

But in terms of strength, Vergo should still be lacking.

Akainu intended to eliminate all pirates in the New World and also contend with the increasingly arrogant Beasts Pirates.

Right now, what he cared about most was the Navy's strength.

As long as there was sufficient strength, breaking the rules to promote a newcomer to Admiral was completely fine.

But without sufficiently powerful strength, even with past merits and seniority, Akainu didn't want him to be an Admiral.

Akainu thought for a moment and said:

"Vergo, you know that Fujitora and Green Bull possess monster-level strength; they are very suitable to be Admirals."

Vergo's calm and composed voice came from the other end of the phone:

"I've heard that those two are very strong, but I don't fear them either. In any case, fair competition is allowed, right?"

Since it had come to this, Akainu had nothing left to persuade him with and had to agree to Vergo's request.

But he couldn't help but feel suspicious in his heart: was Vergo really that confident?

And the next day,

when Vergo had only spent half a day eliminating Tesoro of the City of Gold and arrived at Navy Headquarters to engage in a battle with Fujitora and Green Bull,

Akainu completely understood the source of Vergo's confidence.

Akainu was both shocked and overjoyed.

Vergo actually possessed strength rivaling Fujitora and Green Bull; the Navy had gained another top-tier combatant. This was truly a great thing!

224. Competing for the position of Admiral, Vergo vs. Fujitora! Fujitora's shock

The new Navy Headquarters, which was the former G-1 branch.

It faced the New World directly.

Here, the newly appointed Navy Fleet Admiral Akainu had built it into a thorough war fortress.

It was covered in cannons and warships, and the dense firepower was enough to make any pirate feel terrified.

At this very moment,

in the plaza of this new Navy Headquarters, many marines were gathered to watch the excitement.

These marines were all officers with positions, and there was no lack of powerful elite Vice Admirals from Headquarters.

Even the retired former Fleet Admiral, now Navy Inspector General Sengoku, was also watching with wide eyes and curiosity.

"Tsuru, who do you think will win, Vergo or Fujitora?"

Sengoku asked the Great Staff Officer Tsuru beside him.

During the Summit War, Tsuru had been sent by Sengoku to report to the Five Elders after learning about the destruction of Impel Down.

Tsuru had gone to Impel Down together with Tea Pig, Momousagi, and CP0.

However, they were played around by Luo Xing using the Anywhere Door.

Afterward, she also participated in the battle for the Sabaody Archipelago between the Navy and World Government's fifty-thousand-strong army and the Beasts Pirates.

She saw with her own eyes Momousagi, whom she treated like a younger sister, being captured by Luo Xing.

She also saw with her own eyes the junior Tea Pig being killed by Luo Xing with a single sword strike.

Even though Tsuru's strength was not weak, she was powerless on such a battlefield.

She herself had also suffered not-insignificant injuries.

Now that her injuries were mostly healed, she remained steadfast in her post as the Navy's Great Staff Officer.

Unlike Garp's anger toward Akainu and Sengoku's disapproval of Akainu's philosophy, Tsuru remained impartial toward Akainu.

She only cared about doing her own job well.

Hearing Sengoku's question, Tsuru said:

"Didn't you previously praise Base Commander Vergo for having the bearing of an Admiral? He suppressed Zephyr and also seems to have eaten the Bat-Bat Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Vampire Model; his strength shouldn't be weaker than Fujitora's."

"Hahaha! That's what I think too!"

Sengoku laughed while eating a senbei.

He admired Vergo very much, believing Vergo was an excellent marine who dared to act and take responsibility.

Unlike that slacker Kizaru, who only knew how to slack off every day.

If it weren't for Kizaru not being willing to give his all, would their Navy have lost so miserably in the battle for the Sabaody Archipelago?

Regarding this, the Five Elders were furious and had flown into a towering rage.

Fortunately, Sengoku resigned to take the blame and didn't have to listen to the Five Elders' scolding.

But the CP0 leader was miserable, getting scolded bloody by the Five Elders.

What Sengoku didn't know was that the Five Elders themselves had also been scolded bloody by that mysterious Lord Imu, and had even nearly lost their heads.

The reason the Five Elders were so impatient to have the Navy conduct a World Military Draft and have Kong mobilize the entire army, navy, and air force was because of the death order issued by Lord Imu.

At the same time,

the Five Elders also had Vegapunk develop new weapons.

It was said that those new weapons could even replace the combat power of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

Sengoku continued:

"However, I have seen Fujitora's strength before; this is a genuine monster!"

"Who is stronger between the two of them is really hard to say."

Under the gaze of Sengoku, Tsuru, Akainu, Green Bull beside Akainu, and countless marines,

Vergo and Fujitora, who were on the arena, began their contest.

Vergo held a bamboo pole, his expression cold and stern.

Fujitora held a round, staff-like sword, lifted his pale pupils, and said slowly:

"Since I have chosen to join the Navy, of course I have my own ambitions; I will not hand over the position of Admiral."

Vergo said expressionlessly:

"No need for more words, let's speak with strength."

"Then, excuse me."

Fujitora suddenly drew his sword.

Hum, hum, hum~~

Circles of gravity ripples soared into the sky, rising into the infinitely distant universe.

Fujitora's Observation Haki perception range was definitely one of the widest in the pirate world.

The gravity ripples rushed into the universe, and not long after, pulled down a huge meteorite burning with flames.

This meteorite was dozens of times larger than Akainu's Great Eruption.

Descending from the sky, it brought with it a fierce pressure that made all the marines below change color in horror, their minds shaken.

"A meteorite, it's actually a meteorite from space!"

"It's too incredible, truly worthy of being called a monster, Fujitora!"

"Admiral-level powerhouses really do each possess the strength to destroy the world!"

Fortunately, this arena was surrounded by high Seastone walls.

Otherwise,

this group of watching marines would have long since scattered and fled.

The huge meteorite soon descended onto Vergo's head.

The powerful wind pressure made Vergo's coat flap loudly.

His skin also felt the scorching heat of the flames on the meteorite.

But Vergo remained expressionless.