Chapter 71: Admiral's Deployment

The young staff officer standing opposite subconsciously straightened his back: "Report to the Fleet Admiral, all deployed intelligence teams have yet to send back any sighting reports."

"However, please rest assured."

He stepped forward quickly and pointed to several markers on the tactical map: "Drum Island, Tor Island, Jaya Island—the islands around Whiskey Peak have all been monitored. In addition..."

The staff officer's finger moved toward the location of the Alabasta Kingdom.

"Considering they likely obtained a permanent log pose from Crocodile, we have also arranged surveillance personnel at several major ports along the Sandora River."

"Anywhere, once there is news, we will definitely report to you immediately!"

Sengoku stared at the red markers on the map, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter.

These deployments seemed as tight as a net, but that cunning kid seemed to have evaporated, leaving no trace. Could it be...

His gaze shifted downward, landing on an inconspicuous little island on the side of Whiskey Peak, "Did you send anyone to Little Garden?"

"That side?"

The staff officer was stunned, "Generally, no ships dare to pass through there. Not to mention the threat of the Island-Eating Goldfish, just recording the magnetism on the island takes a full year, so we..."

Brrr-brrr~

The Den Den Mushi on the desk suddenly made an urgent sound, interrupting the staff officer's words.

"Hello? I am Sengoku, please speak."

Sengoku picked up the receiver, and after listening for a while, his expression changed abruptly, "Really? Are you sure?"

"Absolutely certain, no mistake, Fleet Admiral!"

An excited voice came from the other end of the receiver, "We waited for three full days, and only half an hour ago did we see with our own eyes that the *Rakumu* Pirates' ship had docked at Tor Island!"

"Where are the people now?" Sengoku immediately asked.

"They went straight into the city and are spending lavishly at various entertainment venues; it seems they want to indulge themselves here for a few days! If Headquarters sends people over now, we'll definitely make it in time, Fleet Admiral!"

The air in the room froze instantly.

Sengoku stood up slowly and gave the order in a deep voice: "Notify the three Admirals to come to my office immediately."

"Yes!"

The young staff officer gave a military salute and left, full of excitement.

Less than ten minutes later.

In the Fleet Admiral's office, the three highest combat powers of the Marine Headquarters appeared one after another.

Aokiji leaned lazily against the door frame, his eye mask still tilted, clearly having just been called out of his sleep: "Ah, lala... is it so late, and you still want us to work overtime?"

"Can't be helped~~"

Kizaru sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, slowly trimming his nails:

"After all, the momentum of that newcomer is truly terrifying. Just after setting sail, he consecutively took down Onigumo and a Warlord of the Sea..."

He dragged out his tone and said with a smile: "If I were the Fleet Admiral, I would also have a headache and not be able to sleep well if I let such a guy continue to develop unscrupulously, right?"

"Shut up, Borsalino."

Sengoku glared at him, "Let's get straight to the point. You all know the situation. The news of Crocodile's death won't be suppressed by Headquarters for long. We must arrest this group of people before public opinion ferments!"

"The life or death of the others doesn't matter, but the sword master Siano and the traitorous hunter Smoker—try to capture these two alive. Under the premise of ensuring this, who is willing to make a trip?"

"Ah, lala..."

Aokiji yawned and raised his hand lazily, "Then I'll go. I've been on vacation for a while, and I haven't stretched my muscles in a long time..."

"No, I'll go."

Before he could finish, he was abruptly interrupted by a low voice.

Aokiji and Kizaru were both slightly stunned and turned to look at the one who hadn't spoken since entering—

Akainu stepped out of the shadows, his eyes under the brim of his hat cold:

"If I remember correctly, Kuzan, your relationship with Smoker is quite good. Whether you can be truly hard-hearted toward a former friend... you really can't be trusted on this point."

"What do you mean by that?" Aokiji frowned slightly.

"Exactly what I said."

Akainu was expressionless, "This kind of scum with a bad track record who endangers justice should be completely eradicated. I don't want some people to let the turtle in the jar escape because of personal feelings."

"Personal feelings?" Aokiji raised an eyebrow and sneered, "Are you referring to your urgent desire to avenge Onigumo?"

"Onigumo was our comrade-in-arms and died defending justice. Shouldn't we avenge him?"

Both of them stared coldly into each other's eyes, and for a moment, it was quite tense.

"This atmosphere..." Kizaru blew the debris off his nails and shrank into the corner of the sofa: "It's truly terrifying~"

"Sakazuki!"

Sengoku shouted to stop them, "Did you forget what I just said? You can go, but you must try to capture them alive. This is an order, do you hear me!"

"...I understand."

Akainu was silent for a moment, then suddenly nodded and turned toward the door: "However, Fleet Admiral, the situation on the battlefield is ever-changing. When forced, don't expect me to show mercy to traitors."

After dropping this sentence, he stepped out of the door.

"..." Aokiji narrowed his eyes slightly.

In the end, he didn't say anything and followed him out, but headed in another direction.

Sengoku looked at the backs of the two disappearing, then looked at Kizaru, who was still focused on trimming his nails, sighed, and sat back behind the desk piled high with documents...

——————

At dawn, the morning mist in Little Garden had not yet dissipated.

Siano was already standing on the open space surrounded by giant bones, exercising his slightly sore shoulders and neck.

Last night's banquet was too enjoyable, and he had opened his heart to drink with the two giants, consuming dozens of kilograms of strong liquor. Even now, his temples were still throbbing faintly.

He looked up at the sky; the sun had just poked its head out from the horizon, and the air was still filled with the scent of the previous night's bonfire embers.

"Eh, Siano, you're up quite early!"

A thunderous voice suddenly came from behind, and the ground began to tremble slightly.

Dory, carrying his giant sword more than ten meters long, walked over with a smile. Brogy followed behind, quietly using the blade of his battle axe as a mirror to groom his messy beard.

Seeing Siano look over, he hurriedly put away the giant axe and hummed a little tune as if nothing had happened.

"Are you ready?"

Dory grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, "Special training from Elbaf won't show any mercy."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Siano twisted his neck, excitement flashing in his eyes, "Come on, two uncles, give it your all!"

"Haha, since that's the case..." Dory suddenly raised his giant sword and swung it down without warning, "Then it's already started!!!"

Hum!

The sharp whistle of the giant sword tearing through the air stung his eardrums. Siano didn't even think and activated "Shave," dodging to the left.

"Gahahahaha, over here!"

Before he could land, Brogy had already predicted his position and laughed as he swung his axe horizontally.

Siano was startled. The instinctive reaction cultivated by years of practice made his waist lean back violently, his upper body almost sticking to the ground, barely dodging the axe blade.

Whoosh!

The giant axe grazed his scalp, and the wind it stirred made Siano's face twitch wildly, his pupils shrinking subconsciously, but because of this, he became even more excited.

Is it this exciting right from the start?

Compared to watching from the sidelines yesterday, now that he was facing this terrifying wind pressure head-on, he could more deeply realize just how powerful these two legendary giants were.

Not only was their strength terrifying, but they also had amazing agility that didn't match their huge size at all.

Most importantly.

The two were extremely good at joint attacks. Working together was far from just one plus one equals two, bringing him unprecedented pressure.

There's a way!

This is exactly the feeling he wanted!

His eyes were bright, staring fixedly at the giant sword Dory was about to bring down—

At this rate, it wouldn't take long. Maybe before dark today, he could successfully master Observation Haki!

"The warm-up is over, Siano!"

Dory's voice sounded at this time, "Be careful! Next, Brogy and I are really going to give it our all!"

The next instant, accompanied by the giant's roar, a cold, bone-chilling sense of crisis suddenly rose, giving him goosebumps all over his back—

"Elbaf Spear, Ikoku!!!"