Chapter 156: The Candidates for the Mission to Enies Lobby

After discussing the matter with Tsuru, Sengoku quickly realized that this mission assigned by the World Government to Enies Lobby might not be such a bad thing after all.

After all, if things went wrong, they wouldn't be blamed, and they might even manage to profit from the situation.

If things went smoothly, the rewards would be immense, but even if they failed, they had nothing to lose. Who wouldn't want to take on such a task?

Since it was decided that powerful individuals would be sent to "support" Enies Lobby, the selection of personnel became crucial.

First, Wood was on their side, so they couldn't send any uninformed Marine powerhouses. Otherwise, there was a risk of them accidentally harming each other, jeopardizing the entire plan.

Additionally, the people sent to Enies Lobby couldn't be too weak. That would make it seem like the Marines were just going through the motions, which would offend the World Government.

At present, only five people knew Wood's true role as a double agent: the four in this room and Admiral Zephyr.

Sengoku, as the Fleet Admiral, couldn't leave his post, and Tsuru, being a strategist and non-combatant, was indispensable for the operation of Marine Headquarters.

That left only Gion, Garp, and Zephyr as potential candidates.

Originally, sending Gion would have been ideal, as she was very familiar with Wood, and they had worked together many times before.

However, Gion had been defeated by Wood in the past, and the CP organization was aware of this. Sending her alone might upset the World Government.

After some deliberation, Sengoku decided to send Garp to accompany Gion to Enies Lobby.

Zephyr was not chosen because his strict and upright personality made him ill-suited for deception. Asking him to play along and attack a student he favored would have been too difficult.

On the other hand, while Garp was a bit of a wildcard, he had a good sense of the bigger picture when it mattered.

Moreover, Garp was excellent at pretending to be a fool, so all he had to do at Enies Lobby was act naturally. After all, going easy on someone was his specialty.

With a pirate supernova like Wood, a future Admiral candidate like Gion, and the "Hero of the Marines" Garp on the team, the lineup was more than formidable and respectful to the World Government.

Meanwhile, at the Enies Lobby courthouse, Spandam had just received news that reinforcements from Marine Headquarters were on the way, and he was ecstatic.

Initially, when he sought his father's help, he merely hoped for a few more capable CP agents.

But to his surprise, his father's connections were much more impressive than he thought. Not only had he managed to get help from Marine Headquarters, but he also secured the assistance of Rear Admiral Gion and the legendary Marine hero, Monkey D. Garp.

Gion was well-known in the Marines, but she had only recently begun making a name for herself.

However, Garp was in a different league altogether. He was the man who had relentlessly pursued the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger.

Even though Garp was only a Vice Admiral, that was because he had refused promotions. Rank meant little to him at this point.

At his current level, Garp was essentially the strongest Marine, without question.

Spandam had only asked for a few more CP9 agents, but he had received two major players. He couldn't have been happier.

In his mind, this secret mission was now a sure thing.

So what if Wood wasn't an ordinary Marine captain? So what if he had defeated Rear Admiral Gion? Could he possibly defeat the strongest Marine hero, Garp?

Unfortunately for Spandam, what he didn't realize was that while his phone call had brought in two powerful reinforcements, neither of them were actually on his side…

At Marineford's port, nearly a thousand Marines were gearing up, inspecting their equipment and the condition of their warships.

The sight of such a large-scale operation naturally attracted the attention of the other Marines nearby.

Lately, Kuzan (Aokiji) had been feeling exhausted. Finding time to slack off was becoming increasingly difficult, as Fleet Admiral Sengoku was getting harder to fool.

As Kuzan's ship pulled into the port, he noticed the fully prepared Marines and the three warships already leaving the docks.

"Who's heading out with three large warships? It seems a bit much just to deal with ordinary pirates, doesn't it?" Kuzan wondered aloud.

Recently, the seas had been plagued with increasing turmoil, and pirates on the Grand Line were becoming more brazen, leaving Marine leaders with endless tasks.

With manpower stretched thin, even someone of Kuzan's rank often had to ride his bike or take his private ship, the Swan, to carry out missions.

Sengoku's reasoning for not assigning Kuzan a crew was simple: Kuzan was more than capable of handling things alone, so there was no need to waste resources.

And if Kuzan had too many people under his command, he'd likely find a way to execute his "Lazy Justice" by slacking off throughout the mission.

"The ships are for Rear Admiral Gion and Vice Admiral Garp. They're heading out to execute a special mission assigned by Fleet Admiral Sengoku," replied one of the soldiers.

Hearing this, Kuzan furrowed his brow in confusion. He was about to ask more when he spotted Garp approaching, with Gion half a step behind him.

For this mission to Enies Lobby, Sengoku had appointed Garp as the commander, with Gion as his deputy. They had been given nearly a thousand soldiers and three warships, showing the World Government great respect.

"Karp-san, are you headed to take down some big-time pirates in the New World?" Kuzan inquired.

While Garp often went out to capture small fry, Kuzan knew that, much like himself, Garp frequently used missions as an excuse for vacation.

But this time, things seemed different. Garp wouldn't take so many soldiers and three warships if he were just heading to the East Blue for a break, nor would he bring Gion along.

Kuzan knew Gion from Marine Headquarters. Though she was a few generations younger, her reputation as a hard worker was well-known.

Aside from Gion's impressive strength, Kuzan remembered her mostly because Sengoku often used her as an example when lecturing him.

Gion was the very definition of a model Marine, the complete opposite of slacker types like Kuzan and Kizaru.

As a senior member of the "slacker" faction, Kuzan figured Garp wouldn't take someone like Gion if he were going to the East Blue for a vacation.

Moreover, with Marine Headquarters being short on manpower, Sengoku would never let Gion, a diligent officer, waste time on frivolous outings.

Since this wasn't a slacking mission, Kuzan could only assume that Sengoku had decided to go after some big names in the New World.