Clouds Are Moving In All Directions (Part 2)

Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

As soon as Admiral Sengoku received the message from Doflamingo, he immediately summoned all Marine's high-brass, even the two Admirals who were away on missions. All the high-ranking officers of the Marines now gathered in the meeting room. They even called the retired Z to join them.

Upon entering the meeting room, everyone knew that something big had happened, or else Admiral Sengoku wouldn't have summoned all the top brass so suddenly.

It was safe to say that the individuals assembled in this room were not only the Marine's top brass, but also the Marine's strongest combatants!

"I believe everyone is curious as to why I've summoned you all at this moment, am I right?"

After a brief pause, Admiral Sengoku continued, "Not long ago, I received a message that Shiki has gathered a massive force and is preparing to go to war with Vongola Family."

"That old lion hasn't found a place to retire and comes back to cause trouble? But why would he suddenly want to go to war with the Vongola Family?" Z's eyebrows furrowed upon hearing about Shiki. After all, that man was from the same era as him.

"Pirates themselves are prone to fight each other, so that's not really surprising," Admiral Akainu snorted, showing no particular concern about the situation.

As he said, pirates tend to be fight each other. Even though Vongola Family was a mafia, in his eyes, they were no different from pirates – all of them were despicable criminals.

"Can we confirm the reliability of this information?" Vice-Admiral Tsuru, known for her calm demeanor, was the first to suggest verifying the authenticity of the news.

If the news was valid, then there was a room for them to make a move.

"I'm 90% certain, because I also received an intel not long ago that Shiki suddenly appeared at the Vongola Family's headquarters on Saken Island and had a conflict with them. Now, what we need to consider is what we can do when both sides are at war," Admiral Sengoku said after confirming the information. He was quite certain that this news was accurate, especially after considering that Doflamingo was a Seven Warlord of the Sea.

"I'm guessing that you want the Marines to attack Vongola Family or Shiki during the war to re-establish our foothold in New World, right?" Vice-Admiral Tsuru immediately deduced her old friend's motive. Indeed, if Shiki and the Vongola Family were at war, it would be the perfect moment for the Marines to make a move.

As a Marine Officer from the same era as the others, she was well aware of Shiki's true strength. While he might not be able to defeat the Vongola Family single-handedly, he could certainly cause them heavy losses.

"That's my plan!" Sengoku affirmed Tsuru's guess. As the Fleet Admiral, he certainly wanted to score some achievement during his reign

When two tigers fight, either of them will be injured. Regardless of the final outcome, they would certainly claim the victory given the perfect timing.

"I think we should take this opportunity!" Admiral Akainu added, showing his readiness to seize this opportunity

Following Akainu's agreement, the other high-ranking officers also voiced their support. They had faced defeat at the hands of the Vongola Family in the previous encounters, and this was a rare chance for them to redeem themselves.

"If we decide to enter the New World, we'll face a few challenges. Firstly, how do we enter without Vongola Family and Shiki being aware of our presence? Fish-Man Island is under Vongola Family's protection, and if we take that route, they'll be prepared. Do you think they'll allow us to interfere in their war with Shiki? They might even join forces against us," Vice-Admiral Tsuru pointed out, raising the first issue that needed to be addressed.

They had no choice but to go through Fish-Man Island if they wanted to enter New World as Red Line couldn't accommodate the massive force they'd mobilize.

"That's no longer a concern. We will head to Paradise first and enter New World through Calm Belt. Vegapunk has developed warships that can pass through the Calm Belt unhinged, similar to the ones used by Vongola Family. We have ten of these ships available, each capable of carrying tens of thousands of soldiers," Admiral Sengoku explained. He had recently received this information not long ago and at first planned to deploy these ships once they had more ships, but he didn't expect things to turn out this way, so he'd put those ten ships to good use.

Moreover, nobody would expect Marine to be able to sail through Calm Belt, which would give them the element of surprise.

"Well, if that's out of our equation, there's one more problem to address. If we deploy our entire force, what about the first half of Grand Line?" Vice-Admiral Tsuru continued, highlighting the second problem.

Regarding this issue, Admiral Sengoku had a plan, too. "I've already contacted Kong. During our mission, he will act as the temporary Fleet Admiral and oversee Marine Headquarters. One Vice-Admiral will also be stationed in East Blue, West Blue, North Blue, and South Blue respectively for patrolling and guarding duties. Although there will still be some issues, they are insignificant compared to establishing our foothold in New World and defeating Vongola Family and Shiki."

Everyone knew that Admiral Sengoku was determined to secure the Marine's foothold in New World this time, or he wouldn't have asked Kong as his temporary replacement to guard Marine Headquarters.

"In that case, there are no other issues," Vice-Admiral Tsuru finally said, and the other officers agreed.

The laid-back officers such as Aokiji couldn't voice their opinion at this time.

"Good! I hereby issue the command as Fleet Admiral. Dalmatian, John Giant, Comil, and Lacroix are responsible for patrolling and guarding East Blue, West Blue, North Blue, and South Blue! The rest of the Vice-Admirals should prepare. At the same time, gather the Seven Warlords of the Sea to join us in our expedition. This time, we must defeat Shiki and Vongola Family, and announce to the world that the Marines are entering the New World!"