"Extra! Extra!"
"Marines achieve great victory, annihilating the Roberts Legion!!!"
"Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Akainu kills Legion Commander Bartholomew Roberts!!!"
"..."
On the Sabaody Archipelago, newspapers fluttered down like snowflakes from news birds. Reporters, with excited expressions, waved their papers, running around to spread the word. In this brutal Great Pirate Era, nothing was more inspiring to people than the Marines eliminating a major pirate.
"Shakky, that interesting kid also participated in the battle. I never thought his ability would be similar to Linlin's."
At Shakky's Rip-Off Bar on Grove 13, Rayleigh sat calmly at the counter, looking at the latest edition of the newspaper, a hint of a smile on his lips.
From behind the counter, a woman with short hair, wearing a spider-patterned top and tight pants, looked at Rayleigh. With a cigarette between her index and middle fingers, she elegantly blew out a smoke ring, remarking playfully, "Amphitrite Cross, the most famous rookie in the Marines, the man who shook Sabaody Archipelago. Hehe~ Marduk, Surtur, Scáthach... I wonder how Linlin will react when she finds out about this?"
"Uh—" Rayleigh's expression was strange, and he teased with a slight smile, "Perhaps she'll try to make him her husband?"
"Hahahaha~ Very likely!" Shakky burst into laughter, extinguishing her half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray, nodding in agreement.
"By the way, Shakky, I'm a bit strapped for cash lately. Lend me some money, will you?"
"Good... hell no! Almost fell for that!"
"Shakky, I swear this time I'll win it all back!"
"Go sell yourself then!"
"Hey, hey, hey~ Isn't that a bit too harsh?!"
"..."
...
Marine Headquarters, Marineford
"In this operation, the Roberts Legion was completely annihilated. Legion Commander Bartholomew Roberts, Silver Arm Regedor, Rager Reepel, Iron Knight Fabian Lent, and other members, totaling over 15,000 individuals, were killed. Additionally, over 5,000 individuals, including the Three-Gun Freaks brothers Alec and Yorick, were captured. Approximately 4,000 remain, either scattered within the Bion Kingdom or having already escaped Shiloh Island."
In the Headquarters conference room, Rear Admiral Doberman acted as the spokesperson, delivering a combat report on the annihilation of the Roberts Legion to the Marine Headquarters' high-ranking officials.
"Excellent, have a seat!" Kong nodded, pressing his hand down in satisfaction. After Doberman returned to his seat, Kong said with a smile, "You've done well this time. At the cost of 1,000 casualties and 2,000 wounded, we completely annihilated the entire Roberts Legion and even captured all their main members. This truly is a great victory!"
"In this operation, Captain Cross deserves the most credit!" Sakazuki said with a serious expression, speaking in a deep voice. "Furthermore, the Bion Kingdom paid an immense price in containing the Roberts Legion. The Roberts Legion's invasion and the domestic noble rebellion not only destroyed Oneway Port, but Doma City also suffered extensive damage, with losses reaching 60%. The Royal Army of 40,000 lost more than half its troops. Casualties among other nobles, merchants, and civilians even exceeded ten million..."
"I understand what you mean!" Kong interrupted Sakazuki before he could finish. "The Five Elders have already agreed to incorporate the Bion Kingdom into the World Government's affiliated nations. All that's needed is for Queen Shanna to personally travel to Mariejois to sign the alliance!"
Upon hearing this, Sakazuki nodded and said nothing more. With the status of a World Government affiliated nation, the Marines could protect the Bion Kingdom, openly sailing warships to eliminate the rogue pirates within its borders.
Next, the meeting continued, primarily focusing on the redeployment of forces in the New World after the disbandment of the expeditionary fleet. After all, Cross's Enliven Legion suffered heavy losses in this battle. The air force was almost completely wiped out in Mankervis's attack, and the ground forces lost as many as 2,000 troops, mostly during the later stages of the battle when Roberts used his Pump-Pump Fruit to make the Roberts Legion fight to the death against the Marines.
Even the more than 3,000 Marine casualties occurred at that time. Therefore, Marine Headquarters needed to readjust its forces, not only to compensate for the defensive strength of Marineford Island but also to balance the garrison forces of other branch fortresses.
However, these were not concerns of Cross, so he was dozing off during the discussions, amusing himself by playing rock-paper-scissors with his shadow.
Who knows how much time passed, but the meeting reached its conclusion, and they began to commend and promote the officers of the expeditionary fleet. However, most officers were still in the stage of accumulating merits. At least, no one among the Vice Admiral-ranked officers had been directly promoted, including Cross, who was credited with the greatest achievement. He merely received the highest-grade Justice Seagull Medal as commendation.
Cross had already anticipated this. After all, he was only 17 years old and had served for too short a time, yet he had already risen to the rank of Captain. While further promotion wasn't impossible, it would draw too much attention and cause dissatisfaction and jealousy among many within the organization.
In any case, Cross wasn't in a hurry for promotion, at least not until Kong stepped down, as internal personnel changes within the Marines wouldn't be too significant. Only when Admiral Sengoku ascended to power and Fleet Admiral Kong became the Commander-in-Chief of the entire military would large-scale personnel changes occur within the Marines.
That's when the three Admirals would take their positions, and the older generation of officers would either retire or move to a second-line position, allowing the newcomers to rise.
Suddenly, just as Cross won his 21st consecutive game against Scáthach, Tsuru's gaze shifted, and she spoke, "Cross, the Bion Kingdom suffered immense losses in this incident. Queen Shanna hopes Marine Headquarters will establish a Marine branch in the waters off Shiloh Island to deter New World pirates, and she wants you to oversee it. Do you have any suggestions?"
"Uh—" Cross suddenly looked up, seeing dozens of officers in the room staring at him. He quickly composed himself and said in a deep voice, "I will obey Headquarters' orders on this matter. Additionally, I have a proposal: allow Lord Lavishur to become a Warlord of the Sea. This would fill a vacancy among the Warlords and also serve to combat and deter pirates in the New World!"
The Marines and the World Government had already agreed on a common goal: to complete the ranks of the Warlords of the Sea to balance the increasingly rampant tide of pirates. Therefore, Cross believed that since he had killed Gecko Moria, taking out a future Warlord, it was necessary to help the Marines find a new candidate.
"Demon Prince Doma Lavishur, who once had a bounty of 450 million Berries, huh..." Tsuru pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "This man has both strength and reputation, and he's a member of the Doma Royal Family. Appointing him as a Warlord of the Sea could indeed improve relations between the Marines and the Bion Kingdom, making up for past mistakes. He's certainly a good candidate!"
Kong and Tsuru exchanged glances, then Kong said, "We will consider this carefully. If nothing unexpected happens, we should send him an invitation to become a Warlord of the Sea!"
"It seems I can report this good news to Shanna-san!" Cross said with a smile.
"Hehe~ It seems your relationship with Queen Shanna is quite good, then! In that case, for the next year, I'll trouble you with the security of the Bion Kingdom. I'll have Tokikake serve as the base commander, and you can find an uninhabited island in the waters off Shiloh Island to build the base!" Kong winked at Cross, deliberately teasing him.
"Eh???"
Cross looked utterly bewildered. What in the world? How did he suddenly get banished?
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