While the Vice Admirals were assigning tasks, the Marine commanders present in the meeting room remained silent. They all understood that this was not their place to interject.
However, Smoker had never been one to curry favor with his superiors. If he had an opinion, he would voice it without hesitation.
"I think Vice Admiral Garp should stay in Kalmar City," Smoker said as he lit two cigars and placed them in his mouth. "I don't know if any of you have taken a look around the city recently, but the majority of the residents here have developed a severe hostility toward us Marines. They also display extreme sympathy for Morgan William. While the situation at Tequila Wolf is critical and deserves our attention, we cannot ignore the problems here."
Smoker glanced at Garp. "It's precisely because we withdrew most of our forces from this city that the residents have grown bolder, openly expressing their opposition. If Vice Admiral Garp leaves now, those who are still hesitant might take the risk and act recklessly."
"Only someone with a reputation and prestige greater than Morgan William's, like Vice Admiral Garp, can stabilize this city. Otherwise, even if two Vice Admirals remain here to suppress any unrest, their efforts will still be significantly diverted. This would shift their focus away from our true objective in the East Blue."
Smoker paused for a moment, then emphasized, "Our mission here in the East Blue is to execute Morgan William and weaken his influence. Keeping him under close watch is our top priority. Those pirate captains still believe Morgan William can escape and return their stolen funds. Even if this is just a story fabricated by Sherlock and his associates, we must remain vigilant. This entire plan could very well be a strategy to lure us away."
"And what about the Bridge Kingdom? Is it not important?" Vice Admiral Doberman asked coldly.
"We already know their plans and the exact location of their rendezvous," Smoker responded. "By acting preemptively, we can intercept these pirate crews as they arrive, one by one, without needing a large force."
Smoker noticed that Vice Admiral Strawberry frowned, clearly disagreeing with his perspective. Undeterred, he continued, "What we should truly be cautious of are Morgan William's subordinates. If we eliminate the majority of the pirate crews first, then two Vice Admirals, along with the elite forces we've deployed, should be more than enough to handle them and protect Tequila Wolf."
Strawberry's voice turned stern. "Do you realize how our superiors would view us if we left only two Vice Admirals to guard Tequila Wolf while keeping Vice Admiral Garp in this city? If anything happens to the Bridge Kingdom, the consequences will be severe."
Smoker exhaled a puff of smoke and replied, unyielding, "I'm a Marine. I don't care how our superiors view me. I only care about whether the prisoners under my watch escape. Two Vice Admirals are sufficient to deal with those enemies. A minor disturbance is far less damaging than Morgan William breaking free."
Strawberry seemed ready to argue further, but Garp laughed and interjected, "Smoker is right. As Marines, we shouldn't compromise the security of our prisoners just to appease our superiors. Whether it's you, Strawberry, or Dalmatian and Doberman, two of you are more than enough to ensure the safety of Tequila Wolf. At worst, the written reports afterward might not look great, but at least we can guarantee the security here."
Strawberry sighed in resignation. While he was the nominal commander, he couldn't entirely disregard the opinion of Garp, the "Hero of the Marines." His original intention in sending Garp to Tequila Wolf was to prevent any issues from arising there. With Garp present, the pirates' ships could be sunk before they even approached the bridge. Without Garp, the other Vice Admirals could still defeat the enemy, but the victory might not be as decisive or clean. Tequila Wolf would likely sustain some damage, and the Celestial Dragons and the World Government would inevitably criticize them afterward.
Just as Strawberry was about to nod in agreement, the meeting room door was suddenly knocked on. A Marine soldier reported that there was an urgent call. Being the closest to the door, Doberman stepped out to take the call while the others continued discussing the details of their operation.
Moments later, Doberman returned, his expression grim. He glanced at the four Vice Admirals and the other officers present, then said in a cold voice, "Vice Admiral Garp must go. We've just received urgent intelligence: Morgan William's men aren't planning to capture Tequila Wolf and incite unrest—they're planning to destroy it outright!"
"What!?"
The room erupted in shock. Even the usually composed Garp crushed the teacup in his hand upon hearing the news.
Meanwhile, as Smoker arrived at the 153rd Marine Branch, Gin led his team to the 31st Marine Branch. This base still had one intact warship, as it was more fortified than the 153rd Branch and had withstood the pirate assault.
After gathering intelligence from the base, Gin set out with his forces to hunt down pirates. However, unlike Smoker, who patrolled his assigned waters, Gin ventured into neighboring regions, patrolling near villages and towns.
His subordinates were puzzled by this decision, but Gin explained, "The pirates failed to breach this base. Knowing that the local Marine forces remain largely intact and that they've suffered significant casualties themselves, they're likely to leave this area. They'll need supplies, so patrolling near villages and towns gives us a better chance of encountering them than aimlessly wandering the open sea."
As a Headquarters Major, Gin's reasoning seemed sound enough that his subordinates, despite their doubts, had no choice but to follow his orders.
Gin's "foresight" appeared to pay off. Shortly after beginning their patrols, the 31st Branch's warship encountered a suspicious vessel near a small town. Although it wasn't flying a pirate flag, its reinforced prow and gunports made it clear that this was no ordinary merchant ship.
"Approach them and order them to halt for inspection," Gin commanded from the bow of the warship, observing the vessel through his telescope.
At the same time, aboard the suspicious ship, the notorious pirate Buggy was also peering through a telescope. When he spotted the number marking the 31st Branch's warship, his face twisted in anger. "The 31st Branch? Aren't they supposed to patrol another region? What the hell are they doing here!?"
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