Marineford.
Sengoku received the latest newspaper and was instantly shocked by the headline. He even doubted if he was hallucinating and rubbed his eyes to look again. Only after confirming it wasn't an illusion did he sit back in his seat, lost in thought for a long time.
"What happened?"
Tsuru walked into the office and frowned when she saw Sengoku's dazed expression.
Sengoku pointed at the newspaper without speaking.
Tsuru picked it up skeptically and let out an involuntary cry the moment she saw it. "Impossible, how could Dr. Reddy be defeated by Big Mom?"
Stussy had provided intelligence about Big Mom inviting Reddy to her tea party. Very few people were aware of this information. Tsuru was one of them.
Stussy not only delivered this intelligence but also included a speculation based on her understanding of Big Mom.
Big Mom intended to form an alliance with Reddy!
Because of this speculation, Sengoku decisively dispatched the newly formed SWORD unit to Whole Cake Island to disrupt the tea party.
Tsuru wasn't surprised that Reddy and Big Mom would clash. Both Big Mom and Reddy were individuals unwilling to compromise. What surprised her was that Reddy had lost.
Tsuru calmed herself and carefully read the report. The more she read, the more unbelievable it seemed.
Reddy had suppressed the entire Big Mom Pirates but was ultimately severely injured by Big Mom during one of her hunger rampages. His current whereabouts were unknown.
"This report doesn't add up."
Tsuru put down the newspaper, her expression grave. "Dr. Reddy isn't that careless. There must be another reason behind this incident... Have we made contact with the SWORD unit?"
"Not yet."
In front of his old friend, Sengoku didn't hide his mistake. He then took out a Den Den Mushi to contact the SWORD unit.
...
The atmosphere in the room was heavy.
Not only were all members of the SWORD unit present, but Stussy was also in the room.
Smoker chewed on an unlit cigar, fiddling with a lighter in his hand, clearly restless.
"Sorry, I failed to destroy the cake."
Drake sighed regretfully. "If I had succeeded, Big Mom could have caused even greater losses."
"You were too greedy."
Tina lit a cigarette and exhaled smoke with a wry smile. "Didn't we complete our mission?"
Peacock shook her head gloomily.
This operation felt like the SWORD unit had done a lot, yet at the same time, nothing at all—and then the mission was suddenly accomplished.
Reddy hadn't hunted down any targets and had even been severely injured by Big Mom.
But she didn't feel much of a sense of achievement.
"Don't you think something's off?"
Prince suddenly spoke up, making Drake and the others pause.
"What do you mean?"
Tina frowned.
Prince clutched his head and shook it violently. "No, this isn't right. Dr. Reddy isn't that weak."
"Unfortunately, I was at the scene."
Stussy was a seasoned intelligence officer, but she also didn't believe Reddy could deceive so many people at once.
Leaving aside the SWORD unit, there were also:
Shipping magnate Umit!
Loan shark Du Feld!
And World Economic News Agency president Morgans!
Each was a major figure in the underworld.
Reddy might be able to bribe or coerce one of these figures into covering for him, but the idea that all of them were under Reddy's control was simply absurd.
Prince wanted to argue but couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation. Frustrated, he shut his mouth.
At that moment, the sound of a Den Den Mushi rang out in the room.
Smoker took out the Den Den Mushi and answered.
Sengoku's voice echoed through the room. "Did Big Mom really defeat Dr. Reddy?"
Smoker and the others all turned their gazes toward the only eyewitness present.
"This is Stussy."
Stussy took the Den Den Mushi and recounted what had happened. "Dr. Reddy had already suppressed the entire Big Mom Pirates, except for Linlin herself."
"But he got careless."
"A Linlin who lost her mind was a monster. She broke through the clones' blockade and injured Dr. Reddy."
"Dr. Reddy was rescued by those clones in the end."
"More than just me witnessed this. Umit and the others saw it too."
The Den Den Mushi's expression turned thoughtful. After a long pause, Sengoku spoke again. "Where are you all now?"
Stussy replied, "They're on my ship, returning. Should I send them to Marineford?"
"Then I'll leave it to you."
...
"Big Mom really did defeat Dr. Reddy."
Sengoku ended the call, his expression turning extremely serious. "We need to reassess Big Mom's strength."
Tsuru nodded silently, feeling a headache coming on.
She truly couldn't believe Big Mom had hidden her strength so well.
Yet the fact remained that Big Mom had defeated Reddy, who was previously considered capable of standing against all of Marineford.
It was absurd.
Tsuru sighed and shook her head. "What does Big Mom intend to do, hiding her strength like this?"
Sengoku said irritably, "Whatever she plans, it definitely isn't anything good."
Tsuru shook her head. "Maybe we've all been deceived. I still don't believe Big Mom has the strength to defeat Reddy's clones."
Reddy's clones had already proven themselves in East Blue, first forcing two Marine Admirals and two Emperors into an unprecedented alliance, and then Garp's personal experience further demonstrated how terrifying those clones were when working together.
If Big Mom really had that kind of strength, would she be satisfied with just ruling over Totto Land?
Sengoku wanted to argue but didn't know where to start. Deep down, he had similar doubts.
In fact, the moment he saw the headline in the latest newspaper, his first instinct was to suspect Morgans was playing a massive joke on the world.
But the report was extremely detailed.
He had already verified this with Stussy just now.
Not only could Stussy testify to it, but underworld figures like Umit could also confirm its authenticity.
What more could he say?
Should he believe the underworld figures who witnessed the events firsthand or his old friend's baseless speculation? The choice wasn't hard to make.
"We need to pay even more attention to the New World than before."
Tsuru didn't dwell on the issue further. After all, her viewpoint was just personal speculation, far less convincing than Stussy and the other eyewitnesses.
"Send Garp to monitor the New World."
Sengoku felt a headache just thinking about Garp, who had been grumbling nonstop since being ransomed back.
Now was the perfect opportunity to throw the old man into the New World—out of sight, out of mind.
"What should we do about Dr. Reddy?"
Tsuru was also tired of Garp's endless complaints and supported Sengoku's decision. However, she then looked at her old friend with concern. "Though he's a newly risen Emperor, his defeat will likely bring even more variables to the world."
Sengoku fell into deep thought, finding the situation extremely troublesome.
Currently, East Blue was recognized worldwide as Reddy's territory.
Logically, with Reddy's defeat at Whole Cake Island, Marineford could take the opportunity to rescue the remaining prisoners in East Blue and save on the exorbitant ransom.
But the previous battle in East Blue had extinguished any thoughts Sengoku had of launching another expedition there.
There would be no more expeditions.
The New World needed more manpower, and the first half of the Grand Line also required more forces to push other pirates into the New World as quickly as possible.
This effectively made East Blue a low priority.
After a long deliberation, Sengoku finally shook his head. "Ignore him for now. Our top priority is keeping an eye on the Big Mom Pirates and preventing those bastards from doing anything disastrous."
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