"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, who exactly is this Ye Chen you speak of?" Aokiji was the one who spoke. In this room, only he and Tsuru had not actually met Ye Chen.
However, Tsuru, being stationed at Headquarters, frequently received intelligence, so she had some understanding of Ye Chen.
But Aokiji had been traveling outside recently. If not for Sengoku's urgent summons this time, his knowledge of Ye Chen would still be limited to the Celestial Dragon incident.
Aokiji suddenly realized the atmosphere in the room had grown heavy, stemming from his previous question.
"A lawless man." Sengoku was silent for a moment before slowly speaking. From his tone, one could discern his profound caution regarding Ye Chen.
"Lawless?" Aokiji's expression showed a hint of gravity. There were many lawless individuals in these seas; not to mention, even minor pirates were of this type.
But for Sengoku to speak of someone with such caution, there were only a handful of individuals in the entire world.
"Let Kizaru speak. He has fought Ye Chen twice, so he can be said to understand Ye Chen the most." Just then, Garp suddenly spoke up.
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the room turned to look at Kizaru, their gazes enveloping him. Kizaru, wrapped in bandages, offered a wry smile.
"He's very strong." After a moment, Kizaru finally uttered this sentence.
"Nonsense, of course we know he's strong," Aokiji gave Kizaru a disdainful look.
He thought Kizaru would say something useful, but he didn't expect him to take so long just to say, "He's very strong."
If Ye Chen weren't strong, and his threat wasn't significant, would they need to gather like this to discuss it? They could simply send a fleet to bomb him.
"Get to the point, Kizaru," Garp said sternly.
"What a pain," Kizaru muttered, pouting.
"The point!" This time, it was Sengoku who roared.
Seeing both Sengoku and Garp assert themselves, Kizaru finally dropped his languid demeanor and said with a serious expression, "The first time I encountered Ye Chen was at the Sabaody Archipelago. The second time was also at the Sabaody Archipelago. But the two battles were as different as heaven and earth."
"What's the difference?" Sengoku pressed.
Garp's brows furrowed, as if he had guessed something in his heart.
Kizaru took a deep breath, his expression exceedingly grave: "During the first battle, he hadn't yet learned Armament Haki. And although his swordsmanship was exquisite, his physical constitution was lacking. If it weren't for that Red Dragon protecting him, I absolutely could have captured him that time."
"Then why did you say last time that his strength was on par with yours, and that the Red Dragon was only Admiral-level?" Akainu's face was filled with fury, glaring deadly at Kizaru.
It was precisely because of what Kizaru said at the last meeting that Akainu went to provoke them, only to be grabbed by that Red Dragon and thrown into the sea.
Such a humiliating incident, it all stemmed from Kizaru's words. If not for that, Akainu wouldn't have rushed in so recklessly.
Actually, it wasn't Kizaru's fault. A normal person would consider that Zephyr and Kizaru were both heavily injured, while the other side was completely unharmed. By all appearances, the Marines were suppressed. Had it been Aokiji, he absolutely wouldn't have made a move.
But Akainu was different. He foolishly charged forward, was then caught, and finally thrown into the sea, becoming the butt of this joke.
Now, many in the Marine ranks scoffed at Akainu.
Calling him: "The most useless Admiral."
"That's how it was at first." Kizaru looked embarrassed, only grunting in response to Akainu's pressing questions.
"Akainu, let Kizaru finish for now," Sengoku glared at Akainu.
Seeing that Sengoku had spoken, Akainu could only snort coldly and sat with his arms crossed.
"Kizaru, continue," Sengoku motioned.
Seeing this, Kizaru continued: "When we clashed for the second time, I thought he was the same as before, so I was full of confidence, certain I could handle him. But...
...when I engaged him, I found that he had already learned Armament Haki."
"Impossible! Learning Armament Haki in half a month? That's simply impossible!" Zephyr immediately stood up and retorted.
The others also nodded, agreeing with Zephyr's statement.
Those present were no strangers to Armament Haki; they had been training it for decades, with Zephyr and Garp being particularly proficient.
So when Kizaru said Ye Chen had learned and applied Armament Haki in half a month, how could they believe it?
Even Garp, the greatest genius among them, needed a month to successfully master it.
"But do you think he could have hurt me without Armament Haki?" Kizaru asked, looking exasperated.
He knew it was indeed a bit unbelievable, but it was something he had personally experienced.
"Could it be that he was holding back from the start and didn't use it?" Tsuru proposed this idea.
"There's that possibility," Sengoku said.
"If he was holding back from the beginning, then everything can be explained," Zephyr said softly.
"I agree with that. Learning and mastering Armament Haki in half a month? That's a bit of a tall tale," Garp chimed in.
Seeing the group repeatedly nod, Kizaru also began to think that Ye Chen might have been holding back and deceiving him.
"Damn brat, he actually fooled me," Kizaru thought bitterly.
"Since Ye Chen's strength can heavily injure Kizaru, that proves he definitely has Admiral-level strength, or even..." Sengoku's face darkened as he hesitantly uttered the last two words, "...Four Emperors."
"Four Emperors."
Only they could truly grasp the weight of that name; it was a title earned by stepping over countless corpses.
After a moment, Kizaru said with a bitter expression, "I agree with Fleet Admiral Sengoku's opinion. As you all can see, my injuries are the best proof."
Everyone was silent.
"Ye Chen's strength is basically confirmed. Now it's just that Red Dragon and that woman left. Zephyr, Garp, who will speak first?" Sengoku looked up, glancing at Zephyr, who was completely wrapped in bandages, and Garp, who wore a heavy expression.
"I'll speak first," Garp said slowly, raising his head.
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's gaze immediately fixed on Garp.
"That Red Dragon, its strength surpasses that of an Admiral."
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