Hearing the excitement in Sakazuki's voice, Ortoren hesitated slightly.
"Uh…" Ortoren said. "This is just an initial intention for now. We still need to hold a meeting at G-3 to discuss the plan in detail. Besides, the World Summit is about to begin. Why don't you take care of your own matters first? After the summit is over, you can decide then…"
Sakazuki responded without missing a beat.
"No need. The World Summit doesn't mean anything to me. I'm not going. You're heading to G-3 to discuss launching a war against Whitebeard, right? Then I'll set off for G-3 shortly. Don't worry, I won't compete with you for command authority. But as an Admiral, I can still offer some operational ideas. Having me at the meeting would only benefit you, wouldn't it?"
"You're really enthusiastic…" Ortoren couldn't help but comment.
Sakazuki replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"If you're not enthusiastic about fighting pirates, then what's the point of being in the Navy?"
"…Fair enough." Ortoren held it in for a moment before letting those words out. "Then come along. With you here, our side will be stronger and our planning more thorough."
Originally, Ortoren had intended to rely solely on the New World Navy to deal with the Whitebeard Pirates.
But with Sakazuki this eager, bringing his own supplies and practically insisting on joining the fight, Ortoren honestly couldn't find a reason to refuse. After all, this was a top-tier Admiral. With Sakazuki involved, their chances of victory would only increase.
After a brief moment of thought, Ortoren agreed.
"Then it's settled," Sakazuki replied immediately. "I'll depart right now. I won't take long. Wait for me!"
He then handed the Den Den Mushi back to Fleet Admiral Sengoku and turned to leave.
Sengoku was momentarily stunned. He hurriedly called out,
"Wait a moment, Sakazuki. Why did you come to see me in the first place?"
Sakazuki paused, then replied,
"I saw that the time was about right. I was originally planning to invite you to head to Holy Land together for the World Summit."
"And now?" Sengoku asked, his face twitching slightly as he looked at him.
"Now I have something more important to do," Sakazuki said earnestly. "So I'll leave the World Summit to you, Fleet Admiral."
Sengoku opened his mouth several times as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he simply waved his hand.
"Go on, go on. I can't think of any reason to stop you."
Only then did Sakazuki's expression soften. He nodded toward Sengoku and hurried off without another word. From the look of it, he truly didn't want to waste even a second.
Once Sakazuki left, Chief Staff Officer Tsuru took a sip of tea and chuckled.
"Well, this is just great. We were already short on people going to Holy Land for the meeting, and now Sakazuki's gone too. Looks like we'll have to let Kuzan represent the Admirals…"
Sengoku looked down at the Den Den Mushi in his hand and said helplessly,
"This is all your fault, you brat."
"Fleet Admiral, that's a bit unfair…" Ortoren laughed. "If there's nothing else, then I'll hang up."
"For the operation against the Whitebeard Pirates, make sure you ask for whatever you need," Sengoku said seriously. "Don't take unnecessary risks. Headquarters will support you."
Ortoren agreed, then ended the call.
...
Elsewhere, in the corridors of Fortress Justice, Kuzan was waiting for the elevator.
Before long, the elevator arrived. Just as he was about to step inside, the doors opened, and Sakazuki rushed out in a hurry.
Sakazuki nodded to Kuzan when he saw him, didn't say a word, and left in a hurry.
That left Kuzan scratching his head in confusion.
"What's so urgent?"
He didn't dwell on it. Stepping into the elevator, he pressed the button for the top floor, planning to talk to Fleet Admiral Sengoku about something.
After learning earlier that Ortoren wasn't planning to attend the World Summit, Kuzan had thought it over for quite a while. In the end, he felt there was no real reason for him to attend either. Even if he went, he wasn't planning to voice any opinions.
Compared to that, he'd heard there was a limited-time island-circuit bicycle race over at Long Ring Long Land. The prize for first place was an incredibly cool collector's edition bicycle. He'd already seen pictures of it and liked it a lot.
So Kuzan wanted to come up with an excuse to ask Sengoku for leave. He figured the World Summit could just be handled by Sakazuki. He wanted to go race bicycles and win that collector's edition bike.
Soon, the elevator reached the top floor. Kuzan strolled over to the door of Sengoku's office and knocked.
After Sengoku responded, Kuzan pushed the door open. Taking a look inside, he smiled and greeted her.
"Chief of Staff, looks like you're off today?"
"There's nothing pressing to deal with," Chief of Staff Tsuru replied with a smile, sitting on the sofa and sipping her tea at an unhurried pace.
Kuzan nodded, then turned his attention to Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
"Fleet Admiral, I have something important to talk to you about."
Sengoku had actually been planning to speak with Kuzan as well. Seeing him arrive, he waved him over with a smile.
"Come in and sit down. I happen to have something to discuss with you too."
"Oh?" Kuzan nodded. "What is it?"
"For this World Summit, it looks like you'll be the only Admiral representing the Navy," Sengoku said. "So you'll need to prepare yourself. Once you're in Mary Geoise, you'll be acting as our Admiral representative. Some of the statements were originally meant for Sakazuki, but now you'll have to deliver them. Here are the drafts…"
As he spoke, Sengoku pulled a stack of documents out from his desk.
Kuzan???
"Wait, Fleet Admiral," Kuzan asked in shock. "Sakazuki isn't attending the World Summit either?"
In his impression, Sakazuki had fairly good relations with Mary Geoise. The two sides maintained steady contact, and to some extent, Sakazuki was relatively close to the World Government. Why would he suddenly skip the World Government's own summit?
Before Sengoku could answer, Kuzan hurriedly added,
"Actually, that's what I came to tell you too. I don't want to attend the World Summit either. I've got something more important to handle. There's a particularly vicious group of pirates causing trouble in the first half of the Grand Line. As the Admiral overseeing that region, I need to deal with it personally…"
"I can tell at a glance that you're lying," Sengoku snapped, slamming his hand on the desk. "You're not going anywhere. You're going to attend the World Summit, properly."
"What?" Kuzan protested. "Fleet Admiral, we're all Admirals here. Ortoren can just decide not to go, and Sakazuki can change his schedule at the last minute. Why do I have to go? That's not fair. I'm going to fight pirates. I'm carrying out justice!"
Sengoku shot him a glare.
"Ortoren is planning to wipe out the Whitebeard Pirates, and Sakazuki is going to assist him. That's the reason. Unless you have something more important than what those two are doing, you're going to Mary Geoise for the meeting. This is the first World Summit since the Navy filled all three Admiral positions. If not a single Admiral shows up, what do you think Mary Geoise will say? What would be the point of even having Admirals?"
There was one thing Sengoku didn't say out loud.
This was his first World Summit since becoming Fleet Admiral. If he showed up without even one subordinate at his side, where would his dignity go?
Kuzan's mouth fell open. It took him a moment to process what he'd just heard.
"Attacking the Whitebeard Pirates!?"
"Mm," Sengoku replied. "But we've already discussed it. For now, he doesn't need any support or assistance from headquarters, so you don't need to worry about that. Just come with me to the meeting and behave yourself. They're only in the preparation stage anyway. Even if they really move out, it won't be until after the World Summit. So even if you want to get involved, there's no need to rush. After the summit is over, you'll have plenty of time."
With that, Sengoku cut off every possible escape route Kuzan had.
Kuzan's face twitched a few times before he finally spoke.
"…I understand."
Damn it. His collector's edition bicycle was probably out of reach now.
Then again… maybe not. He'd skimmed so much gold from Ortoren before that he was practically rolling in money. When the time came, maybe he could just buy it from the champion instead.
"Man… one meeting, and my dream of becoming a cycling champion is ruined," Kuzan sighed gloomily.
Hearing that sigh, Sengoku couldn't help but roll his eyes.
Seriously. Of the three Admirals under his command, one dreamed of becoming some kind of fishing king, another was obsessed with bicycles, and only Sakazuki could be considered even remotely normal.
It was beyond ridiculous.