The World Summit proceeded on schedule in Mary Geoise, without any incidents.
Meanwhile, over at the G-3 Marine Base in the New World, no one was paying the World Summit any attention at all. A large group of elite New World Marine commanders had gathered here, preparing to discuss how to take down the Whitebeard Pirates.
And Sakazuki really did arrive fast. Even though Ortoren was actually closer to G-3, Sakazuki only arrived two days later than him.
It was said that he had rushed nonstop along the way, not resting even at night, forcing his soldiers to keep the ship moving. The sails were never lowered the entire trip, as if he were afraid Ortoren might start without him.
At this moment, Sakazuki's warship slowly docked at G-3's harbor. As soon as the gangplank was lowered, Sakazuki strode down with powerful, forceful steps.
Ortoren was already waiting for him at the port.
After all, this was someone who would bring his own supplies just to charge into battle. Ortoren naturally had to give Sakazuki enough respect. He couldn't possibly treat him like some expendable fool.
The moment he saw Ortoren, Sakazuki forced a slightly stiff smile.
"I'm not late, am I?"
"Your speed really exceeded my expectations," Ortoren said with a sigh. "Damn, you're seriously motivated."
"I didn't want to delay your plans and affect the operation against Whitebeard," Sakazuki replied calmly, waving his hand. "When does the meeting start? Let's get ready now. No need to waste time."
To be honest, Ortoren was already very efficient himself, but he really couldn't compare to Sakazuki's level of stamina. After rushing all the way here, Sakazuki didn't even think about resting and went straight to business.
Fortunately, Ortoren had already had two days to rest. Since Sakazuki clearly didn't need any downtime, they might as well start the meeting right away.
Soon, under Ortoren's lead, Sakazuki entered the G-3 base. Commanders from all sides received the notice and arrived one after another at the conference room of the G-3 Marine Base.
The G-3 Marine Base was a newly built base by Stainless. Its scale wasn't particularly large and followed standard Marine base specifications. The conference room itself wasn't nearly as advanced as those at Headquarters or G-5 and could only accommodate a limited number of people. In the past, it was mainly used by Stainless and his subordinate officers for routine meetings.
When Stainless built this base, he probably never imagined that one day it would host a planning meeting of this magnitude, one centered on the Navy's campaign to eliminate the Whitebeard Pirates.
Two Admirals were present, along with Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals from across the New World.
Sakazuki took a seat to Ortoren's left and looked around as Marine officers continued to file into the conference room.
Among the Vice Admirals were Issho, who had just hidden the Golden City of Shandora within the Calm Belt before rushing over for the meeting, Tokikake and Gion from Ortoren's command center, G-1 Base Commander Strawberry, G-12 Base Commander Momonga, G-14 Base Commander Yamakaji, and G-7 Base Commander Cancer.
A large number of Rear Admirals were also present. Aside from Smoker and Tesoro, Ortoren's direct subordinates, the rest were Rear Admirals serving under various Vice Admirals, more than ten people in total.
Among them, the ones Ortoren recognized most clearly were Bastille the Shark Slayer under Momonga, and Maynard the Pursuer under Strawberry.
As for the remaining Rear Admirals, they weren't figures Ortoren remembered from the original story. However, over the years, he had come to know them all. Most were officers who had risen through G-5, along with a few personal aides brought along when certain Vice Admirals were transferred to the New World.
And aside from the Rear Admirals, there was also one person wearing the rank of Captain who had been specially permitted to attend this meeting.
That person was Rob Lucci.
Sakazuki sat beside Ortoren, occasionally sweeping his gaze across the Marine elites gathered in the conference room, a faint sense of shock rising in his heart.
Looking over the commanders seated here, every single one of them appeared brimming with energy. Their eyes were filled with confidence and fighting spirit. Even the Rear Admirals Sakazuki didn't recognize radiated a fierce, hardened presence from head to toe.
That kind of ferocity didn't necessarily mean they were overwhelmingly strong.
But it did prove one thing beyond doubt: these were elites who had clawed their way up from the front lines, veterans tempered through countless life-and-death battles.
"So this is it…" Sakazuki reflected inwardly. "The Marines who came out of the G-5 front lines really are sharper than those promoted through headquarters from various regions…"
He wasn't saying the Rear Admirals from headquarters were weak. He simply felt that the ones stationed in the New World were stronger overall.
Setting aside the Rear Admirals, Sakazuki turned his attention to Momonga and the others. He was fairly familiar with them. After all, his own subordinates like Onigumo and Doberman had emerged around the same time as Momonga's group, and their career progressions hadn't been all that different.
Sakazuki and Ortoren had both risen to the rank of Admiral, each promoting their own followers along the way. This batch of Vice Admirals could be said to have advanced at a relatively similar pace.
However, Sakazuki didn't have a clear impression of figures like Strawberry, Cancer, or Stainless. That said, with Momonga and Yamakaji seated here, he could clearly sense that those two were especially formidable. It was the instinctive perception one strong fighter had toward another.
Momonga in particular gave him pause. Sakazuki could faintly feel that Momonga was close to catching up to Gion, Tokikake, and Isshō.
That realization genuinely surprised him. Back in the day, Onigumo had considered himself slightly stronger than Momonga. Now, Sakazuki suspected that Onigumo might no longer be Momonga's match.
Was his growth really that dramatic?
This group of Vice Admirals, if placed at headquarters, would unquestionably be the elite among elites, the very backbone of the Marines.
His gaze then shifted to Isshō, calmly drinking tea, to Tokikake speaking with Ortoren, and to Gion, who appeared to be resting with her eyes closed.
All three carried the title of Admiral candidate.
Among them, Isshō, known as "Fujitora," gave Sakazuki a very real sense of pressure. There was no doubt about it. This man had already stepped into the realm of Admiral-level power, and not just barely. He had gone a long way past the threshold. On a global scale, he was a true top-tier powerhouse. If the Navy were ever short an Admiral, Isshō could easily shoulder that responsibility and become a full-fledged Admiral.
Gion was slightly weaker than Isshō, but that "slightly" only applied at the very top tier of combat power. Even at her weakest, she was still among the strongest elites, far surpassing standard elite Vice Admirals like Yamakaji.
Tokikake was much the same.
In Sakazuki's eyes, while these three might not perfectly match the current trio of Admirals at headquarters—himself, Ortoren, and Kuzan—they weren't far off at all.
Because of that, when he looked again at Ortoren sitting beside him, casually discussing administrative matters with Tokikake, Sakazuki felt, for a brief moment, as though he were attending a meeting at headquarters.
The man beside him wasn't just Admiral Ortoren anymore.
He was the Navy's Fleet Admiral, Benn Ortoren.
Sakazuki understood this well. As Kuzan had once said, once someone reached the rank of Admiral, there were very few things within the Navy that could truly be hidden from their eyes. Sakazuki knew about many of the questionable things Ortoren had done. It was just that he had always hesitated.
He knew Ortoren had crossed lines and engaged in many actions that shouldn't have been done. And yet, Sakazuki could clearly feel that under Ortoren's leadership, whether it was the Navy as a whole or the New World Marines in particular, their overall strength and capabilities were steadily rising.
That meant Ortoren's actions, whatever their nature, were benefiting the Navy's growth.
Because of that, Sakazuki, normally a man of decisive judgment, found himself unable to make a clear call when it came to Ortoren.
On one hand, he felt it was wrong, that it might plant the seeds of future disaster. On the other hand, he watched the Navy reap tangible benefits, grow stronger by the day, and see the New World firmly suppressed under Ortoren's rule. Pirate forces that once ran rampant now couldn't even lift their heads in front of him.
It left Sakazuki feeling conflicted, hesitant, and deeply torn.
And now, after personally sensing the presence and momentum of the commanders under Ortoren's command, that inner struggle only intensified.
In fact, the balance in his heart had already begun to tilt slightly toward Ortoren.
Only after the final Marine officer entered the conference room and took his seat did Ortoren tap the table lightly.
"Everyone's here," he said. "Let's move on to the main topic. What we're discussing today is how to carry out the annihilation operation against the cancer within the New World, the Whitebeard Pirates."
Those words snapped Sakazuki out of his thoughts.
"No matter what," he sighed inwardly, "the priority right now is dealing with Whitebeard. As for Ortoren… I'll think about that later."
Straightening his posture, Sakazuki focused his attention, ready to listen to the intelligence and plans Ortoren was about to present.
...
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