“It was Kuzan. I’m not clear on the exact battle situation, but one thing’s certain. He was being ganged up on. At the time, those two senior officers, Zeraora and Queen, were there as well, along with countless pirates.”
Kizaru recalled the scene from back then. The densely packed pirate ships were beyond even what a Marine Buster Call could compare to. At some point, that pirate crew had already gained the ability to line up head-on against the Marines in open warfare.
“Tell those people not to talk carelessly. Bring me the White Den Den Mushi with anti-eavesdropping capability. I need to report this to Headquarters.”
Kizaru wasn’t actually incapable of distinguishing Den Den Mushi. He just occasionally used eavesdropping Den Den Mushi to make calls as a way of teasing people.
But at a time like this, he wouldn’t forget the basics.
White Den Den Mushi were rare, but the G14 Branch was also the Marines’ outpost in the New World. SWORD teams would compile intelligence gathered from various places here, and in order to prevent leaks during reports, Headquarters had specially equipped them with this device.
“Sakazuki, it’s me.”
“The mission failed?”
“Yeah. The situation was extremely dangerous. I didn’t have the ability to bring anyone out, but they’re all still alive.”
Having joined the Marines in the same era and trained together, Kizaru and Akainu had an excellent personal relationship. Kizaru’s serious tone already let Sakazuki roughly guess the outcome.
“Was it Kuzan?”
A combat force like Garp’s couldn’t possibly be overwhelmed through sheer numbers alone. Without a decisive top-tier fighter, it would’ve been impossible. As long as the Marines’ prior intelligence hadn’t been wrong, then on Onigashima, the only person capable of doing something like this should’ve been Kuzan.
“It was him.”
“That bstard Garp…no, those three bstards. That entire master-and-disciples line really knows how to cause trouble.”
Kizaru could still call Garp “Vice Admiral” or “Mister,” but Akainu could no longer suppress his anger. The youngest disciple had been captured, the master went to rescue him, and in the end, was captured by the former eldest disciple. Adding in Garp’s troublesome son and the upheaval he’d brought to the world.
Looking at the aftermath caused, Luffy had actually become the one with the least impact.
“The matter hasn’t spread too far yet, but Sakazuki, you understand this isn’t up to us. We don’t know whether the pirates will heavily publicize this news.”
“You know Morgans’ guts. He loves this kind of story.”
“Borsalino, go deal with that annoying albatross.”
“Sakazuki, don’t make things hard for me. I’m not suited for this kind of job. Morgans is far too difficult to track down. Besides, I already gave this operation everything I had.”
“I know. There probably won’t be any new missions for now, so get some rest first. Don’t let this matter spread.”
After hanging up the call, Akainu sat back down in his chair angrily, smoking cigar after cigar.
“Someone, come here!”
“Fleet Admiral Sakazuki! What orders do you have!”
Hearing Akainu’s shout, T-Bone entered the office and asked for his instructions.
“Notify the Intelligence Branch. Announce across the entire sea that Marine Hero Garp encountered unknown weather condition and has temporarily gone missing. Anyone who discovers his whereabouts should contact the nearest Marine base immediately. The Marines will provide a generous reward.”
“What? Vice Admiral Garp encountered a shipwreck? I’ll prepare rescue ships immediately.”
“Bone!”
Seeing T-Bone hurriedly about to organize a rescue mission without even asking which sea region, Akainu stopped him. But after thinking for a moment, he still didn’t tell him the truth.
“Someone has already been sent. Just notify the Intelligence Branch first.”
“Yes! Fleet Admiral Sakazuki!”
This was the decision Akainu ultimately made. The halo surrounding Garp was simply too great. If news of him being captured by pirates spread out, the impact would be far too severe.
Rather than letting the pirates make a huge spectacle out of Garp, it was better to settle the matter first themselves.
Trying to resist the might of nature with human power was extremely difficult. Humanity had succeeded only a handful of times, and most efforts were merely damage control after disasters had already struck.
Even heroes could encounter shipwrecks. Once Garp’s status was defined as missing, then even if the pirates dragged him out to boast about their strength, the Marines could still argue that Garp had merely been picked up afterward, not defeated in battle.
“Garp… this is already the best outcome I could think of…”
Marines still controlled some information channels. As long as they moved quickly enough, they could muddy the waters. Whether Garp lived or died afterward, they could at least salvage some of the Marines’ dignity.
Morale might still fall, but at least part of it could be recovered.
Garp’s situation was also different from Kuzan’s. Kuzan had defected and was alive and well.
If they had used the same explanation for Kuzan’s status, all Kuzan had to do was step forward and deny it, and the Marines would lose all face.
To a certain extent, Akainu was also gambling. He was betting that Garp would still insist to the very end that he was a Marine and would never truly betray them.
As long as Garp didn’t defect, then even if the pirates revealed the truth in Morgans’ newspaper, the situation would still remain manageable.
Right now, Akainu wanted to do everything possible to turn this truth into false information, going so far as to conceal it even from someone like T-Bone.
His aim was to be better prepared for the war of public opinion once the matter can no longer be kept under wraps, defining Garp’s defeat as nothing more than pirate slander.
Still, part of the truth would be disclosed to certain people. A few minutes later, Sengoku, Tsuru, and Ryokugyu, who had only recently returned to Mariejois, were all summoned by Akainu.
“That’s the situation. To make it look more authentic, have the New World branches dispatch some rescue ships under the pretense of searching for the other surviving soldiers.”
Garp still had a Vivre Card, and that was also how Akainu and the others were judging his current condition.
Although many people around the world didn’t know what a Vivre Card was, the high-ranking military officers of the New World did. In order to better conceal the truth, they once again unified their story, claiming that the Vivre Card was aboard the rescue ships dispatched by Headquarters, while they themselves would simply assist with a wide-area search nearby.
“As for a rescue operation… though I hate to admit it, a rescue isn’t realistic. We can’t abandon the other seas and gather all our forces here. Rescuing someone from the Beasts Pirates’ territory is extremely difficult.”
“Sakazuki, actually, there’s another piece of bad news. Not long ago, Vice Admiral Basque’s Vivre Card had completely burned away.”
“There’s still no report back yet, but we can basically confirm that mission has already failed.”
“The Emperor of the Sea we’ll have to face may not be one, but three.”
Tsuru revealed yet another new piece of news, pouring another bucket of cold water over an already extinguished fire.
Before the great war had even begun, Garp, this critical chess piece, had already been removed from the board. Even Headquarters had no idea who could immediately fill that vacancy.
“Fleet Admiral Sakazuki, there’s actually another piece of bad news. Because Borsalino changed his mission objective due to this incident, that country was breached by the Revolutionary Army. The Five Elders are extremely dissatisfied…”
“Let them be dissatisfied. I’ll explain it to them in person when the time comes. For now, arrange the matters in front of us first.”
While Marine Headquarters was busy trying to whitewash Garp’s situation, the Udon Quarry welcomed a heavyweight figure.
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