"Another war?"
"Yes! Look at those ships, they're all fleeing."
"Sigh, I don't know what's going on lately, fighting nonstop every day."
"The Marines are really pushing themselves. They just finished fighting BIG MOM, and now they're going after Whitebeard. Aren't they tired?"
An old man in the village heard this and waved his stick, "What do you kids know?"
"The Marines fighting the pirates is perfectly justified! They're rooting out evil!"
"Get out of here, you're annoying!"
The young man said nothing and slunk away.
What happened in this nameless village represented almost the most common views of the sea. One side believed that the Marines were overreacting, disrupting their peaceful lives to stubbornly fight Whitebeard.
The other side understood and supported the Marines' actions.
Especially the elders who had lived through Roger's era, who had experienced the incessant wars of that time. To them, six months of conflict was nothing; they had seen wars that lasted for years.
They had long harbored a deep hatred for pirates, so they definitely supported the Marines.
Moreover, in this era of rampant piracy, countless hyenas flooded the Grand Line, plundering everywhere and replacing the previous world wars with widespread local chaos. Both scenarios were undesirable for ordinary people, but the former was undoubtedly more threatening.
Therefore, the elders felt no anger, but rather a sense of satisfaction at returning to the old days.
At least during the time, the Marines had been at war with BIG MOM and Whitebeard, the New World, except for the war-torn areas, had experienced unprecedented peace and harmony.
"Better them than me."
That was their attitude.
"Isn't it sad?"
In the New World, on an unnamed small island, in the city's church.
Rowen held the information passed on by his subordinates and gazed deeply ahead. The dim torchlight in the underground chamber reflected in his eyes like twinkling stars, glowing with wisdom.
"Well, that's understandable."
Chaton smiled with a cigarette in his mouth before speaking, "Kids who grew up in wartime and those who grew up in peacetime have different views on war. The latter think that all wars are bad, while the former only consider the effects on themselves."
"It's all due to their circumstances."
"To change their mindset, there must be no more pirates causing trouble in the world."
"However..."
Chaton didn't finish his sentence, but Rowen understood his meaning.
However... the sea is vast and boundless, with islands connected by oceans.
To ensure that there would be no more pirates causing trouble, the ocean would have to be replaced by land.
And then... the "Mountain Bandit King" would appear.
"Ugh, why am I even thinking about that?"
Rowen shook his head to clear his mind and asked, "How's the investigation going?"
"Sir, everything is normal!"
An elderly priest who had served the city for decades eagerly replied from under the stone throne, "Moby Dick is keeping the fishermen at bay and driving us away from a distance."
"But because of that, they've revealed Moby Dick's location, making it easy for us to track him."
"Stay alert. They could try to slip through the cracks."
Rowen reminded, then took out a token, "Pass the information to the front, inform them of the location of the Whitebeard Pirates' support unit."
A simple reminder.
The reformed Marine Assassination Force had never been revealed to the public; even high-ranking government officials only knew that its commander was the Soryu (Azure Dragon), but nothing more.
The enemy is out in the open while we are in the shadows, catching Whitebeard off guard.
After the priest left with the token, Chaton asked with a cigarette in his mouth.
"Do you want the Assassination Force to take action? To relieve the pressure on the front lines?"
By "Assassination Force," Chaton was not referring to intelligence personnel like the priest, but to actual executioners trained in assassination.
Their methods were extraordinary and ruthless, as they were willing to do anything to achieve their goals, which both impressed and terrified Rowen.
The most famous example was when a group of Assassination Force members, to complete an open-ended assassination mission, liberated a country from war, crowned themselves as heroes, and were loved by all.
Then... they intercepted and killed their target when he came to visit the newly crowned hero and then disappeared.
Throughout the whole process, the citizens of the nation never knew the truth.
Yes, that's right!
That country is now a member of the New World Allied Kingdom, Garfield, which contributed its palace to Marine's battle against Rayleigh, leaving behind the legend of the Ten Knights.
Rowen thought for a moment and then rejected the tempting idea.
"Not for now. The new blood hasn't been trained yet. Every elite we lose is a significant blow. We can't afford the losses."
The veteran instructors and members who had rejoined the organization were precious to Rowen. He relied on them to strengthen the Assassination Force. Killing the goose that lays the golden eggs was something Rowen would never do.
"Besides, with the information on the location of the support unit, Admiral Akainu will know how to handle it."
Rowen added, then suddenly turned his head and asked, "By the way, Vice Admiral Chaton, if I asked you to assassinate Whitebeard, could you do it?"
Chaton thought for a moment and gave a figure.
"Twenty percent chance."
Not impossible, but a twenty percent chance of success! This showed how deep Vice Admiral Chaton's expertise in assassination was, although he did not show it at headquarters.
Thinking back, if it weren't for his self-healing ability, Rowen would have been killed instantly by Chaton during the Admiral candidate demonstrations.
But twenty percent wasn't good enough...
"I'm thinking too much."
If Whitebeard were that easy to assassinate, Sengoku would have ordered it long before the Assassination Squad was disbanded, instead of leaving it to him.
BuruBuru... BuruBuru...
Just then, the steady and powerful ringing of a Den Den Mushi echoed in the underground chamber.
Rowen reached into his pocket and pulled out a black-shelled, white-faced Den Den Mushi with the number "0" painted in white on the side.
Rowen now had three Den Den Mushi with him.
One was a blue Den Den Mushi as the overall commander of the Air Force, which gave him authority over all aircraft. The second was a black Den Den Mushi as the overall commander of the Assassination Force, the highest decision maker in the force.
These two Den Den Mushi represented identity and authority, much like the gold Den Den Mushi held by Admirals for Buster Call.
The third was a personal telephone for daily communication.
The Den Den Mushi that served as the Branch Base Chief's token was all milky white and currently remained at G-10, allowing Ain to temporarily assume command.
The Den Den Mushi connected, revealing the masked face of an information officer.
"Sir, we've spotted 'Blackbeard' Teach! Shall we continue pursuit?"
"Oh? Where?"
"On an uninhabited island in Whitebeard's territory. According to our investigation, he left less than half a day ago. There was a companion, tentatively identified as 'Supersonic' Van Augur."
Slightly surprised, Rowen thought for a moment and then said, "Continue. Report back once you've determined his course."
"Understood!"
After hanging up, Rowen thought for a moment and then asked, "Vice Admiral Chaton, excluding the information team, how many personnel do we currently have at our disposal?"
"Excluding the new recruits, our actual combat strength is 436... including myself, 437."
Chaton confidently reported the numbers, then frowned and asked, "Are you planning to use them against Blackbeard?"
Would you really use those valuable personnels against the far more formidable Teach instead of the support unit commanders of Whitebeard's pirate crew?
Chaton wanted to say that it was impossible unless he personally intervened!
"Of course not!"
Rowen looked at him as if he were being ridiculous. "I just thought of a plan to make Whitebeard willingly face death. If Teach doesn't follow the plan, we might need someone to nudge him in the right direction."
To make Whitebeard willingly face death!!!
Chaton's heart pounded with shock and his expression turned to one of astonishment.
Chaton suppressed his excitement and said with a serious expression, "I see. What is to be done?"
He trusted Rowen and knew he wouldn't make unfounded demands. The plans of the Marine's Soryu (Azure Dragon) could stand the test of time.
"Do nothing."
Seeing Chaton's puzzled expression, Rowen smiled and said, "The most perfect plan is to do nothing and let the enemy fall into the trap himself."
"I just need to give a little push at the critical moment."
---
(End of the chapter)
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