Marine Headquarters,
Grandline-1 (G-1), Paradise.
Two days after the Heist on Holiday Island.
Currently, inside a meeting room, the Fleet Admiral was solemnly looking at the group of Vice-Admirals sitting adjacent to him.
His expressions were ugly, and they turned uglier when he looked at the Admiral who was wearing his lazy expression as always.
"Do you have any idea how upset the people at Mary Geoise are?!" He slammed his hand on the table, which made all the Vice-Admirals flinch, but Kizaru still seemed unfazed.
"They are too strong, Sir. And they came prepared." Momonga clenched his fist and spoke, which made Sengoku glare at the man who was all bandaged up.
He had seen with his own eyes the state in which Mononga had arrived at the base. It was quite pitiful.
Since he had read the official reports of everyone, knew that it was a girl of only 16 or 17 that had put a reputed Vice-Admiral of his force in such a sorry state.
Sengoku knew exactly what happened on Holiday Island, and knew he could not fault Mononga. But still, he could not help but be angry at the people who had been sent as reinforcements, especially Gion and Kizaru.
"You two could have captured him if you really tried!" He fumed as he turned to look at them, and Gion frowned at his words.
"We would have lost our men. I could not take the risk." She bluntly said.
"And you?!" He found himself unable to refute Gion's words, and now he wanted to know what Kizaru had for an excuse.
"He is fast, you know. And I did try as much as I could."
"Damn you both!" He shouted at them, and this time, even Kizaru frowned.
"We will find them, Sir..." A Vice-Admiral spoke, but his words had not finished when Sengoku glared at him.
"Leave." He sank back in his chair and watched everyone stand up and salute him before leaving. "Not you, Kizaru, Gion."
The two stopped and then turned to look at him.
Sengoku waited until everyone else left and the door closed again.
"How strong is he?" He seriously asked.
"He's an Expert Swordsman, possesses remarkable control over Armament Haki, and his Observation Haki was sharp enough to dodge Kizaru's laser bullet, which was nearly impossible under the circumstances he was in." Gion gave her honest observation. "He is not someone who should be present in Paradise."
"He really possesses the Conqueror's Haki?"
"Yes. And it is very potent. He also has great control over it." She pensively nodded.
Sengoku then looked at Kizaru, who for once looked serious in his life.
"His Lightning Powers are a headache. He's dangerous." The lazy Admiral admitted.
Gion surprisedly looked at Kizaru, having never seen him take someone so seriously. But then the man returned to his lazy stance with an uninterested look.
"Go." Sengoku calmly said, and after both of them left the room, he looked at the file on the table which contained the information and images of the Blackstar Crew and everything the Marines had on them.
He went through the detailed reports again, and his eyes narrowed. His expression turned ugly as he recalled the words Kong had said to him earlier.
"Damn it!" He raged and then picked up a piece of paper to write down some instructions.
When he was done, he pressed a bell, and soon a guard rushed into the room.
"Sir!" The man saluted.
"Give this to Ketagari, and tell him that I want these new Bounties out by tomorrow morning. Tell him to Publish an Official Reporrt about what happened on Holiday Island."
"Yes, Sir!" The man saluted him again before leaving the room.
He did not want to give this Rookie Crew and the D. too much fame as he knew that was what they sought, but Kong had conveyed to him the intentions of the Elders, and there was nothing much he could do about it.
"Damn it!" He cursed again then stood up to walk out on the balcony to get some fresh air.
On the other end of the Headquarters, a man came rushing into the Command and Control Center before walking into the office of the Vice-Admiral who was in charge of it.
"Sir!" He saluted the man with a long thin face, an angular jaw, and a hooked nose.
Ketagari narrowed his eyes at him for barging into his office like this, but he recognised the man as the Fleet Admiral's attendant and undedtsood that it was somthing important.
"Fleet Admiral's orders." The man handed him the letter. "He wants these new Bounties out by tomorrow as well as the Offical Report on Holiday Island."
"I see" Ketagari accepted the letter and paid no heed to the soldier who saluted and left the office.
Since he was in charge of the Control and Command Center, he had received the reports of the incident too. And he was not too surprised at the numbers he looked at on the paper.
Picking up a baby Den Den Mushi, he dialled a number.
"Sir?"
"Update the Bounties of the Blackstar Pirates."
"Yes!" The man replied as he worked on his computer. "The new bounties, Sir?"
"Kuina of the Blackstar Pirates: Dead or Alive, 22,000,000 Berries."
"Bepo of the Blackstar Pirates: Dead or Alive, 25,000,000 Berries."
"Jean Bart of the Blackstar Pirates: Dead or Alive, 27,000,000 Berries."
"Van Augur of the Blackstar Pirates: Dead or Alive, 30,000,000 Berries."
"Hachi 'The Butcher': Dead or Alive, 35,000,000 Berries."
"Jewelry Bonney 'The Glutton': Dead or Alive, 75,000,000 Berries"
"Boa Hancock of the Blackstar Pirates: Dead or Alive, 200,000,000 Berries."
"Black D. Robin 'The Devil's Sister': Dead or Alive, 220,000,000 Berries."
"Black D. Sin 'The Devil': Dead or Alive, 360,000,000 Berries."
Ketagari put the paper down, and waited for the affirmation from his subordinate.
"Done, Sir!"
"I will send you a report in an hour, and you will get it published in tomorrow's newspapers."
"Okay, Sir."
After ending the call and putting down the baby Den Den Mushi, the Vice-Admiral picked up a pen and paper and started writing the official report on the Holiday Island's heist and its preparators.
On the other side, Sengoku returned to his office, and found a tall and aged woman sitting at the table, drinking a cup of tea.
"Tsuru."
"You called for me." Tsuru sipped on the tea and put the cup down.
"I did." The Fleet Admiral replied and then handed her one of the two letters he was holding in his hand.
"What is this?" She asked as she accepted the letter.
"They are from Kong." Sengoku did not tell her more and let her open the envelope that had already been opened by him.
It was the very letter that held instructions for the Fleet Admiral, and Tsuru was surprised at what she found it in. But she was not too surprised in her heart.
After reading the letter, she glanced at the unopened letter and then at Sengoku.
"What do you think?"
"I can understand their reasons." She told him and then placed the letter on the table before picking up the cup again and sipping on her tea. "So that's why you have not made the others search for him." She understandably nodded.
"Do you think it would be a good idea?"
"It makes sense, but we can never be sure about something. But if the gamble pays off, it would be beneficial to the Government." She replied, and silence followed after her words.
"You will find him and hand him this letter." Sengoku pushed the other unopened letter to her, and the old lady frowned.
"You want me to have a chat with him and make a judgement on him?" She guessed his intentions.
"Yes." He nodded. "And on his crew."
"The decision is already made." She pointed out.
"Decisions can be undone." He meaningfully said.
"Fine." She nodded before she smiled at him. "It's funny to see a Rookie get on your nerves so bad."
"Not you too!" Sengoku groaned but then sighed. "This young man gives me a very bad feeling for some reason." He seriously said. "I can't help but take him seriously."
"I see." She finished her tea and stood up, picking the unopened letter from the table. "And if he refuses?"
"You will see to it that he is dead." There was no hesitation in his voice.
The words brought a smile to the old lady's face.
"You need some sleep." She said and then silently left the office.