coobybook Chapter 157 The Five Elders Summoned
Chapter 157 The Five Elders Summoned
"Yo~ Kowai-re~"
"I often see you wearing bandages when you appear. Do you have some kind of unusual hobby?"
Naval conference room.
Kizaru passed by Allen's seat, stopped, leaned on the back of the chair, and bent down to get closer.
Allen leaned to the other side with a hint of disdain: "I think having something wrapped around your face would be more friendly to you, especially to Lord Borsalino."
……
"Well……"
Kizaru's face fell: "How heartless! I'm so sad~"
Beside him, Aokiji rested his chin on his hand and said slowly, "When he came back, he went to fight with Zephyr-sensei and got a beating."
"Tsk tsk, commendable courage. I heard that Teacher Zephyr has been researching Seastone gauntlets lately, looks like he's been getting beaten up pretty badly~"
Allen turned his head away and snorted coldly: "At least I can still sit here and hold meetings, while he's probably lying in a hospital bed."
"Didn't you know that Professor Zephyr never comes to meetings?"
"Speaking of which... I still vividly remember the scene when I first met Allen three years ago."
Kizaru chuckled and patted Allen on the shoulder: "You did it! That's amazing!"
……
As the group chatted, naval officers gradually entered the conference room.
Last time, Allen sat in the corner of the conference room without saying a word.
Despite holding only the rank of Major General, he sat next to General Aokiji, the commander of his own unit.
None of the lieutenant generals found this strange, not even the Titan lieutenant general who had previously disliked Allen.
……
Sengoku didn't play the tardiness game. He glared at Kizaru, who was still swaying back and forth: "Sit down! Don't act like a monkey. You're a Marine Admiral!"
Kizaru raised his hands in surrender: "You're angry already? How scary~ Sengoku-san~"
I wasn't angry at first...
Sengoku took a deep breath and looked at Akainu.
Aside from sometimes acting too extremely, you're actually the most normal one among these guys...
Thump—thump—
Akainu lightly tapped the table, meeting Sengoku's gaze: "I lost two warships, ninety-seven gun emplacements, and four hundred and seventy-two soldiers at Beehive Island. I want half of the funds from this operation."
……
Did I order you to send your entire army to capture Beehive Island?! What economic value does that place have?!
Why didn't you listen to me back then? Now you have the nerve to ask me for funding?!
Sengoku took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the marshal's position was too heavy.
……
"Speaking of Beehive Island... Now that we've already taken it, there's no reason to hand it over to pirates again."
On the other side, Lieutenant General Tsuru spoke.
There was no opening ceremony; the meeting began when the first few people at the head of the table spoke.
In theory, all generals have the right to speak at meetings, but most of them are just there to listen and execute orders.
Decision-making power always resides in the hands of a minority.
……
"If we were to build a naval base there... it wouldn't be able to connect with other bases, and Beehive Island is too deep in a chaotic area."
The head of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, Dark Horse Tenma, unfolded a map of the Grand Line and pointed to the location of Beehive Island.
"Leaving aside the maintenance of the air route and future resupply, the initial construction alone will be a huge expense."
……
Lieutenant General Tsuru smiled faintly at him and said slowly:
"For the excess, write a quote for the World Government. Remember to quote more, and ask for the best equipment. They will provide it."
At every naval conference, CP members will be present to listen and take notes, and may participate in the conference when necessary.
This time, Lucci is in charge.
……
During the battle on Beehive Island, the awakened form of his Devil Fruit caused the World Economic Herald to fail to recognize him as the former number one genius of Enies Lobby in eight hundred years, and instead dubbed him a certain leopard-type Devil Fruit user.
The world government is well aware of what this means.
Although he failed to save Mia, he demonstrated his strength and loyalty in the fight against the Hunters and has been promoted to CP9 Commander.
Perhaps soon he will be able to join CP0, which is directly under the Celestial Dragons.
Lucci stepped forward.
"Saying such things to my face, Lieutenant General Tsuru, are you pretending I don't exist?"
Aside from Allen, Lucci always had a deadpan expression and a cold, unapproachable demeanor, even towards Akainu.
Lieutenant General Tsuru's smile remained unchanged: "Lord Lucci, have you forgotten what's there?"
"Kari, a criminal deeply hated by the World Government, is frozen in ice near Beehive Island!"
"We have to build the base there; we have no other choice."
"It is most appropriate for Major General Allen to be stationed at the Beehive Island base."
As she spoke, she turned to look at Aokiji:
"Admiral Aokiji went to check. Major General Allen's abilities are fundamentally different from his. If we act recklessly, it might ruin Allen's efforts."
"So... that will be Major General Allen's base. I think the request for better equipment is reasonable. What do you think?"
……
Lucci took a step back.
"That makes perfect sense."
"The report requested the latest weapons and equipment. The Hunter is too dangerous; only Allen can completely prevent his escape."
……
"Am I going there?"
Allen thought about it and decided that this was a good idea; it would be easier to manage if he were in charge of overseeing the hunt.
But I'm sorry to Lucci, the escape from the prison is definitely going to happen.
……
……
"Indeed... as Lieutenant General Tsuru said, even if Beehive Island is in a bad location, we must defend it."
Tensei continued gesturing on the map, pointing out that Beehive Island's location connected to the G-1 base, resembling a long sword thrust into pirate territory.
He looked at Allen: "Major General Allen, holding this place might be even more difficult than taking it."
"Just let us know what kind of support you need, and we'll do our best to meet your needs."
Allen stroked his chin with one hand and tapped the table lightly with the other, slowing down slightly.
"I need to gather the old troops from the West Sea, and then select some officers from the headquarters."
"Give me one large warship, three medium-sized warships, one warship with a seastone chassis capable of navigating the doldrums, and four..."
……
"stop!"
Sengoku quickly raised his hand, telling Allen to stop talking, otherwise the navy wouldn't have enough funds for this year!
"We'll talk about that later, at least until the Five Elders approve the additional funds."
"Let's talk about..."
"Let's make the execution of the Red-Haired Pirates public!"
The meeting room fell silent for a few seconds.
Snap——
Capner's hand holding the donut paused: "Uh... why are you all so quiet? You're making this old man very awkward..."
"Garp! Get out of here!!!"
……
Garp, of course, didn't roll away. Sengoku calmed down and continued speaking.
"We all know that Shanks is the only former Roger Pirates member still active on the seas, and his existence is of historical significance."
"His public execution will greatly increase the navy's deterrent power and suppress any restless ambitions."
……
"But this is also a risky behavior."
Sengoku said in a deep voice, "Those former Roger troops are likely to launch a rescue operation. We need to be prepared to fight them and we must not let the Golden Lion incident happen again."
Golden Lion...
Mentioning this name is a sore point for the Navy Headquarters.
At that time, the headquarters was empty, allowing Golden Lion to run rampant and kill countless marines.
From then on, the Navy Headquarters stipulated that no matter what the situation, at least one admiral-level officer must be present.
……
"Rayle and the others wouldn't be that bored, would they? That red-haired brat is already the captain of his own ship."
Karp put away the donuts, showing some respect for the meeting.
"It's better to be prepared, after all, it's a major event that will be broadcast live worldwide."
"but……"
Zhan Guo's eyes flashed with a fierce light: "If they dare to come, we'll make sure they don't leave alive!!"
……
……
As the meeting was drawing to a close, Sengoku called out to Yaren.
"Let me make this clear first, none of my demands can be waived. If you don't have the money, go ask your superiors for it."
The Warring States period didn't respond, but solemnly said:
"Allen... the Five Elders wish to see you, immediately."
Garp and the others who hadn't left yet showed slight changes in expression.
……
Allen paused for a moment, then smiled faintly.
"Will I get to see my most respected Five Elders...? I'm so excited!"