When Akainu brought it up, the others suddenly realized the same question: Right, the other party wouldn't just randomly target the Celestial Dragons for no reason, would they?
Of course, in many cases, the reason wasn't something they could easily uncover. Akainu had just suddenly thought of it and casually asked.
Hearing this, Sengoku coughed lightly and said, "According to intelligence from the Marines stationed on Sabaody Archipelago, it seems that a human auction house on the island captured a man named Uchiha Madara and sold him as a slave, which led to this conflict!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the room fell silent, the atmosphere turning strange.
Then, they heard a loud bang from Akainu's side—it sounded like a fist slamming hard onto a table.
Akainu roared in anger, "As expected! I knew it was those scumbags causing trouble again!"
The other high-ranking Marines knew exactly who he was referring to as "scumbags"—the Celestial Dragons. Many of them also held grievances against the Celestial Dragons, but no one dared to express it as bluntly as Akainu.
"Sakazuki, watch your words! Right now, we can't determine whether this was a coincidence or a deliberate setup by the other party. We must investigate thoroughly before drawing any conclusions!" Sengoku cut off Akainu's rant and then said gravely, "However, the most urgent matter now is deciding how the Marines should posture ourselves for the decisive battle against them in one month!"
The Marine officers perked up—this was about discussing battle strategy!
But just as everyone was about to voice their opinions, Aokiji suddenly interjected, "We can take our time discussing battle plans. However, I think we must immediately issue bounty posters for these two. Even if we can't capture them this way, we should at least gather some information about them, which would help with our battle preparations."
"Well said!"
"Agreed!"
"Seconded!"
The others quickly voiced their support.
Sengoku also nodded in approval. "That's my thought as well. According to Borsalino, the other party's tone suggested they belong to an organization—it's clearly not just two people acting alone. Without proper intel, we're at too much of a disadvantage! Now, we need to discuss the specific bounty amounts."
At this, the Marine leaders had differing opinions.
Some believed the bounty should be set higher to incentivize people to investigate Lín Xuán and Uchiha Madara.
Others argued that since they had suppressed news of the Sabaody incident, setting it too high would only arouse suspicion.
As the two sides debated, a Marine soldier suddenly rushed into Sengoku's office, shouting in panic, "Bad news, Fleet Admiral! The news about Sabaody Archipelago has been leaked!"
In his hand was a newspaper.
"What?!" Sengoku was shocked.
His exclamation was transmitted through the Den Den Mushi to all the Marine leaders, instantly causing an uproar.
"What's going on?"
"Wasn't the news supposed to be suppressed?"
"Damn it! Who leaked this?!"
The high-ranking Marines erupted in anger.
They knew all too well the chaos this would cause once the news spread—not only would it shake the world, but it would also humiliate the Marines. This was nothing but trouble for them!
The Marine soldier nervously reported, "Some newspaper somehow got hold of the information and published it widely. The news has already spread across the world!"
"Damn it!" Sengoku snatched the newspaper and skimmed through it before slamming his fist on the table repeatedly in frustration.
But no matter how angry they were, the damage was done. They had no choice but to accept it and quickly come up with a countermeasure.
Vice Admiral Momonga suggested, "We should immediately issue a public statement condemning the newspaper for spreading false rumors and deny the news!"
However, the others didn't immediately agree.
Another Vice Admiral said, "But if we later issue bounty posters for those two, wouldn't that raise doubts again?"
Momonga added, "Then we'll claim the newspaper was bribed by them. The reason for the bounty will be for spreading lies, slandering the World Government, and insulting the World Nobles!"
Eyes lit up around the room—this was a brilliant idea! It would make perfect sense!
But Vice Admiral Tsuru raised another concern: "This method has limited effectiveness. If we end up fighting them in a large-scale battle a month later, the public will still grow suspicious."
Sengoku said solemnly, "So we only have two options: First, we must capture these two criminals within the month. If we can't, then in the decisive battle a month later, we must eliminate them at all costs!"
His words made it clear—he had already accepted Momonga's suggestion!
The others also understood that there was no time for lengthy deliberation. This was likely the best course of action.
Besides, they didn't believe Lín Xuán and Uchiha Madara had any real chance of defeating the Marines in a month.
They had absolute confidence in the Marines' strength!
Sengoku immediately ordered his subordinates to issue a public denial and prepare official bounty posters.
After the orders were sent out, the meeting continued as they discussed how to better investigate and capture Lín Xuán and Uchiha Madara.
Additionally, in case they failed to capture them in time, they needed to quickly finalize battle plans for the decisive clash a month later.
Meanwhile, the newspaper reporting the Sabaody incident had already spread across the world, sending shockwaves throughout the pirate world!
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T/N:
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