Midnight.
New World, New Marineford.
In the Fleet Admiral's office.
Karol entered, holding the latest consolidated intelligence report.
"Fleet Admiral."
"The latest intelligence has been compiled."
Sakazuki, without looking up from his desk piled high with documents, was signing dispatch orders. He said,
"Read it."
Karol replied,
"Yes."
He opened the document in his hand:
"As of 23:00 on the 17th, our preliminary strategic objectives have been achieved."
"Regarding the Yonko Charlotte Linlin."
"The core of her third defensive island chain has been breached by our forces. Subsequent fleets are advancing, and are expected to reach their designated positions in four days to commence the attack."
"Regarding the Yonko Kaido."
"Due to the destruction of fleets 37, 38, and 43 by Kaido, and the sinking of Eren Port."
"The territory, divided into three routes, has developed a gap. The pirate faction is currently organizing a counterattack."
"Regarding the Yonko Shanks."
"Sott's aerial fleet has conquered four islands under Red-Haired’s command in two days, destroying all defensive measures on the islands."
"All residents willing to leave the New World have been embarked."
"However, there are still many who are unwilling to embark..."
"Sott is inquiring whether to proceed as originally planned."
Sakazuki's expression was unreadable.
"Tell him to execute the order."
Karol nodded.
"Yes."
He continued,
"Regarding the Yonko Heil Nock."
"His first wave of reinforcement troops has arrived at the foremost encampment."
"Our assembled forces are also prepared for defense."
"However, the sea currently separating them is the battlefield between Heil Nock and Admiral Kuzan."
"The battle between the two has not yet concluded."
"But according to intelligence, the area covered by Admiral Kuzan's icebergs is smaller than Heil Nock's steam domain."
"Intelligence personnel cannot approach the battlefield between the Yonko."
"But there should be no major issues."
Sakazuki gave a soft grunt.
"You may go. Report any changes."
Karol acknowledged,
"Yes."
He slowly retreated.
In the office, only the sound of Sakazuki continuously signing dispatch orders remained.
This stood in stark contrast to the boisterous and busy Marine Headquarters outside...
The war had only just begun...
Battles between Yonko and Admirals, before a significant power imbalance, could not be decisively won by any single side.
The current Navy, excluding Sakazuki and Sengoku, had roughly even high-end combat power. With the exception of Kuzan, the strategy was to assign two individuals to counter one Yonko, making it difficult for anyone to kill the other.
Kuzan's situation was also more prolonged due to the special nature of his Devil Fruit, thus requiring only one opponent.
The surplus combat power of Sakazuki and Sengoku was the last straw for the pirates.
However, they had not yet engaged because there were simply too many pirates in the New World.
Kaido alone commanded over twenty thousand pirates, not including the islands under his control.
Big Mom's territory, the Whole Cake Island, controlled thirty-four islands and some affiliated pirate crews.
Shanks had gathered tens of thousands of stragglers unwilling to pledge allegiance to the other three Yonko.
The most troublesome was Heil Nock, who, as the world's largest underground emperor, commanded a number of gangsters and pirates nearly equal to the other three factions combined.
While his high-end combat power was not as great as the other three Yonko, the sheer number of his subordinates was overwhelming.
It was not as simple as eliminating the Yonko pirate crews for peace to be established...
If these lower-tier pirates were not slowly worn down, the consequences would be endless.
There was no form of identity verification in this era, only wanted posters, and these posters only targeted leaders and top figures.
These tens of thousands of lower-tier pirates and individuals were not even eligible for wanted posters.
If the Yonko were eliminated through a crushing display of force, these tens of thousands of lower-tier pirates would scatter, and the Marines would have no way to find them...
Without wanted posters or identity verification, these individuals could simply claim to be civilians, and the Marines would be powerless.
It wasn't that they couldn't be killed, but the justification wouldn't hold.
If they looked like pirates, they'd be killed, but if they denied it, they'd still be killed.
The consequences of such actions were unpredictable, but the number of casualties would be many times greater than the number of escaping pirates, and there would still be many who slipped through the net...
With the Yonko alive, they could mobilize those pirates to the greatest extent. The Marines would engage in a war of attrition, slowly chipping away at them, at the cost of countless Marine soldiers' lives...
With the Yonko dead, the lower-tier pirates would scatter, and over a hundred thousand pieces of scum would infiltrate the populace. They would be untraceable and unarrestable, throwing the New World into chaos. The pressure and public outcry would fall entirely on the Marines...
The Marines currently lacked a catalyst to gather the pirates together.
While the current Yonko were allied, they were still fighting their own battles, their front lines stretched too thin across the entire New World.
And that catalyst would be one of either Charlotte Linlin or Kaido.
This was precisely why Sakazuki was continuously pouring troops into the Charlotte Linlin and Kaido fronts – to seize the initiative...
-----------
The next day.
The mountain of documents that had piled up on the desk had vanished.
Evidently, Sakazuki had dealt with them all...
He had not slept all night...
But it had no impact on Sakazuki. He ordered all new documents to be brought in.
At this moment.
The door to the Fleet Admiral's office was pushed open.
Sakazuki looked at the arrivals and smiled.
"Why have you two come?"
Two figures stood at the entrance, smiling.
They were Zephyr and Morris, who had been training soldiers and compiling manuals at the original Marine Headquarters in Marineford.
Morris walked in and said,
"The three books you mentioned have been preliminarily edited by us."
"We've brought them for you to see."
"We originally intended to inform you via Den Den Mushi."
"But this old man insisted on going to the New World for battle."
"So I came along."
Zephyr, who followed them in, shook his head.
"What, you don't want to?"
Morris's tone shifted.
"Hahahaha!"
"Of course I do."
"Arrange a mission for us, Sakazuki."
Sakazuki gestured for them to sit and took the three books from Morris.
"The mission can wait."
"I'll look at these books first."
He then began to flip through them.
Morris and Zephyr did not sit down. Instead, their eyes fell upon the large sand table in the room.
The two walked to the sand table, observing the current strategic deployments of the Marines and pirates.
The islands marked on the New World map were all present on the table, arranged precisely according to scale.
From the sand table, it was evident that the Marines were primarily targeting Charlotte Linlin and Kaido in the center, with their attacks thrusting directly into their territories.
However, it was precisely this that caused Morris and Zephyr to frown...