Marineford War: I Will Stand in the Sky

Vice Admiral Tsuru turned to Gion, who was slumped on the ground almost in a state of collapse, and Hancock, who had fainted, and pursed his lips tightly, saying something.

"It was discovered in Gion, along with Hancock..."

After a pause, Vice Admiral Tsuru spoke before Marshal Sengoku could ask a question.

"The incident occurred within an hour of the conclusion of the Seven Warlords of the Sea meeting. Vice Admiral Yann left the conference room with Gion and Hancock, but halfway there, Yann realized he had forgotten to take the meeting minutes. In order to compile the meeting report as soon as possible, Vice Admiral Yann hurriedly returned to the conference room alone..."

"Gion and Hancock waited in vain for Lieutenant General Yann's return, so when they returned to the conference room to look for him, they discovered that Lieutenant General Yann... had been in trouble."

As Vice Admiral Tsuru finished speaking, almost all the vice admirals present showed a sorrowful expression.

Today was supposed to be a rare day for Lieutenant General Yann to reunite with his wife, but instead, he was busy with the meeting until late at night and ended up encountering this situation in order to quickly prepare the meeting report.

"impossible!"

Just then, Sakazuki, whose body was radiating intense heat, shouted angrily.

"No matter how you look at it, it's impossible for someone to have killed Lieutenant General Yann in Marineford within an hour without making a sound."

“That’s right, I don’t believe it either.” Kuzan, unusually, stood on the same side as Sakazuki on the same issue.

Borsalino also spoke with a rare serious expression.

"I... also find it unbelievable. Vice Admiral Yann's strength is evident to all across the ocean. Even if the three admirals of the Navy attacked Vice Admiral Yann at the same time, it would be impossible for him to be killed without making a sound."

Lieutenant General Tsuru glanced at the silent Sengoku Marshal and then spoke.

“Indeed, probably no one in the entire navy would believe such a thing, but after observing the environment in the conference room, I found that there were not many signs of battle, so there seems to be only one explanation.”

Immediately, the high-ranking naval officers present couldn't help but turn their attention to Vice Admiral Tsuru, the "chief strategist" who was known for his wisdom.

"The assassin who killed Lieutenant General Yann was likely someone whom Lieutenant General Yann trusted and was not wary of, who then took advantage of Lieutenant General Yann's weak physique and killed him instantly before he could react."

After a pause, Vice Admiral Tsuru swept his gaze over the high-ranking naval officers in front of him, his eyes filled with suspicion. He felt that everything before him pointed to the culprit possibly being within the Navy.

However, to avoid arousing unnecessary suspicion, Vice Admiral Tsuru did not reveal his true thoughts, but merely observed the changes in the expressions of the naval high-ranking officers in front of him, as if he could find some flaws in them.

Just then, the naval medical team that had been urgently summoned arrived at the conference room. When they saw the man nailed to the wall, their faces showed disbelief and horror.

"Don't just stand there, quickly put Lieutenant General Yann down."

After Lieutenant General Tsuru gave a gentle reprimand, the medical team, shocked by the scene before them, hurriedly and haphazardly lowered Lieutenant General Yann from the wall and began to examine him.

After a thorough examination, the medical team leader stood up with a very serious expression and said...

"Lieutenant General Yann died approximately an hour ago, and the cause of death was not the naval standard longsword stuck in his chest."

"What? You mean Lieutenant General Yann was deliberately nailed to the wall after his death?" Marshal Sengoku questioned like a thoroughly enraged lion.

Facing the gazes of numerous high-ranking naval officers, the medical team leader stammered nervously.

"Yes...yes...Lieutenant General Yann was killed by a blow to the back that shattered his heart. Also...we found this in Lieutenant General Yann's palm..."

As the medical team leader opened his palm, a small piece of paper lay inside, with the words "Seven Warlords of the Sea" written on it.

[Chapter 764. The Man Who Should Disappear from the Era]

"Qi...wu...hai!!!"

At this moment, not only Fleet Admiral Sengoku, but also most of the high-ranking naval officers present had faces ashen and were extremely angry.

"The Seven Warlords of the Sea, those scumbags dared to attack and kill Vice Admiral Yann! It's unforgivable!"

"Those pirates are indeed not to be trusted..."

"Surround and kill all those guys to avenge Lieutenant General Yann!"

……

While a significant portion of the naval high command was in an uproar, Vice Admiral Tsuru remained remarkably calm and spoke up. "Wait..."

Immediately, Lieutenant General Tsuru took the small piece of paper from the treatment team leader's hand, and then looked at the meeting minutes document that had fallen to the ground and was stained red with Yann's blood. After a simple comparison with the meeting minutes document, he was shocked to find that the piece of paper was torn from the meeting minutes document.

"It seems there's no mistake, it was the Seven Warlords of the Sea who did it."

"Lieutenant General Tsuru, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, we can't hesitate any longer..."

“Exactly! How can we allow those guys to commit such a heinous act and leave Marineford unscathed?”

As the naval high command witnessed Vice Admiral Tsuru's actions and couldn't help but express their opinions, Vice Admiral Tsuru once again spoke up to stop them, saying...

"What if this was the motive of the murderer who killed Vice Admiral Yann? Perhaps they deliberately assassinated Vice Admiral Yann just as the Marine Headquarters was about to clash with the Whitebeard Pirates, and then framed the Shichibukai to incite conflict between the Marines and the Shichibukai, thereby significantly weakening the Marines' fighting power."

After a pause, Lieutenant General Tsuru waved the piece of paper in his hand and said.

"Since the murderer deliberately nailed Vice Admiral Yann to the wall, this piece of paper was very likely placed in Vice Admiral Yann's hands by the murderer. All of this was done to provoke the Navy and cause conflict between the Navy and the Seven Warlords of the Sea."

"This……"

In an instant, the expressions of the naval high command became somewhat astonished, for there was no doubt that this possibility did indeed exist.

Sakazuki, however, spoke with a rather cold and angry expression. "However, we can't rule out the possibility that the culprit is one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, can we?"

Immediately, Sakazuki said sternly.

"Vice Admiral Yann's return to the conference room was a spur-of-the-moment decision. He probably stumbled upon something in the conference room, such as... overhearing the Seven Warlords of the Sea who were still in the conference room plotting something, and then being ambushed from behind while he was completely focused on it."

"I agree with Admiral Sakazuki's opinion. No matter what, the Seven Warlords of the Sea are suspected of something that cannot be cleared up. It is necessary to bring all the Seven Warlords of the Sea under control first."

“That’s right, those guys are completely untrustworthy now, we can’t ignore them anymore.”

Just as the relatively tough, hawkish officers were speaking up, Kuzan, who had gradually calmed down, spoke up.

"Calm down. The Seven Warlords of the Sea are not small fry that can be easily controlled. Are you planning to turn Marineford into ruins before the Whitebeard Pirates even arrive? You might be falling into Whitebeard's trap."

“Kuzan, your weak thinking will only give Whitebeard more opportunities,” Sakazuki questioned bluntly.

"Sakazuki, don't you understand that a naval admiral shouldn't act impulsively? One extreme decision of yours could very well cause the entire war to spiral out of control..."

For a time, the naval high command was almost divided into two factions and they started arguing fiercely.

As the argument between the two factions escalated, the warlord, unable to bear it any longer, shouted angrily.

"Quiet down, is this how you guys behave in front of Lieutenant General Yann?"

In an instant, all the high-ranking naval officers froze, and even the extremely agitated Sakazuki suppressed his anger.

Regardless, one should not lose composure like this in front of a man who dedicated his life to the cause of justice for the navy until his last breath.

Seeing the changes in everyone's expressions, Lieutenant General Tsuru felt as if a thick gloom had been cast over his heart.

Undoubtedly, the sudden collapse of Vice Admiral Yann, a core pillar of the Navy, coupled with the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death, has led many high-ranking Navy officials to begin to suspect each other and to become somewhat disorganized under the pressure of the impending war.

"You all step back now, and each of you must remain highly vigilant at all times to prevent similar incidents from happening again. Also..."

Lieutenant General Tsuru glanced at Fleet Admiral Sengoku, whose expression was incredibly complex, and then said rationally, "We must do everything we can to block any news about Lieutenant General Arn."

"Won't a funeral and farewell ceremony be held for Lieutenant General Yann?" Borsalino asked.

"This timing is not right..."

Lieutenant General Tsuru shook his head and said.

"Lieutenant General Yann has extremely high prestige. If news of Lieutenant General Yann's assassination is leaked, it could very likely cause morale to waver and trigger even more serious storms and chain reactions at sea."

Borsalino couldn't help but remind him.

"It's not necessarily possible to keep it a secret. Lieutenant General Yann has been working almost day and night recently, and suddenly losing all information will also arouse suspicion among the soldiers."

Lieutenant General Tsuru considered the situation for a moment, and seeing that Marshal Sengoku remained silent, continued, "Let's decide on this. It's the best course of action at the moment."

Subsequently, the remaining high-ranking naval officers were all expelled from the conference room by Vice Admiral Tsuru, and the medical team began to conduct a more detailed examination of the conference room.

Meanwhile, Yann's body will be sent to a medical facility for further investigation into the cause of death.

……

However, even though Vice Admiral Tsuru intentionally tried to suppress the news, it still spread rapidly within the Navy like a virus, and even the news of Vice Admiral Arn's death in an attack at Marineford, the Navy Headquarters, began to spread at sea.

For a moment, the entire sea was in an uproar!

That man... he's dead?!

In an instant, the chances of victory for Marineford, the Marine Headquarters, in the impending war, were shaken across the entire sea, whether among civilians or pirates. The undercurrents among the pirates grew even stronger.

……

Inside a colossal ship resembling a giant whale, Whitebeard sat high on his throne. On the spacious deck before him, however, were not the usual warm and noisy Whitebeard Pirates officers. Instead, only a man wearing a mask sat down naturally in front of Whitebeard.

"Hyōrinmaru, I never thought you actually did something like that. It's truly astonishing..."

"It's nothing. Lieutenant General Yann is simply destined to disappear into the tides of time, that's all."

[Chapter 765. The "Big Mom Pirates" Confirm Their Participation in the Battle]

"That's quite a statement, Hyōrinmaru. That man is no ordinary person."

Whitebeard said with a hint of regret, "I originally thought I would have a chance to fight him this time, but I didn't expect him to be killed like this."

"There's nothing we can do about it. If that man had always existed, no pirate on this sea would have believed that the Whitebeard Pirates could achieve final victory, and they wouldn't have joined the fray."

Yann spoke in a very calm tone, as if stating a fact.

Whitebeard responded to Yann's doubts with domineering confidence, saying, "I am the strongest man in the world!"

"But your sons are not the strongest subordinates in the world. Two admirals are enough to keep you in check. If the rest of the navy's top combat forces swarm in, how long can your sons hold out?"

When Yann asked the question, Whitebeard was momentarily speechless.

Yann took a sip of the wine that the white-bearded man had poured for him, then patted his robe, stood up, and said.

"Whitebeard, the stage is ready for you. Whether you can become a legend that surpasses Roger, or whether you will forge a completely new path in the 'Great Pirate Era,' is up to you."

"I don't need you reminding me of this kind of thing..."

Whitebeard replied arrogantly, then asked, "And Ace? Where did you send him?"

“A place he should go, a place where he can untangle the knot in his heart that has troubled him for more than ten years,” Yann replied.

Whitebeard narrowed his eyes slightly and questioned, "Are you sure the real Ace wasn't handed over to the Navy and the World Government by you?"

"Didn't you keep Ace's Vivre Card? You only need to check the Vivre Card to confirm if the person on the execution platform is Ace after you arrive at Marineford, and that will be enough proof," Yann replied.

Whitebeard nodded slightly, understanding that Hyōrinmaru wouldn't try to hide a lie that could be easily exposed.

Arne paused, looked at Whitebeard, and asked, "Do you need my help to get to Marineford? The G-1 branch and the Red Line are not so easily crossed."

Whitebeard laughed loudly, speaking with unparalleled arrogance, "Gurararara, who do you think you're underestimating? Hyōrinmaru! The mere Red Line can't stop my advance."