One Piece: Rayquaza of the Beasts Pirates

Fortunately, while Aokiji and Kizaru weren't as proactive as Akainu, they generally followed his orders as Fleet Admiral.

That's good enough; it's better than some old man who acts like he's entitled because of his age.

Sengoku glanced at a certain Pu who, as soon as he entered the room, familiarly rummaged through his drawers to steal senbei (rice crackers).

"Ah!"

Garp paused in his act of stuffing a senbei into his mouth, then sneezed loudly.

"Who's thinking about this old man?"

Before anyone could say anything, he burst into laughter, "It must be my precious grandson Luffy missing me! Hahahaha..."

The people inside rolled their eyes in unison.

Ever since Garp's grandson joined the Navy, the old man can't stand not mentioning his precious grandson for a day; they're practically tired of hearing about him.

When Zhan Guo saw that everyone had arrived, he did not delay any longer and began to explain the situation.

"That's how it is. The Five Elders have officially issued orders for us to launch a devastating attack on Kane and his flagship, the Sky Piercer, and to retrieve the Poneglyphs."

"This operation is of extremely high importance and will be carried out jointly by our Navy and CP0."

"Ah la la..."

Aokiji tilted his head, a hint of seriousness in his lazy tone: "Has things developed to this point?"

The fact that a naval admiral and CP0 are taking action together is truly unprecedented.

Kizaru casually crossed his legs, stroking his stubble with his fingers, and exclaimed, "Wow~ Pirates these days are really scary. Did they even take down Crocodile in one hit?"

"Hmph, such decisive measures should have been taken long ago!"

Akainu's gaze beneath his hat brim was as sharp as an eagle's, his icy killing intent almost undisguised.

It was Sengoku's indecisiveness that allowed Kane to grow to where he is today. If he were the marshal, he would have sent a large force to suppress him long ago.

Such pirate scum, who dares to disrupt the order of the sea, deserves to die a hundred times over.

Garp, seemingly oblivious to everything, remained focused on challenging his record for senbei elimination, the clicking sounds echoing throughout the room.

Zhan Guo's gaze swept over the crowd: "You all surely understand the seriousness of the problem. Who is willing to go?"

"Ah la la..."

To everyone's surprise, Aokiji was the first to raise his hand and respond: "I'll go. I've been idle at headquarters for too long, and my body is almost rusty. It'll be good to get some exercise."

"No, I will carry out this task."

Akainu's emotionless voice rang out.

Kizaru stopped what he was doing and looked back and forth between the two colleagues who were vying for the mission with great interest, as if he were watching a good show.

If he had a camera Den Den Mushi (a type of electric scooter) on hand, he really wanted to record it.

Aokiji was slightly taken aback. Before he could speak, Akainu continued, "If I remember correctly, Nico Robin, the Devil Child, was in Ohara back then."

Aokiji narrowed his eyes: "What do you mean by that?"

Akainu retorted without any politeness, "You should know what I mean better than I do."

How could an eight-year-old girl survive and escape from Ohara, which was completely covered by artillery fire and under strict blockade?

To say there's nothing fishy going on here is an insult to his intelligence.

In an instant, the air in the office seemed to freeze, and the invisible aura between the two generals clashed fiercely.

"enough!"

Zhan Guo rubbed his throbbing temples and interrupted, "As colleagues, don't make baseless speculations and accusations!"

His original plan was to send Garp with an admiral, but now it seems that whether he sends Aokiji or Akainu alone, the other person will definitely have reservations.

Well, let's just consider it as increasing the success rate of the task.

"Since you've both applied, then you should both go."

"Two generals deployed at the same time? Unbelievable..."

Kizaru's eyes widened slightly.

Add to that CP0, the world's most powerful intelligence agency directly under the World Government, and with such a formidable lineup, it's no exaggeration to say they're capable of taking down the Four Emperors.

It seems I underestimated the level of threat Kane posed to the Five Elders and Sengoku.

"That's settled then. Don't hold me back, or I won't go easy on you."

Akainu uttered these words in a low voice, pressed down hard on the brim of his hat, and strode away first.

Aokiji didn't say anything, but silently straightened his crooked eye patch and walked away in another direction without expression.

Sengoku watched the two part ways unhappily, then glanced at Kizaru on the sofa with an innocent look on his face, and Garp, who was gulping down tea after nearly choking on his own. A deep sense of powerlessness welled up from the bottom of his heart, and he sighed deeply.

"let's go."

He waved wearily, feeling a deep sense of desolation about the future.

Under the close attention and personal supervision of the Five Elders and Sengoku himself, the navy, this massive war machine, demonstrated astonishing efficiency.

Just half an hour later, a massive fleet of twenty elite warships had assembled and sailed away from Marineford port, heading towards the target area.

Inside the operations conference room of the naval flagship.

Aokiji, Akainu, and the CP0's lead agent for this operation held a brief pre-battle meeting.

"According to intelligence, since leaving Alabasta, Cairne the Scourge has headed southeast, and we predict that his final destination is most likely here—"

A CP0 agent, clad in a pure white robe and wearing a bizarre clown mask, precisely pointed his finger at an island marker on the nautical chart.

"Gaya Island?"

Aokiji slowly uttered the name of the island.

“That’s right. To ensure everything goes smoothly, I’ve already dispatched elite agents to monitor the island and the surrounding waters in advance. Once they show up, they will have no chance of escaping our control.”

The Joker CP0 is full of confidence.

Then, he changed the subject, his tone subtly condescending: "Oh, by the way. Until the target clearly reveals itself, I request that your navy maintain its distance and remain on the perimeter. This is to avoid alerting the enemy and disrupting our plans."

The tone of his command, which sounded almost like he was giving orders to his subordinates, and the disdain he showed for the navy's intelligence and operational capabilities, caused both Aokiji and Akainu's expressions to darken slightly.

Both of them quickly regained control of their expressions, but the surrounding air seemed to become even colder and more solemn.

……

A week later.

The wind was gentle and the clouds were light. The azure sea was as smooth as a mirror. The Liekong Zuohao cut through the fine white waves and sailed steadily.

At one end of the deck, Kane had just finished his "dessert" for the day—a few energy-rich meteorite fragments.

At this moment, he was leisurely leaning back in a beach chair, holding a glass of iced lemonade, instructing his younger brothers on their cultivation.

"Faster, faster, faster!"

"Remember, the more you sweat in peacetime, the less you bleed in wartime. The enemy won't give you a chance to catch your breath."

"Too slow! Ace, your flames aren't for fireworks. Focus them, and only a clenched fist will deliver power."

On the other hand, the art style is completely different.

Yamato, carrying her spiked club, was enthusiastically instructing her newly recruited group of manatee underlings.

As the saying goes, like master, like apprentice.

These kung fu manatees were now standing in a row, each holding a miniature version of a spiked club, looking quite professional.

"Alright!"

Yamato swung A-Jian violently, creating a gust of wind with wide, sweeping movements.

"Thunderous Eight Trigrams!"

The Thunderous Eight Trigrams, though reduced in power, struck the historical text, leaving no trace, like a mud ox sinking into the sea.

"Remember my swing? Follow along with me."

As she demonstrated, she shouted in a loud voice, "Treat it as your enemy and smash it down hard!"

One dares to teach, and the other dares to learn.

Led by Yamato, the Kung Fu Manatees "mooed" as they rushed up to the Poneglyph and vigorously waved their small spiked clubs at it.

Chopper, who was recently given the title of Rayquaza's mount, has also been busy.

Under the dual tutelage of Kureha and Hiruluk, he absorbed medical and chemical knowledge like a sponge.

"It would be great if we could enhance the brain."

Chopper looked at the mountain of heavy books in front of him, almost touching the ceiling, and thought to himself, resting his chin on his little hoof.

"Kane, we should be able to reach Jaya Island in about half a day's flight."

Violet came to report, carrying a compass and a nautical chart.

At this point, some observant readers may have questions.

Hippo, hippo, doesn't the Log Pose need five days to fully recharge in Alabasta? The Rayquaza only stayed for one day, didn't it?

Ah~ I have to thank my selfless brother Lao Sha for this.

He had stored a lot of log pointers in his warehouse in advance to facilitate the operations of his agents.

Now, Kane has naturally benefited.

Closer to home.

Kane did not intend to arrive at Jaya Island first, and then follow Luffy's route—taking the Sky Current to the Sky Island.

One word—unnecessary.

Without the ability to fly, one rides the Sky-Piercing Current; having the ability to fly, one still rides the Sky-Piercing Current.

Then all that ability of his wasted, wasn't it?

"Attention all personnel, prepare for takeoff," Kane announced.

Now that we've arrived in the waters near Jaya Island, things are simple—the Sky Island is right above us, isn't it? We can just fly up there.