"In other words—"
The man sitting beside Aramaki, clad in a purple kimono with eyes closed, Admiral Fujitora, spoke calmly. "We'll be going up against the entire Charlotte Family at once?"
"That's the most likely outcome."
Garp slapped the table and laughed heartily. "Wahahahaha! This isn't the time to mope—you're Admirals of the Marine Headquarters now!"
"Even so," Fujitora murmured, "crushing the Charlotte Family and seizing the Road Poneglyph in their possession won't be an easy task."
Apart from the three of them, there were also a few Vice Admirals from the Navy Headquarters on the ship.
But, to be honest, in the upcoming battle, ordinary Vice Admirals would be of little use. They were already struggling just to deal with the middle-ranking officers of the Charlotte Family.
"The Headquarters is short on manpower as well."
Garp shook his head. "Sakazuki and Borsalino have other assignments. Even CP0 on the government side has suffered heavy losses. There's no one they can be sent to help, at least for now."
"That's fine, I guess," Green Bull said casually. "Our mission isn't to destroy the Charlotte Family. We just need to snatch that stone from them."
He patted his chest and said loudly, "By then, Mr. Garp, you go block that woman, Charlotte Linlin. Leave the rest of their officers to me. Fujitora, all you need to do is focus on finding that stone!"
"Wahaha! That's the spirit!"
The Marine Hero laughed heartily.
"Perhaps we can try sneaking in first?"
Fujitora suggested. "I still have some confidence in my ability to gather information firsthand."
"Then let's do that for now!"
No matter what, the Navy's expedition force set course toward the Charlotte Family's stronghold.
At the same time, as if by coincidence, the Charlotte Family was holding a tea party.
Of course, this tea party wasn't as grand as the ones they held back in the New World.
Having been pushed to the North Blue by the Beasts Pirates, the Charlotte Family could no longer invite the powerful figures of the New World like before.
Not to mention, everyone was struggling to secure their own positions. Under the Beasts Pirates' pressure, they were practically trembling.
Even if someone accepted the invitation, traveling all the way from the New World to this corner of the North Blue was no easy feat.
So this time, the guests invited by Charlotte Linlin were only the kings of nearby countries and some local powerful figures from the North Blue.
"Mama! Mama!"
The lively tea party put Linlin in an exceptionally good mood. She raised her glass high, inviting everyone present to drink with her.
"Next, I'll be needing your help in the North Blue!"
Everyone was flattered and quickly stood up, loudly showering Linlin with compliments.
Although Her Majesty the Queen claimed she needed their help, who here would dare to act recklessly?
Even though they had been driven out of the New World by the Beasts Pirates, a monster was still a monster.
Those who had lived generations in the North Blue would never dare bare their teeth at such a rising power.
Katakuri observed all of this with a cold, detached gaze.
He knew his mother was trying to rally their strength to her side.
Since arriving in the North Blue, she had become even more diligent.
The humiliation of being directly driven out of the New World by Ian had transformed into a driving force to grow stronger, leaving her no room for laziness.
Now, she was not only much slimmer than before, but her strength had improved considerably as well.
Helping her train had also increased his own power.
And it wasn't just him—his siblings were all brimming with determination, striving to become stronger.
However, if they thought that alone would be enough to seek revenge on Ian, they were still far from ready.
Sometimes Katakuri even wondered if targeting Ian was aiming too high.
The current Beasts Pirates were indeed alarmingly strong.
Just as the atmosphere reached its peak, somewhere along the coast of this country, a ship silently approached the shore.
This island was far larger than Cake Island, so when the ship arrived, no one noticed.
The people on board quickly disembarked and, without alerting anyone, headed straight for the Charlotte family's headquarters.
It was impossible to stop them. One among their group had an observation Haki so strong that he could easily avoid detection by anyone on the island.
Almost at the same moment, not far from this sea region, on the open waters…
A massive ship was rapidly approaching.
It was an extraordinary ship.
Not made of wood, but entirely of metal, it crushed every wave beneath it as it sailed across the sea.
Hundreds of meters long, the deck had no masts, let alone sails. Instead, it was bristling with thick cannons that reflected a cold metallic gleam under the sunlight.
As the ship cut through the ocean, the smooth sides of its hull clearly displayed the massive emblem of the Beasts Pirates.
"Faster! Accelerate!"
A lively voice of a young girl rang out from the deck.
Stini Kingdom.
Along a high wall somewhere in the royal palace.
Fujitora slightly drew his sword, and the purple aura instantly enveloped him and his companions.
In an instant, the reversed gravity sent everyone flying.
Effortlessly, they flipped over the heavily guarded walls and entered the palace grounds.
"How's that, Issho? Can you hear me clearly?"
Garp asked aloud.
"Trying to infiltrate quietly now is already a difficult task," Fujitora replied.
Although his eyes were tightly shut, his Observation Haki had already scanned the entire palace in detail.
"The palace is filled with surveillance Den Den Mushi and patrolling squads."
"In that case, let's just make a big commotion!"
Green Bull cracked his knuckles. "That stone is definitely hidden somewhere inside this palace, so I might as well turn the place upside down!"
Garp ignored him, keeping his eyes fixed on Fujitora.
"However, there are still blind spots," Fujitora said with a smile. "Follow me."
He strode forward with confidence.
"Oh! You're reliable, Issho bro!"
Although his suggestion had been rejected, Green Bull didn't mind. He grinned and followed along.
Guided by Fujitora's incredible Observation Haki, the Navy quietly infiltrated the Charlotte family's palace.
However, Fujitora didn't realize that even his Observation Haki couldn't perceive everything.
"Hm?"
During a brief pause at the tea party, Brûlée returned to her Mirror World to rest and suddenly noticed an unusual scene reflected in the mirror leading to the outside.
"Who are those people?"
**********
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