Marine Headquarters.
Inside a newly assigned office.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Vice Admiral Garp, and the three Marine Admirals were once again gathered together.
And aside from these absolute pillars of the Marines, there was another person lounging lazily by the conference table.
Alex.
This made the atmosphere in the office indescribably strange and awkward.
After all, just half an hour ago, these very Marine elites had been beaten into dogs by that young man.
And now, they were supposed to sit together as if nothing had happened?
No matter how thick-skinned someone was, that was still hard to swallow.
But no matter how unwilling they felt, this was an order from the Five Elders.
What choice did they have?
"Alex."
The corner of Sengoku's mouth twitched slightly as he adjusted his mindset before finally speaking in a low voice.
"Let's talk about eliminating the Four Emperors."
"Simple."
Alex shrugged indifferently, as if the Four Emperors were nothing more than insignificant trash.
"Find them, then kill them."
Of course.
Given how Alex had just swept aside the Marine top brass with ease, he truly did have the capital to be this arrogant.
"Is that your plan?"
Sengoku was utterly speechless.
The plan sounded great—except that it was completely meaningless.
"If that's the case, I have an idea."
Sengoku pushed up his glasses.
"Perhaps we can choose Whitebeard as the first target. The exact time—ten days from now."
Whitebeard?
Ten days later?
Alex glanced at Sengoku.
Wasn't that the day of Portgas D. Ace's public execution?
Sengoku wanted him to publicly kill a Yonko in front of the entire world?
If that happened, the Marines' prestige would soar to an unprecedented peak.
But to Alex, that kind of thing didn't matter at all.
He planned to eliminate all the Four Emperors anyway—order didn't matter.
If Sengoku wanted Whitebeard to go first, Alex had no objections.
As for ten days later?
That was nothing.
Just waiting ten days—Alex could easily afford that.
Besides, the One Piece world was interesting enough.
Spending those days traveling around and sightseeing wasn't a bad idea at all.
"Then it's settled."
Alex stood up.
"I'll be there in ten days."
Whoosh!
After leaving those words behind, Alex stepped onto his surfboard and flew straight out.
He didn't even use the door—he simply phased through the wall and vanished.
Sengoku and the others were left staring blankly.
This guy, Alex… just how many abilities did he have?
Flight, invisible force fields, extreme speed, eye-beam attacks—and now, wall-phasing?
And he wasn't even a Devil Fruit user?
How could a non–Devil Fruit user possess so many abilities?
Alex was without question the strongest—and strangest—person they had ever encountered in all their years on the sea.
Of course, he was also the greatest humiliation and threat the Marines had ever faced.
But no matter what—
With the Five Elders stepping in, this matter was temporarily settled.
Next, Sengoku and the others refocused their full attention on preparing for Ace's public execution ten days later.
This would be the most significant Marine operation since the annihilation of the Rocks Pirates and the execution of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger.
No one in the Marines dared to slack off.
Including Fleet Admiral Sengoku himself, as well as the three Admirals—everyone devoted themselves fully to the preparations.
Marines mobilized from various branches had long since taken up their positions.
The Seven Warlords of the Sea also began arriving at Marineford one after another.
At the same time, the eyes of the entire world turned toward Marineford.
Pirates, the World Government, and even ordinary civilians—all were paying close attention to this "battle of the century."
Everyone understood that if Whitebeard truly appeared, this battle would directly reshape the world's balance.
No one could afford to ignore it.
Under such intense scrutiny, the pressure on the Marines was enormous.
Even Sengoku felt it keenly.
Because under this level of attention, even the slightest failure would deal a fatal blow to Marine prestige.
Still, when Sengoku thought of that monstrous figure, his heart steadied somewhat.
With that man present, even Whitebeard wouldn't be able to stir up much trouble.
But…
Sengoku checked the time.
The execution was about to begin—why hadn't that man shown up yet?
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, it's almost time. Everyone is waiting for you."
The secretary knocked and entered, reminding him.
Sengoku steadied himself, stood up, and left the office.
When Sengoku arrived at the execution platform, all one hundred thousand Marines were already in position.
Looking out, it was a sea of black—heads everywhere.
Even without doing anything, such overwhelming numbers alone radiated crushing pressure.
In addition—
Kizaru, Akainu, and Aokiji, the three Admirals, were seated imposingly on the high platform.
One radiated ruthless dominance, one lazy menace, and one cold silence.
Different demeanors, yet simply sitting there made them feel like pillars holding the sky.
Of course.
Marine hero Vice Admiral Garp was also present.
But Garp's expression was extremely ugly.
He even shot Sengoku a blatant glare.
Though Ace wasn't related to Garp by blood, in Garp's heart, Ace was like a grandson.
What's more, Ace was Roger's final request entrusted to Garp!
From the beginning, Garp had opposed Sengoku's decision to publicly execute Ace.
But there was nothing he could do.
After all—he was a Marine.
"Garp, remember—you are a Marine. Remember where you stand."
Seeing the look in Garp's eyes, Sengoku couldn't help but remind him sternly.
Garp knew his position perfectly well.
Otherwise, he would have already broken Ace out himself.
Sengoku withdrew his gaze from Garp and looked ahead.
Below the platform, several figures of varying heights were standing.
The Seven Warlords of the Sea had arrived as well.
Sengoku finally felt somewhat reassured.
The Marine deployment had no issues.
Even if Alex didn't appear, they could still proceed according to their original plan against Whitebeard.
Though as for truly eliminating Whitebeard—
That was another matter entirely.
After all, that man possessed power said to be capable of destroying the world.
Whoosh!
As Sengoku was organizing his thoughts, he suddenly felt a blur in his vision.
A powerful gust of wind swept past him.
He instinctively turned his head—
And sure enough, a familiar figure had appeared.
Alex.
Whoosh!
One gaze after another subconsciously locked onto Alex.
The Marines who had never seen him before were utterly stunned.
Who was this man, to be able to appear so openly beside Fleet Admiral Sengoku at a moment like this?
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