Before long, Kizaru took several severely injured soldiers and left the island first, sending them to the Marine base on Sabaody Archipelago for treatment.
The other Marines were busy rescuing their comrades.
None of them noticed that, amidst the ruins of the destroyed island, a pair of eyes had been watching everything—even Lin Xuan's declaration of war against the Marines was witnessed clearly!
This was a chubby man holding a camera.
It turned out he was a journalist!
Sabaody Archipelago was home to numerous media outlets like newspapers and magazines, and he happened to be a rookie reporter for one of them.
When the battle began earlier, most people had been terrified by the terrifying commotion and fled in panic. But this rookie reporter thought it might be a golden opportunity.
If he took the risk to gather some valuable news material and publish it, he might skyrocket to fame as a newcomer.
And indeed, he struck gold—even capturing the moment Lin Xuan openly declared war on the Marines!
"This... this is absolutely earth-shattering news! I... I'm going to make it big!"
After the Marines gradually left, he cautiously crawled out of the rubble, his face filled with excitement and ecstasy. "If I report this, I'll definitely become famous overnight, the most renowned journalist!"
After calming down a bit, he quickly snapped a few more photos before carefully leaving the scene, afraid that the Marines might discover him and silence him for good!
Meanwhile, at Marine Headquarters, in Fleet Admiral Sengoku's office—
"What did you say?!"
Sengoku listened to Kizaru's report through the Den Den Mushi, his eyes wide with disbelief. After a long pause, he snapped angrily, "Borsalino, you've gone too far this time. How could you joke about something like this? Have I been too lenient with you, giving you the wrong idea?"
On the other end of the line, Kizaru could only smile bitterly. "Fleet Admiral, if possible, I'd also wish this were just a joke. But everything I just said is the absolute truth—there's not a hint of exaggeration."
"But... how is that possible?!" Sengoku still couldn't accept it.
Nine Pacifistas were instantly destroyed!
Kizaru was utterly defeated!
Three Celestial Dragons were taken right under the Marines' noses!
Each of these events was unbelievable on its own, let alone all happening at once.
The most outrageous part? Kizaru claimed the other party had declared they would return in a month to fight the Marines again and seize control of Sabaody Archipelago!
It sounded like pure madness!
Yet, it was all true.
After exhausting all arguments, Kizaru finally managed to convince Sengoku.
And then, Sengoku realized—this was a disaster of unprecedented proportions!
For starters, the three Celestial Dragons had suffered immense humiliation and were forcibly taken away. The Celestial Dragons would likely use this as an excuse to punish Kizaru and Sentomaru severely.
Kizaru and Sentomaru had fought desperately and were now seriously injured, but the Celestial Dragons wouldn't care. They'd only see their failure and might even sentence them to death!
But the bigger problem was Lin Xuan's declaration of war—against the Marines and the entire World Government!
Now, Sengoku had to seriously consider how to respond.
He couldn't tell whether Lin Xuan's words were just empty threats or a real promise.
If the Marines mobilized their forces and fortified Sabaody Archipelago, only for Lin Xuan to never show up—making a fool of them—the entire world would laugh at the Marines.
But doing nothing wasn't an option either. If Lin Xuan really led a group of powerful fighters to attack Sabaody Archipelago a month later, and the Marines were caught unprepared, the humiliation would be even worse!
"Dammit, where did those two come from? Why are they causing me such a headache?" Sengoku rubbed his temples, feeling utterly exhausted.
Still, he quickly made some decisions.
He immediately ordered Kizaru, "Borsalino, lock down Sabaody Archipelago immediately. The incident involving the Celestial Dragons and the declaration of war must be suppressed—absolutely no leaks! We can't let this cause a global uproar!"
In his view, as long as the outside world remained ignorant of the details, the Marines could spin the narrative however they wanted later, saving face in the process.
"Understood!" Kizaru responded solemnly before hanging up to carry out the orders.
After ending the call, Sengoku turned to his subordinates and barked, "Immediately summon all Admirals and Vice Admirals for an emergency Den Den Mushi conference! Now!"
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!" The subordinate hastily complied, sweating profusely.
He had overheard some of the conversation and understood the gravity of the situation. He immediately began making calls, contacting high-ranking Marines across the East Blue, West Blue, South Blue, and North Blue.
Soon, Marine Admirals and Vice Admirals stationed across the seas received the order—drop everything and join the emergency conference immediately.
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T/N:
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