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Chapter 764: Headquarters' Response
Marine Headquarters.
To learn from the painful lesson of twenty years ago and guard against Ability Users like "Golden Lion" Shiki who could easily cross the Natural Barrier, they not only improved communication targeting the Den Den Mushi Jammer but also specifically set up special alarms in the Fleet Admiral's Office and the Chief of Staff's Office to receive news at the earliest possible moment.
Once it sounded, it meant something had happened at Impel Down.
Immediately, Admiral Sengoku and Staff Officer Tsuru reacted.
At the same time, the news quickly spread among the Marine High Command.
In the dark night, lights lit up in one room after another.
In less than a minute, they had already put on their Military Uniforms, donned their cloaks, and left their homes.
They met other colleagues along the way but didn't speak.
They didn't know what had happened, but it was definitely a major event.
Even if they might not be able to intervene in this matter, they still needed to wait.
At the Port, Admiral Sengoku, Vice Admiral Garp, and many other high-tier personnel, including Staff Officer Tsuru, had already departed.
Zephyr was left to guard Marine Headquarters.
The entire Marine Headquarters entered a strict alert state, ready for war at any moment, to prevent anyone from suddenly attacking and exploiting this power vacuum.
"Have you contacted Impel Down?"
Sengoku looked at the dark Great Sea in the distance.
His hand gripped the railing tightly, causing it to dent under his terrifying strength.
It was clear that his heart was far from peaceful at this moment.
If something happened at Impel Down, and the worst-case scenario occurred, who knew how many vicious Criminals would be released?
That would bring unimaginable severe consequences.
It could be said that much of the effort the Marines had put in over the years would turn into nothing.
Especially some terrifying Criminals, those who were meant to be erased by history; just capturing them had cost an unknown price.
"We contacted them, but there was no response."
"This is clearly an external invasion.
They used a Den Den Mushi Jammer.
The Jailers inside were either knocked unconscious by a powerful Conqueror's Haki or secretly killed."
"It couldn't be an internal problem."
Tsuru shook her head from the side.
No one inside Impel Down had that kind of ability.
"Who could it be?
That guy Shiki?"
"Most likely."
Tsuru nodded.
This situation was too similar to that accident nearly twenty years ago, almost identical.
The difference was that this time they received the news immediately, whereas last time they only found out after everything had settled.
They still had a chance.
Originally, she had planned to go to North Blue again to continue the suppression of the Donquixote Family's Faction.
In a short period, the Donquixote Family had developed again, reclaiming many lost channels.
And this time, they were more secret, more troublesome, and more cunning.
She hadn't expected such an unexpected event to occur.
"This is troublesome."
Sengoku let out a deep breath, his thoughts incredibly complex.
Who knew what Impel Down would look like by the time they arrived?
Soon, Sengoku's gaze became incredibly firm again.
He looked at Garp.
Noticing Sengoku's gaze, Garp, being his comrade-in-arms for many years, understood.
He loosened his collar, threw his cloak of justice to the side, where it was caught by an Adjutant.
"Leave it to me."
Garp said seriously, striding forward.
"Alright, we'll be right behind you.
Be careful."
After all, they were likely facing that guy "Golden Lion" Shiki, and perhaps not just him alone.
Relying on Garp alone would be very dangerous.
However, Sengoku had confidence in Garp's strength.
Arriving at Impel Down ahead of them, disrupting the Flying Pirates' Operation, and holding out until they arrived was completely within his capabilities.
Then, Garp's figure flashed.
Accompanied by a series of sonic booms, Garp rapidly rushed towards Impel Down.
The speed of the marine warship was already not slow.
At full speed, it could reach Impel Down in forty minutes.
But how much faster could Garp's Moonwalk be?
For several minutes, Sengoku and the others could still see Garp's figure.
It disappeared after a long while.
To Sengoku, it was still too slow.
Time was pressing.
It wasn't that Garp's speed was slow, but that the warship's speed was too slow.
In his opinion, the warship's power system and speed needed further improvement.
"It seems the Military needs to be equipped with some motorboats and sea motorcycles."
This time, Sengoku saw a small problem within the Marines.
"They are indeed needed to handle emergency situations."
Tsuru nodded, agreeing with Sengoku's suggestion.
As the Acting Fleet Admiral, this was just a matter of a single sentence for Sengoku.
Compared to warships, motorboats and sea motorcycles were lighter, possessed strong mobility, and were much faster than warships.
While not suitable for large-scale operations, they were perfect for support operations involving a small number of high-end combat power like this.
They could reach Impel Down faster.
Although the Marines' military budget had increased significantly now, there were still many places to spend money, which didn't mean they could spend lavishly.
Moreover, the military budget wasn't disbursed all at once.
If they spent too quickly, they would need to apply to the World Government's Finance Department and verify the general accounts to prevent embezzlement.
Many of the larger cases of corruption within the Marines were discovered by the World Government.
With only so much Heavenly Tribute, Sengoku still needed to be frugal.
If equipment like sea motorcycles were to be procured, it would necessarily be a large-scale purchase, and of the top tier.
Only the highest-performance sea motorcycles or motorboats possessed speed exceeding that of warships.
They were produced on Puto Island.
They came from the Kronos Kingdom.
Although expensive, they had a clear advantage in speed, playing a huge role whether in pursuing enemies or escaping.
Especially for Pirates, it was common to abandon their Pirate Ship and escape on motorboats and sea motorcycles when facing an unmanageable strong enemy or the Marines.
For those Pirates, their own lives were the most precious.
If the Marines wanted to procure them, they could only purchase them from Puto Island.
And it would cost tens or even hundreds of millions of Beli at once.
If they were standard equipment for warships, with a few motorboats or sea motorcycles per warship, then the manufacturing cost of a single warship would greatly increase.
In the past, marine warships had firepower and speed advantages against Pirate Ships.
Now, that advantage had significantly decreased.
Some Pirate Ships focused on speed even possessed speed comparable to, or even faster than, marine warships.
This had caused considerable trouble for the Marines.
Originally, Sengoku had wanted to endure for a while longer, but now it seemed he needed to purchase them in advance.
Thinking about getting money from the World Government gave Sengoku a headache; it was not an easy task.
It's worth mentioning that the endorser for sea motorcycles was the Swordsman Rookie "Hawk-Eyes" Mihawk, who had become famous through bloody battles and the Swordsmanship Tournament.
Top-tier sea motorcycles and motorboats were very expensive.
Their surfaces even had folding glass covers that could be controlled to appear and block rain.
They possessed a powerful balance mechanism, maintaining balance even in gales and storms.
Sleeping inside was also not a problem.
They even had an auto-navigation function.
Once a direction was set, they could navigate automatically, and even if the direction deviated, they could automatically adjust back.
An even more astonishing effect was the map function, possessing a relatively complete map of The Great Sea.
This was an epic technology, capable of causing a revolution on The Great Sea.
It prevented getting lost on the vast Great Sea.
Even without an Eternal Pose, one could navigate The Great Sea.
To some extent, it replaced the function of the Eternal Pose.
Of course, in Dangerous Waters with particularly violent magnetic fields, one could only rely on a specialized Eternal Pose to indicate the direction.
Ships equipped with navigation devices could also specifically avoid undetectable dangerous Areas.
This was equivalent to avoiding some bad weather, and to some extent, it played a role in prediction.
It was like having a Navigator built-in.
(end of chapter)
Marine Headquarters.
To learn from the painful lesson of twenty years ago and guard against Ability Users like "Golden Lion" Shiki who could easily cross the Natural Barrier, they not only improved communication targeting the Den Den Mushi Jammer but also specifically set up special alarms in the Fleet Admiral's Office and the Chief of Staff's Office to receive news at the earliest possible moment.
Once it sounded, it meant something had happened at Impel Down.
Immediately, Admiral Sengoku and Staff Officer Tsuru reacted.
At the same time, the news quickly spread among the Marine High Command.
In the dark night, lights lit up in one room after another.
In less than a minute, they had already put on their Military Uniforms, donned their cloaks, and left their homes.
They met other colleagues along the way but didn't speak.
They didn't know what had happened, but it was definitely a major event.
Even if they might not be able to intervene in this matter, they still needed to wait.
At the Port, Admiral Sengoku, Vice Admiral Garp, and many other high-tier personnel, including Staff Officer Tsuru, had already departed.
Zephyr was left to guard Marine Headquarters.
The entire Marine Headquarters entered a strict alert state, ready for war at any moment, to prevent anyone from suddenly attacking and exploiting this power vacuum.
"Have you contacted Impel Down?"
Sengoku looked at the dark Great Sea in the distance.
His hand gripped the railing tightly, causing it to dent under his terrifying strength.
It was clear that his heart was far from peaceful at this moment.
If something happened at Impel Down, and the worst-case scenario occurred, who knew how many vicious Criminals would be released?
That would bring unimaginable severe consequences.
It could be said that much of the effort the Marines had put in over the years would turn into nothing.
Especially some terrifying Criminals, those who were meant to be erased by history; just capturing them had cost an unknown price.
"We contacted them, but there was no response."
"This is clearly an external invasion.
They used a Den Den Mushi Jammer.
The Jailers inside were either knocked unconscious by a powerful Conqueror's Haki or secretly killed."
"It couldn't be an internal problem."
Tsuru shook her head from the side.
No one inside Impel Down had that kind of ability.
"Who could it be?
That guy Shiki?"
"Most likely."
Tsuru nodded.
This situation was too similar to that accident nearly twenty years ago, almost identical.
The difference was that this time they received the news immediately, whereas last time they only found out after everything had settled.
They still had a chance.
Originally, she had planned to go to North Blue again to continue the suppression of the Donquixote Family's Faction.
In a short period, the Donquixote Family had developed again, reclaiming many lost channels.
And this time, they were more secret, more troublesome, and more cunning.
She hadn't expected such an unexpected event to occur.
"This is troublesome."
Sengoku let out a deep breath, his thoughts incredibly complex.
Who knew what Impel Down would look like by the time they arrived?
Soon, Sengoku's gaze became incredibly firm again.
He looked at Garp.
Noticing Sengoku's gaze, Garp, being his comrade-in-arms for many years, understood.
He loosened his collar, threw his cloak of justice to the side, where it was caught by an Adjutant.
"Leave it to me."
Garp said seriously, striding forward.
"Alright, we'll be right behind you.
Be careful."
After all, they were likely facing that guy "Golden Lion" Shiki, and perhaps not just him alone.
Relying on Garp alone would be very dangerous.
However, Sengoku had confidence in Garp's strength.
Arriving at Impel Down ahead of them, disrupting the Flying Pirates' Operation, and holding out until they arrived was completely within his capabilities.
Then, Garp's figure flashed.
Accompanied by a series of sonic booms, Garp rapidly rushed towards Impel Down.
The speed of the marine warship was already not slow.
At full speed, it could reach Impel Down in forty minutes.
But how much faster could Garp's Moonwalk be?
For several minutes, Sengoku and the others could still see Garp's figure.
It disappeared after a long while.
To Sengoku, it was still too slow.
Time was pressing.
It wasn't that Garp's speed was slow, but that the warship's speed was too slow.
In his opinion, the warship's power system and speed needed further improvement.
"It seems the Military needs to be equipped with some motorboats and sea motorcycles."
This time, Sengoku saw a small problem within the Marines.
"They are indeed needed to handle emergency situations."
Tsuru nodded, agreeing with Sengoku's suggestion.
As the Acting Fleet Admiral, this was just a matter of a single sentence for Sengoku.
Compared to warships, motorboats and sea motorcycles were lighter, possessed strong mobility, and were much faster than warships.
While not suitable for large-scale operations, they were perfect for support operations involving a small number of high-end combat power like this.
They could reach Impel Down faster.
Although the Marines' military budget had increased significantly now, there were still many places to spend money, which didn't mean they could spend lavishly.
Moreover, the military budget wasn't disbursed all at once.
If they spent too quickly, they would need to apply to the World Government's Finance Department and verify the general accounts to prevent embezzlement.
Many of the larger cases of corruption within the Marines were discovered by the World Government.
With only so much Heavenly Tribute, Sengoku still needed to be frugal.
If equipment like sea motorcycles were to be procured, it would necessarily be a large-scale purchase, and of the top tier.
Only the highest-performance sea motorcycles or motorboats possessed speed exceeding that of warships.
They were produced on Puto Island.
They came from the Kronos Kingdom.
Although expensive, they had a clear advantage in speed, playing a huge role whether in pursuing enemies or escaping.
Especially for Pirates, it was common to abandon their Pirate Ship and escape on motorboats and sea motorcycles when facing an unmanageable strong enemy or the Marines.
For those Pirates, their own lives were the most precious.
If the Marines wanted to procure them, they could only purchase them from Puto Island.
And it would cost tens or even hundreds of millions of Beli at once.
If they were standard equipment for warships, with a few motorboats or sea motorcycles per warship, then the manufacturing cost of a single warship would greatly increase.
In the past, marine warships had firepower and speed advantages against Pirate Ships.
Now, that advantage had significantly decreased.
Some Pirate Ships focused on speed even possessed speed comparable to, or even faster than, marine warships.
This had caused considerable trouble for the Marines.
Originally, Sengoku had wanted to endure for a while longer, but now it seemed he needed to purchase them in advance.
Thinking about getting money from the World Government gave Sengoku a headache; it was not an easy task.
It's worth mentioning that the endorser for sea motorcycles was the Swordsman Rookie "Hawk-Eyes" Mihawk, who had become famous through bloody battles and the Swordsmanship Tournament.
Top-tier sea motorcycles and motorboats were very expensive.
Their surfaces even had folding glass covers that could be controlled to appear and block rain.
They possessed a powerful balance mechanism, maintaining balance even in gales and storms.
Sleeping inside was also not a problem.
They even had an auto-navigation function.
Once a direction was set, they could navigate automatically, and even if the direction deviated, they could automatically adjust back.
An even more astonishing effect was the map function, possessing a relatively complete map of The Great Sea.
This was an epic technology, capable of causing a revolution on The Great Sea.
It prevented getting lost on the vast Great Sea.
Even without an Eternal Pose, one could navigate The Great Sea.
To some extent, it replaced the function of the Eternal Pose.
Of course, in Dangerous Waters with particularly violent magnetic fields, one could only rely on a specialized Eternal Pose to indicate the direction.
Ships equipped with navigation devices could also specifically avoid undetectable dangerous Areas.
This was equivalent to avoiding some bad weather, and to some extent, it played a role in prediction.
It was like having a Navigator built-in.
(end of chapter)
