The Whitebeard Hunt Plan...
At that moment, everyone was stunned.
"Sengoku, when you say 'Whitebeard,' you can't possibly mean Whitebeard himself, right?"
"Exactly. I mean the Whitebeard Pirates!"
"Hiss... Have the Five Elders gone mad? Why would they want to provoke that old man?" Garp's eyes widened in shock.
"Garp, remember your position. We are Marines, and Whitebeard is a pirate. It is only natural and right for the Marines to eliminate pirates!" Akainu countered immediately, snapping back at Garp.
"Sakazuki, you little..."
"Hmph. It's just the Whitebeard Pirates. With the high-end combat power the Marines possess, we could take on two Whitebeard crews, let alone one. Besides, it's questionable whether that old man can even swing a blade properly these days."
Akainu wasn't just boasting; he was stating a fact.
Aside from Whitebeard himself, the crew consisted of a dozen division commanders and about thirty captains. Among those commanders, only the top-ranked few could hold their own against an Admiral; the rest were essentially at the level of a Vice Admiral.
Looking back at the Paramount War, the few Vice Admirals the Marines lost were only because the Admirals failed to act decisively. Had two Admirals been deployed specifically to pin down Whitebeard, he wouldn't have had the chance to kill those Vice Admirals.
Therefore, in terms of overall strength, the Marines were indeed equivalent to two Whitebeard crews—provided every officer gave their full effort.
"Sakazuki, don't underestimate Whitebeard, you brat. Even if his age prevents him from fighting for long periods, the moment he goes all out, he could destroy Marineford without any problem!"
"Hmph. Then as long as you, Vice Admiral Garp, go all out and deny him the chance to unleash his full power, won't that solve it?" Akainu retorted again.
This time, Garp remained silent.
Truthfully, if he committed himself fully, he could indeed keep Whitebeard occupied, preventing him from launching any massive attacks. If Sengoku joined him, it wasn't even impossible for the two of them to take Whitebeard down together.
But...
"Both of you, shut up!"
"This operation is a direct order from the Five Elders. What we are here to discuss is 'how' to take down the Whitebeard Pirates, not 'whether' we should!"
"If you understand, stop arguing over meaningless things!"
In reality, Sengoku had wanted to move against one of the Four Emperors for a long time. However, he hadn't found the right opportunity, and more importantly, the Five Elders had forbidden it.
Sengoku knew exactly why they had been hesitant: they feared the balance between the Marines and the pirates would be shattered. If the Marines became too powerful, they might become uncontrollable.
Now that an opportunity had finally presented itself, he intended to make the most of it. When he eventually retired, he would have something legendary to talk about—having personally wiped out the strongest pirate crew in the world.
"Fleet Admiral, I suggest we lure Whitebeard to Marineford before making our move," Akainu suggested after a moment of silence.
"Hmm. Give me your reasoning."
"First, our foundation in the New World is too weak, and there are too many variables," Akainu explained. "Specifically, Kaido and Big Mom will certainly try to crash the party. Once three of the Four Emperors' crews are in the same place... it becomes very dangerous for the Marines."
"Not to mention Red-Haired Shanks. He would never stand by and watch us kill Whitebeard. Therefore, we should set a trap to lure Whitebeard to the first half of the Grand Line, or even to Marineford itself."
"By fighting here, we have the home-field advantage. And if we move fast enough, the other three Emperors won't have time to interfere."
Sengoku nodded. Akainu's logic was sound.
"And how do we get Whitebeard to take the bait?"
"Exploit his weakness!"
"What weakness?"
"His sons!"
'''
Though Whitebeard was old and plagued by internal injuries that prevented him from fighting at full strength or for long durations, even Kaido didn't dare underestimate him. If the old man decided to stop holding back and went on a rampage, Kaido couldn't guarantee he'd escape unscathed.
If he had any weakness at all, it was exactly what Akainu had pointed out... his sons.
"You mean... targeting Whitebeard's sons?"
"Exactly. And to be safe, we should target a division commander. Once captured, we'll subject them to a public execution."
"I see your point. That's a viable plan. Do you have a target in mind?"
"We should pick a commander from the first six divisions. If the target isn't important enough, there's no guarantee Whitebeard won't just grit his teeth and endure it to save the others."
Sengoku nodded again. The logic was flawless.
"Tsuru, do we have any recent intelligence on the commanders of Whitebeard's first six divisions? Preferably someone operating alone."
"Yes. Flower Sword Vista. Next month, there is a swordsmanship exchange on Volcano Island that occurs every three years. Gion mentioned that Vista attended the one three years ago, so there is a high probability he will attend this one as well."
"Excellent. We will use that as our basis. Let's discuss the deployment to ensure we capture him a month from now!"
'''
East Blue, Marine 16th Branch.
"A swordsmanship exchange?"
Looking at Robin, Sean looked completely bewildered.
As someone who had read the original story, why on earth had he never heard of this? Well, the original plot followed the protagonist's perspective and didn't detail every single event in the pirate world, so it was understandable.
"Yes, this event is held every three years. It essentially gathers all the top swordsmen. In fact..." Robin continued, "if there's someone Hawkeye is interested in, he might even show up."
"Usually, the strongest person from each event goes on to challenge Hawkeye afterward. It's become a tradition. Though in the last four sessions, no one has ever succeeded."
Listening to Robin's explanation, Sean nodded.
So it was like... deciding the strongest person first, and then that winner challenges the "gatekeeper," Hawkeye?
That was interesting.
He felt he could attend the event and see if he could recruit some sword masters or even Great Swordsmen to serve under him. After all, in the Zanpakutō squad he wanted to build, only Zoro had reached the level of a sword master so far. He needed more powerhouses.
"Time and location?"
A Sudden Invitation and the Looming Storm
"About that... I don't actually know..."
"Uh..."
Sean was stunned. 'So after all this talking, you don't even know the time or location?'
"I've heard that to avoid unnecessary interference, specific notifications are sent to renowned swordsmen for every gathering. The news isn't made public."
"Otherwise, more than half the attendees would be pirates. If the Marines rushed in to make arrests, how could the event even proceed?"
Fair enough. That was a reasonable explanation.
'But maybe I should ask Shakky? She'd definitely know!'
"Actually, if you want to go, there is a way. You could try asking Vice Admiral Gion. She's a renowned Great Swordsman; they should invite her to every gathering!"
"Hmm, that's a good idea. I'll just..."
'Purupurupuru...'
Before he could finish his sentence, the Den Den Mushi on his desk suddenly rang.
"Sean speaking!"
"Sean, it's Gion. Would you be interested in attending the triennial Swordsmanship Gathering with me in a month?"
"Uh..."
Hearing this, Sean wore a strange expression.
"What is it?"
"Nothing. Yes, I'll go, of course!" Sean replied, shaking his head slightly.
Talk about perfect timing. He had just been thinking about asking Gion for the time and location, and she had called to invite him personally.
"By the way, there might be some unexpected developments at this gathering."
"What do you mean?"
"Sister Tsuru came to me specifically to ask about the gathering—the time and location. And..."
"And what?"
"And she asked if 'Flower Sword' Vista attends every time, and if there's any word on whether he'll be attending this one."
"The Marines are going after one of Whitebeard's people?"
Sean frowned slightly. Were the Marines planning to move against Vista?
If that were true, wouldn't Whitebeard be absolutely furious and charge straight for Marineford?
There was no way Sengoku wouldn't have anticipated such a development. Yet, even knowing that, they were still targeting Vista...
'Could it be that because of the changes I've caused, the Paramount War—which was supposed to start in over a year—has been moved up?'
Good grief... since Ace isn't the bait anymore, they've swapped him for Vista! Was this some kind of timeline convergence?
"I'm not sure. Sister Tsuru told me a few other things, but it seems Headquarters is secretly mobilizing troops."
"Well, it looks like the Paramount War is really coming..."