The Marine was in a state of deep unease—perhaps even an unprecedented one.
It wasn't because the incident at Mary Geoise had shocked the world.
Rather, at this moment, Big Mom and Kaido had led their entire crews out to sea.
In other words, two Yonko crews were on the move!
It wasn't just the Marines who were uneasy; even the World Government was shaken.
"Big Mom and Kaido... their fleets are heading toward Paradise, aren't they?"
Akainu spoke solemnly to the many high-ranking officers gathered in the conference room.
This meeting was attended by every Admiral-level officer stationed at Marine Headquarters.
When Akainu's words fell, the other officers grew visibly tense.
Some even wondered aloud—were Big Mom and Kaido joining forces to attack Paradise?
But that idea didn't hold up.
After all, Big Mom had recently hosted a grand banquet for Elior — a lavish event by any measure. If there had been any major conflict between them, there's no way she would have done that. Even the day before the banquet, both pirate crews had been fighting.
"If it were just Kaido preparing to attack Paradise, that might make sense—but now…"
Kizaru, usually laid-back and unbothered, spoke up with a rare air of seriousness.His usual lazy grin and careless tone were gone, replaced by a grave, worried expression—something almost never seen from the Admiral.
Then Tsuru, the wisest strategist in all Marine Headquarters, finally broke her silence:
"We had a terrible suspicion before—that they might form an alliance. So now, Big Mom and Kaido heading to Paradise... are they planning to meet up and do something big? Could our speculation be true?"
"Impossible!"
"A three-Yonko alliance? That can't happen!"
"If it did... that would be catastrophic!"
"This should be absolutely impossible!"
"But what if it's true?"
"If it's fact…"
As soon as Tsuru's words left her mouth, the entire conference room erupted in noise.Some refused to believe it, others cautiously agreed, and a few simply stayed silent.
"Maybe they really did form an alliance," someone muttered. "We've been trying to intercept their Den Den Mushi transmissions, but we can't. The scale of their movement this time—it's massive, terrifying…"
Akainu's expression darkened. As Fleet Admiral, the greatest pressure and responsibility in the entire Marine organization rested squarely on his shoulders.
And deep down, he agreed with Tsuru's theory.
Neither Kaido nor Big Mom had any real reason to attack Paradise. Judging from everything that had happened, the most likely explanation was that the Yonko were forming an alliance — or at least cooperating —rather than going to war with each other.
The Marines had tried to eavesdrop on Elior's Den Den Mushi many times, but Elior was far too cautious. He used an anti-eavesdropping Den Den Mushi, one reportedly stolen from the Revolutionary Army Headquarters, making any interception impossible.
"Our meeting today is a full-scale mobilization," Akainu declared from the podium.
"Alliance or not, two Yonko fleets have already set sail. It's safe to assume Elior's crew won't stay quiet either.
The World Government demands that we gather all our forces and prepare for war against these monsters of the New World!"
This was not merely a mobilization—it was the declaration of war against Elior, Kaido, and Big Mom.
In the current era, the world could no longer allow a single figure to dominate the New World as Rocks once did. Yet Elior's growing influence threatened to do just that.
Upon hearing that Big Mom and Kaido's fleets had set out, the Gorosei had immediately ordered Marine to prepare for battle.
A war against three Yonko was now all but inevitable—an unprecedented conflict that would soon eclipse even the war at Marineford.
No wonder the Marines and World Government were on edge.
If Elior and his allies were allowed to keep growing, what future would the world even have? The consequences were unimaginable.
And if three Yonko truly intended to meet... could their target be Marine Headquarters itself?
No matter what, this emergency meeting had to be held.
The atmosphere in the room was suffocatingly heavy.
The meeting dragged on for most of the day. Akainu and Tsuru went through countless tactical analyses and deployment strategies before finally adjourning.
Orders were issued to summon every available force in the Marines — every capable unit and high-level combatant.
This war wouldn't be like the last one at Marineford. Back then, many powerful divisions had never even been deployed.But this time was different.
This was a war meant to eradicate Elior and his allies once and for all — or at the very least, crush them so completely they'd never recover.
After the meeting ended, Akainu turned to Tsuru.
"That old man... has he been stopped?"
"With Sengoku there, it should be fine," she sighed.
They were, of course, referring to Sengoku's mission to intercept Garp.
Garp, devastated by Dragon's death, had been consumed by rage and grief. After visiting the ruins of the Revolutionary Army headquarters, he hadn't returned to Marineford. Instead, he'd gone back to the East Blue—to lay Dragon to rest.
But just days ago, when he set sail again, the Marines accompanying him thought he was returning to Headquarters.
They were wrong.
Garp was heading for Paradise — to hunt down Elior himself.
He could not extinguish the hatred burning in his heart. Elior had killed both Ace and Dragon—the two people Garp cherished most in the world.
His grief had transformed into a fury that consumed him.
Before reaching Loguetown, Garp ordered his escorting Marines to disembark. He was going alone.
That was when officers like Coby urgently reported to Marine, pleading for reinforcements.
They said Garp had gone rogue—determined to take on Elior by himself.
The night the report came in — right after the Mary Geoise assault — Marine was thrown into chaos.
Sengoku immediately departed aboard the fastest warship available,sailing at full speed toward the Sabaody Archipelago to intercept him.