"Hmph!"
Who's-Who stood fuming to the side, glaring fiercely at Cross. If looks could kill, Cross would have been riddled with a dozen holes by now.
Jabra stood next to Feli, looking curiously at the large iron crates. He didn't harbor any ill will towards Cross; in fact, he quite liked him because of that punch from before.
Cross ignored Who's-Who's gaze and asked, "Have you finished tallying? Any omissions or missing items?"
Feli smiled and nodded, replying, "A total of 46 sealed crates, none missing!"
"That's good. Then you can organize your people and transport them back to Mariejois. I'm sure no one would try to steal them over such a short distance!" Cross said with a smile, a hint of teasing in his voice. "Unless a Big Mom Pirates executive is on the island, or even that monster woman herself came personally!"
"Hahaha! I heard that woman's busy having children, so she has no time to come looking for trouble herself!" Feli burst out laughing.
According to the CP organization's classified intelligence, the mastermind behind the Blood Pirates was one of the New World's Emperors, Big Mom Charlotte Linlin.
However, the specific reason remained unknown. Perhaps it was retaliation against the World Government and the Marines, or perhaps she was genuinely coveting Vegapunk's research results.
It was well-known that ever since Vegapunk was recruited by the World Government, intelligence agents and bounty hunters from various forces had appeared on Karakuri Island, Vegapunk's hometown, Baldimore, the Future Country, attempting to infiltrate Vegapunk's research facility to obtain useful information.
Therefore, out of necessity, the Marines had established a Marine base on Karakuri Island's Baldimore, the Future Country, specifically to protect Vegapunk's research facility and drive out the intelligence agents and bounty hunters sent by various factions.
Fortunately, the Blood Pirates were discovered by the CP organization as soon as they set foot on the Sabaody Archipelago and were annihilated in conjunction with the Marines. Otherwise, if the Blood Pirates had left the first half of the Grand Line and entered the New World, they would undoubtedly have contacted the Big Mom Pirates.
At that point, if the CP organization wanted to coordinate with the Marines, they might have encountered a fleet sent by the Big Mom Pirates. A larger and more brutal war would have been inevitable, and the unpredictable factors would have multiplied many times over.
Because under the current circumstances, a localized battle between the Marines and the Big Mom Pirates was inconsequential, but it was best not to engage in an all-out war with a behemoth like the Big Mom Pirates, especially in an environment like the New World.
Regardless of victory or defeat, it would only benefit other forces.
Most importantly, if the Marines' combat strength was damaged, they would inevitably be unable to suppress other forces, leading to various chain reactions and further deterioration of the situation in the sea.
This was absolutely unacceptable to the World Government and the Marines.
Subsequently, Feli used a Den Den Mushi at the Marine base to contact the person in charge at Mariejois, and soon 500 Royal Guards from the Holy Land Guard Corps arrived. [prev. as Denfense Force.]
Before long, Cross stood at the Marine base gate, along with over a dozen Marine officers, watching the 500 Holy Land Guard Corps soldiers carrying dozens of large iron crates depart. They boarded a World Government ship in the Marine port.
For the short distance from Grove 66 to Mariejois, there were two CP9 members, over a dozen elite CP agents, plus 500 Holy Land Guard Corps soldiers as escorts. If something still went wrong, and they couldn't even hold out until reinforcements arrived, it could only mean the escorts were useless. Or perhaps, fate itself didn't want these items to remain in the World Government's hands.
Not long after, Cross and the dozen or so others watched the World Government ship leave. Just as they were about to return to the office building to discuss their next steps, a Marine warship suddenly arrived at Grove 66 and docked in the port.
"Tell me, are you here to greet me?" Jonathan stepped off the warship, his expression stern as he looked at Cross and the others.
"We just sent off a group from the CP organization!" Cross looked at the familiar Jonathan, puzzled. "But why are you here? Is Marine Headquarters so short-staffed that even the Fleet Admiral's aide has to come?"
"That's an exaggeration. I personally requested Fleet Admiral Kong to assign me here because I want to gain more experience out in the field!" Jonathan said with a smile, pointing to himself proudly and speaking seriously. "Oh, and you should call me Commodore Jonathan from now on. The Marines on the Sabaody Archipelago will all be under my command!"
"Is that so, Commodore Jonathan… Please take care of me from now on!" Cross feigned seriousness and even saluted Jonathan.
"Hahahaha—"
CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP—
The next second, Cross and Jonathan couldn't hold back anymore and burst into joyful laughter.
As a direct subordinate of Fleet Admiral Kong, Cross had the most contact with Jonathan at Marine Headquarters. Their relationship was quite good; they often met to enjoy cigars or evaluate the food in Marineford Town.
Moreover, like Jonathan, Cross also disliked vegetables.
Especially during Cross's initial period at Marine Headquarters, Jonathan had taken great care of him, not only enthusiastically introducing him to the topography of the Marine Headquarters fortress but also sharing many rumors among the Marine officers.
After a burst of laughter, Cross's smile didn't fade as he said in a relaxed tone, "It's great you're here! I was just worrying about my lack of management experience, but now I can relax!"
"Don't relax too much!" Jonathan chuckled, shaking his head. "With your talent, you're bound to be given important responsibilities in the Marines. It wouldn't be surprising for you to manage a large G-branch on your own!"
"We can talk about that later. At least for the next ten years, I won't be qualified to manage a Marine base of that level!" Cross pouted dismissively, intentionally adding, "However, the Marine base on the Sabaody Archipelago, I might just compete for that in the future. Maybe I'll even kick you out!"
"Hey, you brat! I just took office, and my butt hasn't even warmed the seat yet, and you're already eyeing it!" Jonathan grumbled good-naturedly.
"Don't worry about it, Aniki. You're definitely going to be a base commander of a large G-branch in the future!" Cross laughed, slinging an arm around Jonathan's shoulders and waving his hand casually.
"I'll take that as a good omen!" Jonathan rolled his eyes at Cross.
With that, the two, along with the dozen officers, returned to the Marine base's office building.
And just like that, Cross, the temporary commanding officer of the Sabaody Archipelago Marine base, hadn't even warmed his seat before he reverted to being a regular Commander.
As for whether Rear Admiral Gobert would retake Jonathan's position and continue to serve as the commanding officer of the Marine base after recovering from his injuries, that remained unclear.
After all, in this battle, Rear Admiral Gobert's command errors led to unnecessary heavy casualties for the Marines, a mistake that was unavoidable.
Fortunately, Rear Admiral Gobert, at the cost of severe injuries, desperately captured Knox the Mole, who had a bounty of 77 million Berries. This was considered a great deed, preventing him from being punished.
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