Having failed to get his desired leave, Cross left the Fleet Admiral's office with a sour face, a full heart of dejection, and feeling utterly drained.
Kong and Tsuru watched Cross's retreating back, then exchanged glances, both offering wry smiles and shaking their heads helplessly.
Under normal circumstances, Marine Headquarters would never refuse a reasonable leave request.
After all, there were some individuals who didn't even bother with a reasonable request; they'd just drop a casual remark and leave for vacation, and Marine Headquarters would simply turn a blind eye.
Take Garp, for example. His notorious deeds were countless. The number of warships he'd damaged ranked first among many officers. He'd often just say, "I'm going home to see my grandson," and then swagger off on his own warship or hitch a ride on one heading to the East Blue, returning to vacation there as if no one else existed.
This would infuriate Kong, Sengoku, and others, but they'd ultimately let him be.
However, in the current situation, due to the intense turmoil caused by the Mariejois Attack Incident, the sea was showing subtle signs of imbalance. To prevent the situation from spiraling out of control, Marine Headquarters had no choice but to forcibly recall all Marine officers and soldiers on leave. Even the notoriously unruly Garp was called back from the East Blue, so there was no way Cross could take leave at such a critical moment.
"That kid, I'm afraid he'll be a headache in the future too!" Kong walked out from behind his desk and sat on the sofa opposite Tsuru, speaking with a sense of helplessness.
Slurp~
Tsuru glanced at Kong, picked up her teacup from the coffee table, and leisurely took a sip of the hot tea before slowly saying, "Compared to that unreliable Garp, Cross-kun is already quite good. He's young, so it's normal for him to be a bit impatient!"
"Hahaha! You're right about that!"
Hearing this, Kong couldn't help but burst into laughter. The dejection in his heart and the recent oppressive mood immediately eased considerably.
The monsters of the New World had been causing a lot of trouble recently, not only attacking and fighting each other but also frequently provoking the Marines and the World Government, assaulting many World Government affiliated nations.
This had led Marine Headquarters to deploy a large number of important combat forces in the New World.
However, this decision also caused Marine Headquarters' control over the first half of the Grand Line to plummet, which was why Kong and Tsuru couldn't grant Cross leave.
Suddenly, Tsuru put down her teacup and asked in a solemn voice, "Stop laughing. Have you figured out what to do about that matter?"
"You mean the Intelligence Division intercepted a plan by the Roberts Legion to attack the Bion Kingdom and occupy the strategically important Shiloh Island, right? We absolutely cannot let them succeed!" Kong's expression turned serious, and he spoke decisively.
"Exactly. The Roberts Legion's influence has expanded rapidly in the past year. Their soldiers already number over twenty thousand. Once they capture the Bion Kingdom, their power will definitely inflate again!" Tsuru nodded, agreeing with Kong.
"Does the Staff Office have any ideas?" Kong inquired.
"Actually, the method is simple. The Staff Office's suggestion is to annihilate the Roberts Legion!" Tsuru said calmly and unhurriedly.
"But the Roberts Legion isn't an easy target to deal with!" Kong frowned, his expression a little hesitant.
"The Staff Office has considered that. Fortunately, the Bion Kingdom's military strength is also considerable, and Shiloh Island is strategically located, easy to defend and difficult to attack. So, the Roberts Legion won't defeat the Bion Kingdom easily!"
Tsuru leaned back on the sofa with a composed demeanor, speaking in a flat tone. "Therefore, the Staff Office plans to dispatch a fleet to attack the Roberts Legion from behind when they launch their assault on Shiloh Island. Even if we can't annihilate the Roberts Legion, we can at least severely cripple them!"
Hooo—
After hearing Tsuru's plan, Kong's brows furrowed. He slowly exhaled a puff of stale air and said in a deep voice, "Launching a major war at this time, it's really difficult to allocate troops!"
"Don't worry. According to the intelligence from the Intelligence Division, the Roberts Legion's expanded soldiers are still in training. Coupled with the preparation of war materials and Roberts's cautious personality, the Roberts Legion won't launch an attack on the Bion Kingdom until at least autumn in the latter half of the year. We still have time!" Tsuru waved her hand, chuckling softly.
"Roberts was once the military commander of the Ashibi Kingdom. He prefers to scout the enemy's strengths and weaknesses before attacking, so he certainly won't act recklessly!" Kong conceded.
"However, it's a pity that the Bion Kingdom isn't one of the World Government's affiliated nations. Otherwise, our Marines could cooperate with the Bion Kingdom and plan in more detail, which would allow us to completely eliminate the Roberts Legion!" Tsuru's tone held a touch of regret.
Because in the New World, there were many non-World Government affiliated nations. This was one of the significant factors contributing to the New World's chaos, making the World Government and Marines' influence in the New World less than in the Four Blues and the first half of the Grand Line.
"Nothing in the world is perfect. If we can severely cripple the Roberts Legion, it will still be a major victory!" Kong said with a smile, his voice filled with vigor.
...
Meanwhile, Cross pushed open the door to his office with a dejected expression and plopped down onto the sofa.
"Sensei, have some tea!"
"Father, have some coffee!"
"Sensei, have another cigar!"
"..."
At this moment, the animated objects in the office noticed Cross's unhappiness. They bounced around the sofa, offering tea, making coffee, or handing him a cigar, all trying to please Cross with cheerful antics.
Seeing these filial "children," Cross's annoyance lessened slightly. He then extinguished the half-smoked cigar in his mouth in the ashtray on the coffee table and took another pre-cut cigar from the animated cigar box.
Snap!
The lighter happily flipped open its "skull," a flame appearing on its head as it moved closer to Cross.
Hiss—puff—
Cross lit his cigar, then leaned back comfortably on the sofa and took a deep drag. A moment later, he slowly exhaled a warm cloud of smoke.
Although the failed leave request left him a bit gloomy and displeased, he held no resentment. After all, he was in a disciplined military, so he naturally couldn't act on a whim. Everything had to consider the bigger picture.
Moreover, Cross was also wondering if he was being too hasty.
He was only 17; he had a long life ahead of him. Perhaps there was no need to rush to increase his strength.
Honestly, if he truly wanted to rapidly increase his strength, he could apply to the G-5 Branch in the New World and confront great pirates on the front lines. It was safe to say that as long as he didn't die, his strength would definitely skyrocket.
Unfortunately, he wasn't keen on using such a suicidal method to rapidly increase his strength because the risk was too great.
If fate were to play a cruel joke and he unexpectedly encountered a great pirate he couldn't defeat, his promising second life would end prematurely, which would be an utterly terrible outcome.
"Still, I need to figure out how to develop the Live-Live Fruit's abilities!" Cross gnawed on his cigar, a troubled expression on his face, his gaze wandering aimlessly around the office.
Suddenly, his eyes landed on the shadow beneath his feet.
"Perhaps, I could try…"
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