"Hahaha~ You're exaggerating a bit!"
Hearing Cross's words, Kong laughed heartily, shaking his head. He spoke frankly, "Perhaps what I'm saying is a bit disheartening, but right now, the Marines truly aren't ready to fight a war that could upset the balance of the sea!"
"Of course, the Marines will definitely fight New World emperors like the Whitebeard Pirates in the future to completely eradicate these scourges of the sea!" By the end, Kong's expression turned serious, stating with unwavering conviction.
"That day will come, and we will surely win!" Cross said with a serious expression, cutting him off decisively. "Because justice will prevail!"
"Exactly, justice will prevail!" Kong grinned, agreeing wholeheartedly.
It had always been this way in this world: justice always wins, the strong always win. That's simply how it is! The so-called triumph of the weak over the strong only happens if you aren't strong enough, truly.
"So, Fleet Admiral Kong, if it's an operation to strike pirates, please be sure to let me join!" Cross said earnestly.
Since he transmigrated to this world, all the pirates he had encountered were utterly depraved individuals. They committed murder, robbery, human trafficking, arms smuggling... practically every evil imaginable. Their heinous acts completely shattered his worldview, reducing his goodwill toward pirates to almost zero.
In short, Cross had never encountered a pirate who was an adventurer, like the Straw Hat Kid.
It was clear that without the righteous Marines to maintain order in the sea, without the righteous Marines to protect innocent civilians, this world would fall into endless war, and countless good people would be oppressed and slaughtered by villains.
Facing Cross's request to fight, Kong smiled and waved his hand, explaining, "Don't rush. Marine Headquarters is still selecting suitable personnel. You can't just go because you want to; after all, you still have important responsibilities yourself!"
"Alright, Fleet Admiral Kong, please issue the order when you need me!" Cross nodded gravely, then inquired, "However, I'd like to know, who is the Marines' target this time?"
"The target is the Roberts Legion; you've dealt with them before!" Kong replied with a serious expression. "The Roberts Legion has grown rapidly in strength over the past year, and recently they've set their sights on the Bion Kingdom. If they succeed, the threat to the Marines will greatly increase!"
"The Bion Kingdom... I recall that country isn't part of the World Government's affiliated nations, is it?" Cross narrowed his eyes, recalling some basic information about the Bion Kingdom.
"That's right, and the Bion Kingdom is also very hostile towards the Marines and the World Government. Therefore, we plan to let the Bion Kingdom and the Roberts Legion start fighting first, and then we'll send a fleet to try and annihilate or severely cripple the Roberts Legion!" Kong briefly explained the plan to Cross.
"If you want to annihilate the Roberts Legion..."
Cross frowned, pondered for a moment, and then offered a suggestion: "The safest way would be to have Vice Admiral Kuzan act to freeze the sea, and then have Vice Admiral Borsalino or Vice Admiral Sakazuki launch attacks. They could use their Logia-type wide-range attack abilities to decimate the pirate numbers. Only then would it be possible to completely wipe out the Roberts Legion!"
"Borsalino can't be spared for now, and Kuzan is pursuing the Anne Pirates!" Kong shook his head, saying with a headache, "That woman Paulie Anne has always been troublesome, repeatedly attacking World Government ships. Last time, if Borsalino hadn't provided timely support, the Heavenly Tribute ship from the Prodence Kingdom would have been taken by the Anne Pirates!"
"Alright, it seems this mission will have to be handled by Vice Admiral Sakazuki alone then!" Cross shrugged casually, understanding the Marine high command's choice.
"Stop with the nonsense!" Kong glared at Cross, a slight warning in his tone. "This matter is a classified mission for now. Don't go asking around outside, and certainly don't blab about it everywhere!"
"Fleet Admiral Kong, I've studied the confidentiality regulations!" Cross spread his hands helplessly, a bit annoyed that Kong was treating him like a kid.
"Alright, forget what I just said. Now, there's a very important matter you need to handle!" Kong said, while taking out an envelope with a blue seagull imprint from the inner pocket of his coat of justice and handing it to Cross.
"What's this?" Cross took the envelope from Kong's hand with a puzzled expression. He noticed that in addition to the Marine's Justice seagull imprint on the seal, the front also had the World Government's black cross-sphere imprint.
"This is an invitation to the Warlords of the Sea!" Kong explained.
"Nani? An invitation to the Warlords of the Sea?!" Cross's expression subtly changed, and he asked in surprise, "Fleet Admiral Kong, who is the invited recipient?"
"The invited recipient is Gecko Moria, with a bounty of 320,000,000 Berries!"
"Are you referring to Gecko Moria, the one who escaped from Kaido of the Beasts?"
"That's right!" Kong nodded, indicating that Cross was correct.
At this moment, Cross couldn't help but scratch his head, quickly recalling information about Gecko Moria.
He was a devil-like individual, nearly 7 meters tall, and a user of the Paramecia-type Shadow-Shadow Fruit.
Before the Great Pirate Era, this guy was known as the 'Hero of the West Blue,' but after entering the New World, he was defeated by Kaido of the Beasts in Wano Country. His entire mind and body were severely impacted, his will disheartened, and now he was probably hiding somewhere, messing with so-called 'zombies.'
However, Cross hadn't expected that Moria would be invited to become a member of the Warlords of the Sea in the year 1509 of the Marine Calendar, and that he himself would be the one to deliver the message. This was a bit absurd.
By the way, didn't the World Government have messenger bats?
At this point, Kong, fearing Cross's potential dissatisfaction, patiently explained, "The World Government, in response to the current complex situation, especially given the Marines' insufficient combat power, decided to fill the vacant positions in the Warlords of the Sea within the next few years. This is to use pirates to fight pirates, to balance the increasingly chaotic sea."
"Fleet Admiral Kong, I know the criteria for a Warlord of the Sea member: high notoriety, catastrophic destructive power, and battle strength comparable to a nation. Although Gecko Moria was defeated by Kaido of the Beasts, he managed to escape from that monster. Therefore, both his notoriety and strength are extremely fitting."
At this point, Cross hesitated for a moment, then asked, puzzled, "But why am I being sent to deliver the message? Don't tell me all the World Government's messenger bats are dead?"
"Cough, cough~ You guessed right!" Kong coughed lightly, saying helplessly, "On the night of the Mariejois Attack Incident, the messenger bats kept in cages were either burned to death by the fire or suffocated by the smoke. Only a handful survived!"
"Uh~" Cross's face was completely bewildered. This was too dramatic!
"Of course, sending you to deliver the message to Gecko Moria isn't just about delivering a letter. You also need to test whether Gecko Moria truly has the strength to hold the position of a Warlord of the Sea!" Kong said with a serious expression and tone. "After all, that guy disappeared for many years after being defeated by Kaido, so we don't know if his strength has declined too much."
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