"Vice-Admiral Tsuru..."
Seeing Tsuru quietly standing there, staring straight at the other side, the marine adjutant who had reorganized the troops hesitated.
Just as he was about to ask whether they should continue attacking, Tsuru waved her hand to stop him.
Although she didn't say a word or even turn her head, the adjutant understood.
He gestured for the Marines behind him to quiet down.
That was enough for now.
...
"Not going to fight anymore?"
Seeing the movement on the other side, though they hadn't said anything, Ian more or less guessed the situation.
Without hesitation, he waved his hand: "Let's leave too!"
As Ian's words fell, everyone facing the marines let out a deep sigh of relief. Without saying more, they raised the sails once again.
And when they saw that after the sails were raised, the marines still made no move, no cannon fire either, they understood... The other side didn't want to fight anymore either.
Although they didn't know why the Marines suddenly attacked them for no reason, after just experiencing the incident in Dressrosa, none of them wanted to clash with the Marines right now.
Even Zephyr felt the same. He didn't want to raise his hand against his former comrades for reasons he didn't understand.
Thus, while the two sides faced each other in silence, the ship slowly sailed out of the Marines' fleet's firing range.
And as Ian's group departed, Tsuru still did not order any attack, only quietly watching, her eyes flickering slightly as if lost in thought.
Not until the ships had completely left did she exhale heavily.
"I thought you would attack them no matter what."
Garp said after standing beside her while munching on snacks again, as he watched the departing ships with a cheerful face. "I didn't expect you to actually let them go."
"I'm not a reckless marine."
Tsuru retorted irritably, then turned her head toward Doflamingo, who was squinting beside her.
"Besides, with such a troublesome guy here, if I started fighting them, I'm not sure I could keep this one in check!"
"Fufufufufu.."
Hearing her words, Doflamingo came back to his senses, grinned, and let out his unique laugh.
It was as if he wasn't a prisoner at all; he showed no concern and remained calm and carefree. "To receive such praise from the Marines' Great Staff Officer, what an honor for me! But you're really just letting that retired Lieutenant go?"
Smiling at Tsuru, his eyes under the sunglasses glimmered meaningfully. "The Tyrant of the South Blue, the Chief Instructor at Marine Headquarters, a Logia Devil Fruit user, and that retired Lieutenant who can bring them all together... No matter how you look at it, that's quite the dangerous lineup. I can already see tomorrow's headlines."
"Fufufufufu… It will definitely be a piece of news that shocks the entire sea, something even greater than anything I have ever done!"
His gaze sharpened, and the corners of his mouth curved mockingly. "Everyone will see Marine Headquarters' grand embarrassment!"
"This kind of thing isn't for you to worry about."
Tsuru snorted coldly at his ridicule. Though she also found it a headache, it wasn't something a pirate needed to care about. "You'd better think about how you're going to spend your time in Impel Down!"
"Fufufufufu… Thank you for your concern, but I've already figured that out. If you would kindly send me a newspaper every day, I would be quite happy."
Doflamingo said with a carefree smile, as if not hearing her sarcasm. "I didn't expect to witness something this interesting, even after being captured. Remember to bring me tomorrow's newspaper."
Tsuru: "..."
This damned bastard… seeing that Doflamingo paid no attention to her words, Tsuru sighed and didn't bother with him anymore.
She waved her hand: "Keep an eye on the Donquixote Family members. Now... let's return to Marine Headquarters."
"Understood, Vice-Admiral Tsuru!"
The marine officer followed her order, but just as he turned to give the command, a marine came running over.
"Vice-Admiral Tsuru."
The marine saluted respectfully before speaking seriously: "A marine warship has been spotted approaching from the northwest."
"A marine warship? Could it be that Sengoku sent reinforcements?"
Tsuru frowned, but after a moment, she looked at the marine again. "Do you know who's leading the fleet?"
"Report, it's—"
Before the marine could finish…
"It's me."
A laid-back voice came from the side. Everyone immediately looked toward the ship's side, where a figure was already standing, waving lazily at them.
The marines were stunned for a moment, then shouted excitedly: "Admiral Kizaru!"
"Yo, everyone."
Borsalino jumped down from the ship's side, looked at Tsuru and Garp, then glanced around and said with an easygoing tone. "Looks like I'm late."
"You are indeed late."
Tsuru replied evenly, not hiding anything. "They just left. Did Sengoku send you here?"
"I happened to pass by G-5, and Fleet Admiral Sengoku told me to come over."
Borsalino said while rubbing his forehead wearily. "But this seems like quite the mess. Can anyone explain what happened? Why was an arrest order suddenly issued for Instructor Zephyr?"
"I don't know either."
Tsuru sighed while shaking her head. "I just suddenly received the order too."
Then she waved her hand. "Forget it, we'll talk once we're back. Let's see what kind of explanation Sengoku gives us. All ships, withdraw!"
With Tsuru's order, no one said another word. This time, the warships didn't linger either; they slowly turned around.
But just as they began to turn…
Tsuru's eyes grew complicated as she looked again toward the direction where Ian and the others had gone, prompting the curious Garp beside her, still munching snacks, to ask: "They're already gone. What are you looking at?"
"Nothing. I just remembered something."
"What thing?"
Hearing Garp's question, Tsuru stayed silent for a moment before sighing wistfully. Her eyes were still filled with complex emotions as she murmured: "The words Sakazuki said back then."
…
"A big event has happened on the sea!"
"Hurry up, print faster! I can't wait to deliver this big news to every corner of the world."
At the secret underground printing factory.
At this moment, countless newspapers were being urgently printed, and a flock of well-prepared News Coos were waiting in line.
The president of the news agency, Morgans, who looked like an albatross, was excitedly urging his employees to work faster.