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Roy's brief moment of distraction, and the serious look that crossed his face, went completely unnoticed. Because at this moment, almost everyone in the entire conference room wore the same expression.
Even Kizaru, who had been lazily picking his ear, and Akainu, whose expression was usually grim, had both become noticeably serious.
The Twelve Zodiac.
This organization, which was completely unknown just over half a year ago, had managed to capture the world's attention in just a few short months.
Every action they took could be described as shaking the heavens and stirring the earth, major events on the seas. Each of their Officers who has appeared so far has been extraordinarily powerful, even more terrifying than the carefully selected Warlords of the Sea of the World Government.
Most importantly, they were shrouded in mystery.
Despite appearing multiple times, there have already been at least five recorded sightings of top Officers from The Twelve Zodiac.
Yet information about the organization remained shrouded in mystery.
Despite their existence being widely known, the World Government was still trying to suppress and conceal it. Within the Marines, knowledge of them was mostly limited to word of mouth.
Even after the recent battle at the Sabaody Archipelago, the Marines still did not fully understand what had happened... Akainu, who participated in the battle, had only recently been allowed back to Marineford.
However, Sengoku had brought up the subject during the meeting, making it the central topic.
The implication was obvious.
"Regarding the Twelve Zodiac, the government has authorized the declassification of certain materials and released additional information that was previously known only to them. For this reason, we have updated the internal Marine records concerning the Twelve Zodiac, as well as their bounty posters."
Sengoku explained the situation concisely.
At the same time, Tsuru pulled several bounty posters out of her sleeve.
She handed the first one to Sengoku.
"The first one is for the earliest known member of the Twelve Zodiac, Youji."
Sengoku's voice echoed through the room.
"Youji initially appeared in the Heavenly Tribute storage facility of the Nismail Kingdom, a nation allied with the World Government. He looted this year's tribute before disappearing without a trace. Not long ago, he suddenly reappeared at the Sabaody Archipelago with one of his subordinates and kidnapped a Celestial Dragon."
As he spoke, Tsuru displayed a photo of Saint Ambocam.
"And recently, through the victim's Vivre Card, the government has confirmed that he is dead, and that his private treasure vault was subsequently looted and emptied of all valuables."
The atmosphere in the room instantly fell silent.
"Damn, that guy's got guts…"
"Well, it's not exactly a bad thing, but…"
Roy could hear faint murmurs from various corners of the room.
Clearly, the officers present were shocked. While most of them knew what kind of people the Celestial Dragons were and likely felt no real loyalty towards them, they were still astonished to hear that someone had actually killed one.
After all, most had assumed that Youji intended to ransom the Celestial Dragon.
But Sengoku's suddenly raised voice cut through the whispers.
"In short, we can conclude that Youji acts without restraint. Furthermore, the Twelve Zodiacs are definitely not limited to just their top officers. At Sabaody Archipelago alone, several lower-ranking members delayed Sakazuki's advance by self-detonating. Additionally, based on previously obtained intelligence, the president of the Grand Line criminal organisation Baroque Works is actually one of the Twelve Zodiacs, Shinryu."
"Based on the current analysis, the Twelve Zodiacs are most likely a large organization. Each top officer appears to command numerous subordinates, and there are probably lower-tier branches too. However, due to their incredibly tight structure, no concrete leads have been uncovered so far."
At this point, both Sengoku and Tsuru looked extremely serious.
They still couldn't comprehend how such a powerful organization had remained hidden in the seas for so many years.
But the facts spoke for themselves.
The appearance of multiple powerful officers with vastly different abilities, along with the occasional sighting of lower-ranking members, confirmed this speculation.
Roy: "…"
He wanted to laugh, but he didn't dare.
Sengoku continued: "Additionally, regarding Youji's abilities..."
He turned to look at Akainu. Akainu stood up silently and faced the room.
"I've fought him. He's definitely a dangerous opponent."
The Admiral spoke in a grave tone.
"I can confirm he is a Devil Fruit user of some kind of Mythical Beast type. He possesses light-based abilities similar to Borsalino's, as well as incredible speed, powerful regeneration, and great physical strength..."
He began detailing everything he knew about Youji's combat capabilities.
The Marine officers present grew increasingly alarmed as they listened.
They had already heard about what had happened at the Sabaody Archipelago, but hearing Akainu recount it personally was an entirely different matter. Once Akainu had clearly stated that Youji was very dangerous, naturally, no one doubted the truth of his words.
After finishing, Akainu silently sat back down.
Sengoku continued: "He claims that the Devil Fruit he consumed is the Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Mythical Zoan: Winged Divine Dragon Form, but the specifics are questionable."
After a brief pause, he added: "Because this Devil Fruit does not exist in the Devil Fruit encyclopedia."
With that, he slammed the bounty poster in his hand onto the table.
The figure wearing a rooster-head mask was clearly visible on it. Below it, the bounty amount caused everyone present to freeze for a moment.
"Based on all of this, we judge Youji to be one of the most dangerous members of the Twelve Zodiac. His previous bounty is hereby revoked. Under orders from the Gorosei, his new bounty has been raised to 3.1 billion Beli." Sengoku spoke calmly yet gravely.
"3.1 billion?!" N
A wave of commotion erupted instantly.
"Among those still alive on the seas right now, are there even many besides the Yonko?"
"There's also that guy who escaped from Impel Down years ago…"
"You mean the Shiki?"
"Yeah, not just him. Even 'Pirate Patriarch' Wang Zhi has a bounty of over three billion."
"The bounty was personally set by the Gorosei?"
Many people quickly noticed this issue.
Usually, pirate bounties were analyzed and determined by Marine departments before being reported to the World Government. However, according to Sengoku, the bounties for the Twelve Zodiac were clearly different. They had been decided directly by the World Government, by the Gorosei themselves.
At that moment, Sengoku slammed the table.
"Silence!"
He offered no further explanation, simply picking up the second bounty poster.
"The second member of the Twelve Zodiacs is Shinryu. Also known as Mr 0 of Baroque Works. He killed the Warlord Crocodile in Alabasta."
He continued to list the known Top Officers of the Twelve Zodiac, detailing their bounties, deeds, and available intelligence.
Shinryu — 2.053 billion Beli
Zishu — 2.731 billion Beli
Inoshi — 2.511 billion Beli
…
Looking at those numbers, each exceeding two billion and totalling nearly ten billion, the Marine officers felt numb.
Even Roy was momentarily stunned. But what truly shocked him was the final bounty poster that Tsuru took out, and Sengoku's next words.
"Beyond these four..." Sengoku's tone became extremely grave. "The final known member of the Twelve Zodiac, who has only appeared once, is suspected to be their leader. According to intelligence provided by the World Government, his codename is 'Star-Lord'."
As he spoke, Sengoku revealed the final bounty poster.
"His bounty is… 10 billion Beli."
"... How much?"
Several Rear Admirals asked instinctively.
Moments later, after counting the zeros on the poster, they realized that they hadn't misheard.
"Ten billion?!"
And precisely because they hadn't misheard, they began to question their own sanity. They all understood what a bounty meant: it represented how dangerous a criminal was to the world.
Even Gol D. Roger, the man who started the Great Age of Piracy, had a bounty of only 5.5648 billion Beli.
Yet this 'Star Lord,' who had appeared only once, had nearly double that. This made it clear that the World Government was not hiding its stance at all. They believed that the Star Lord posed a far greater threat than the Pirate King.
"Why?!"
"That number will cause chaos!"
"He did break through the Red Line, so he must be incredibly strong, but this is too much..."
The Marine officers simply couldn't understand. But Sengoku shook his head.
"This is information that the World Government has only recently disclosed."
His gaze swept across the room, heavy with seriousness.
"Star-Lord is not a 'new' criminal of this era. He committed grave crimes in the previous era." Sengoku hesitated briefly but ultimately continued.
"According to the World Government, he was the mastermind behind the God Valley Incident over thirty years ago. That is why this bounty poster is unique. Anyone who provides information about Star-Lord's whereabouts that is verified by the government will receive a proportional share of this bounty."
"Additionally, the World Government will dispatch 'special envoys' across nations worldwide. They will conduct independent investigations and have authority to mobilize local Marines and government forces to search for any traces of The Twelve Zodiac and Star Lord."
As he finished speaking, the entire conference room fell silent once more.
"…"
As mentioned previously, the God Valley Incident was a secret, an event erased by the World Government. Nevertheless, the Marine officers had at least heard the name 'God Valley'. They knew that Garp had been called the 'Hero of the Marines' after the battle and that the once dominant Rocks Pirates had disappeared afterwards.
The island itself had even sunk into the sea afterwards, with very few survivors.
Many names that are now famous across the seas are said to have emerged after that battle.
In the truest sense, it was a world-shaping event.
Now, a shocking new piece of information had come to light.
Within the Twelve Zodiacs, the figure known as 'Star Lord' appeared to be connected to the great event that had taken place over thirty years ago, he might even have been the mastermind behind it.
"So that means Star Lord must be very old?"
"A powerhouse who has existed since the old era?"
"Then does that mean the Twelve Zodiacs have existed for that long too?"
Naturally, the Marine officers had endless questions. Even Roy showed a hint of surprise.
"Well, damn. They're not even pretending anymore." He muttered inwardly.
Unlike the others, the information Roy possessed enabled him to see through Sengoku's claims. Star-Lord could obviously not be an ancient powerhouse from over thirty years ago, and the Twelve Zodiacs had existed for less than a year at most.
The idea that he was the mastermind behind the God Valley Incident was pure nonsense.
In fact, Roy was certain that Sengoku's injuries were probably related to this very issue. After all, Garp had participated in the God Valley Incident himself and had fought against Imu.
In the original story, Garp was so angered by Sengoku's decision to cooperate with the World Government to conceal the truth about God Valley in the name of stability that he punched his longtime friend.
Now, with the World Government raising the issue of the God Valley Incident again and labeling 'Star-Lord' as its mastermind, Garp is naturally angered once more.
That said, Roy couldn't help but feel curious.
As a participant in the God Valley Incident, did Garp know that Star Lord had appeared there? Did he know the true fate of the Rocks leader?
"He probably doesn't... otherwise, given his personality, he would've at least told Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
"Still, if there's a chance later, it might be worth probing a bit."
Roy thought to himself, though he wasn't in a hurry. His relationship with Garp wasn't as close as it was with Vice Admiral Biros, so it wouldn't be appropriate to ask him directly about something as sensitive as the God Valley Incident.
So he temporarily set aside thoughts of God Valley and Garp and continued analyzing the situation.
As for the false information Sengoku had mentioned, Roy naturally ignored it.
However, he quickly identified the two most critical points:
Firstly, the World Government seemed to have no intention of concealing Star-Lord's existence anymore, which would undoubtedly spark widespread discussion and chaos across the seas.
Secondly, the World Government was about to dispatch 'special envoys' to inspect nations, something that clearly touched upon the sovereignty of many affiliated kingdoms.
After all, at least on the surface, World Government-affiliated nations were allies, not slaves.
Even for the World Government, the consequences of these two decisions would be far from easy to handle.
And yet, they had acted without hesitation.
In the original story, they hadn't reacted this drastically even after confirming that Monkey D. Luffy was 'Nika.'
This was enough to show…
"The World Government… no… the so-called King of the World, Imu…" Roy murmured inwardly: "That guy is far more wary of me than I thought."
Nevertheless, Roy wasn't particularly worried.
Whereabouts of Star-Lord?
If they had the ability to find him, they were welcome to try.
But at that exact moment...
"Buru Buru… Buru Buru…"
A small red Den Den Mushi inside Roy's sleeve began ringing. In the noisy conference room, the sound wasn't especially noticeable. But it was enough to make Roy frown. He normally wouldn't carry a Den Den Mushi during meetings, muting phones was common sense.
But this red one was an exception.
It was an emergency Den Den Mushi from the Marine Detention Unit, to be used only in real emergencies.
"Hello," Roy answered the call.
From the other end came a tense and anxious voice.
"Boss."
Roy recognized it... it was Motala, a liaison officer from the Marine Detention Unit.
"Hans and the others have gone missing in the East Blue."
"We also found the wreckage of a "Black Loyalty" ship at the scene; they might have run into trouble!"
(End of Chapter)
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