New World Marine Headquarters.
Inside the conference room, dozens of officers, all Vice Admiral rank and above, were already seated.
Lucci stood before a massive map of the New World, presenting the latest intelligence on the two Emperor crews.
"Currently, among the territories left behind by the Whitebeard Pirates, the struggle for all medium and large islands has concluded. The Beast Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates are now focusing their efforts on the smaller islands. Meanwhile, the Red-Haired Pirates remain silent; however, having absorbed nearly half of the Whitebeard Pirates' high-level combatants, they likely won't stay quiet for much longer."
"Another point worth noting is that despite the conflict between the two Emperor crews, a certain tacit understanding has formed: Kaido and Big Mom have not personally intervened and remain stationed at their respective home bases."
"Therefore, once we launch our operation, we will possess an absolute advantage in the early stages, allowing us to conduct an overwhelming sweep. However, this window of opportunity will be short—likely five to eight days—depending on how quickly those two receive the news and mobilize."
The officers nodded in agreement. With Kaido and Big Mom absent and Red-Haired remaining on the sidelines, an initial crushing onslaught was indeed feasible. After all, the Marine in the New World now boasted six Admirals; without Kaido or Big Mom to stop them, who could possibly withstand such power?
After a moment of silence, Sean walked up to Lucci and patted him on the shoulder. Lucci immediately understood the cue and stepped back.
"As Lucci stated, we can gain an initial advantage and perhaps even wipe out a significant number of executives from both crews. However..."
"That would be too time-consuming, and it would give Kaido and Big Mom far too much time to react."
"There is also another critical issue: once we move, that Red-Haired fellow will certainly stop staying silent."
"So, while we have the early advantage, the mid-to-late stages would inevitably devolve into a prolonged war of attrition. That is not the result I am looking for!"
Having said this, Sean scanned the room.
Then, with precise control, he unleashed two rapid-fire Shigan strikes, piercing through two specific points on the New World map without damaging the wall behind it.
This display startled everyone present. They all knew the Shigan technique, but none of them could execute it with such surgical precision. Such mastery of control was truly terrifying.
Simultaneously, they recognized the two locations.
One was Whole Cake Island of Totto Land.
The other was Onigashima in the Wano Country.
Immediately, many in the room realized exactly what their Fleet Admiral intended to do.
"Fleet Admiral, do you mean we should abandon the struggle for the former Whitebeard Pirates' territories and instead take advantage of the void in the two Emperors' rear guards...?"
"Exactly!"
Hearing Akainu's question, Sean nodded.
"The objectives of this operation are threefold!"
"First, drive the forces of both Emperor crews out of the former Whitebeard territories to liberate the civilians who are suffering."
"Second, deal a crushing blow to the powers of the three Emperors. If there is an opportunity to eliminate one of them, all the better!"
"Third, consolidate the seized territories and establish more branches to ensure the Marine exercises jurisdiction over a wider area of the New World following the war."
"To achieve these three goals, we must force the Beast Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates entirely out of the former Whitebeard lands."
"While we could achieve this by slowly fighting our way forward—and we certainly aren't afraid of facing three Emperor crews head-on—it would prolong the operation indefinitely. Ultimately, both the Marine and the civilians in those territories would suffer massive casualties."
"But what happens if we strike the vulnerable home bases of Kaido and Big Mom directly?"
At Sean's question, the realization dawned on the officers.
"I understand! The main forces of the two Emperor crews currently fighting for territory would be forced to withdraw the bulk of their strength back to their respective home bases."
"Precisely. They will be forced to recall the majority of their combat power. In doing so, we save the immense time and manpower required to take those islands one by one."
Sean nodded again, his expression turning solemn.
"Now, I will assign the operational tasks!"
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"
In an instant, everyone in the conference room stood up in unison.
'''
Three days later.
New World, Wano Country.
Onigashima.
"Big brother, news has come back from King and Jack. We currently hold the advantage in the struggle for the large islands, but we're struggling a bit with the small and medium-sized ones."
"It's simply that the woman, Big Mom, has far too many executives!"
Queen, who had remained on Onigashima, was reporting the frontline situation to Kaido.
This situation was largely expected. When it came to which Emperor had the most executives, Big Mom was undoubtedly the winner; her numbers were nearly double those of Kaido. It couldn't be helped—the woman was simply too prolific.
Consequently, the Beast Pirates were at a disadvantage when contesting the numerous smaller islands. The opposition could split their forces into twenty or even thirty different routes. Trying to stop them was a nightmare; without an executive leading the charge, any attempt to intercept a route was essentially a suicide mission.
But as for leading with executives... how many executives did the Beast Pirates actually have?
The three All-Stars, the Tobi Roppo—and, well, one numbered officer.
As for the other divisions, such as the Gifters, Pleasures, Waiters, or the Smile users... unfortunately, Doflamingo had died too early. Coupled with the fact that the generation of the Worst Generation had not yet entered the New World, and various other reasons, those divisions did not yet exist.
Thus, at this moment, the Beast Pirates only had about a dozen high-level executives. According to the original timeline, it would take another two years to fill the gap in their leadership.
And Big Mom?
The woman had 39 daughters and 46 sons. She was indeed prolific.
Therefore, while she lagged behind Kaido in the fight for the large islands, her numerical advantage in executives began to show in the struggle for the smaller ones.
However, Kaido didn't care. To him, the small and medium islands held little significance; the twelve large islands were the only thing that mattered.
"Big brother, perhaps we should head over there as well. Otherwise, relying solely on King and Jack, I fear we won't be able to achieve many more results!"
"No. If I go, that crazy woman Big Mom will inevitably follow. If things escalate to that point, it will turn into an all-out war between us and the Big Mom Pirates," Kaido stated flatly, rejecting the idea.
Despite his usual erratic and wild behavior, Kaido was incredibly shrewd. Though he hadn't explicitly communicated with Big Mom, there was a tacit understanding between the two as Emperors: they would not enter the battlefield.
Competition was acceptable, but it had to be kept within a certain intensity. After all, the Marines and that man, Red-Haired, were watching from the sidelines like vultures. They had no intention of crippling each other only to let those opportunists swoop in and reap the rewards.
"Don't worry, Queen."
"Even though that bastard Doflamingo is dead and the plan has stalled..."
"Those people have already been found. They are on their way back as we speak!"
Hearing this, Queen's eyes suddenly lit up!