As expected by Sakazuki, the top ranks of the Navy headquarters noticed his "disappearance."
Currently, the military is conducting a thorough evaluation of the New World pirates' reputation, threat level, strength, and influence. The establishment of the Seven Warlords of the Sea has occupied a large portion of the high command's attention.
It was precisely because of this that the overworked Sengoku, Zephyr, and others finally took notice of Sakazuki's unusual movements.
The most infuriating thing was that brat had the audacity to propose the [Four Seas Headquarters Battle Formation Plan] at such a critical moment and then vanished, leaving behind a massive mess for others to clean up. Every night, Sengoku, who worked overtime until dawn, could only fall asleep after muttering, "Damn you, Sakazuki!"
Even Garp, that donut-eating slacker, had been forced by Sengoku and Kong to attend over a dozen meetings, both big and small, in the military intelligence room this past month.
"So you're telling me that brat Sakazuki just disappeared without a trace?" Garp grumbled as he sat in Sengoku's office, looking displeased. "I even went to the archives to check—he didn't leave any records of his whereabouts, nor did he receive any official mission!"
"No, Garp." Sengoku, thinking further ahead than his old comrade, shook his head and firmly denied it. "Sakazuki must have received some top-secret mission."
He shifted his gaze to the large pile of battle formation reports on his desk. Sengoku knew his subordinate well: "Sakazuki is absolutely not the type to disregard military regulations."
The strategist furrowed his brows. "If you told me he left the port without orders, I would be the first to call it nonsense."
Garp, holding a bag of donuts in one hand and stuffing them into his mouth with the other, nodded. "I don't believe it either. Even I have to leave a record when I go out for a walk without an assignment."
Yet for almost a month, there had been no sign of Sakazuki—no news, no traces of his whereabouts.
This eerie disappearance, as if he had vanished into thin air, made even Garp feel uneasy. "He didn't die in some corner of the world, did he?"
"Shut up, Garp!" The Great Buddha felt a headache creeping in again. "Didn't you notice? Even you know to leave a location record. How could that rigid guy Sakazuki forget?"
The strategist turned his gaze toward the direction of Mary Geoise. "This situation runs deeper than it seems, Garp. Do you remember that night when Kong kicked us out of the office to take that classified call with Sakazuki?"
"Of course. The next day, when Kong returned, his face was as dark as the abyss. I remember it clearly." Garp put aside his joking tone and responded seriously.
"I later asked the Fleet Admiral if he knew anything about [someone] going missing, but when it came to Sakazuki's whereabouts, he always dodged the question." Sengoku reached into Garp's bag and grabbed a donut.
Chewing it, he spoke with his mouth half-full: "There are very few times when he keeps his lips sealed even from us old comrades. I suspect he's under orders from above to stay silent."
"Above?" Garp finally caught on. "The Five Elders… If that's the case, it all makes sense. After all, Kong was in Mary Geoise when he spoke to Sakazuki."
Sengoku nodded. "A top-secret mission directly issued by the highest rulers of the world government… No wonder Sakazuki left without saying a word."
The Navy hero was still puzzled. "But where would that brat go? None of the branches in the Grand Line or the Four Seas have received orders regarding a Vice Admiral's visit."
The strategist didn't answer directly but instead asked, "Do you remember the garrison plan for Fish-Man Island that Sakazuki proposed half a year ago?"
"Ehhhh? You mean that time you called me crazy?" Garp's forehead veins bulged at the memory.
"Don't get mad at me! It was true!" The Great Buddha maintained a saintly, impartial look.
Sengoku's expression grew uncertain. "That's the only matter I can think of that the Five Elders would assign to Sakazuki. After all, it was his own proposal."
Garp burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Is that brat insane? Fish-Man Island is a mess! Does he really dare to touch that powder keg? The real problem isn't even the Fish-Men's stance."
The strategist shoved the remaining half of his donut into his mouth in one go. "The real problem is those damn Celestial Dragons. Fish-Man Island is their personal playground. That's probably why the Five Elders sent him alone instead of mobilizing the Navy Headquarters."
At that moment, a laid-back voice came from the doorway.
"Ara ara, Mr. Sengoku, Mr. Garp." Kuzan strolled in lazily. "Have you seen my dear senior brother? A big guy like him just up and vanished."
A faint smile appeared on Sengoku's face. "Kuzan, you've come at the right time. I have a task for you."
"Eh? You're talking to me?" Kuzan looked around before scratching his head. "Sorry, sorry. Even though the title's official, I'm still not used to it."
"I need you to take ten warships to the Sabaody Archipelago and stand by."
Before Sengoku could finish his sentence, Kuzan frowned and asked, "Another Buster Call?"
"No. I want you to oversee the completion of the coating process for all the warships within ten days." Sengoku waved his hand dismissively.
"Coating?" Kuzan blinked. "Did something happen to my senior brother?"
"Your intuition is way too sharp, isn't it?" Sengoku was dumbfounded. He and Garp had just analyzed and deduced this far, yet Kuzan, that little brat, had already guessed his next move. The wise general, caught between laughter and tears, waved away the trouble-seeking fellow.
"Better to be prepared. If we wait until the order is issued before making preparations, I'm afraid unexpected complications will arise."
Once Kuzan leisurely strolled out of the office, Garp furrowed his brows and continued, "Sakazuki went to exterminate those human traffickers, but I'm worried he'll provoke the Celestial Dragons."
"Provoking them is inevitable. Otherwise, why would the Five Elders make him take the fall alone instead of having our entire Marine organization officially take responsibility for it?" Sengoku stood up, picked up the tea on the table, and tested the temperature.
"That brat won't be expelled from the Marines, will he?" At this moment, Garp was not adding fuel to the fire. To be honest, he rather admired this junior who dared to act decisively.
"No, because if that happens, the Celestial Dragons' involvement in ordering pirates and traffickers to capture citizens of World Government allied nations would no longer be concealable. I can say with certainty that even in his punishment, there won't be any mention of killing human traffickers. The disciplinary action against Sakazuki will focus solely on disobedience and acting without orders."
Sengoku downed the tea in one gulp. "Don't worry about him, Garp. I'm not some heartless bastard. This is an act of righteousness that benefits the people. I'm more than willing to use my authority this once to minimize his internal punishment."
Sengoku then burst into hearty laughter. "How could someone be hated for doing the right thing? I won't sit idly by and let our hero bleed and weep!"
Fish-Man Island, inside Ryugu Palace—A top-secret mission was under discussion.
The two stood close to each other. Sakazuki locked eyes with the other party's icy blue pupils.
"Your mission has two objectives. First, keep an eye on the movements of the Whitebeard Pirates and report back to us in a timely manner. Second, form an alliance with the Beasts Pirates."
"Wait… Vice Admiral, you've completely lost me. Wasn't I supposed to go and become Whitebeard's 'son'?" Lindemann scratched his silky hair in confusion.
"Even if you became his grandson, it wouldn't matter," Sakazuki shook his head and explained, "The time is too short. A newcomer joining a pirate crew won't be able to gain their trust in such a short period. While this is the most direct way to learn about Whitebeard's movements, it's not a feasible approach to leverage external forces for assistance."
"Leverage?" The fox-like man was puzzled. "What does that have to do with the Beasts Pirates?"
Lindemann quickly caught on, his expression shifting slightly. "Vice Admiral, are you planning to use Kaido to restrain Whitebeard? Stirring up an attack on his territory just as he enters Fish-Man Island?"
Sakazuki nodded. "Correct. Big Mom is actually another viable candidate, but she just fought Whitebeard recently. In the short term, she wouldn't dare provoke him again. Among the great pirates of the New World right now, only that lunatic can exert enough pressure on Whitebeard to force him to lead his fleet to respond."
Onigumo handed Sakazuki a cigarette. "Vice Admiral, but that brings us back to the same issue—Lindemann, as a newcomer to the crew, also won't have enough time to earn their trust, let alone persuade Kaido to attack Whitebeard's territory."
The Vice Admiral bit down on the cigarette and lit it directly using his ability. "For this reason, this time, we can't use a pirate identity. We need to give Kaido an offer enticing enough to move him."
"You mean…?"
Sakazuki didn't keep them in suspense. "What do you think of the identity of the 'foreign emissary of the Shogun of Wano'?"
"!?"
"Lindemann, listen to my orders. You will act as a member of the Guardian Thirteen Divisions of Wano, receiving a secret mission from the Shogun himself to seek out a sufficiently powerful force abroad to assist in overthrowing the current regime."
Sakazuki pointed at Lindemann. The alliance between Kaido and the Wano Shogun to take over the country was something that would happen twenty years later. Right now, Wano was still in complete isolation from the outside world. Sakazuki planned to exploit this information gap.
"Your alias will be 'Ginomaru'. Your direct superior is me, while the so-called 'General and Captain of the Guardian Thirteen Divisions' is 'Yamamoto Ryūsai Kuninaga'. However, only when you meet Kaido will I contact you directly. Before that, your only point of communication will be with Onigumo, who will be playing the role of 'Zaraki Kenpachi' to relay intelligence."
"Whew, as expected of you, Vice Admiral! I didn't expect you to be so knowledgeable about an isolationist nation like Wano. I feel like my chances of survival just went up a lot!" The fox-faced man grinned.
Sakazuki shot 'Ginomaru' an annoyed look for recklessly tempting fate. Slowly exhaling a cloud of smoke, he thought to himself—compared to infiltrating a pirate crew as a marine undercover, assuming the identity of a foreign emissary was indeed much more secure.
But it was still a gamble for one's life. Even without considering the possibility of exposure mid-mission, once Lindemann completed his task, how would he escape from Kaido and the Beasts Pirates' pursuit?
That was something Sakazuki had yet to find a perfect solution for.
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