Chapter 214: The Storm Brews Over Hachinosu

The photos showed various children, each displaying remarkable power even at a young age.

No one was sure where Vice Admiral Tsuru got her hands on these pictures, but it looked like the Navy had someone undercover on Cake Island.

Then again, it made sense—Karl was, after all, one of the three great powers of the New World. If there weren’t spies or undercover agents in his midst, the Navy’s intelligence branch wouldn’t be worth its name.

“This is unbelievable.”

“Give it a few decades and won’t the Rocks Family have the whole New World in their palm?”

“We can’t even stop the Rocks Family now—they’re just too powerful.”

Every Vice Admiral in the room wore a look of dread. Karl alone was enough to give them constant headaches, and now he had so many children. In another twenty or thirty years, what would they do?

The Navy was already struggling with a gap between its generations—several rounds of major recruitment hadn’t yielded any real talent.

Sure, they had a few Vice Admiral-level prodigies in the ranks, but what the Navy truly lacked were talents who could rise to Admiral. So far, they hadn’t found even one.

And now, hearing about all that was brewing inside the Rocks Family only made the Vice Admirals more anxious.

If someone didn’t put a stop to this, they might end up with another Rocks Pirates on their hands—except this one would be united, not torn by infighting. The threat would be even greater than the last time.

“Besides, this is really the World Government’s headache—it’s not for us to solve.” Kong glanced at everyone in the room, seeing their unease. He knew the topic needed to change, fast.

“The immediate question is—who are we sending?” Kong steered the meeting back on track.

After hearing everything Vice Admiral Tsuru had revealed, Kong wasn’t agonizing over whether to send reinforcements, but who and how many to deploy.

Letting everyone stew in their worries wouldn’t help. Sometimes you just had to make a call.

“Let me lead the fleet.” Zephyr spoke up, fully aware that in terms of Admiral-level strength, he was all the Navy had left at headquarters.

Sengoku had already headed for Hachinosu as soon as he got word on Sabaody Archipelago. Garp was on his way too.

Sending Zephyr out would weaken Marineford’s defenses for a while.

But things had been fairly stable lately—their governance had been decent—so the pirates of the Four Seas and the Grand Line weren’t as rampant as before.

The only real worry was the Golden Lion Pirates’ next move.

They’d watched Whitebeard long enough to know he wasn’t the type for pointless slaughter, but among the current New World overlords, only the Golden Lion was always looking for trouble. From now on, they’d have to keep their eyes glued to his every step, ready to intervene at any moment.

“Then it’s settled—Zephyr, I’ll leave it to you.” Kong knew only Zephyr at sea could deal with what was coming.

If Karl and Charlotte Linlin marched on Hachinosu together, Sengoku and Garp wouldn’t be able to tip the balance alone.

Zephyr stood and saluted the room, his gaze sharp as he spoke. “The Vice Admirals stationed at headquarters, you’re coming with me. I want ten of you. Decide among yourselves.”

With that, he strode out of the conference room.

Once the decision was made, there was no time to waste. He had to gather the fleet and sail for Hachinosu right away.

Everyone exchanged glances and quickly figured out who would go with Zephyr.

One by one, they filed out of the room.

Soon, only Kong and Vice Admiral Tsuru remained.

“Damn it!”

Kong’s face contorted in anger as he slammed his fist on the table—a heavy thud echoed through the room.

Vice Admiral Tsuru jumped at the sudden noise, heart skipping a beat. She glanced at Kong, thinking something else had gone wrong.

If the World Government hadn’t weakened the Navy from the start, they wouldn’t be in this position now, running out of men to deploy.

Kong stood and marched toward his office—he was calling the Five Elders.

Vice Admiral Tsuru gathered the papers on the desk, then watched Kong storm away, letting out a bitter sigh.

“Hello, is this the Five Elders?” Kong asked bitterly, dialing the line to Mariejois.

“Kong, is that you?” The Long-Bearded Five Elder answered with obvious surprise.

It wasn’t normal for the Navy to call them—especially not Kong himself. If he was calling, something serious must have happened.

Had some disaster struck without them realizing?

“Charlotte Linlin is leading her pirates to attack the Navy base in the New World.”

“Given the strength of Charlotte Linlin and Karl right now, we have no choice but to dispatch Sengoku, Garp and Zephyr.”

“So what happens if Marineford gets hit by the Golden Lion or Whitebeard while we’re gone?”

Kong threw the question at the Five Elders.

He wanted to see their response—would the World Government finally ease up on stifling the Navy’s strength? He needed answers.

The other four Five Elders traded silent glances, some sitting at the table, others lounging on sofas.

At last, one of the middle-aged elders gave a slight nod. Then the Long-Bearded Five Elder spoke up. “The World Government will grant the Navy a special fund of thirty billion Berries for recruitment.”

“And you’re authorized from this moment to expand your forces on a large scale.”

“We’ll also allocate a batch of Devil Fruits to strengthen the Navy’s ranks.”

“Anything else to report?” the Long-Bearded Five Elder asked, throwing the question back at Kong.

Kong said nothing, quietly hanging up.

He knew this was the best deal he could wring out of them.

Kong had hoped this crisis would give him some leverage over the Five Elders, pressuring them to stop weakening the Navy.

Only if the World Government stopped curbing the Navy’s power could genuine growth follow.

Meanwhile, after more than seven hours of sailing, Charlotte Linlin finally arrived at Hachinosu.

With the island looming just ahead, Charlotte Linlin stood on deck and let out her signature laugh. “Mama mama mama!”

“If we don’t teach them a lesson they’ll never understand who really controls the New World.”

“Attack!”

There was no dramatic buildup. The moment Hachinosu entered their range, Charlotte Linlin issued her command.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Charlotte Linlin had brought over twenty massive ships, each bristling with cannons. Shells rained down on Hachinosu like a torrential storm.

“They’re here!”

Jeremy and the other five stood their ground on the dock, unleashing the Six Powers to blast incoming shells from the sky.

But with so many shells flying in, some slipped through their defenses and smashed into the town behind them.

Within moments, the streets were swallowed by fire and explosions. Navy soldiers scrambled for water buckets, desperate to put out the flames.