In the Fleet Admiral's office at Marine Headquarters in Marineford, Cudius sat with a smile, holding the test report from CP-X.

  "Look at this," he said. "The New World is in chaos. The commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates are gathering at their base. Looks like that old man Newgate is about to lose his mind."

  Sengoku sat at his desk, sipping tea as he listened. He gave Cudius a helpless look.

  "And yet, here you are, ughing," Sengoku muttered.

  "If I don't ugh, should I cry instead?" Cudius quipped, smirking.

  "The enemy is at our doorstep, and you still have no sense of urgency or pressure?" Sengoku asked, setting his cup down.

  "What's there to be afraid of? If the sky falls, won't the Marines hold it up?" Cudius replied nonchantly.

  "You sure have a lot of faith in us," Sengoku said with a bitter smile.

  Cudius set the report aside and leaned forward. "Come on, Sengoku. If you, the Fleet Admiral, start acting anxious, what kind of example does that set for the rest of the Marines?"

  Sengoku blinked. Wait… why am I even having this conversation?

  He had only wanted to point out how carefree Cudius was but somehow the man had flipped the situation around on him.

  Before Sengoku could respond, Cudius grinned and said, "So, tell me, Strategist General, how do you think Whitebeard pns to reach us here at Marineford?"

  Sengoku stroked his beard, pondering the question.

  Without much thought, he answered, "Through Fish-Man Isnd, obviously. What's he going to do, attack Mariejois?"

  But as the words left his mouth, he paused.

  His brows furrowed.

  Wait… could he actually…?

  Seeing the shift in his expression, Cudius raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

  "I'm just considering the possibility of him hitting Mariejois instead. It's… not impossible," Sengoku muttered.

  Cudius chuckled. "Without provocation? I doubt it. His priority is rescuing Thatch. He'll come for Marineford, not Mariejois."

  Sengoku considered that. True. If Whitebeard wanted to save Thatch, it made no sense to attack Mariejois.

  "Marineford is the obvious target," Sengoku murmured, running his fingers through his beard.

  "Exactly. And if he wants to surprise us, coating his ships would be his best bet," Cudius said.

  Sengoku's eyes lit up. "Coating… so you think he'll use the Fish-Man Isnd route, coat his fleet, and then surface inside the harbor?"

  Cudius nodded.

  Marine patrols would cover the surrounding waters but underwater was a different story.

  The Moby Dick was no flying ship like Shiki's, and Whitebeard couldn't simply storm in from the air.

  That left the sea as the most likely infiltration route.

  "He's going to surface in the harbor," Cudius said.

  Sengoku grimaced. "That's tricky. Fighting Whitebeard at sea? We'd get crushed. His power over the ocean is unparalleled."

  "Exactly. Our only chance to stop him is here, in Marineford," Cudius said.

  Sengoku felt like he was on the verge of a breakthrough but couldn't quite grasp it.

  Cudius stood, walked to the rge strategic map on the wall, and pointed at the military port.

  "If Whitebeard surfaces here… he'll be exactly where we want him," Cudius said.

  Sengoku's eyes widened.

  That's it!

  That was the thought he'd been chasing!

  Cudius tapped the map and expined, "Whitebeard will use a tsunami to breach the harbor. We'll counter with Kuzan's ice. Freeze the tsunami solid, along with the water in the harbor, immobilizing their ships."

  "That would force them into a nd assault," Sengoku realized.

  "Exactly. And once their forces have disembarked and spread out across the ice…"

  Cudius traced a circle around the harbor with his finger.

  "…Sakazuki will melt the ice beneath their feet. We'll then activate the encircling walls and reposition the outer warships to close in behind them. Boom—trapped like rats."

  Sengoku's pulse quickened. It could work.

  The Marines had already devised five contingency pns, but this sixth pn might turn out to be the most effective.

  "We'll add this to the strategic options," Sengoku said. "If Whitebeard enters the harbor as we suspect, we'll execute Pn Six."

  Cudius smiled. "Good. Better to have more cards on the table than not enough."

  Sengoku nodded.

  "By the way," Cudius said, "you'll be on the execution ptform yourself, right?"

  "Of course. I'll need to address the world during the broadcast. Standing front and center adds authority," Sengoku replied.

  "And you'll be the st line of defense for Thatch," Cudius added.

  "Exactly. If someone actually manages to reach the execution ptform, I'll handle it personally," Sengoku said.

  Cudius nodded. It made sense.

  Garp and Sengoku rarely entered the fray anymore, especially during a worldwide broadcast. It was important for the public to see that Marine Headquarters could rely on its Admirals.

  "San Admiral will be positioned here," Cudius said, gesturing to the area beneath the ptform. "Put me up there too. Give me a seat above Sakazuki."

  Sengoku blinked. "You want a front-row seat?"

  Cudius grinned. "What kind of grandstanding event would it be if I didn't participate? Picture it: three Admirals sitting below me as I oversee the battlefield from above. Sounds good, doesn't it?"

  Sengoku ughed. "So, you're joining the fight after all?"

  "Obviously. I've never had the chance to fight Newgate before. I can't pass this up," Cudius said.

  "Then I'll look forward to your performance," Sengoku said, smiling.

  Cudius chuckled. "Hopefully, I won't need to do anything at all. Ideally, I'll just sit back and watch Newgate die quietly."

  ***

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