Chapter 560: It's Common Sense That There Are Nine Warlords
Just like when Ian fought that massive battle against the Marines on Salamis Island, which was reported by an intern journalist named Pritz, the reporters in this world have an unstoppable passion for capturing news.
Some time ago, when the Marines were continuously mobilizing elite soldiers from various branches around the world, some reporters had already sensed an unusual atmosphere.
This led to a large number of reporters camping out around Marine Headquarters, trying to get a handle on the specific situation.
However, when the truth was uncovered, the reporters were left dumbfounded, and then, like madmen, they spread the truth they had dug up across the entire world.
The Marines were actually going to make a move against the Whitebeard Pirates!
This news was like a super bomb, setting the whole world ablaze. Although in the eyes of the public, a battle between the Marines and the Four Emperors was inevitable sooner or later, no one had expected it to come so quickly.
Moreover, the Marines' first target was Whitebeard, the most renowned of the Four Emperors...
As soon as the news reports came out, people all over the world were filled with anxiety, because no one knew which side would emerge victorious in this battle.
If the Marines won, they would take a huge step forward in their mission to "end the Great Pirate Era," the power of pirates would be severely crippled, and justice would surely prevail.
But if the Whitebeard Pirates won, the Marines would never be able to stop the peak of the Great Pirate Era from arriving. The Grand Line would see more and more pirates, and as long as Roger's great treasure remained unfound, this situation would continue indefinitely.
At the same time, the reputation of the Marines and the World Government would suffer a fatal blow. Especially the World Government, which was already plagued by conflicts among its member nations due to the Heavenly Tribute. If they were further affected by a defeat, various opposition forces would also emerge. Their rule would then steadily weaken, leading to a situation where the member nations would fall apart.
Without these member nations, the World Government would essentially collapse...
Therefore, although the World Government did not interfere with Fleet Admiral Sengoku's decision, they told him that if they were going to fight, they had to win!
At this time, on Sabaody Archipelago, thousands of reporters had gathered. Most of them worked for news conglomerates, while some worked for smaller newspapers. But without exception, they were all frantically collecting every bit of intelligence about this war and turning it into news to be sent out.
No matter how obscure the newspaper or magazine, as long as it was even slightly related to this war, it could achieve massive sales.
To put it bluntly, even if a magazine were completely blank, just having the title "The Battle of New Edd War" would sell tens of thousands of copies...
The Marine fleet was continuously being dispatched to the New World. The reporters stationed here used every means possible to tally the specific military strength the Marines had deployed this time.
However, after they finished their tally, they were horrified to discover that Marine Headquarters had essentially sent out their entire force.
Over 540 warships had been deployed, carrying nearly 100,000 elite Marines. Among these Marines, there were almost no ordinary soldiers; the lowest rank was that of a petty officer. There were over 10,000 officers at the lieutenant level, thousands at the captain level, and over a hundred at the admiral level.
Not to mention that among them were over a dozen famous Marine Vice Admirals, and even the three Admirals, the Marines' highest combat power, had set out. Fleet Admiral Sengoku was personally commanding the operation, looking ready to settle the matter with the Whitebeard Pirates in one decisive battle.
Such a massive Marine force left the reporters stunned, but they soon felt an inexplicable excitement.
How should one put it? These reporters were mostly on the side of the World Government and the Marines. Since the news media were under the control of the World Government, even the reporters under them leaned towards the Marines and the World Government.
However, when they managed to get a rough idea of the Whitebeard Pirates' strength, they could no longer smile.
The Marine force was huge, but the Whitebeard Pirates were equally formidable. How could Edward Newgate, known as the strongest of the Four Emperors, be undeserving of his reputation?
The Whitebeard Pirates themselves had over 1,600 members, led by sixteen Division Commanders. In addition, a large number of powerful pirates had gathered under Whitebeard's name, totaling forty-three pirate crews with a force of over 50,000. Their combined fleet of ships, large and small, numbered nearly 1,200.
Just seeing this data made the reporters gasp, because from this surface-level comparison, it was clear that the Whitebeard Pirates were almost evenly matched with the Marines...
How terrifying! Was this the power of the strongest among the Four Emperors!?
In the process of continuously digging and reporting, the reporters also realized a major problem: the lineup of the Seven Warlords of the Sea participating in the war on the Marine side had a serious gap.
Currently, those summoned to participate in the war were only Hawk-Eye Mihawk, Gecko Moria, the Pirate Empress Boa Hancock, and... Bartholomew Kuma!
The first three were not worth mentioning, but what surprised the reporters most was Bartholomew Kuma. Everyone knew he was a former member of the Seven Warlords! His position had been replaced by Black Dragon Ian.
The new Warlord was not participating in the war, but the former Warlord who had already stepped down was being sent into battle. What was going on?
Just as the reporters were still puzzled, news soon broke of the attack on Impel Down. The reporters swarmed to Marine Headquarters for interviews and learned from Vice Admiral Momousagi that the attacker was none other than the new Warlord, Black Dragon Ian!
He had not only attacked Impel Down, killing all the prisoners on the fifth and sixth floors, but had also helped the remaining prisoners escape!
When they first heard this news, the reporters felt only deep fear! They finally understood why Black Dragon Ian had not been summoned to the war: he had completely turned against the Marines!
As a result, the Marines had even announced the revocation of Ian's Warlord title and raised his bounty to an astonishing amount: one billion Berry!
This was tantamount to the Marines themselves admitting that Ian's threat had reached the same level as Jack the Drought, one of the Three Calamities of the Beast Pirates... or perhaps even surpassed it...
Through frantic investigation, the reporters finally figured out why Ian had chosen to stand against the Marines.
It was simple: Ian was brothers with Fire Fist Ace, the commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division. Moreover, when the Dragon Hunter Pirates were being pursued by the Marines, it was Edward Newgate, Whitebeard, who stepped in and forced the Marines to back off, saving Ian. In other words, the Whitebeard Pirates had a debt of gratitude with Ian!
Therefore, it was only natural that Ian chose to oppose the Marines at this time.
And because of Ian, the Seven Warlords that the Marines had summoned for this war were incomplete. Sand Crocodile Crocodile and Sea Knight Jinbe had been rescued by Ian from Impel Down, while Doflamingo had been brought down by Ian, his criminal activities exposed to the world, making it impossible for the Marines to shamelessly bring him back as a combatant.
This meant that, including Ian himself, the Marines had lost the combat power of four Warlord-level individuals in one fell swoop...
Now, although the Marines had gained a new Warlord, Blackbeard Teach, to be honest, many people had hardly heard of this man called Blackbeard and knew nothing about his strength.
Therefore, in many people's minds, Blackbeard Teach was not really counted among the Warlord combatants.
What a mess this was... While the reporters were still shaken, they didn't know how to evaluate the situation.
Although when Ian first joined the Seven Warlords, some high-ranking officials at Marine Headquarters (Vice Admiral Fighting Dog) had already leaked word that this was a wrong decision, that the position of Warlord could not restrain Ian, people at the time never imagined that this day would come so quickly.
Everyone could vaguely sense that Ian's joining the Seven Warlords back then was just a means for him to protect himself. Now that his wings had grown full, he was ready to leave the nest...
Currently, Ian, Crocodile, and Sea Knight Jinbe, these three Warlords, had disappeared after the Impel Down incident. But everyone knew that the Marines would likely have to add the Dragon Hunter Pirates to the list of threats they needed to guard against. The only question was how strong the Dragon Hunter Pirates had grown by now...
Oh, right, there was also a hidden big shot who had escaped with Ian: Buggy the Clown! When a former crewmate of the Pirate King reappeared before the world, it inevitably stirred up terrifying memories of Pirate King Roger...
As reporters with first-hand information, they naturally worried about the Marines' loss of combat power. However, there was one piece of good news: Edward Newgate, Whitebeard, was seriously injured!
How badly was he injured? Would he still be able to participate in the war? The reporters had no way of knowing these things, but it really could be considered good news.
The only thing that piqued the reporters' curiosity was how Whitebeard had been injured. Although various events indicated that the cause of Whitebeard's injury might be related to the Marines' scheming—since shortly after the news of Whitebeard's injury broke, Marine Admiral Akainu had already appeared in the New Edd War waters of the New World—the reporters would never believe there was no connection.
However, Marine Headquarters was also evasive about how Whitebeard had been injured, offering no specific explanation. So, no matter how much the reporters racked their brains, they still couldn't find out.
There was no help for it. The World Government had imposed a gag order on this matter. After all, they had used the Blackbeard Pirates, which was not exactly a glorious affair. If it got out, it might damage the shining image of the Marines and the World Government. So, in response to the reporters' persistent questioning, the Marines and high-ranking World Government officials remained tight-lipped.
Moreover, by now, the Marines and the World Government had already received news that Blackbeard Teach had quietly disappeared. Many people had an ominous feeling about this, sensing that something major might happen...
The World Government's intelligence agencies were already trying to track down Blackbeard's whereabouts. But the problem was that the war with Whitebeard had already begun, and most of their attention was focused on this matter, making it difficult to spare much effort to deal with Blackbeard.
Amidst all this chaos, images finally appeared on the screens of Sabaody Archipelago, immediately attracting countless people to gather and watch.
The live broadcast of this war had finally been released. This also meant that the Marines' preparations were complete, and they were about to make their move against the Whitebeard Pirates...