One piece: Establishing a Pirate Family

Chapter 514: The Kingdom Allied Army

In the short month that the Marines had spent reclaiming the first half of the New World, a large number of problems had accumulated, waiting for Kong to solve them. These were all arranged one by one by Kong and Sengoku. As for Zephyr and Garp, Kong thought about it and decided against it. Letting them handle the arrangements would only make things more chaotic.

"Fleet Admiral, the strength of the kingdom forces that have come to reinforce us is uneven. A large portion of them are cannon fodder units with no combat capability. It is very difficult to integrate them into a fighting force. If they are sent into battle just like this, they will most likely become a burden to the Marines."

Sengoku reported to Kong, a trace of worry in his eyes. The closer they got to the decisive battle, the less confident Sengoku felt.

Kong just waved his hand after hearing this.

"Sengoku, if there are difficulties, then we overcome them. The fact that those kingdoms are willing to support our Marines is already the greatest progress. As for these armies, first, integrate a force that can fight. Then, put the troops who are just there to make up the numbers together to act as cannon fodder. We must not waste this power!" Kong said, looking at Sengoku.

Sengoku gave a bitter smile.

"Yes, sir. I'll go arrange it now!"

The meeting ended quickly; it was just a routine meeting.

Following the Fleet Admiral's arrangements, Sengoku arrived at the main camp of the allied army. As soon as he walked into the camp, he heard a wave of chaotic noise. It seemed there was some kind of commotion up ahead.

Sengoku's face darkened. His mood, which was already somewhat bad, sank even further upon seeing this.

"What happened?" Sengoku asked as he walked forward.

A Marine who had been watching the show immediately changed his expression.

"Admiral Sengoku!"

A loud shout made everyone look over.

"What's going on here?"

Sengoku was surprised to see Kuzan in the crowd.

Kuzan walked over when he saw him. People quickly gathered around the scene. The surrounding officers also came over when they saw what was happening.

"Admiral, they started fighting over a bit of food!"

Kuzan walked over with a face full of shame. This section of the camp was under his command. He never expected such an incident to occur, and for Admiral Sengoku to see it of all people.

"They're fighting over food?" Sengoku asked with a look of disbelief.

"Admiral, most of these kingdom soldiers are malnourished. They were sent here without ever having had a full meal. When they saw the food, they all went into a frenzy to grab it and wouldn't listen to commands at all," Kuzan said with a bitter smile.

Kuzan's words immediately received nods of agreement from the many officers who had gathered around. They had been ordered to manage these allied forces, and one problem after another had appeared.

Upon hearing this, Sengoku's brow furrowed, and a murderous aura appeared between his eyes.

"If something like this happens, it absolutely cannot be tolerated. You must kill one to warn a hundred. Otherwise, it will only get more and more chaotic," Sengoku said to Kuzan and the other officers.

Kuzan was a bit reluctant, but after seeing Sengoku's murderous expression, he nodded. Although he had led troops before, and many times at that, those soldiers were all Marine elites, at worst they were soldiers from a branch base. They were nothing like the rabble he had today. For a moment, he was at a loss.

Kuzan immediately returned to the camp. Seeing a group of people frantically grabbing for food, a cold glint flashed in his eyes. With a wave of his right hand, a pale blue light shone. Those scrambling soldiers were all turned into ice sculptures.

"If you want to eat, do it one by one! Line up!" Kuzan shouted murderously at the crowd.

In an instant, no one dared to move. They stared in horror at the hundred or so ice sculptures in the center of the camp.

Kuzan stood to the side, and after seeing the line gradually form, he returned to Sengoku's side.

"Admiral Sengoku, why do we have to let them act with us? Most of these are a disorganized mob. Having them cooperate with the Marines is just holding us back. Once a battle starts, our Marines might even have to protect them," Kuzan asked Sengoku, puzzled.

His words drew nods from several surrounding officers. This allied army of nearly one hundred thousand was not even considered a threat in the eyes of the Marines. If these allied forces were the enemy, they would only need a Vice Admiral leading five thousand elite Marines to easily cut through them.

But as allies, the Marines would have to dispatch twenty thousand elite soldiers and numerous officers to protect and maintain them, just so they could preserve what little combat power they had on the battlefield. This severely limited the full potential of the Marines.

Sengoku sighed after hearing the complaints from the surrounding officers one by one, then his expression turned serious again.

"This is the Fleet Admiral's order. Just a short while ago, those three great pirate crews in the New World formed a 'Three Emperors Alliance'. They have united to face the threat of our Marines. The forces of the Three Emperors have swelled to a number of one hundred thousand. If we rely only on the forty-thousand-plus soldiers from Marine Headquarters, the casualties to annihilate them will be by no means small. We must unite all possible forces. Our reinforcements from the Four Blues and the Grand Line cannot reach the New World, so we can only rely on the power of the New World itself," Sengoku explained to all the officers.

When they heard that the number of pirates was as high as one hundred thousand, all the officers were stunned. They had never imagined the number of pirates would be so large. They had originally thought it would be similar to their own numbers, but they never expected it to be more than double.

This was the difference between being an Emperor and just being a pirate. Once you have territory and order, everything will flourish. Supported by their territories, the three great pirate crews could easily summon a hundred thousand men. If they didn't consider combat power, two hundred thousand would also be easy. Their endless financial resources were enough to support their war effort.

Of course, if the war dragged on, it would be a different story. But fortunately for them, the Marines' situation was even more difficult. Once the war stalled, the Marines would face a lack of supplies and opposition from the World Government.

One must remember that the Marines have no income of their own; they rely entirely on the support of the World Government. Once the World Government discovers that the war has reached a stalemate and is consuming a massive amount of resources every day, even if the World Government supports it, the Celestial Dragons will not be able to bear it. What's being spent is their Heavenly Tribute.

This long-distance expedition by the Marines was relying on their own accumulation over the years and the support of the World Government. Once the battle reached a stalemate and the Marines' reserves were exhausted, they could only rely on the World Government. At that point, whether to fight or not would be decided by the World Government.

Kuzan fell silent after hearing the Admiral's words. Things had come to this point, and there was nothing more he could say. Although the high command valued his opinion highly—after all, his strength was there for all to see—that was the extent of it. At the end of the day, he was just a Vice Admiral. His voice was not that important. He didn't yet have the ability to influence decisions at the highest level.

"Organize the army well. The decisive battle is just a few days away. The Marines can't afford to waste any more time!" Sengoku said, patting the shoulder of this junior he had high hopes for.

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