The battle at Punk Hazard was being watched closely by Roxing, Kaido, Queen, and the rest of the Beasts Pirates — because Roxing had installed recording devices on the Cybertronians.
They saw how Jin and his team quickly chased away the Marines led by Kizaru.
They saw the Cybertronians utterly crush the Navy's secret weapon, the Pacifistas.
Kaido laughed heartily. In his youth he had been the strongest warrior of Vodka Kingdom; after being betrayed over the Tenryuubito system, he developed a deep hatred for the Navy, the World Government, and the world order itself. He wanted to start the greatest war the world had seen.
To Kaido, only war makes life and death equally possible for everyone — strong live, weak die — and even the Tenryuubito shouldn't be excluded.
Roxing clearly understood his father-in-law's thinking. He wasn't as extreme as Kaido, but he also believed a world governed by Tenryuubito shouldn't continue.
Roxing said, "The overture to a world-spanning war has been struck. Father-in-law, be patient."
When Kaido left exhilarated, Roxing turned to Queen:
"Have Sasaki take two hundred Awakened Legion troops and station them at Punk Hazard. Turn it into a Beasts Pirates war base."
"Understood!" Queen accepted the order.
Roxing then called Foz·F in Dressrosa and told him to secure the SAD raw materials from Punk Hazard. At the same time he warned Foz·F to keep tight contact with Sasaki and to deploy more eyes at the entrance to the New World. If the Navy attacked again, Dressrosa and Punk Hazard could support each other while the Wano mainland sent reinforcements.
After arranging everything, Roxing noticed a problem he had previously overlooked: manpower.
The Beasts Pirates had fewer than forty thousand troops now. If the Navy and World Government fully mobilized, they could field over a hundred thousand — three to five times the Beasts' numbers.
True, with Roxing's Monster Cells and the manufactured Devil Fruits flooding their ranks, many Beasts troops would grow into billion-berry bounties. But that took time. A full-scale war required bases across the globe and garrisons to hold captured territory. Troops would be spread thin. They needed many more soldiers.
The usual choices were conscription in Wano or recruiting from outside. Roxing rejected both.
Wano's population was newly recovered; many still had poor health and couldn't withstand Monster Cell side effects, so local conscription wouldn't work. Recruiting outsiders raised loyalty issues and risked spies from the World Government — the Drake example proved how dangerous that could be.
Roxing had to find a source of troops with both strong bodies and reliable loyalty.
…
At Marineford headquarters, Kizaru returned and slept off the day. The next morning he reported to Fleet Admiral Sengoku's office.
Sengoku glowered and stared at Kizaru. Kizaru acted as if he didn't notice, sitting in his admiral's seat, crossing a leg and trimming his nails.
Sengoku could no longer restrain himself; he roared:
"Borsalino! Explain Punk Hazard to me!"
Kizaru coolly replied, "Admiral Sengoku, didn't Sentomaru already brief you yesterday?"
Mentioning Sentomaru only made Sengoku angrier. Yesterday the Marines had suffered a humiliating defeat — ten precious Pacifistas destroyed! And Kizaru had just gone home to sleep while delegating the report to Sentomaru. Sengoku nearly exploded.
He demanded an explanation: "Tell me how the battle ended up like that!"
Kizaru saw Sengoku's fury and, mindful of the admiral's health, folded away his legs and spoke more seriously:
"I'll be frank. The main issue is the weapons gap. We couldn't win."
"I helped them by lending the Glint-Glint power years ago. Yet when the Pacifistas faced Roxing's Cybertronians, they were destroyed on sight. Those Cybertronians can shift into beast form and mecha form and operate underwater. The Pacifistas simply can't match them."
Sengoku grew even angrier. He already knew about the Cybertronians' strength from Sentomaru's report; Sengoku wasn't asking for enemies' descriptions — he wanted to know why Kizaru had let things happen.
Kizaru stood and calmly proposed:
"Admiral Sengoku, I recommend the World Government allocate far greater funding to Dr. Vegapunk and our scientific combat corps. Otherwise the gap between our weaponry and the Beasts Pirates' will only widen."
Sengoku was stunned. It sounded like Kizaru was asking for a raise for his own scientific corps. After such a loss, Kizaru wanted more resources?
Sengoku's rage boiled over, but before he could explode the scene shifted: Kizaru muttered he had overexerted himself the previous day and his back needed a doctor, then he left — in a flash.
Sengoku almost overturned a table in fury.
In the office, Admiral Aokiji (Kuzan) sat calmly. Kizaru's slippery ways were well known; slick by nature, dangerous in power, the Navy couldn't afford to dismiss him. Aokiji comforted Sengoku: "We can't let the SAD raw materials fall into the Beasts Pirates' hands. I'll go and take Punk Hazard back."
Sengoku sighed. Even he couldn't control Kizaru. Aokiji was his chosen successor — lazy but reliable when needed — yet Sengoku declined Aokiji's offer.
"Kuzan, I've heard Red-Haired and Whitebeard met in the New World. I sense great events are coming. The Navy headquarters cannot weaken its forces now. We must strengthen. Leave Punk Hazard — it's the World Government's secret research base. Let the Five Elders worry about it for now."
Aokiji nodded and left.
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