Just as chaos engulfed the four corners and the center of the Kingdom of Tuthmose, neither side in the conflict noticed a Marine Headquarters-class battleship with a dog-headed figurehead slowly approaching from the distant sea.
"Vice Admiral, it seems Rear Admiral Avène and his men are in a tough fight. Should I take some men to assist them?"
Dressed in a black-gray suit with a matching hat, a pristine Justice Coat, and a long black-sheathed sword at his waist, this man was none other than Vice Admiral Garp's exclusive aide-de-camp.
There was a legend within Marine Headquarters that the strongest swordsman in Marineford might just be this Rear Admiral Bogard, who remained largely unknown to the outside world!
The main reason for this was that over the past decade, whenever Garp caught up with the Roger Pirates, it was this aide-de-camp who was responsible for holding off the 'Dark King' Rayleigh.
Some had said that if Rayleigh was considered the right hand of the Pirate King Roger, then this Rear Admiral Bogard was the left fist of the Marine hero Garp! "Puhahaha, forget it. This is that kid's mission. Let them handle it themselves for now," Garp laughed heartily as he gazed deep into the island.
"But in my opinion, given Rear Admiral Dragon's current strength, the probability of him defeating the 'Slave King' Taklama is quite low," Rear Admiral Bogard expressed some concern.
Although they were quite far from the city of Sabac, the power of Observation Haki allowed them to clearly perceive the intense battle situation.
"Isn't that great? Only by defeating formidable opponents can one become stronger," Garp said, his expression turning slightly serious at this point.
"We both know that Haki can only be further enhanced in the extreme conditions of actual combat. While long-term, high-intensity training also has its effects, the efficiency gap between the two is too vast!"
Back in the day, why did he go to the mountains to train his fists? It was because he couldn't find opponents of his level willing to spar with him. Whether it was Sengoku or Zed, they were all too busy with their own work.
"..."
Rear Admiral Bogard chose to remain silent in response to Vice Admiral Garp's words, knowing full well that he couldn't change the man's decision.
"Moreover, in my opinion, this Slave King's strength is just so-so. His Armament Haki is mediocre, and his Observation Haki is even less impressive. The only thing worth noting is his development of his Devil Fruit ability. Overall, while he is stronger than Dragon, he hasn't reached a level where Dragon can't contend with him."
For some reason, Garp was more talkative than usual, and his aide-de-camp Bogard played the role of the perfect listener.
"In my view, this guy is the most suitable opponent for that kid at this stage. I bet he's the opponent that kid is most satisfied with. Listen carefully, that kid is excited right now!"
With that, Garp burst into hearty laughter once more. To be honest, he was starting to feel a slight sense of goodwill and gratitude toward the World Government.
If it weren't for the decision of the higher-ups in the World Government, Dragon would never have had the opportunity to become a commanding officer. After all, he was just a Rear Admiral, and he had previously been involved in acts of defection.
If the Marine Headquarters were to decide on its own, the task force for capturing King Taklama and thoroughly investigating Tuthmose would most likely be led by Sengoku himself, or perhaps Garp would be sent, with Dragon at most being a subordinate officer.
However, the Five Elders, for reasons unknown, overruled all objections and insisted on appointing Dragon as the lead officer, and they prohibited bringing any forces of Vice Admiral rank or above.
Even now, Marshal Kong and Sengoku suspect that this was a deliberate move by the World Government to set Dragon up for failure.
In fact, Garp initially thought the same, but after actually observing the battle situation, he realized that wasn't the case. The Slave King wasn't an opponent Dragon couldn't handle at all.
On the contrary, a mission fighting for the freedom of hundreds of thousands of slaves would only ignite an endless surge of will and power within Dragon, and this was the best catalyst for enhancing his Haki! Rear Admiral Bogard nodded in agreement upon hearing this final point. Although Dragon was currently being heavily suppressed by the Slave King and looked quite disheveled, one could still sense the increasingly intense aura of Haki emanating from him.
Besides, even if Dragon were to lose in the end, it wouldn't matter much. Vice Admiral Garp and he himself had already arrived, hadn't they?
"Let's wait and see how long it takes for the Slave King to push Dragon to his limits," Garp said, crossing his arms and keeping his eyes fixed on the direction of Sabat.
The sky above that area was already dominated by a massive yellow sandstorm, with occasional glimpses of a tenacious green whirlwind.
At this moment.
The battles involving the other Marine officers had already ended. After all, the effects of Hero Water lasted only five minutes, and after that, the user would automatically die.
Thus, the fifty elite soldiers Dragon had brought, though all injured, fortunately suffered no casualties. However, due to the overwhelming force of the wind and sand, they had no choice but to retreat from the city and gather on a high sand dune to observe the battle.
The problem was, they couldn't see anything. "Gentlemen, as we all know the current situation, staying here is of no help to Rear Admiral Dragon. We're just wasting time, so I suggest we go and support the battles on all fronts," a Lieutenant Colonel proposed to everyone.
"Indeed."
"We can't afford to waste time like this!"
The Lieutenant Colonel's suggestion immediately garnered much agreement and support. However, at that moment, another Colonel countered, "But how are we supposed to reach the various battlefields?"
"What do you mean?" The others looked at him in confusion, thinking, how else? By running, of course.
Seeing the expressions of the officers, the Colonel realized they hadn't grasped the key issue. He shook his head helplessly and said, "It seems you all don't know much about deserts."
"I'm from Alabasta, so let me explain. Although the Kingdom of Tuthmose isn't as large as my homeland, it's still a medium-sized island."
"Right now, we have no fresh water, no tools to determine direction, and no mounts or vehicles. If we just run into the sea of sand, we'll only end up trapped and dying of thirst."
After the Colonel's explanation, everyone suddenly understood.
Indeed, when they had arrived, it was by flying on a warship through the sky, and even then, it had taken quite some time. Now, the thought of walking back on foot seemed daunting. As they gazed out at the endless expanse of golden desert, they fell silent.
As for that flying warship, who knew where it had been blown by the distant sandstorm? Even if they found it, Rear Admiral Dragon was currently occupied and wouldn't have the time to fly them back.
"What should we do?"
"We can't just sit here and do nothing, can we?"
These elite officers from Marine Headquarters, who were usually brimming with strength and skill, now felt utterly powerless.
"Let's go save people!"
"Let's recall the core objective of our mission—to rescue the hundreds of thousands of slaves underground, not just to slaughter the soldiers here."
"Most of them are either on the battlefield or have already been dealt with by us, so there shouldn't be many guards left inside."
Finally, a rare thoughtful major stepped forward, pointing everyone in a new direction and bringing a glimmer of hope to their eyes.
"Well said, Major Amos!"
"Saving hundreds of thousands of slaves would be a great achievement!"
"But how do we get down there? I remember the passage to the underground is inside the city," another major voiced his doubt.
"Leave it to me!"
At that moment, a burly lieutenant colonel with sharp clawed gloves stepped forward with a smile. He activated his Zoan-type Devil Fruit ability, the Murine-Murine Fruit Mole Form, and transformed into a giant, dark-skinned mole.
"Digging a tunnel? Follow me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, his entire body turned into a massive black drill, burrowing into the sand and creating a large, dark tunnel wide enough for two people to walk side by side.