Sengoku didn't say anything. He knew what this meant.
But this was the only way. He was silent for a moment, then said somewhat vaguely, "Don't let me down, Sakazuki."
This sentence was obviously a tacit approval of Sakazuki's plan, but it was also a subtle warning.
Garp looked at the two who started trading as soon as they disagreed. As a veteran, Iron Fist Garp climbed from the bottom to the top of Headquarters, and he also knew the treatment of officers at all levels. He knew how many retired soldiers Sakazuki's extra allowance would attract.
"When do we start?" He looked at the calm young general.
Sakazuki turned to look at Sengoku: "It depends on when the military funds can be allocated. Although the various tasks of the legion are still on paper, with the full cooperation of Headquarters, it will take less than half a year to build the basic structure of the Expeditionary Force."
"The rest is the recruitment of the first batch of Expeditionary Force personnel." Sengoku himself was responsible for supervising finance and had a good idea of this. "When you returned to Headquarters from Fish-Man Island, it happened to be the turn of the year 1503. And you have been recuperating in Marineford for nearly half a year. The military funds will be allocated to you at the beginning of next year, that is, 1504. However,"
The strategist was a little puzzled: "It's no problem to attract them with high allowances, but how do you rekindle their extinguished fighting spirit?"
The legion commander looked into the distance, in the direction of the sea: "I will let them all know what they are."
East Blue, Cocoyasi Village, a woman with a slightly彪悍 hairstyle stared blankly out the window, in the direction of the sea: "I've decided, I'm going back to the troops."
"Hey, hey!? What are you talking about, Bellemere! You decided to retire yourself! What are you going back for?" Genzo, wearing a police cap on his head, looked helplessly at the woman lying on the windowsill with an expression that said, "You must be crazy."
The woman called Bellemere had beautiful burgundy hair, but both sides of her hair were neatly shaved, leaving only a short layer of stubble at the temples. Anyone who had served in the Navy in the East Blue knew that it was a popular hairstyle in the ranks.
She turned her head and looked resolutely at Genzo, the village's resident police officer: "I plan to join the Burning Legion."
The resident police officer, who looked ordinary and was not particularly strong, was stunned. He finally realized that the former delinquent girl in this village seemed to be serious this time: "What are you talking about!? Bellemere! You just barely escaped with your life from the battlefield!"
He didn't know what reason made this retired Navy soldier who had escaped death make such a plan: "Don't be ridiculous! Didn't you just pick up two children? Huh?! Nojiko is only three years old, and Nami is still in her infancy. If you leave, what will happen to them?"
The female Navy soldier who had experienced the flames of war looked a little dazed. Even if she forced herself to forget the scene of that day, it appeared in the depths of her dreams again and again.
The Navy did not always end in victory. The smoke of gunfire was still hovering over the ruins, and dead Navy soldiers were everywhere. They were her comrades.
The bodies of the Navy soldiers were densely scattered along the street. She woke up from a coma, but it was worse than death.
Everyone was dead. Everyone, partners, comrades, were dead. Death was whispering to her. The dying female Navy soldier had planned to die like this, like her comrades, like those Navy colleagues who had fallen in the pool of blood—to die in this battlefield where the entire army had been wiped out.
But there was still someone alive, a purple-haired girl. The child was holding a baby even smaller than her in her arms, walking aimlessly among the rubble.
The seriously injured Bellemere looked at the baby girl who was still in her infancy. She was smiling,
smiling innocently. The baby girl had no idea what had happened.
Bellemere firmly believed that it was fate that brought them together.
Supporting her body, the female Navy soldier wrapped the two children in her coat. She didn't know how she got back, but she only knew one thing: "If she died, there was no way those two innocent children could survive in a scorched town."
It was these two young lives that gave her the will to live, gave her endless motivation.
Bellemere's expression softened. It was a tenderness that even Genzo, her childhood sweetheart, had never seen before: "I will not abandon them, no matter what."
"Then why are you going to that damn legion!" Genzo couldn't help but stomp his feet.
"As you know, there is no allowance for Navy retirement in the East Blue. That meager retirement fee is barely enough to support one person." Bellemere held a notice cut from the newspaper in her right hand.
She tightly grasped that piece of paper in her palm: "The Burning Legion, formed by Marine Headquarters, is recruiting experienced veterans from the Four Seas to re-enlist."
She smiled at the somewhat thin resident police officer: "It has the highest Navy soldier allowance in the world, and it also allows Navy soldiers to bring their families to the Navy quarters."
"You want to?" Genzo's voice trembled.
"Yes, I plan to join the Burning Legion. In this way, the children can live a better life. Their childhood will have children of the same age, and they can also buy the clothes and skirts they like."
"Are you crazy? That legion has such generous benefits, who knows what kind of monsters they have to fight! It looks like a deal where you put your head on your pants! You will die! Bellemere!" Genzo roared, trying to dissuade the woman from her crazy idea.
"But my family can live, and live well. They don't have to live a hard life with me like now. I can't even afford their clothes, so I can only let Nojiko wear my old clothes. And in the future, when Nami grows up, their lives will be even more difficult." Bellemere's tone was firm: "The legion also has a generous pension, and my military age and qualifications just meet the standard."
Time flew by. Sakazuki, who was busy with the construction of the legion in Marineford, was so tired that he was dizzy, but he still remembered to call Lindeman, who was far away in Elbaf in the New World, to ask about the recent situation.
"Fox! Say that again? What did Borsalino just say his legion is called?" Sakazuki asked displeasedly in the phone, questioning his capable subordinate who was currently being used by Kizaru.
Fox's aggrieved voice came from the phone: "It's the middle of 1504! Vice Admiral Sakazuki! The only call you've made to me in half a year is to ask me this!! And didn't Vice Admiral Borsalino just tell you himself?"
"Stop talking nonsense, what's it called!" Sakazuki was not affected at all.
"It's called the Templar Watchers," Lindeman still said the name of the joint army of the Giant Squad and the Navy Science Unit.
Sakazuki nodded with a pleasant face: "Okay, I order you to return to Headquarters immediately. Borsalino can handle the affairs of his subordinates alone."
Why was he the leader of the number one evil force in the universe, while that greasy middle-aged man was carrying the banner of justice! Sakazuki felt a heavy blow in his heart.
Yes! The coat behind Fox almost swung out in the shape of a tail
"Wait," Sakazuki was puzzled as he was about to hang up the phone, "Wasn't Borsalino blocked outside the door by that genius scientist before? How did he organize the Navy Science Unit?"
"Vice Admiral Borsalino said that this was the World Government and he [persuaded] the other party together." Lindeman lowered his voice, meaningfully.
Sakazuki naturally understood what this [persuasion] was, and asked directly: "What crime did you frame Vegapunk for? I need this person to help the Expeditionary Force design the most advanced weapons."
Fox glanced at the strange look in Borsalino's eyes beside him, hesitated for a moment, and handed the Den Den Mushi to the person involved.
"Yo~ Why is Sakazuki so angry? Are you angry with Garp?" Borsalino's strange tone came from the Den Den Mushi, and even the expression on the Den Den Mushi's face instantly changed from squinting and smiling to crooked mouth and slanted eyebrows.
"What the hell is going on?" Sakazuki had to confirm "that incident" from Borsalino's mouth in order to accurately formulate the first arms target of the Expeditionary Force.
Kizaru shrugged: "Dr. Vegapunk and Vinsmoke Judge worked together in the Germa overseas illegal research team. That kid seemed to have discovered the bloodline factor of some [Life Blueprint]."
He smiled strangely: "You know that the World Government has zero tolerance for this kind of thing. I immediately took Vegapunk and his research team away, but Vinsmoke, as an allied country, made the World Government somewhat hesitant to deal with the escaped Judge."
[Judge?] Sakazuki had a grasp in his heart and nodded to the Den Den Mushi: "So the conditions are met."
Borsalino, who knew this old friend best, raised the corner of his mouth, reached out, and hung up the phone. He gloated, "It seems that someone is going to be unlucky."
However, the difficulty of forming the Expeditionary Force still exceeded Sakazuki's expectations.
Although in the past six months, Sakazuki had tried his best to prepare for the various transfers and audits of this large army at Marine Headquarters, so far, only a fragile framework had been built.
Although the main body of this army still continued most of the Navy's military system, as a large legion that could fight independently, the Burning Legion had almost independent military action rights. Therefore, it had a separate leadership and command organization, and was composed of combat and service support troops.
The planned Expeditionary Force with 30,000 troops should be far more powerful than the Buster Call. Even in Sakazuki's previous world, it could be considered a reinforced, fully staffed division.
But in fact, in addition to a command company that was basically in place and a Headquarters company responsible for cartography that had been transferred, the five reconnaissance ships belonging to the vanguard reconnaissance battalion were nowhere to be seen.
The engineer battalion, medical battalion, recruit training camp, and the logistics department included in the legion were all still understaffed.
A total of more than 20,000 people in the fleet, and a heavy coastal artillery battalion under its jurisdiction were still on their way to Marine Headquarters from various places.
Sakazuki couldn't help but envy Borsalino. The Giant Squad and the Science Unit had been established for a long time. Even if they were expanded, they only needed to follow the rules. Borsalino, who had taken advantage of the situation, was like a tenant moving into a fully furnished apartment with a bag.
How could it be like him now? The decoration was zero, and the walls were leaking everywhere.
Under such circumstances, the first batch of veterans that Sakazuki had been looking forward to arrived.
"Onigumo, have the conscription orders to the various branches been issued?" Vice Admiral Sakazuki asked the person in charge of the transfer of active officers.
"Yes, Vice Admiral," Onigumo picked up the summarized data and reported: "Under the condition of minimizing the impact on the operation of each branch, the current number of officers at all levels to be transferred is about 3,000."
"Three thousand..." Although the number of active officers was a little small, the main body of the legion should not have been squeezed out of the branches.
Sakazuki stood up and looked out the window at the people lining up.
Those were the veterans who had just been brought from the East Blue by warships.