On the Red Line, inside a palace far away from the holy land of Mariejois.
The Five Elder Stars were gathered together, beaming with joy.
"Blackbeard, this is such a great gift to us!"
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn said with a smile.
"Yes, I didn't expect that the son of Pirate King Roger was still alive, and even more unexpected that a pirate would take the initiative to hand him over to us."
Saint Nasujuro was also deeply moved.
In order to find Roger's son, they had spared no effort, expending countless manpower and resources, even executing all the newborn babies on an island, but they still failed to eliminate him.
Later, they found some clues, but the person was nowhere to be found.
"Fire Fist Ace, Portgas D. Ace!"
"Captain of the Second Division of the Whitebeard Pirates. He rejected the invitation to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and he is currently one of the most famous pirates in the world."
"He probably never thought that after rejecting the Warlords, he would be caught by another man seeking to become one of them."
Saint Mars kept repeating Ace's name, unable to suppress the smile on his face.
"It seems that the Seven Warlords are still very useful, at least more useful than the Navy."
Saint Peter said.
"That's true. Blackbeard captured the adult son of the Pirate King, while the Navy couldn't even find a baby."
Saturn nodded in agreement and said proudly, "Another Whitebeard II, I wonder how many vice admirals he can replace!"
"This plan of the Seven Warlords is brilliant!"
The Five Elders applauded and cheered for their brilliant plan.
Blackbeard capturing the Pirate King's son needed no further explanation.
The strength of Whitebeard II should also not be underestimated, as he had greatly strengthened the World Government's forces.
The two Warlords chosen by their will had both proven invaluable.
In an instant, the shadow cast by Caelan was swept away.
The addition of these two people had brought tremendous reinforcement to the World Government, like a powerful shot of adrenaline.
"Regarding the handling of Portgas D. Ace, I think we should…"
Saturn suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku has come to discuss something with you."
Spandine entered with a smile.
What is he here for?
The Five Elders were confused.
There didn't seem to be anything recently that would warrant Sengoku coming here personally.
Even in Dressrosa, they didn't see Kaido obtaining artificial Devil Fruit technology as anything important.
They had better technology, and with heavy funding, Vegapunk had already made breakthroughs in several projects, including Green Blood for Paramecia abilities, Seraphim clones, and most importantly, the Mother Flame.
Caesar's artificial Devil Fruit technology was insignificant compared to these.
Other than that, Sengoku might have come because of Whitebeard II joining the Seven Warlords.
The Five Elders restrained their smiles and said in a deep voice, "Let Sengoku come in."
If it was about the Warlords, they would not concede.
After getting approval, Sengoku strode into the palace.
"Five Elders. Today, more than ten senior naval officers left the Navy and joined the Neo Navy under Caelan's command."
"Among them are three elite vice admirals, five vice admirals from headquarters, and six rear admirals. They are all the backbone of the Navy, and the reason they left is all because of that damn Whitebeard II!"
Sengoku stood in front of the Five Elders, his face full of anger.
When they heard him, the Five Elders' faces darkened and they were extremely shocked.
"Vice Admiral Doberman, you're saying even Doberman has left!?"
Saturn could hardly believe it.
"Because of Whitebeard II, three elite vice admirals, five headquarters vice admirals, and six rear admirals have all joined the Neo Navy under the God Slayer Caelan. Many mid-level officers have also left."
Sengoku repeated firmly.
At this moment, the Five Elders finally realized the seriousness of the situation.
The strength of the defectors was equivalent to two and a half Whitebeard IIs.
Just a moment ago, they were celebrating Whitebeard II strengthening the World Government.
Now, it was clear that reinforcement was meaningless.
The real reinforcement was for Caelan's Neo Navy.
Caelan, who was already difficult to deal with, had just become even more troublesome.
"Sengoku, you are the Fleet Admiral of the Marines. Why didn't you kill those traitors when they tried to leave?"
Saturn shouted angrily.
There was something wrong with this matter, but it was definitely not their fault.
Even if there was a small problem, it was not something Sengoku could question.
It was because Sengoku had failed to manage his subordinates that they had other ideas.
Even if they couldn't stop them from leaving, they should have been executed.
Now that these people had joined Caelan's army, they were nothing but enemies.
"What!?"
Sengoku looked at the Five Elders in disbelief.
He had expected to see regret on their faces, but he had overestimated them.
This was his fault?
His only mistake was not tearing their mouths apart when they proposed this plan.
And now they told him to kill his own marines who wanted to leave?
Even if he could, doing so would only cause more to defect.
Would they keep killing until there wasn't a single marine left?
Sengoku stared at the Five Elders, convinced they were the five biggest fools in the world.
At this point, he no longer wanted to argue with them. They were not worth reasoning with.
"I have no interest in debating this." Sengoku snorted coldly. "I am here to ask you to remove Whitebeard II from the Seven Warlords of the Sea. If you don't, I will resign as Fleet Admiral!"
He no longer wanted to work under these five idiots.
He had finally realized that under their leadership, no matter what his ambitions were, nothing could be achieved.
"Impossible. Whitebeard II will never be removed."
"If those marines run away and Whitebeard II is expelled, won't we lose even more?"
"I may be old, but I still have a very useful brain!"
Saturn rejected Sengoku's demand without hesitation.
Nasujuro and the others also voiced their agreement, making it clear they shared Saturn's opinion.
Sengoku looked at them like they were fools. Did they have Alzheimer's to think this way?
Even if Whitebeard II was removed, those who already left might not return.
But keeping him around would only drive away more and more.
This simple truth was apparently beyond these five idiots.
"No matter what you think, either remove Whitebeard II, or I will resign as Fleet Admiral!"
Sengoku said angrily, too tired to waste more words.
"Who do you think you are threatening?"
"If you won't do it, there are plenty of others who will!"
"Don't take yourself too seriously, Sengoku!"
The Five Elders spoke one after another with disdain.
They had long disliked Sengoku, a Fleet Admiral who constantly opposed them.
This time, losing more than a dozen high-ranking officers made him unfit to continue in the position.
Compared to him, Akainu was far more to their liking.
Determined to eradicate all pirates and respectful toward them, he was the perfect candidate to become the next Fleet Admiral.
"In that case, there's nothing more to say. I will leave immediately."
"I resign as Fleet Admiral!"
Sengoku turned around angrily and prepared to leave.
"Wait. Considering your many years of service as Fleet Admiral, we will allow you a proper retirement."
"In one month, you will officially retire as Fleet Admiral."
Saturn suddenly spoke softly.
Not out of kindness, but because he had another idea.
Although the other Elders did not understand, they did not object.
"Fine, I'll wait one month."
Sengoku glanced back at Saturn, sneered, and left.
He knew exactly what Saturn was thinking. They probably wanted to send him off with a deadly mission.
But that was fine. Perhaps dying in battle was the best end for him.
(To be continued.)
***
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