Mariejois, Hall of Authority.
Sengoku Kong, who had just received a call from the Navy, stood up from the ground with an excited expression and looked at the Five Elders in front of him.
"The Navy has won! We have won! The great pirate alliance in the New World has been defeated, and Shiki is dead!"
"What? Is that true?"
The Five Elders' hearts were shaken. They all looked at Kong.
Kong nodded repeatedly. "Of course, it's true! Tsuru told me herself. The war over there has ended, and Sengoku and the others are now dealing with the islands that are falling due to Shiki's death."
As he spoke, his tense mood suddenly relaxed. A somewhat stiff smile appeared on his old face, and he turned and walked away quickly.
He was going to prepare logistical supplies such as medicine, food, and clothing for the Navy, which had just gone through a brutal war.
Looking at Kong's tall back as he walked away, the five old men in the Hall of Authority surprisingly didn't show much of a smile.
On the contrary, some of them frowned slightly.
Saint Saturn, who was holding a long sword, looked at Saint Nasujuro, who was dialing the CP0's number, waiting for the spies he had sent to investigate the war to report back with the real and comprehensive news.
After a while, the full story of the war that had lasted for three days and three nights at G1, as well as the final results, were presented to the Five Elders.
The pirate alliance, with a total of 160,000 members from the four pirate crews led by Shiki, Kaido, Charlotte Linlin, and Wang Zhi, had not been able to take the G1 base, which was defended by only 13,000 men, after fighting for three days and three nights and losing 40,000 men.
The three Admirals at full power, plus Garp and Rorschach, five men, had held off Shiki, Kaido, Charlotte Linlin, Wang Zhi, Katakuri, and King.
Although the rest of the marines suffered heavy casualties, no matter how many pirates tried to charge at the five, they would be crushed like eggs hitting a hammer.
The corpses, which were steamed to a boiling red by volcanic bombs, the ice sculptures frozen in the glacial ground, and the charred remains that were turned into charcoal by electricity, were the fates of the pirates who tried to fight them.
The five of them were like the pillars that stabilized the G1 battlefield.
Even with a legendary great pirate and two New World Emperors leading them, the massive pirate alliance could not break the stalemate.
Under these circumstances, when the main Navy force led by Sengoku and Zephyr arrived, the final outcome of the war was predictable.
Within the pirate alliance, Shiki was killed, and Wang Zhi was killed.
Jack the Drought, one of the three Disasters of the Beasts Pirates, was killed. Who's-Who and Sasaki, two of the Tobiroppo, were killed.
Cracker, one of the four Sweet Commanders of the Big Mom Pirates, was killed. High-ranking officers Charlotte Oven and Charlotte Daifuku were killed.
The entire Flying Pirates and Wang Zhi Pirates were killed, including their captains.
On the Navy side, the casualty report had not yet been finalized, but according to the CP0 intelligence agents, aside from a small number of Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals who were killed, the main high-ranking forces had not suffered any losses.
Looking at this war report, the Five Elders fell into a long period of silence.
After a long time, Saint Nasujuro said in a low voice: "The Navy... when did they get so strong?"
"The military power of almost three Emperor crews was not able to cause them devastating damage. Did I overestimate Shiki, Kaido, and Charlotte Linlin, or did I underestimate the Navy's development over the years?"
The others did not speak. Saint Saturn looked at the world map on the table, then at the island pattern of Marineford, and said in a deep voice: "Actually, this war result is not that difficult to accept."
Seeing the other four looking at him, Saint Saturn continued: "Think about it, although the Navy under Sengoku's leadership has shown a decline in talent over the years, don't forget that the Navy's top-tier force is not just Akainu alone. The reason we subconsciously think that the Navy's development over the years has been surpassed by the increasingly powerful pirate forces is because those lazy bums have influenced our judgment."
"Zephyr retired, Garp is a joker, Kizaru won't move unless you whip him, and Aokiji is either riding his bicycle around or working on his useless SWORD unit. Their laziness has made us subconsciously think that the Navy is on the decline and that only Akainu is holding it together."
"But in reality, the Navy currently has six Admirals, both old and new!"
"Sengoku, Zephyr, Garp, Akainu, Kizaru, and Aokiji."
Saint Saturn, leaning on his cane, also included Garp.
Although Garp's rank was Vice Admiral, his strength and achievements were already more than enough to be promoted to a Navy Admiral.
He had just rejected it several times, so no one had mentioned it again after that.
Since the old bastard would not agree, the previous Navy era only had two Admirals.
"Although the Navy is currently experiencing a talent gap, the older generation hasn't died yet, and Akainu and the others are in their prime. It's not a big deal for them to be able to hold their own against Shiki and the others. As for those one hundred thousand pirates..."
Saint Saturn sneered and did not continue.
The others knew what he meant.
In the eyes of a top-tier expert, numbers are always just a number, without any meaning.
Unless a large group of slightly weaker elites swarm them, a top-tier fighter is still a top-tier fighter. It's pointless to have a hundred thousand, or even a million.
For example, Shiki. Without a strong enough opponent to contend with him, if he dropped a few islands, even an army of ten million would be wiped out.
Although the others were relieved after hearing Saint Saturn's explanation, they couldn't help but feel a sense of apprehension toward the Navy's current strength.
Yes, apprehension.
Although the Navy was their subordinate organization, if this subordinate organization became too powerful and its strength became too prominent, that was not something the Five Elders wanted to see.
What they wanted was an organization that could be completely controlled, one that would not cause any trouble and would fully obey their orders.
But over the years, some of the Navy's Admirals have been led astray by some old-timers and have even started to be picky about their World Government's orders and act in opposition.
Aside from the hawkish marines led by Akainu, who would seriously listen to them, the others would do as little as possible.
A subordinate force that did not listen to orders and was incredibly powerful was definitely not something that any ruler would want to see.
Saint Peter coughed and waved his hand, saying: "There's no need to be too nervous. How old are Sengoku, Zephyr, and Garp? How much of their strength will they have left in a few years? Not everyone can be immortal. Even a monster like Whitebeard has to rely on IV drips. In five years, the Navy's top-tier force will be halved. At that time, what we should be worried about is whether the Navy's overall strength can continue to hold down the powerhouses of the New World."
Saint Nasujuro and the others nodded slightly.
That was true.
Everyone gets old.
When a person gets old, no matter how strong they were in their prime, their physical condition will decline in old age, and their combat power will decrease year by year until they die.
Sengoku, Zephyr, Garp, and Tsuru were all in their sixties and seventies now.
They were already old, and with the hidden injuries they had accumulated from fighting in their youth, their strength would decline significantly in just a few years.
"More than that, I'm more interested in this Rorschach." Saint Saturn suddenly said.
"Indeed." Saint Peter nodded. "This young marine has really made a name for himself this time. Shiki, Wang Zhi, Jack the Drought, and Who's-Who were all killed by him. At the age of fifteen, he has already achieved such a record. He is another human with a talent that can rival Charlotte Linlin and Douglas Bullet. We wanted to buy Charlotte Linlin from Carmel back then, but something went wrong, and we couldn't get her. But now, we have another seed that is no less than her. It's a pity. If we had discovered him before Akainu, we might have had a good divine servant."
"Who's-Who, hmph! Was he that traitor who lost the Gum-Gum Fruit back then? Good riddance! Hmm, after this, Sengoku will probably apply to us to have him become the third Admiral candidate in the Navy. What do you think about that? Should we suppress him or let him be?"
Saint Saturn looked at the others with a questioning look.
"Just give it to him." Saint Nasujuro said without hesitation. "It's just an empty title of Admiral candidate. With his current strength, being a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral is more than enough. Without enough strength, the title of Admiral candidate is just an empty shell. Momousagi and Chaton have been Admiral candidates for how many years now? They're still the same. I think that even when the next Admirals are promoted, they won't have a chance to be promoted. Their talent is decent, but it's still within the human range. It's still far from a monster-level talent. It's not impossible for them to become Admirals, but they'll have to wait another ten years or so, just like Zephyr did back then. But as for this Rorschach, I think he might become the next Admiral of the Navy. Looking at how he deals with pirates, he's a hawk like Akainu, which is exactly what we like."
As he spoke, the others stood up and put away the world map on the table, walking together toward the hall where the Empty Throne was located.
As they walked, Saint Peter said: "Then, let's have the news of our victory spread as soon as possible. Remember to praise this Navy rookie a lot in the newspapers. Hehe, young people need to be praised and given a little something. Oh, right, how about we give him the title of 'Hero of the Navy'? After all, that old bastard Garp is getting old. It's the perfect time for the next hero to appear."
"Hero? Hahaha, no problem. Let him be a 'hero' that everyone loves."
End of Chapter)
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