Chapter 96: The Five Elders Finalize Their Decision for the War at the Top.
Holy Land Mary Geoise.
At the top floor of Pangaea Castle, in the office of the Five Elders, who held the highest authority.
The Five Elders were currently gathered together, discussing certain matters.
"The Marines' overall battle plan has already been submitted. At most one more week, and all the elite forces transferred from various bases will be in position. Additionally, Sengoku has completed further militarization modifications to Marine Headquarters at Marineford," Saint Saturn said softly, leaning on his cane.
"I've also reviewed the plan." Saint Mars nodded, then continued: "At this point, there's no need for further deliberation. Eliminating the Whitebeard Pirates has become imperative. Approve it - have the newspapers spread this news and force the Whitebeard Pirates to come face us in decisive battle!"
"However, regarding the arrangements for that Pirate King's son, Ace, it seems there's still some internal disagreement within the Marines?" Saint Warcury suddenly spoke up, stroking his chin.
"Oh, I know about this matter. That Garp is far too presumptuous! To think he dared harbor Roger's bloodline back then, nearly causing a major disaster. Since it's Roger's cursed bloodline, just execute him!" Saint Nusjuro frowned.
"Initially, Sakazuki and the others made the same suggestion, but Garp firmly opposed it. Considering his influence within the Marines, we need to take his opinion into account. Moreover, Ace was captured and brought back by his own hands," Saint Mars said somewhat helplessly.
The crux of this matter was that Garp had personally captured and brought Ace back - a completely different development from the original story, which gave Garp enormous leverage in this situation.
In the original story, while Garp held significant influence within the Marines, Ace had been "offered up" by Teach. This left Garp with absolutely no standing within Marine leadership, since he had harbored Roger's bloodline and failed to properly guide him, allowing Ace to become a pirate who might have even become Whitebeard's successor.
What face would he have had to speak up then?
But now, having personally captured Ace gave him some room for negotiation.
"Actually, following Garp's suggestions would indeed serve our interests better than executing Ace," Saint Warcury mused.
Garp hadn't suggested pardoning Ace outright - a condition the Five Elders would never accept. Instead, from the beginning, Garp had emphasized Ace's significant value in striking against the pirate faction. If they could absorb this Pirate King's bloodline into the Marines, making him serve the World Government, the impact would indeed be more profitable for the World Government than simply executing him.
This was why the Five Elders were still willing to consider giving Garp some face and opportunity.
"That may be true, but didn't Sengoku also mention that Ace is completely unwilling to join the Marines in exchange for his life?" Saint Nusjuro added.
"Moreover, the most important thing right now is ensuring that the Whitebeard Pirates actually come to Marine Headquarters for the decisive battle. If we don't use Ace as leverage, relying solely on that Marshall D. Teach who appeared out of nowhere might not be sufficient..." Saint Saturn expressed some concern.
The Marines had made extensive war preparations at headquarters and gained the advantage of initiative, but this had a prerequisite - that the Whitebeard Pirates would actually enter this battlefield prepared for them long in advance.
With Ace as leverage, the Five Elders felt certain the Whitebeard Pirates would come, since Ace held high status within the Whitebeard Pirates as a division commander. Whitebeard couldn't possibly abandon him, or his reputation would be completely destroyed.
But with an unknown figure like Teach, they couldn't be certain. Most people on the seas had no idea who Teach was. If Whitebeard truly had no shame and simply declared that Teach wasn't one of his people, many would probably believe it. In that case, even if he didn't come to Marine Headquarters for battle, it wouldn't significantly damage his reputation.
That would leave the Marines looking foolish instead - how embarrassing would that be?
"Regarding this point, Sengoku has made arrangements," Saint Mars said calmly. "For this matter, the Marines prepared two contingency plans. The second involves Sengoku inviting the person who killed Whitebeard Pirates' Fourth Division Commander Thatch to Marine Headquarters as a substitute for Ace as leverage. Previously, the Whitebeard Pirates made a big show across the seas, declaring they would eliminate this person no matter what, though they never found his whereabouts. Since they've made such declarations, if they want to avoid reputational damage, once we spread news that this Bane fellow is at Marine Headquarters, the Whitebeard Pirates will have no choice but to come."
"Sengoku certainly thought this through thoroughly," Saint Saturn mused after a moment.
The Whitebeard Pirates had issued bounties and sent people to hunt him down, making Bane's situation known to everyone, acting as if they would kill him no matter where he was, whether in heaven or earth. This effectively trapped them. If the Marines suddenly announced they had invited Bane to participate in executing Whitebeard Pirates members at Marine Headquarters, could the Whitebeard Pirates not come?
Not coming would be a complete slap in their own faces. Newgate's lifelong reputation would be utterly ruined - an impact no less significant than using Ace for execution.
"Though he didn't say it explicitly, this arrangement also demonstrates his own stance, wanting to help Garp," Saint Warcury said after some thought.
This was indeed true. As Fleet Admiral, Sengoku couldn't openly support Garp or protect Ace - that would be completely inappropriate. But this maneuver was quite clever, ensuring the battle plan's effective operation while buying Garp time and space, and subtly indicating his own position without saying anything directly.
That's right - this arrangement bought Garp time, eliminating the urgency to execute Ace immediately. Ace's matter could be completely postponed until after dealing with the Whitebeard Pirates.
So now, two options lay before the Five Elders.
The first was the plan proposed by the hawk faction led by Admiral Akainu Sakazuki, which included Ace in the execution.
The second was the battle plan targeting the Whitebeard Pirates based on Teach and Bane, championed by Garp with covert support from Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
The Five Elders had to choose one, and only after deciding would they begin pressuring the Whitebeard Pirates through public opinion.
Both plans had strong feasibility - one accommodated the hawk faction's sentiments, the other accommodated Garp and his supporters.
This made the Five Elders' choice difficult. Garp certainly had great influence, but didn't Sakazuki and the others have influence too? After all, he was one of the three Marine Admirals!
However, the Five Elders prioritized interests above all. After careful consideration, they decided to try Garp's suggestion first. After all, this matter had priorities - the fallback was simply executing Ace. For the Five Elders, as long as it didn't interfere with operations against the Whitebeard Pirates, when Ace was executed didn't matter.
They could completely follow Garp's approach first, attempting to re-educate Ace ideologically. If they could convert the Pirate King's son into a World Government agent, the benefits would be greater and align with World Government strategy. If it ultimately failed and Ace remained stubborn, they would have given Garp proper consideration. It wasn't that they were unwilling to accommodate his feelings - his adopted grandson simply wasn't worth saving. What could he say then? Executing Ace afterward would pose no problem.
With this thought, the Five Elders gradually reached consensus, choosing to use Teach and Bane as leverage for this operation's annihilation war against the Whitebeard Pirates!
Having made their decision, they wasted no time, quickly responding to Marine Headquarters with approval and instructions for Sengoku to proceed according to his battle plan.
"Now that we've finished discussing this matter, we should move on to that topic," Saint Warcury said, his expression darkening and tone becoming serious.
As his words fell, the other Five Elders' faces also became unusually grave, as if the matter they were about to discuss was even more important than eliminating the Whitebeard Pirates!
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