Seeing the bold words on the file, Sengoku felt a sense of dread, as if a conspiracy were afoot. He quickly grabbed the file, steadied himself, and began to read. As he did, his face grew darker, looking as if he were ready to devour someone.
He wasn't the only one. Kong, holding a copy of the same file, grew more shocked and angered with every line he read.
"Nonsense!" Sengoku suddenly cursed, slamming the file shut. He had only intended to feign anger before, but now he was genuinely furious.
He had quickly grasped the main points of the Warlord System Draft. The document spoke of a plan to select seven great pirates with enough fame and strength, grant them legal authority, and incorporate them into a new organization under the World Government.
This was already outrageous, but what was even worse was that the World Government's plan was for this new Warlord organization to have the same administrative rank as Marine Headquarters and the CP agencies.
In other words, if this plan were implemented, seven great pirates would become equals to him, a Marine Admiral. Who could accept that?
Putting personal feelings aside, this plan was a massive sacrifice of the Marines', CP agencies', and even member nations' interests for the World Government's short-term stability and gain.
The Marines, of course, were the most affected. A pirate organization being legalized was an utter disgrace to the justice they upheld. What was worse was that this new organization was a "brother organization" on the same level as Marine Headquarters?
A pirate-hunting organization becoming a family with pirates was a new low.
The CP agencies were in the same boat. The creation of a Warlord organization with a rank equal to theirs would inevitably infringe on their interests. However, since they were not responsible for direct combat against pirates and did not have the same level of independence as the Marines, their power came from the World Government's grace, not military might, they could only grit their teeth and bear it.
As for the member nations, the words "legalized looting" said it all. If this plan were implemented, the seven great pirates could legally bully the member nations. Today, they could burn down and loot a kingdom's palace; tomorrow, they could kidnap its queen and princess. And it would all be legal. Crying for help would be useless; not even the Marines could help them.
This plan would be a huge violation of the interests of the member nations' nobility, not to mention the common people, who would be treated like livestock to be slaughtered.
This was why, twenty years later, the member nations were so supportive of the Marines' proposal to abolish the Warlord system at the Reverie. Because they were victims, too!
Dressrosa and Alabasta were the most direct victims; Dressrosa had its throne usurped by a Warlord, and Alabasta was plunged into a massive civil war with millions of casualties. Besides them, countless other nations were secretly or openly persecuted by the Warlords.
How could they stand it? When the Marines led the charge, of course they would jump at the chance to get their revenge.
They would overthrow the organization entirely!
When Sengoku spoke up, Kong suppressed his own anger and remained silent. The Gorosei seemed to have expected this reaction and stayed calm, completely unfazed by Sengoku's rudeness.
"What is so absurd about it?" the bald Gorosei asked.
"The World Government has stood for 800 years, and we Marines have dominated the seas for 800 years. When have we ever seen pirates legalized? Isn't this a disgrace to justice? How can we Marines possibly accept this draft?!" Sengoku demanded, without a hint of politeness.
"Don't misunderstand, Sengoku. We are not the ones disgracing justice; you Marines are," the bald Gorosei retorted sharply. "If the Marines had the power to salvage the situation, why would we resort to such a measure?"
Sengoku was at a loss for words. The bald Gorosei was right. If the Marines had enough power to suppress the four seas, wipe out pirates, and maintain stability and peace, why would the World Government need to create a notorious Warlord system?
But the way he saw it, if the World Government hadn't been suppressing the Marines for the past few years, the situation wouldn't have deteriorated to this point!
Due to his position and rank, he couldn't say these things out loud, or it would lead to even more severe consequences. Sengoku felt a deep sense of frustration, unable to refute the argument.
Seeing that Sengoku was speechless, the bald Gorosei's tone softened. "Of course, we know that the only people we can truly trust and rely on are you Marines. Pirates are dishonorable and untrustworthy, so while the draft plan aims to give the Warlords sufficient status, we don't actually trust them. You Marines will also have a certain degree of control over the Warlord organization and can even remove them when necessary..."
"That's not a valid reason!" Sengoku refused without hesitation. Just because they could have some control, they should let this organization exist? That was truly absurd!
The golden-haired Gorosei also chimed in, "Enduring for a moment to secure the future—do you think we want to deal with these vile pirates? It's because the situation is at a breaking point and we need to stabilize it immediately!"
This was also the truth. Why would the Gorosei want to deal with vile pirates? The situation was so bad that they had no choice but to swallow their pride.
The facts proved that while it took more than ten years to fully establish the Warlord organization, the chaotic state caused by pirates was effectively calmed down once the plan was announced.
There were many reasons for this.
For example, pirates who once had no options suddenly had a chance to be legalized, so they were no longer as reckless and were willing to wait and see. Another reason was that the Marines were highly motivated and started a mad campaign to eliminate pirates.
Also, after taking a loss together, the cooperation between the CP agencies and the Marines steadily improved. And the member nations also made many arrangements to deal with the situation.
In any case, there were many factors, but the result was that the wave of the Great Pirate Era was indeed slowed down significantly. And this was exactly what the Gorosei needed and wanted.
As long as they weren't defeated in one fell swoop and could regain their footing, they could quickly and calmly rectify the rotten situation and make deeper plans.
To put it simply, the Warlord System was a plan to buy the World Government some time in exchange for a huge payoff. With this time, even just three to five years, the World Government could adapt to the era. By then, they wouldn't have to be so rushed in everything they did, and they would have more strategic depth.
"It has been decided. Our minds are made up. The Warlord System Draft is inevitable," the Gorosei with the sword said, his face cold. "We gave this to you to find flaws and make up for shortcomings, not for you to object!"
The Gorosei had different personalities and styles. The bald Gorosei liked to reason, the golden-haired one was composed, and the one with the sword was a bit more radical.
Sengoku's eyes flashed with rage at his words. He had served the World Government for so many years and had swallowed so much resentment and frustration, but this time, he was truly exhausted. He was about to explode.
But before he could speak, Kong grabbed Sengoku's hand and firmly pushed him back onto the sofa. He looked at the Gorosei and said, "We understand your intentions, my Lords. We will carefully consider this draft. Please allow us to take the file back with us to review it."
Seeing Kong back down, the Gorosei relaxed. The bald Gorosei smiled. "Good. This is something none of us want to see, but isn't it for the greater good? Kong, when you go back, have a good talk with Sengoku. Don't let him start a pointless argument. We will increase the Marine budget by 15% next year. As for the Commander-in-Chief position we mentioned before, you can look forward to that as well."
This was clearly an attempt to win over Kong, the Fleet Admiral. As long as he agreed, the other problems would be minor.
Kong knew exactly what the Gorosei were doing. He was seething with anger. What they said seemed like an attempt to win him over, but in reality, wasn't it an insult? Is that how little you think of me, Kong?
But Kong managed to suppress his anger and forced a smile. "Yes, we will consider it carefully."
The bald Gorosei nodded in satisfaction. He then looked at Sengoku. "We have no intention of saying more about your defeat. You can handle it yourselves. The weakness in this defeat was intelligence. I have already reprimanded the CP agencies. For the Whitebeard Pirates to appear at St. Poplar without them receiving any news is a severe dereliction of duty. Of course, this isn't to make excuses for you Marines. We will no longer be pursuing Sengoku's fault in this matter."
Sengoku did not look happy at all. His face was still incredibly grim.
The Gorosei then waved their hands, indicating they were finished. "That is our message. We hope you will consider it carefully and provide us with some useful suggestions. The Marines have a lot of work, so we won't keep you any longer."
"Understood," Kong said in a low voice. He then grabbed Sengoku and pulled him out the door.
Once they were in the elevator and had left the headquarters building, Sengoku's expression finally softened slightly. "Thank you very much, Fleet Admiral."
"If I hadn't pulled you back, what nonsense were you planning to say?" Kong said, waving it off as if it were nothing.
"They're taking it too far!" Sengoku said coldly.
"When you're at their mercy, what can you do?" Kong shook his head, sounding helpless. "You must have realized that this entire conversation revolved around this so-called Warlord system. In other words, the World Government... those five have already made up their minds. Anything we say will only worsen the conflict and accomplish nothing."
"So we should just let them do whatever they want?" Sengoku shot back.
"I'm also at a loss and can't think clearly, but I know that if you had started a fight there, it would have been bad for the Marines. What if they got angry and removed you from your Admiral position? What would I have done then? So don't rush. Let's go back, have a meeting, and figure out a plan. Only then can we stand against the World Government!" Kong said in a steady, composed tone.
Sengoku was no hot-headed youth; he understood the reasoning behind this. Despite his anger, he nodded. "You're right."
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