sea circle calendar 1498, April.
Roger’s dying words plunged the world into the Great Pirate Era, with countless ambitious individuals flocking to the sea.
For a time, the Marine’s pressure on the Grand Line doubled, forcing the Marine to temporarily shift its focus from the New World back to the Grand Line and the Four Seas.
Marineford, Marineford.
The atmosphere in the conference room was so heavy it was almost suffocating.
Kong sat at the head of the table, his face grim as he scanned the Admirals before him.
Sengoku’s fingertips tapped rhythmically on the table, Zephyr’s arms were crossed, his brows tightly furrowed, while Garp was uncharacteristically silent, his gaze fixed on the sea outside the window.
“In just three months,” Kong’s voice was deep and hoarse,
“The number of pirates in the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line has increased tens of times over!
Roger’s dying words completely ignited all the restless ambitious individuals in the world!”
“Alas, not only that.” Sengoku’s glasses reflected a cold light, and he said in a deep voice, “The pirate forces in the New World are also stirring.
Whitebeard, Kaido, Charlotte Linlin… they are taking advantage of our shrinking defense line to expand their territories.
We cannot re-deploy our forces to the New World immediately.”
“The most troublesome thing is…” Zephyr slammed his fist on the table, making the teacups jump.
“Those fledgling new pirates have no idea of the immensity of the world!
For the so-called ‘ONE PIECE’, they even dare to directly attack Marine branches!”
“You’ve worked hard, Zephyr.” Kong looked at Zephyr, nodded, and apologized.
Due to the onset of the Great Pirate Era, the Marine’s pressure doubled, and Sengoku, Garp, Sakazuki, and others needed to be responsible for containing the “Four Emperors” who were about to rise in the New World.
Therefore, Zephyr, who had already retired to train new recruits, was once again recalled to deal with the pirates in the first half of the Grand Line.
“It’s nothing.” Zephyr shook his head, “I can also train new recruits while on missions.”
At this moment, Garp finally spoke, with a rare hint of weariness in his tone: “That bastard Roger… even on his deathbed, he had to cause us trouble.”
“Originally, we all thought this was an opportunity to deter pirates, but who would have thought…” Kong took a deep breath, his gaze turning to Gern, who had been silent.
At this moment, Gern had recovered from his injuries, and black blade eight desolations leaned quietly against the back of the chair, his eyes closed.
“Gern.” Kong said in a deep voice, “What’s your opinion? After all, you personally arrested Roger.”
“The era has changed, Fleet Admiral Kong.” Gern slowly raised his head, a faint smile playing on his lips: “Instead of passively defending, it’s better to take the initiative.”
“Is that so…” Kong frowned, “Then let’s comply with the World Government!”
“Comply with the World Government?” Sengoku frowned: “Meaning?”
“From today onwards, the Marine will fully recognize the ‘Shichibukai’ system established by the World Government.” Kong’s voice was calm but forceful.
“Besides Crocodile and Hazara, CP agents will recruit some powerful pirates.
Let them contain the pirate forces on the Grand Line for the Marine.
Under appropriate circumstances, the Marine can cooperate with them.
At the same time, they also have legal plunder rights!”
The air in the conference room instantly solidified.
“Absurd!” This time Sakazuki was not present at the meeting, so it was Zephyr who stood up.
He glared angrily and reprimanded: “How can the Marine cooperate with pirates?!
And that damn legal plunder, how can such words come out of your mouth?”
“Zephyr.” Kong’s gaze did not waver, “Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.
We need to concentrate our forces to deal with the real threat from the New World.
Don’t forget, now it’s not just Golden Lion who’s crazy for Roger on the high seas.
Bullet, who is called the “Devil’s Descendant,” is also running wild on the high seas because he lost his goal!”
After speaking, Kong and Sengoku exchanged a look, and then Sengoku slowly nodded: “Zephyr, this proposal… is worth considering.”
Seeing this situation, Zephyr snorted coldly but did not object.
Just then, the conference room door was violently pushed open, and an intelligence officer rushed in, his face pale.
“Report! Urgent news from the East Blue!
A red-nosed intern from the Roger Pirates remnants attacked Loguetown!
He tried to destroy the execution platform! But he has been stopped!”
“What?!” Kong slammed the table and stood up.
A strange light flashed in Gern’s eyes, and he murmured, “It has begun indeed…”
Sengoku’s voice was as cold as ice: “An intern dares to do this… then what about the other remnants of the Roger Pirates…?”
“We must suppress them immediately! We cannot let Roger’s ‘will’ continue to spread!”
Taking advantage of this incident, Kong cleverly used it to quickly approve the “Shichibukai” system.
“And this matter with Bullet, we can’t let him continue to cause trouble like this. Considering his current strength, directly launch a Buster Call…”
“Bullet’s matter…” At this moment, Gern slowly stood up, black blade eight desolations was lifted by his single hand, and the bandages on the scabbard fluttered in the wind as he spoke.
“I will handle it!
After all, I’ve been resting for three months; I’m starting to get rusty.”
“Is that so…” Looking at Gern, Kong nodded, “Then I’ll trouble you.”
“Understood, Fleet Admiral Kong.”
…
After leaving the conference room, Garp, who was accompanying Gern, suddenly spoke: “Gern, you predicted all of this, didn’t you?”
Gern did not answer, only looked at the distant horizon and said softly: “Mr. Garp, the tide of the new era cannot be stopped.
All we can do is… pave a new path for the Marine in this tide.”
“You’re playing dumb again, damn it.” Garp was silent for a moment, then grinned: “You kid, you always think further than anyone else.”
At Marineford’s port, the warship’s siren echoed through the sky.
Soldiers stood in neat formation, watching the two legendary Admirals board the ship.
“Depart!” At Gern’s command, the warship slowly left the port, breaking through the waves towards the Grand Line.
The sea wind howled, flapping Gern’s coat of justice.
“Vice Admiral Gern, after this mission is over…” Tesoro rubbed his ring, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
“You should be promoted to Admiral, right?”
“Admiral?” Libo tilted her head, her fluffy ears twitching slightly, “Is it the same rank as Teacher Zephyr?”
Gern’s palm gently rested on Libo’s head, but his gaze remained fixed on the distant horizon.
“Admiral, huh…” A meaningful curve appeared at the corner of his lips.
“I can have it anytime; the question is whether the World Government dares to give it.”
“Vice Admiral Gern…” Tesoro was stunned when he heard Gern’s words.
“Compared to the so-called Admiral…” Gern’s voice suddenly deepened, “What we need more now is power within the Marine.”
His gaze swept over the busy soldiers on the deck.
“After all, at the end of the day, the Marine internal is also a political game.
And right now, only you and Libo are still weak in the faction-ridden Marine.”
Gern was telling the truth; the matter of factions had been delayed a lot due to the timeline, and coupled with his refusal to absorb from within the Marine, there were only Libo and the other two openly at present.
But it was not the same for others.
Currently, Kuzan, Sengoku, and Garp in the Marine are doves, Akainu has also gathered a group of hawks, and Kizaru is undoubtedly a neutral.
This led to various forces secretly vying for power during the period when Kong was about to step down.
They were preparing to seize more influence during the power vacuum.
And at this moment, carrying the unparalleled merit of “arresting the Pirate King,” was the best time to establish and expand his own faction.
Thinking of this, Gern turned to look at Marineford, which was gradually receding, the morning sun casting his shadow long.
“It really is…” He whispered, his words dissipating in the sea breeze: “The bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish!!”