If you had to say what the World Government is best at, it’s the “cold treatment.”
When faced with an issue that temporarily proves troublesome to handle, they adopt a very simple response.
As long as they don’t do anything about it, the matter is no longer difficult.
Poneglyphs contain dangerous information? No problem, just forbid research into them. As for actively collecting all the Poneglyphs, that’s out of the question.
The Nika Fruit has a habit of evading capture? Then simply ban the name “Nika” from being spread. As long as the outside world knows nothing about it, even if someone eats the Gum-Gum Fruit, hardly anyone would be able to awaken it.
In the short term, the Five Elders truly couldn’t think of a way to target the Fish-Man Island.
It’s very simple for a worldwide alliance to target a country within it. If it were more normal, even if this country weren’t part of the alliance, it would still be influenced to some extent by this massive neighboring organization.
But on this sea, the World Government draws an extremely clear line in all of this. Life may not necessarily be good for affiliated nations, but non-affiliated nations are certainly miserable.
They never had any benefits to begin with, so what sanctions could even be imposed?
Most countries possess no extraordinary military strength. Though in this vast ocean, there are occasionally powerful individuals who surprise the world.
The two Admirals who emerged from the World Military Draft, Issho and Aramaki, both originated from the Four Seas. But wild powerhouses generally only reach about that level.
Nereus, this overpowered anomaly, combined with the deep-sea environment, rendered the World Government’s previous methods completely ineffective.
Since that was the case, they decided to focus on the matter at hand.
The quadrennial Levely was about to convene, yet Mariejois had been left in ruins due to Nereus’s actions. It simply wouldn’t do for the kings from around the world to see Mariejois in such a state.
Thus, the first order received by the Marines stationed at Mariejois was not to pursue pirates, but to assemble all logistics personnel and fully repair the damaged Mariejois.
“What does this order mean?”
“Isn’t it written clearly? All shipwrights and logistics soldiers are to gather, not only from Mariejois, but also from the G1 and G5 branches. The damaged Mariejois must be restored before the Levely begins.
Admiral Kong….no, Fleet Admiral Kong, this is the World Government’s first order to you. Please carry it out properly.”
The CP0 agent responsible for delivering the order spoke in a flat tone. Kong’s formal appointment had not yet been officially announced; it still needed to pass through the World Government’s administrative procedures.
But once the Five Elders made a decision, it was already a settled fact. Thus, this CP0 agent was also tasked with relaying certain related messages.
“And what about Fleet Admiral Salazar? He was our Fleet Admiral!”
“Fleet Admiral Kong, please calm down. I, too, am deeply saddened by Fleet Admiral Salazar’s death. The World Government has also suffered significant losses from this vicious attack.
However, the Levely is about to commence. It cannot be postponed because of this matter. Therefore, the issue of Fleet Admiral Salazar must be temporarily set aside.”
“Fleet Admiral Kong, please mobilize forces as soon as possible and strengthen the defenses of Mariejois. During the Levely, there must not be any further incidents.”
Though he spoke of sorrow, in truth this CP0 agent felt nothing over the death of the Fleet Admiral.
As for what exactly the Five Elders intended, he didn’t know either. What he said to Kong now was nothing more than formal rhetoric.
“I understand. Tomorrow, I’ll go to Mariejois to discuss this matter.”
Salazar had appeared in Mariejois in the first place because the Levely was about to begin, and he was there to coordinate defense matters.
As it happened, he ran into Nereus. If Salazar had ignored the situation like the members of the Knights of God did, nothing would have happened.
After all, Nereus’s primary objective this time had been rescue, not slaughter.
At present, many Marine officers had already been dispatched to protect the kings of various nations. Quite a few pirates took advantage of this period to attack royal ships.
Whether through plunder or kidnapping, a successful strike would yield enormous profits.
As a result, Marine Headquarters was actually rather understaffed at the moment. In terms of top-tier combat power, only Kong remained. Thus, he could not immediately go to Mariejois to question the Five Elders about their stance.
The next day.
After Sengoku completed his escort mission and returned to Marineford, Kong headed to Red Port.
The bodies of the soldiers who had died at Red Port the previous night had already been cleared away. Now, large numbers of troops were gathered beneath the cliff, assisting in the reconstruction of the Bondolas.
Kong could only use Geppo, stepping on the air to fly up.
Overall, however, the answers he received there were rather measured.
“We are currently considering how to handle this matter.”
“However, with the Levely approaching, we must prioritize dealing with it first. Once the Levely concludes, we will naturally arrange for the Marines to take action.”
“The death of a Fleet Admiral will have a significant impact on the Marines. The positions of the three Admirals have been vacant for quite some time, it’s about time to fill them. As for the World Economy News Paper, we will handle it.”
“Handle it” meant paying money. Morgans was not someone who refused payment. He simply chose whose money to accept, then adjusted the facts of the news slightly to maximize public attention.
Back when he was just starting out, he had even used certain pieces of information to extort hush money, only to expose them anyway afterward, earning double the profit.
The Five Elders offered Kong a bit of reassurance. After all, the Marines belonged to the World Government. Kong had long been Salazar’s chosen successor as Fleet Admiral, and the Five Elders were satisfied with this candidate as well.
However, Kong’s improved mood did not last long.
Sengoku had no particular reservations about becoming an Admiral. Since joining the Marines, he had always valued promotion in rank.
Zephyr, at the age of thirty-eight, had even become the youngest Admiral in Marine history.
The problem lay with Garp.
“Garp, what do you mean… you don’t want to be promoted to Admiral?”
“Oh, maybe I didn’t phrase that clearly. Let me say it again. It’s not that I don’t want to, I’m refusing the promotion to Admiral.”
“When the Celestial Dragons are attacked, a Marine Admiral is required to act. I have no interest in protecting those parasites. Do you expect me to reenact what happened in West Blue?”
In terms of authority, Garp, bearing the title of Marine Hero, even as a Vice Admiral, was not far inferior to an Admiral.
An independent warship, command authority, a dedicated adjutant—everything was configured according to Admiral standards. In the eyes of both the Marines and the World Government, he was essentially already one of the next three Admirals.
The only things he lacked were certain permissions, such as initiating a Buster Call.
And yet now, Garp had outright refused promotion.
“Do you realize how great an impact Fleet Admiral Salazar’s death will have on us? This cannot be concealed. The Marines need a sufficiently significant piece of news to dilute the impact of this event!”
“Right, while preventing the Celestial Dragons’ slaves from escaping, he was killed by the pirate who liberated them… What a heroic sacrifice.”
“Dying because of something like this, how exactly are the newspapers even supposed to describe it?”
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