Pirate: I was just slacking off, do you really think I'm bad?

It seemed to be the calm before the great war. People all over the world felt a different change, although most people could not feel the change. They simply felt that there were fewer pirates and the number of marines seemed to have decreased.

Only those in high positions and with far-sighted vision can clearly see the undercurrents: pirates and the navy are frantically pouring into the New World.

With Raleigh's arrival, the Navy now has two admirals and a dozen vice admirals, and thousands of elite naval soldiers have built a solid defensive line.

On the pirate side, although Charlotte Linlin has not yet made a move, Kaido officially declared a state of war, citing the heavy casualties among his subordinates.

Although the Red-Haired Pirates have not yet arrived on the battlefield, according to the Navy's intelligence, they are making every effort to gain the support of those powerful pirates and retired pirates. As for the Revolutionary Army, things are even more mysterious.

After the conference in the Kingdom of Sobel, the dragon took down those corrupt and degenerate revolutionary army leaders at minimal cost.

When Long presented the evidence, they couldn't even fight to the death; they had no choice but to accept the revolutionaries' trial.

For the divisional forces they led, even with the generals sent by the Central Committee holding the dragon's personal letter and evidence of their crimes, they had no excuse to rebel.

Once the dragon had all power in his hands, he began sweeping reforms.

Several Revolutionary Army soldiers from the Divided Slots were directly dispatched by Dragon to the key location between the Four Seas and the Grand Line, completely severing the passage between the Four Seas and the Grand Line.

For the World Government, this was extremely distressing. The shipping lanes were cut off, and the spies they had planted were being exposed one by one. They couldn't accept such a thing.

What worries them even more is that they won't be able to know the Dragon Revolutionary Army's future actions in a timely manner.

In response, the Five Elders began to question Sengoku by phone, and were only satisfied after receiving assurances from Sengoku.

Kuzan was also in a difficult position.

Although he possessed the strength of a general, he was only at the bottom of the general ranks and had not yet reached the peak combat power he would later attain.

Furthermore, because he knew the dragon's true identity, he was always indecisive when taking action, and was unable to break through the dragon's blockade to appear in the Four Seas. The dragon naturally knew Kuzan's thoughts, so he is now frantically expanding his base.

One by one, corrupt noble classes were overthrown, and large numbers of machines appeared in countries that were originally agrarian civilizations.

These machines will replace manual labor, thus significantly liberating the workforce.

The workload that originally required ten people can now be completed by three or two people thanks to the machinery.

The large number of unemployed laborers were absorbed by the revolutionary army and given unified education and training.

Some extremely remote islands were transformed into new types of factories by the revolutionary army, where large quantities of weapons were manufactured.

Although Vegapunk did not choose to stand with Dragon, he still gave Dragon several weapon blueprints out of consideration for their acquaintance.

Even though the weapon blueprints he sent were far inferior to those on the navy's latest equipment, they were still several times better than the fire sticks the revolutionaries had previously used.

In the past few months, the world's major powers have been continuously expanding their capabilities.

The calm that had been maintained between the pirates and the navy has been shattered, but the final battle is yet to come.

Both sides were focused on vying for those crucial islands, and Enel shone brightly in the island battle, earning a promotion to vice admiral.

Mary Geoise, the Holy Land of the Celestial Dragons

The Five Elders once again gathered to discuss countermeasures due to the changing global landscape.

However, it seems that they have now lost control of everything.

Let's all share our thoughts, what should we do?

The short, stout, mustachioed Five Elders spoke first.

Recently, due to Dragon's purge, many World Government spies within the Revolutionary Army have been exposed and eliminated.

Even the Five Elders, who have controlled world power for so long, have encountered a situation that has slipped out of their control for the first time.

I suggest we cancel the operation against the pirates for now. If the New World is no good, we should just let those pirates have it.

"Pirates are brave but reckless, and they abandon all principles for personal gain. They never care about fellow pirates. Handing over the New World to them will only cause them to fight each other."

The five elders with long beards spoke slowly.

The others nodded silently.

Pirates have been their constant adversaries for so many years since they took control of the World Government, and they are very clear about the pirates' thoughts.

There's a saying that your enemy knows you better than you know yourself. So no matter whether the pirates have three emperors or a pirate king, as long as they don't unite as one, the Five Elders will think of them as nothing more than fish on a chopping board.

However, the Dragon Revolutionary Army made them extremely nervous, because the Revolutionary Army's ideology was simply too terrifying for them.

The introduction of machinery into the agricultural kingdom will inevitably bring a large amount of idle labor, and if this labor force does not have a place to be placed, it will cause shocks on a global scale.

Neither the Celestial Dragons nor the World Government like this change because they are beneficiaries of the old system, under which they can get whatever they want without any punishment.

If the ideology of the revolutionary army were adopted, then God would step down from his pedestal, and would a God without a halo still be a God?

The Five Elders, wielding their demon swords, adjusted their glasses and said in a deep voice:

The Navy and the pirates of the New World are bound to clash at this point, and even the World Government, which we control, cannot rashly order the Navy to give up now.

"The hawks in the Navy have grown stronger in recent decades. Let's take this opportunity to weaken them and prevent it from hindering our plans."

Lord Im is about to succeed; we cannot allow him to gain control of an unruly power after his success.

The mere mention of Im seems to restore the Five Elders' confidence and strength.

They all spoke up:

"That's right, we can't let Lord Im think we're useless."

"They're just a bunch of small fry. If the World Government uses its power, all problems can be solved."

Since that's the case, let's discuss how to weaken the naval hawks and force them out of the New World.

Raleigh and Sakazuki hadn't expected this, and neither had Fleet Admiral Sengoku.

They were inexplicably fighting against pirates on the front lines, only to become victims of the World Government.

After the talks ended, the Five Elders immediately called Sengoku and sent Sora out again to monitor his actions.

"Yes, I understand."

Sengoku, his eyes filled with gloom, slammed his fist on the desk as he put down the Den Den Mushi.

Damn it, what do they take the Navy for!

Even Sengoku, who initially disagreed with Sakazuki's strategy, had no choice but to fully support Sakazuki's actions after learning about the movements of the New World pirates.

They even sent Raleigh and a group of lieutenant generals and major generals to the New World.

Now, under the orders of the World Government, the Navy is destined to lose a portion of its personnel.

These individuals could have easily risen to the rank of colonel or even brigadier general.

There are certainly those among the lieutenant generals and major generals who could become generals.

"Ugh."

That night, many people in the Warring States period had more white hair.

At daybreak, Sengoku called the Marineford commander in charge of supplies, instructing them to temporarily withhold the supplies that were in short supply in the New World and send them to Kuzan instead.

The general in charge of supplies was dumbfounded. If it weren't for the Den Den Mushi used by Sengoku people, he would have thought it was a conspiracy by some ability user.

After confirming his identity, he had no right to oppose Sengoku's decision and could only send the weapons and equipment that were originally intended for the New World to Kuzan instead.

A few days later.

"That's strange, why hasn't the supply ship arrived yet?"

Raleigh, holding the list in his hand, pushed open Sakazuki's office door.

Sakazuki, who was simulating the war situation in front of the sand table, looked up and asked curiously:

"What's wrong, Raleigh? You sound a bit off."

The little girl placed the list in her hand in front of Sakazuki and then explained;

We are at full strength here, and we could engage in a duel with the pirates on the other side at any time.

According to the reports and plans we made during our time in Marineford, we should have a steady stream of supplies being transported by ship until we defeat the pirates.

"But the supply ships have been suspended since yesterday. I asked the general in charge of escorting the supplies, and he didn't know why either. And they haven't come today either."

Sakazuki took the list from Raleigh's hand and looked at it carefully before pondering it in his mind.

This is somewhat unusual. Wait a moment, I'll make a call to ask Yin at headquarters.

Sakazuki pulled out a Den Den Mushi from his pocket and dialed the number. It was unclear what was said on the other end, but Sakazuki's expression visibly darkened.

After ending the call with the Den Den Mushi, Sakazuki was furious and slammed his fist on the sand table.

The once incredibly sturdy sand table was shattered into pieces by Sakazuki's powerful punch, even startling Raleigh, who was drinking tea nearby.

"What's wrong, Brother Sakazuki?"

Sakazuki looked at Raleigh's face, then gritted his teeth and said;

I just called the general in charge of supplies, and do you know what they told me?

Fleet Admiral Sengoku personally ordered that all supplies originally intended for the New World be diverted to Kuzan, as he considered Kuzan to be of greater importance.

"What bullshit about Kuzan being more important? They're clearly targeting the two of us! The pirate population is growing, how can we fight a protracted war without supplies?!"

Raleigh was also a little angry, but he felt that something was wrong, so he stopped Sakazuki from calling Sengoku.

"Brother Sakazuki, wait a minute, I'll go make a call and ask."

Raleigh hurriedly left the conference room, summoning Sakazuki's adjutant before he left and giving him instructions:

"I'm going out to make a phone call. If Brother Sakazuki tries to communicate with Marshal Sengoku, you must stop him."

Raleigh then returned to his office, took out an encrypted Den Den Mushi, and secretly dialed the number.

Why are you calling me at this time?

Do you want to die?!

In Mary Geoise, in a lavishly decorated high-level office, a man dressed as an official nervously grips a Den Den Mushi (a type of Den Den Mushi).

"The Navy has been acting strangely, and I need you to investigate whether the World Government has issued any orders to headquarters. That's the first thing."

The middle-aged man in official robes looked troubled, but after hearing Raleigh mention the first thing, he gritted his teeth and said:

"Okay, I agree, but I need time to investigate. Also, remember, the first thing has already been used up."

"As long as you don't cheat me, I will naturally keep my promise."

After saying that, Raleigh hung up the Den Den Mushi.

He sat with his legs crossed, waiting for his intelligence to arrive. His intelligence wasn't just about his own undercover agents; it also included secrets of many important figures who owed him favors or had leverage over them. These secrets were naturally overheard by him and became his trump cards.

Sometimes, seemingly insignificant pieces of information can be a powerful tool for controlling important figures.

Big shots are efficient; in less than ten minutes, he had obtained the information through his own channels, and only one sentence reached Raleigh.

People at the top want to take action against the hawkish navy.

Raleigh was startled. The only people in the entire World Government who could be vaguely referred to as high-ranking officials, and who could also mobilize the Navy, were the Five Elders.

Raleigh stroked his chin, deep in thought.

In other words, the person who tripped us up behind the scenes this time was one of the Five Elders, the highest-ranking officials in the World Government.

But why did they have to choose this time? Raleigh couldn't figure it out.

Perhaps I'll figure out the answer in a while, but for now, knowing the reason doesn't really matter.

use.

If it were just Raleigh himself, he could preserve his strength and retreat.

But Sakazuki is different here; he will definitely do everything he can to withstand the pirates' attack.

Raleigh roughly understood that the Five Elders were targeting Sakazuki and his staunch hawkish supporters.

The plan was simple: it relied on Sakazuki's personality—a ruthless individual who would take a bite out of the pirates even after receiving orders to retreat.

If Sengoku had refused to give him the order to retreat, Sakazuki might very well have died here.

Raleigh hurried back to the conference room and found Sakazuki sulking.

"Brother Sakazuki, I've found out. It's the World Government's top brass who want to take us down."

Raleigh pointed upwards.

Sakazuki's pent-up anger erupted once again.

"Why? Why now of all times?! Damn it! Damn it!!!"

Sakazuki pounded his fist on the broken table, speaking with resentment.

Even if he doesn't achieve a major victory, Sakazuki is confident that he can still gain more territory in the New World.

But now everything has become a bubble.

The World Government not only does not support expanding the Navy's influence in the New World, but also plans to abandon the Navy's current bases to attract pirates to fight each other.

Raleigh patted Sakazuki on the shoulder and said:

"Brother Sakazuki, don't be discouraged, I've already thought of a solution."

Sakazuki's eyes lit up.

Yes, how come I didn't realize that Raleigh had so many plans?

Tell me quickly.

Raleigh cleared his throat and said!

"Since the World Government's intention is for us to withdraw from the New World, then the inevitable outcome will be our withdrawal from the New World."

"But we can give the pirates a big surprise before we leave, like launching a decisive battle against them right now!"