Starting as the mastermind behind Naruto

Chapter 556 The Seven Warlords of the Sea Must Be Replaced!

The weather on the high seas suddenly changed.

Everyone was waiting for the war between Whitebeard and the Navy, waiting for the impending world war to break out.

Then, another shocking piece of news suddenly broke: the Red-Haired Pirates had been completely defeated by the Navy... and even Shanks, one of the Four Emperors, had been arrested and imprisoned!

The other two pieces of news are not worth mentioning.

After a long and complicated process, Ben Beckman, the vice-captain of the Red-Haired Pirates, led the remnants of the Red-Haired Pirates to launch a surprise attack on Marineford, which was not guarded by any admirals, when the Red-Haired Pirates were captured. However, they were defeated by Fleet Admiral Sengoku and his forces.

In order to capture the remnants of the Red-Haired Pirates, the three admirals of the Marine Headquarters immediately returned to Marineford. However, Ben Beckman did not leave after his withdrawal. Instead, he boarded a small pirate ship and attacked the Marine warship transporting prisoners again.

It just so happens that the person in charge of escorting the Red-Haired Pirates is none other than Vice Admiral Uehara Naraku, whom they had previously captured. Isn't that a coincidence?

therefore…

Ben Beckman once again won over his old friend, Vice Admiral Uehara Naraku.

It's a bit of a shame that Shanks wasn't on the warship transporting them; he was being held as a serious criminal on Enies Lobby...

All the other pirates who were originally going to be sent to Impel Down were rescued by Ben Beckman. This first mate, who is known as the most cunning, really is elusive...

However, compared to Shanks' arrest and imprisonment, this little matter was insignificant to the Navy, but it caused Fleet Admiral Sengoku to lose face in front of the Five Elders once again...

From then on, the first half of the Grand Line was no longer peaceful.

Given the Red-Haired Pirates' character, they would never let go of the opportunity to rescue their captain. However, because of the CP department's performance during the Enies Lobby incident, the World Government isn't really worried about the Red-Haired Pirates' threat...

even…

The world government also showed a renewed interest.

Who would have thought that in just a few years, the CP department of Enies Lobby would be able to rival the Four Emperors' pirate crews, especially since Kabuto Yakushi was able to recruit a strongman comparable to Shanks!

The only problem is…

According to Kabuto Yakushi, these powerful individuals are not particularly loyal; they only serve the CP department because it brings them benefits.

It doesn't matter.

If someone can be bound by self-interest, then they can be exploited; after all, the World Government and the Navy pay Kakuzu a considerable sum every year…

The City of Seven Waters.

Due to the turmoil at Enies Lobby, the first half of the Grand Line is quite lively, and Water Seven, as one of the islands closest to Enies Lobby, is naturally not so peaceful either...

This place even became a stronghold for pirates.

However, Water Seven did receive two big deals. The Red-Haired Pirates paid Water Seven to build two pirate ships.

One of the ships was for personal use…

The other ship was a gift to the Straw Hat Pirates.

During the Enies Lobby incident, the ship spirit born from the Going Merry rushed to Enies Lobby at the most dangerous moment and saved the Straw Hat Pirates and the Red-Haired Pirates.

But this little boat could no longer withstand the trials and tribulations of the Grand Line…

Therefore, the Straw Hat Pirates obtained the Thousand Sunny in Water 7, while the Red-Haired Pirates simply built the New Red Fox in Water 7.

The New Red Fox will continue its activities in the first half of the Grand Line, seeking an opportunity to rescue their captain, Red-Haired Shanks; the Straw Hat Pirates decide to head to the Sabaody Archipelago to find a man named Rayleigh.

This news…

It was when the Straw Hat Pirates were on Jaya Island that Uehara Naraku told them that if the plan to rescue Ace failed, they should go and find Rayleigh, the vice-captain of the Pirate King.

When the Red-Haired Pirates' vice-captain Ben Beckman heard about this, he was a little scratched his head, as if kidnapping Vice Admiral Uehara Naraku was a mistake.

Seriously…

That guy seems like a good person!

That guy just wasn't very lucky; he got caught twice by the Red-Haired Pirates. I wonder how that vice admiral is doing...

Uehara Naraku's life was certainly not good.

Having been captured by Shanks in the past, Vice Admiral Uehara Naraku returned to Marineford with the admirals and was severely reprimanded by Fleet Admiral Sengoku for an entire afternoon…

This is truly a miscarriage of justice.

What can an ordinary naval vice admiral do when he encounters one of the Four Emperors?

No matter which Marine Vice Admiral in Marineford encounters a Yonko pirate crew, there's not much they can do but surrender.

And they even encountered the Red-Haired Pirates twice in a row!

Uehara Naraku could only say that he was unlucky.

It was indeed bad luck on his part. Even other vice admirals wouldn't have been able to escape the Red-Haired Pirates. Unfortunately, this incident ultimately caused Sengoku to lose face, especially in front of Kabuto Yakushi...

Furthermore, Kabuto Yakushi launched into a barrage of sarcastic remarks about Sengoku, directly suggesting that Uehara Naraku leave the Navy to avoid wasting Vice Admiral Uehara Naraku's life...

Such words...

It's definitely a sarcastic remark.

"Alright, regardless of the circumstances, Lieutenant General Uehara did perform a great service before."

After reprimanding Uehara Naraku, Fleet Admiral Sengoku tapped his desk and said coldly, "At least let him redeem himself in the upcoming war!"

After saying that, Sengoku suddenly gave Uehara Naraku a cold look, and then said in a deep voice, "Forget it, let Vice Admiral Uehara go to Sabaody Archipelago instead..."

At this point, Sengoku turned to look at Kabuto Yakushi and scoffed disdainfully, "Chief Kabuto, didn't you say during our discussion that Sabaody Archipelago can't function without the protection of the Navy for those World Nobles who frequently cause trouble?"

Kabuto Yakushi, that lackey of the Celestial Dragons…

It's truly shameful to associate with them.

The Navy was originally forced to protect the Celestial Dragons, those scum, under orders from the World Government, which made the Navy's attitude towards the Celestial Dragons extremely unfriendly...

However, Kabuto Yakushi, who came from the Navy, has risen to his current position so quickly by currying favor with the Celestial Dragons and the Five Elders through the CP department over the past few years…

Those Celestial Dragons love to hang out in Sabaody Archipelago.

Moreover, there is currently no lieutenant general stationed at Chambord.

Why not just send Uehara Naraku to guard the Sabaody Archipelago, protect the Celestial Dragons who frequently appear there, and also intercept the Supernovas who are about to enter the Sabaody Archipelago?

Stationed in the Sabaody Archipelago…

This was a troublesome matter that no other Marine wanted to get involved in. Those Celestial Dragons were arrogant to everyone and treated the Marines very poorly.

The appearance of the Celestial Dragons always means big trouble for the Navy.

Even so, the Sabaody Archipelago still has to be heavily guarded.

Because Sabaody Archipelago is one of the transit points between the first half and the second half of the Grand Line, many new pirate ships do not know how to enter the world and need to be coated in Sabaody Archipelago before they can dive to Fish-Man Island and enter the New World.

The Navy has been stationed here year-round, not only to arrest some naive rookie pirate crews, but also to protect the Celestial Dragons who may appear in the Sabaody Archipelago at any time.

However, due to the upcoming war against the Whitebeard Pirates, most of the elite troops stationed in the Sabaody Archipelago were transferred back to Marineford.

Admiral Sengoku, adhering to the principle of making the most of waste resources, sent Uehara Naraku to the Sabaody Archipelago to take up a post, essentially making him the babysitter of the Celestial Dragons.

Similarly, it's also to avoid seeing it and getting annoyed...

After all, Uehara Naraku has made quite a few mistakes since becoming a Marine Vice Admiral, and every single one of them has given Sengoku the Buddha a real headache...

Is this Uehara Naraku here to collect a debt?

Why was this guy promoted to lieutenant general in the first place...?

Every day when Sengoku thought of Uehara Naraku, he couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. This old man truly regretted it…

Uehara Naraku is exactly as Yakushi Kabuto said; he has absolutely no ability to become a Vice Admiral in the Marine Headquarters, and he is always the one who drags the Marines down during major incidents!

How embarrassing!

Marineford office.

Fleet Admiral Sengoku waved for Uehara Naraku to leave: "Alright, Lieutenant General Uehara, once you leave this office, report to the Sabaody Archipelago!"

"Yes."

Uehara Naraku slowly clenched his fists, as if somewhat humiliated, and retreated step by step from the Fleet Admiral's office: "I understand, Fleet Admiral."

"..."

After watching Uehara Naraku leave, Kabuto shook his head helplessly, a slight smile creeping onto his lips: "Fleet Admiral, you didn't heed my advice today to let Vice Admiral Naraku leave the Navy. You'll definitely regret it in the future..."

"Kabuto Yakushi, I am the rightful Fleet Admiral!"

Sengoku the Buddha glanced coldly at Kabuto Yakushi, his eyes filled with warning: "As long as I remain as Fleet Admiral, you can never use your CP department's relationship with the World Government to threaten the Navy into becoming your tool..."

"rest assured."

Kabuto adjusted his glasses, chuckled, and continued, "Then, let's continue our discussion about recruiting the Seven Warlords of the Sea!"

"Um…"

Sengoku slowly nodded, pulling out his list: "Of the seven Shichibukai, excluding Boa Hancock of the Kuja Pirates, six have already accepted the summons..."

to be honest…

This number is already quite good.

After all, six of them accepted the conscription without making any demands, and some of the Seven Warlords of the Sea were already on their way to Marineford.

"Ha, Kuja-ya..."

Kabuto chuckled lightly, a cold glint flashing across his mirror-like surface, and casually continued, "Then let's just abolish her position as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea!"

"Isn't this a bit inappropriate at this time?"

Vice Admiral Tsuru frowned and whispered, "If we abolish her position as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea now, won't we be facing another enemy?"

"Anyway, besides her, there are other people who will be crippled!"

Kabuto clasped his hands together and said softly, "No matter what, we must at least remove Bartholomew Kuma from his position as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, because according to CP's intelligence, we have ample evidence to prove that this Warlord is a Revolutionary Army spy..."

"What?"

The Warring States period could not hide the surprise in their eyes.

The next moment, Sengoku suddenly realized something, and his expression turned somewhat grim: "During this time, Bartholomew Kuma has been in contact with Vegapunk, and even with the Navy's latest technological weapon, the PX Pacifista..."

"There's no need to worry about this."

Kabuto slowly continued, "Vegapunk has always been under our control, and there won't be any problems with the Pacifistas..."

However, besides the Whitebeard Pirates, we also face the Revolutionary Army, so there's no need for Bartholomew Kuma to be on the battlefield!

"Little Dou..."

Vice Admiral Tsuru's brow remained furrowed as he said softly, "It's not easy to find a replacement in such a short time. Although there are many Supernovas this year, they are all exceptionally arrogant. It's hard to say whether they would accept the position of Shichibukai, and their strength is also considerably inferior, isn't it?"

"Then let's select some fallen pirates who once aspired to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea..."

Kabuto tapped his fingers and calmly said, "Deidara, captain of the Art Pirates, has a bounty of 190 million Berries. That should be enough, right?"

As Kabuto Yakushi finished speaking, a smile appeared on his lips: "I've dealt with him before. This guy named Deidara wanted Crocodile's position as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea..."

Update! Update!

(End of this chapter)