Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 151 Admiral, it's a sure thing!

After praising Bane a few more times, Satan Saint was not the kind of leader who only made empty promises.

He quickly changed his tone, saying, "I've already seen your strength in the live stream. Although there's still some lack, you're certainly brave and have enough potential. I believe you'll soon be able to further transform that potential into your actual strength. I won't elaborate on that. Since Sengoku is willing to recommend you as a candidate for general, we will also support you. Not only will we support you as a candidate, but once Sakazuki becomes the new marshal, we're also willing to let you take the vacant general's position!"

It is undeniable that Bane does not yet possess the top-tier strength to become a Marine Admiral.

But Saint Satan, or rather, the Five Elders, were willing to push him to the position.

Because, in the eyes of the Five Elders, Bane's slight lack of strength and his lack of seniority are actually his real advantages.

Sakazuki is a general now, but once he becomes a marshal, the situation will certainly change over time, and their current relationship with Sakazuki will inevitably change as a result.

To reiterate, in times like these, it's necessary to influence the admirals to indirectly restrain the new Fleet Admiral, Sakazuki.

According to the Five Elders' current plans, they certainly did not expect that Kuzan would actually run away with the bucket, so in their predictions, only one admiral position would be vacant.

This introduces many considerations.

There's not much to worry about Borsalino. He might not explicitly side with Mary Geoise, but he's relatively obedient. Kuzan might have some issues with Sakazuki, but he's even less likely to be loyal to the Five Elders. Otherwise, the Five Elders wouldn't be so insistent on putting Sakazuki in power.

So this last admiral is quite interesting. Bane is relatively weak, and his qualifications and experience are practically nonexistent. Currently, he is only able to quickly gain a foothold in the Navy because he has Zephyr backing him up. But how old is Zephyr?

Satan Saint knew his physical condition all too well; he could lie down anytime he wanted.

Therefore, the Five Elders believed that Bane was a very easy character to control. He was relatively weak, lacked experience and seniority. After they forcibly pushed him into the position of Admiral, what other path could he take besides offering his loyalty to the five of them?

Currently, there is none.

Especially since he switched sides, jumping from the Sengoku faction to theirs, he will offend the high-ranking naval officers of the Sengoku faction. If he wants to continue in the future, he will have to cling to their coattails.

Therefore, this is the main reason why Satan Saint chose Bane at this time and is prepared to do everything he can to push Bane to the position of Admiral!

He doesn't care whether Bane's current strength is enough or not. Anyway, Sengoku will recommend him for the position of general candidate. Since you recommended him, it means that you recognize that he is qualified. So if any problems arise later, Sengoku will be the one to take the blame.

On the surface, it seems that Satan Saint simply believed Sengoku's judgment. If problems arise in the future, they can't be blamed, right?

Moreover, this does not affect the Navy's combat power; it's just a matter of position. Does the Navy gain any combat power out of thin air if Bane doesn't become the Admiral? Or does the Navy lose any combat power out of thin air if Bane becomes the Admiral?

They don't exist; it's just that those who are more qualified and capable haven't been able to take the position. But they are still in the Navy and don't affect the overall strength.

This is the perspective from which Saint Satan, the Five Elders, and other high-ranking political beings consider matters.

"Such a good thing?" Bane was also surprised.

At first, he thought the Five Elders were just there to make empty promises and try to use him for something. But now it seems they want to win him over to help Sakazuki rise to power while weakening the power of Fleet Admiral Sengoku.

Unexpectedly, he was able to gain the position of a naval admiral as a result.

Basically, it can be said that since Satan Saint has said this, as long as Bane doesn't mess things up too much, the matter of becoming the new Admiral is practically a sure thing for him.

"Yes, I guarantee I will complete the mission and will not let you down!" Bane said excitedly on the spot.

Satan nodded slightly in satisfaction.

In reality, the reason why the Five Elders made this decision was simply a continuation of a game of strategy with Fleet Admiral Sengoku.

A few days ago, after discussing many things with Kuzan, Sengoku soon took the initiative to submit a report on global conscription to Mary Geoise. This report directly disrupted the Five Elders' original plans.

Their initial intention was to launch a massive recruitment drive, thoroughly infiltrating the mid- to high-ranking officers of the navy, thereby further strengthening Mary Geoise's overall control over the navy.

As for what kind of damage this conscription will bring to the Navy, the Five Elders don't really care. In their view, there may be growing pains, but as time goes by, the Navy's massive system will eventually smooth out and absorb these growing pains.

What they need to do is to maximize their control during this period; nothing else is within their consideration.

However, Sengoku's attitude made it difficult for them to take action. After all, he was reasonable and well-founded. His plan took into account all aspects and listed a large number of current naval conditions as references, thus blocking all the reasons and excuses that the Five Elders had initially intended to use!

After several discussions, the Five Elders had to admit that there were no other options to choose from except to risk completely destroying Fleet Admiral Sengoku's prestige, adopting a stance of turning against him, and taking a hard line to force the Navy to launch a global conscription, which could cause great turmoil.

In the end, the Five Elders had no choice but to reluctantly accept Sengoku's proposal, though they haven't officially approved it yet; they're just going to put on a show and let things cool down a bit more.

As a result, their dissatisfaction with Sengoku quickly reached its peak. Even if Sengoku himself wanted to continue working, let alone retire, the Five Elders would not allow it.

Therefore, they paid even more attention to the selection of a new marshal, and they would never allow Kuzan, who was on the side of Sengoku, to take the position.

Meanwhile, the Five Elders began plotting revenge against Sengoku for his actions.

In Sengoku's plan, Bane and his group were presented as an important asset to supplement the navy's mid-to-high-level combat power, which was exactly what the Five Elders wanted.

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

You, Sengoku, are using this as a reason, a bargaining chip, an excuse to obstruct our original plan. Fine, we'll just cut off your supply lines and poach all the people you value, like Bane, to bring them under our Mary Geoise influence. You'll submit the plan, and we'll approve it without hesitation, but the result will be completely different from what you expected. It will be quite pleasant to see you suffer in silence.

Therefore, Bane's current situation is precisely due to the power struggle within the upper echelons of the world's governments.

In this game, he seemed to have become the biggest beneficiary.

But then I thought, if he hadn't demonstrated enough value, these opportunities wouldn't have fallen into his lap. It just goes to show that opportunity favors the prepared mind.

Every drink and every bite is ordained by fate.

Whether it was the Warring States period or the Five Elders, they all thought they were on a higher level and were all thinking about bringing Bane and others into their own factions and camps.

But they all made the same mistake: arrogance.

It was as if none of them had considered the possibility that Bane might be a faction or group of his own.

"That's true, but even we need a proper reason. So before that, you need to perform better, at least give us a reasonable opportunity, understand?" Satan Saint patted Bane on the shoulder earnestly.

Bane nodded immediately and said, "Understood. To be honest, I am plotting to hunt down Shiki the Golden Lion."

"Shiki?" Satan's eyes showed a hint of surprise, but he quickly concealed it and didn't ask any further questions. He simply nodded slightly and said in approval, "Very good. Shiki certainly has the ability to deliver. Do a good job."

He didn't care about Bane's plans or anything like that; it didn't matter, and there was no need to ask further. As long as Bane could write a satisfactory answer sheet, that was enough.

(End of this chapter)