Settsetse! The Pirate Nemesis

It's not just the entire Western Sea, but the entire world.

Marineford, Naval Headquarters. At the head of the long, oval table in the conference room, Sengoku's face was filled with anger:

"What...what is going on?!"

As he spoke, Sengoku laid the newspapers out on the table.

93 Meeting

Why get so angry? You're not a kid anymore!

Seeing Sengoku's excitement, Garp, still sporting a black beard and holding a bag of senbei, chuckled and teased. His words revealed no respect for Sengoku, the almost predetermined next Fleet Admiral—as fellow Marines of the same generation, Garp's friendship with Sengoku, Tsuru, and others couldn't be measured by rank alone.

Moreover, with the title of naval hero hanging over him, even the Five Elders, let alone the Fleet Admiral, have to consider public opinion when dealing with issues related to Garp.

Sengoku's face darkened with annoyance at Garp's relaxed attitude. He threw the newspaper onto the center of the conference table, then sat down with a sullen expression and said, "You can see for yourselves!"

Upon hearing this, Vice Admiral Tsuru was the first to extend her hand—as one of the few female vice admirals, Vice Admiral Tsuru was the strategist of the Navy Headquarters and was the most skilled at devising plans.

He held the newspaper in his hands and examined it carefully for a moment, a hint of surprise showing in Lieutenant General Tsuru's eyes.

The newspaper headline read: "Defeating the Great Pirate Moria of the New World, Bounty Hunter Supernova Sett Makes a Bold Statement."

"Sett?"

Having heard about Moria's situation, upon seeing those two words, Vice Admiral Tsuru turned his gaze to Zephyr, who stood to the side looking completely unconcerned.

Upon hearing those two familiar words, Zephyr, who had been wondering why he, who had retired behind the scenes to train new recruits for the Navy, had been summoned here, looked up in surprise.

"Sett? What's wrong? Is it related to Sett?"

After teaching Sett how to use Haki, Zephyr returned to Marine Headquarters and tirelessly promoted Sett's talent and strength to the Marine high command. He eagerly hoped they would find a way to recruit Sett into the Marine organization. And now, news of Sett has caused Sengoku such excitement and agitation.

For a moment, Zephyr frowned with a serious expression and said, "Could he be going to become a pirate? Impossible, he made a promise to me. Although that guy has a terrible personality, he's definitely a man who wouldn't break his word!"

"It's not about becoming a pirate."

His eyes quickly scanned the news report, and even Vice Admiral Tsuru, who was usually calm and collected, showed a complicated expression as he said, "Sett believes it's foolish to raise Moria's bounty after he lost to Kaido. He also believes that since Moria survived, Kaido's bounty should be lowered."

“I see…it doesn’t seem like there’s a problem, does it?” Zephyr said. “Don’t we often discuss the standards for increasing bounties?”

As he said this, a hint of excitement even appeared in Zephyr's eyes; "His willingness to offer these opinions might mean he has a good impression of the Navy, and we might be able to take advantage of this..."

"That's not all." Faced with Zephyr's optimism, Vice Admiral Tsuru said with a headache, "He thinks that the Navy who has been forced into this position because of this kind of thing is hopeless and shameful... Never mind, you can see for yourselves."

With sufficient cultural refinement, even when General He simply repeats some of his words, he feels they are somewhat inconsistent with his long-cultivated composure.

Seeing this, Garp grabbed the newspaper and said casually, "The bounty went up because he lost? Have those old men in the Marines lost their minds? ...A defeated enemy's bounty only went up by a ton? If you ask me, it's already a miracle that they didn't lower Kaido's bounty at all, since the enemy got away!"

"And fucking raise the bounty."

"This is the first time I've ever seen a navy that gives pirates so much face. Surrendering at lightning speed, are they from France? Good thing I didn't join, or I wouldn't dare go out to use the restroom!"

"What a load of rubbish, pirates! Forgive them all! If you kill them all, there will be innocent ones; if you kill every other one, half of them will escape!"

"..."

I read it from beginning to end in a leisurely manner. At first, I didn't care much, but later on, just looking at Garp made me unable to resist stuffing senbei into my mouth.

A moment later, seemingly feeling a bit salty in his mouth, he took a big gulp of water. Then, he looked at Zephyr with great interest; "Haha! Zephyr! I thought all your apprentices were like you! I didn't expect them to be so interesting! This is so entertaining!!"

In response, Zephyr rubbed his temples in frustration—as a disciple of a dove general, Sett's remarks were anything but dovely.

He even went so far as to point his finger at the admiral and yell, "The tribes...the navy are all useless!!"

"It is indeed a bit of a headache."

Vice Admiral Tsuru, standing to the side, said with a wry smile, "If such words get out, the Navy's image will likely suffer some criticism..."

That's right, the Navy Headquarters is currently planning to use Sett and Tina as role models for both the public and the government to counter the upcoming wave of pirate expeditions in the Great Pirate Era... and then one of them said something that showed their disapproval of the Navy...

Is there a problem?

Just as Sengoku and the others were still racking their brains, Akainu, a candidate for the Grand Prize who was participating in the meeting, shared his opinion on Sett's remarks.

"I think there's absolutely nothing wrong with what he said!!"

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A new wave of the epidemic has emerged, and I have to help out at home, so I can only update my blog in my spare time...

94. Discussions within the Navy

Unlike in the future, Akainu is still very young now, with a tall and straight figure, and a military sword hanging at his waist. Before obtaining the Magma-Magma Fruit, Akainu relied on physical skills and swordsmanship as his means of combat.

As a candidate for admiral, Akainu's strength is beyond doubt. He had heard of Sett's name before, but he hadn't paid much attention to it—the Marine Headquarters' attention was currently focused on the Grand Line and the New World, and someone like Sett, despite his fame, wouldn't attract much attention before entering the Grand Line.

But this time is different.

Moria, a pirate of immense stature even in the New World, attracted a great deal of attention—despite his explosive temper, Akainu didn't dislike Sett. On the contrary, he felt that Sett's ideas and everything else were exactly to his liking.

“What he said is absolutely correct!” Akainu’s face was somewhat stiff, even icy. Even with Zephyr and the others sitting there, Akainu showed no regard, speaking with a cold expression:

"Pirates should be eradicated! Praying for them to turn over a new leaf is a waste of time. This source of evil must be eliminated at its root, so that everyone realizes that becoming a pirate is a dead end!"

"Wow, that's quite a murderous aura!"

Hearing Akainu's words, Kizaru, also a first-generation member of the elite Marine class, remained calm. "If that's the case, we're in for a lot of trouble. Those pirates who might have surrendered before will probably be after me now."

As he said this, Kizaru's previously relaxed and indifferent expression turned into a look of distress; "Just thinking about a bunch of crazy people who only know how to fight to the death is exhausting..."

Always lazy, Kizaru, while still ruthless when dealing with pirates, is far less cruel than Akainu—at least, he doesn't kill every pirate he sees. More often than not, he incapacitates pirates and then hands them over to the Navy Court for processing. He remains ambiguous between the doves and hawks, avoiding offending either side. He's one of the few admirals in the Navy without any factional affiliation.

Akainu responded coldly, "It has nothing to do with fatigue! It's the Navy's duty! Showing mercy to pirates is worse than even that bounty hunter named Sett!"

"So, you're suggesting that Sett should join the Marines too?" Kizaru wasn't angry at Akainu's coldness—they graduated in the same class, and Kizaru's relationship with Akainu was somewhat similar to that of Sengoku and Garp. Only, Kizaru's personality wasn't as carefree as Garp's or Sengoku's.

Although it looks serious now, everyone knows that during his vice admiral days, Sengoku was second only to Garp in terms of being unconventional. It was Sengoku's indifference during the Ohara incident that caught the attention of the Five Elders, who believed that the Navy led by Sengoku was more suitable for the upcoming Great Pirate Era, and thus he was secretly chosen as the next Fleet Admiral.

It was only after being designated as the Fleet Admiral that Sengoku began to curb his unruly and carefree ways and gradually develop into a strategist.

Among them, Aokiji, also a candidate for general, was at the end with an indifferent expression on his face. He was wearing an eye patch and listened to the debate about Sett's remarks with a carefree expression, giving the impression that he could fall asleep at any moment.

This didn't surprise anyone—in some ways, Aokiji was even more laid-back than Kizaru. Kizaru's philosophy was ambiguous; whether one was a dove or a hawk didn't matter—they were all Marines, and fighting pirates was the only thing that mattered. Akainu's philosophy was complete annihilation, total eradication. Better to kill a hundred innocent people than let one guilty person go free.

Kuzan is much more loosely minded now. He's not only ambiguous about the ideological conflicts within the Navy, but he even sympathizes with the ideological clashes between pirates and the Navy… This is evident in his decision to release Robin without permission. If it had been either Akainu or Kizaru, Robin would have been doomed during the Ohara incident.

The only difference is that Akainu will kill him directly, while Kizaru will arrest him and send him to court for the World Government to decide.

Kuzan's curiosity about Sett stemmed more from his personal interest in Sett than from his beliefs.

If anyone else had praised Sett so highly, Zephyr would have been very happy. But unfortunately, it was Akainu who was praising Sett this time, and Zephyr, sitting to the side, could only feel somewhat helpless.

As one of the few—or rather, only two—people in the Navy who knew Robin's true identity, Zephyr felt a sense of sympathy for Ohara. The other one who knew was Tina.

In this situation, Akainu, as the vice admiral who ordered the warships to bombard the refugee ships, faced considerable criticism, not only from the public but also from within the Navy itself—though the World Government was pleased. No one wanted their weapons to show mercy to the enemy.

And more importantly, Zeff knew Sett's character and personality very well.

At least, Sett is not the ruthless person Akainu imagines him to be—he doesn't care whether the other party is a pirate or a marine, as long as they are to his liking.

95. The Seven Warlords System

"Although they are not pirates, they are more difficult to deal with in some ways... but it may also be an opportunity."

Sitting in his seat, Lieutenant General Tsuru's face was filled with emotion.

Raising his head, he looked at everyone—although Sengoku was highly regarded by the Five Elders after the Ohara incident, even Sengoku could not deny that when it came to devising strategies, especially in internal governance, Vice Admiral Tsuru, with her delicate mind as a woman, was still the more reliable one.

Sure enough, as soon as Tsuru spoke, Akainu, who had previously wanted to voice his opinions, shut his mouth—and not just because of seniority. It's worth noting that even Admiral Zephyr, Akainu's mentor, would not hesitate to refute him due to ideological differences.

Vice Admiral Tsuru, however, has chosen to remain silent—the reason being simple: his ruthless nature has drawn considerable criticism from his colleagues and even the public. Ultimately, it is Tsuru who resolves these controversies.

If it weren't for Vice Admiral Tsuru's mediation, given Akainu's personality, becoming an admiral candidate would have been virtually impossible—the Five Elders might need a sharp steel blade, but they certainly didn't want the blade pointed at them.

Opening her eyes, Tsuru calmly said, "Although Roger has been brought to justice, the trouble is not over. A new wave of seafaring has begun, with Charlotte Linlin's Big O Pirates, Kaido's Beasts Pirates, and Whitebeard... With this new wave of seafaring, their expansion in the New World has surpassed that of the Navy."

"If this continues, it won't be long before the New World becomes a complete paradise for pirates."

Upon hearing Vice Admiral Tsuru's words, Sengoku frowned and then asked, "What instructions do the Five Elders have?"

If Crane knew this information, it meant that the Five Elders must also have known it. Under these special circumstances, it was impossible for the Five Elders to remain silent.

"The Seven Warlords of the Sea." Vice Admiral Tsuru closed his eyes and said in a tone that was somewhat heavy and complicated, "The Five Elders have decided to grant the title of 'Seven Warlords of the Sea' to the greatest pirates who possess catastrophic destructive power and immense fighting strength comparable to that of a nation."

"……What's the meaning?"

Upon hearing this explosive news, not only Sengoku, but even Garp, who had been happily eating senbei on the side, cast a serious glance at it.

“The Five Elders want to divide the pirate groups,” Vice Admiral Tsuru said with a frown. “According to the Five Elders’ plan, when a pirate becomes a ‘Shichibukai,’ his original wanted poster will be lifted, and all his previous crimes will be wiped clean. At the same time, members of the ‘Shichibukai’ will be tacitly approved by the World Government even if they engage in privateering. Even if the Navy discovers it, there will be no problem; they will just have to pay extra tribute.”

"Shit!"

Upon hearing this news, Akainu was the first to lose his composure. Overwhelmed with emotion, he even forgot his respect for Vice Admiral Tsuru and stood up abruptly.

"If that's the case! Then what's the point of having a navy! Allowing pirates to legally plunder, what do they take the navy's dignity for?!"

"..."

In the past, Akainu's roaring in the meeting room would have certainly drawn reprimands from Sengoku and the others. But now, not only Sengoku, but even Zephyr, who had retired to the second line to train new recruits for the Navy, and Garp, who had repeatedly refused promotion to Admiral and was living a carefree life, all wore gloomy faces.

They all came from that turbulent era. Even someone like Garp, who doesn't take his identity as a naval hero to heart, still has a strong love for the navy.

And now, the Five Elders' proposal for the Seven Warlords of the Sea... can be said to have directly touched the bottom line of all the older generation of Marines.

Tsuru didn't say anything about Garp and the others' thoughts—the Five Elders had always regarded the Navy as a steel blade, but now this blade called the Navy seemed a bit too dull to deter the villains.

So, without hesitation, they sharpened new blades... All the Five Elders needed was world domination. On that basis, whether the blade used for domination was from pirates or the navy was irrelevant to them.

Without a doubt, this is something that cannot be said... even if everyone involved knows it, it cannot be said.

"Tsuru, what are your thoughts?" Suddenly, Sengoku looked at Vice Admiral Tsuru again.

What opportunity are you talking about?

Upon hearing Sengoku's words, everyone's attention once again focused on Tsuru. Indeed, although Tsuru had revealed this big news, there was another point: when speaking of Sett, Vice Admiral Tsuru had mentioned that this was an opportunity.

Without beating around the bush, Lieutenant General Tsuru stated directly;

"Sett's remarks and the Shichibukai system, taken individually, would affect the Navy's reputation to some extent. Now that Sett has made these remarks, if the Five Elders immediately implement the Shichibukai system, the combined effect will amplify the negative impact of the system many times over. At that time, the order of the entire sea and the prestige of the World Government will be severely impacted."

"The Shichibukai system will not be made public until the impact of Sett's remarks has completely subsided."