Chapter 209: Influencing the World Without Even Being There
In the central hub of the World Government, inside the Gorosei’s room in Mariejois...
Bang!
The Gorosei with the birthmark on his forehead and large white mustache angrily smashed a priceless teacup on the floor, scaring the officials standing in front of the five men so much that he almost peed his pants.
In the room, besides the Gorosei, there was also Fleet Admiral Kong, and two civilian officials who had come with him to report the situation. The two civilian officials were so scared by the Gorosei’s rage that their legs turned to jelly, while Kong stood with his arms crossed, saying nothing, as if everything had nothing to do with him.
"How long has it been, do you know how much time you Marines have wasted, Kong!" The birthmark Gorosei said angrily, "It’s been almost a month, almost a whole month, and you still haven’t found Alucard!"
Alucard was now the head of the Three Monsters, the one with the highest bounty among them, and the pirate the Government most wanted to kill. He had made the Government lose face completely. If they didn’t kill him, the Government’s reputation would be ruined.
But face was secondary; what was more important was that this bastard had killed two of the Government’s core powerhouses. If they didn’t tear him to shreds, the Gorosei wouldn’t be able to swallow this humiliation.
"Didn’t the CP organizations fail to find him as well? The Marines’ investigative capabilities have never been as good as the CP’s. Isn’t this the Government’s problem?" Kong replied nonchalantly, which only angered the Gorosei even more. "Watch your tone, Kong!"
"Let’s put the Alucard matter aside for now," the Gorosei with the sword said. "Because of Shiki and Alucard, the Great Pirate Era has reached an unprecedented height. We must find a way to suppress it."
"But the Marines suffered too many losses in the battle with Shiki, so we can’t weather this storm alone," the curly-haired Gorosei interjected. "We, the Gorosei, have discussed and decided on a plan. Take a good look at it, Kong."
With that, a Government agent standing next to the Gorosei came over and handed a document to Kong. The cover of the document had a few large words written on it: "Recruitment Plan for the Warlords of the Sea."
Kong carefully opened the document, but the more he read, the more the veins on his forehead popped out. He finally suppressed his anger and said to the Gorosei, "Are you kidding me? Using pirates to suppress pirates? Do you know what the consequences of that will be?"
"This is not a joke. This is a solution we have decided on after careful consideration," the long-haired Gorosei said. "There are many rampant pirates these days, but the Marines have suffered too much damage. It will take at least three to five years to recover, and this happens to be the time when pirates are at their most rampant. Do you think you Marines alone can quell this tide?"
Kong’s eyebrows twitched violently.
Using pirates to maintain peace? Wouldn’t that just show how incompetent the Marines were?
However, the words of the long-haired, white-haired Gorosei left Kong speechless. The losses from the battle with Shiki were too great, and because of Shiki’s final words, the Great Pirate Era had reached its second climax.
No matter how much Kong didn’t want to admit it, the current Marines couldn’t hold back the continuous stream of pirates in the Grand Line.
"I have nothing to say. The report is over." Kong didn’t want to voice his opinion on the Warlord of the Sea plan, but there was one more thing he needed to address. Kong changed the topic and said angrily, "Is it true that a Celestial Dragon sent a special envoy to Fish-Man Island saying that the World Nobles were willing to let the Fish-Man race move to the surface? And then the ruler of Fish-Man Island, Neptune, sent a team as special envoys to the Government to communicate, but they were ambushed and detained by the Celestial Dragon’s subordinates?"
The blond-haired Gorosei recalled the incident. It was done by the newly appointed head of one of the Celestial Dragon families, "Saint Mjosgard." He was a guy who loved collecting fish-men and mermaids. This time, his method of luring the fish with bait was indeed brilliant, regardless of the result or reason.
"So what are you saying, Kong? Do you want us to get the people back? Or are you... seeking justice for Fish-Man Island?" The curly-haired Gorosei didn’t give a direct answer. Instead, he pushed the question back.
"Do you know the serious consequences of this incident?" Kong gritted his teeth. "When I sent someone to Fish-Man Island to explain the situation to Neptune, I found that the Whitebeard Pirates’ flag was hoisted on the island. That is to say, the entrance to the New World has now become a pirate’s territory..."
"Did Neptune and Whitebeard collude?" The Gorosei with the sword narrowed his eyes and said after a while, "Never mind. He’s just trying to protect his country. It’s nothing."
"I’m just pointing out the seriousness of this matter and asking you to curb the behavior of the Celestial Dragons. This time, they went too far. Do you know what kind of impact this will have on the reputation of the Government and the Marines if it gets out?" Kong was truly furious. In the past, he had turned a blind eye to the Celestial Dragons’ brutal actions, but this time they had gone too far.
After he finished speaking, Kong left without looking back, and the two civilian officials quickly followed him.
After Kong left in a huff, the Gorosei in the room resumed their discussion. The curly-haired Gorosei said, "I remember that although Mjosgard was the mastermind, there were other Celestial Dragons involved in this, right?"
The birthmark Gorosei nodded. "There are quite a few Celestial Dragons who like fish-man slaves. At least three Celestial Dragon families were involved in this operation."
"Who came up with this idea? Ordinary Celestial Dragons shouldn’t have been able to come up with such an efficient method..." The blond-haired Gorosei frowned.
In the end, the long-haired Gorosei spoke. "Forget it. Fish-Man Island won’t cause any major problems anyway. The main focus now should be on the Warlord of the Sea plan."
"That’s true."
"Exactly."
....
At the same time, in the room of the Celestial Dragon Saint Aptheim...
After hearing from a subordinate about how Saint Mjosgard led three Celestial Dragon families in a conspiracy to capture fish-men, and how King Neptune of Fish-Man Island and Whitebeard had a celebratory drink, Alucard sneered and muttered to himself, "A bunch of idiots."
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