The seemingly formal high-level meeting ended before long. It had only been a temporary meeting to determine the general direction of their next actions.
Besides, there would be many similar meetings in the days ahead. There was no need to rush through everything all at once.
After the meeting ended, Aokiji asked in surprise, "You're actually planning to personally go to Amazon Lily to summon the Pirate Empress?"
Although the Shichibukai was, in name, an organization on equal footing with Marine Headquarters, anyone with eyes could see what they really were. To put it nicely, they were partners of the Government; to put it bluntly, they were the Marines' highly ranked thugs.
Even for a forced summons, sending a Vice Admiral from Marine Headquarters would have been enough.
Longinus did not answer directly. Instead, he said solemnly, "You should know this too. Although the Shichibukai are meant to balance the power of the Marines and the Five Emperors, each of them has their own leanings."
"Among them, Hawk Eyes is close to Red-Haired, Jinbe frequently enters the territory of the Whitebeard Pirates, the Pirate Empress seems to have some connection with Apophis, and Doflamingo has some sort of deal with Kaido. The only one who truly leans toward the Government is Bartholomew Kuma!"
Aokiji nodded. "The Government is actually worried that pushing them too far will drive them completely toward the Five Emperors, which is why it hasn't reacted. But it's precisely this attitude of inaction that has encouraged those pirates' arrogance."
Longinus picked up the thread. "In peacetime, I can choose to ignore those little moves of theirs. But during wartime, they must choose a side!"
Aokiji said thoughtfully, "You're worried that the Pirate Empress will betray us at a critical moment?"
Longinus nodded. "After all, I was the