Five Elders: I Don't Care About Anything Else, but Bane Must Become an Admiral!
Meanwhile, in the offices of the Five Elders Panger Castle, Fleet Admiral Kong was also sitting and talking with them.
"Your Marines also bears an unshirkable responsibility for this incident..." Saint Figarland said, looking at Fleet Admiral Kong.
However, although his words were accusatory, his tone was not harsh.
The reason is simple: once a political group has been identified as having someone to take the blame after something goes wrong, the follow-up investigation cannot be expanded further to pursue accountability; otherwise, it would be breaking the rules.
Even though the Five Elders are the highest authority in the official government of the world, they still have to follow the rules when facing a Fleet Admiral like Steel Bone.
Since the CP's chief of staff has stepped in to take the blame, this matter, at least publicly, can no longer be attributed to the Marines.
Even if someone says something like "an inescapable responsibility," it's just something they talk about in private.
Fleet Admiral Kong immediately nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, this oversight at Impel Down is a dereliction of duty on our Marines."
His words were quite interesting: we accept the Impel Down situation, but let's forget about the rest.
Regarding the matter in Impel Down, Sengoku had already reached a conclusion with the Five Elders: Magellan would be demoted, so that was the end of it.
"But it's too late to say anything now. What we need to do is to handle this incident properly. First and foremost is the position of Fleet Admiral. This position cannot be left vacant for long, otherwise people outside will think that our mortal realm government has no one left," said Saint Figarland again.
Upon hearing this, Fleet Admiral Kong was immediately delighted. After all, what else could the Five Elders mean by calling him in for this? It was definitely to promote him and give him a raise. Moreover, according to convention, the Fleet Admiral could only be chosen from the CP and the Marines. Even if it weren't Marines turn this time, given the current state of the CP Agency, no one was likely to step forward. Even the Chief of Staff had to take the blame; how could they possibly become Commander-in-Chief?!
It doesn't exist!
Although he was secretly pleased, on the surface, Fleet Admiral Kong still looked extremely sad and said, "I never expected that the Commander-in-Chief would die. This is a great loss to our World Government, and our Marines is also deeply saddened."
Saint Figarland gave Fleet Admiral Kong a meaningful look, thinking to himself, how could your Marines possibly feel grief? Considering Kessler's attitude towards your Marines, the fact that you didn't even set off fireworks to celebrate is already quite restrained, okay?
But how could such a thing be exposed to the face of the enemy? So, Saint Figarland put on a show of comforting him, saying, "Since he is the Fleet Admiral, he is a soldier. It is an honor for a soldier to die on the battlefield. You don't need to be too sad."
Fleet Admiral Kong nodded silently, without saying anything more.
He thought that even if he died, he had still served the government of the mortal realm loyally. If he were still alive, not only would he not receive the glory he deserved, but he, as the Fleet Admiral, would be the one to take the blame for this incident, not just Falkenodel.
Thinking about it that way, Kessler was lucky; at least he preserved his honor.
"We have been considering replacing the Fleet Admiral in the near future. Steel Bone, you are a seasoned Fleet Admiral of our righteous government. In terms of ability, strength, and prestige, you are more than capable of taking on the heavy responsibility of the new Commander-in-Chief. If any unforeseen circumstances arise, you will have to step up at such a critical moment," said Saint Figarland, carefully choosing his words.
At this point, it's not a time for polite refusals. If the Commander-in-Chief were still alive, Steel Bone would definitely be humble, saying that he still has shortcomings and deficiencies compared to the Commander-in-Chief, and would decline the offer directly.
But now that the Commander-in-Chief has ascended to heaven and his body can't be found—he's been evaporated by Ortolan —what's the point of being modest? This is what the Five Elders call a 'critical moment.' He's being 'appointed in a time of crisis,' not to show humility, but to demonstrate his responsibility!
Therefore, Fleet Admiral Kong nodded solemnly and earnestly, saying, "Yes, I will take over the affairs of the Marines Department as soon as possible and strive to fulfill my due responsibilities!"
"Yes, we are relieved that you have such a sense of responsibility." Saint Figarland nodded in satisfaction, then said, "But your promotion is a matter of great importance to the Marines. If you move, someone will have to take over as Fleet Admiral. Currently, the only one in the Marines who is qualified and capable of serving as Fleet Admiral is Sengoku. If he moves, the position of Admiral will be completely vacant. You haven't filled the Three Admirals before, and we haven't urged you to do so. But with this reshuffle, the problems left by the previous generation must be resolved. Do you have any suitable candidates?"
Judging from the Five Elders' words, it was quite clear that the promotion of Sengoku to Admiral was a done Fleet Admiral. No one in the group was more suitable than him. The only one qualified to compete with him was Zephyr, but the Five Elders would never let Zephyr become Fleet Admiral because of some unsavory things that had happened in the past.
Secondly, Zephyr himself had no intention of becoming Fleet Admiral. He had already resigned as Admiral, so what was the point of Fleet Admiral?
Therefore, as long as Fleet Admiral Kong makes a move, Sengoku's rise to power is imminent, with no possibility of any unexpected events, unless he, like the Supreme Commander, suddenly dies!
Otherwise, even if the Five Elders wanted to parachute someone into the Marines as Fleet Admiral, it would be impossible to succeed. The Marines is a closed military system. Without sufficient prestige and qualifications, who would recognize you as Fleet Admiral?
Therefore, what needs to be discussed is not the Fleet Admiral's business, but the business of the Three Admirals!
According to past practice, the Five Elders should not interfere in the selection of Marine Admiral. This is an internal matter of the Marines and should be the prerogative of the Fleet Admiral. The Fleet Admiral selects the Admiral under his command because Fleet Admiral needs to work closely with Admiral. The Admiral are subordinates of the Fleet Admiral and are his right-hand men. How can the Fleet Admiral feel comfortable if others interfere in his work?
According to the thinking of the World Government, they do not need to grasp the power to appoint and dismiss Admiral. They only need to hold the position of Fleet Admiral. As long as the Fleet Admiral who is appointed meets their expectations, that is enough. The Fleet Admiral are all arranged by them. How can the Admiral rebel?
However, since the topic has already come to this point, and it was indeed somewhat abrupt— the Fleet Admiral has suddenly passed away, and the entire Marines is about to receive promotions and salary increases—it is only right that the Five Elders inquire about this special case.
Hearing the Five Elders' question, Fleet Admiral Kong replied, "To be honest, currently, among our Marines personnel, I believe there are four candidates suitable for promotion to the rank of Vice Admiral Admiral. The first is Vice Admiral Sakazuki, currently stationed at G-1; the second is Vice Admiral Vice Admiral Borsalino, commander of the naval Science Unit; the third is Vice Admiral Kuzan, stationed at the headquarters; and..."
"Is it Vice Admiral Bane, the G-5 base commander who killed Shiki last night?" Saint Figarland interjected.
"That's right." Fleet Admiral Kong nodded in agreement. "These four are all capable of holding the position of Admiral, possessing sufficient strength, prestige, and ability."
"And what about their personal wishes?" Saint Figarland asked again.
"Vice Admiral Sakazuki and Vice Admiral Bane are very keen on this. Both of them have mentioned in public on many occasions that they are striving for the position of Admiral. Therefore, their intentions are certain, and they will accept the transfer order immediately. However, the intentions of Vice Admiral Kuzan and Borsalino are not so clear... Borsalino, in particular, can be said to... have almost no such thoughts." At this point, Fleet Admiral Kong shook his head helplessly.
"Hehehe..." Saint Saturn, who hadn't spoken a word, laughed upon hearing this, and said with a slightly helpless tone, "That Borsalino guy is indeed a lazy person."
As Scientific Defense God, Saint Saturn has deep ties with the Marines's Science Unit. In some ways, Borsalino's connections are more valuable than those of other Marines officers. Due to the special nature of the Science Unit, he often meets with Saint Saturn, one of the Five Elders, and the two get along quite well. Compared to Satan Saint, how many other Vice Admiral Marines in the Navy have the opportunity to meet the Five Elders?
Ortolan had never met the Five Elders before... Of course, this was also related to himself. Every time he passed through Mary Geoise, he would just slip away and never linger there. In fact, the Five Elders really wanted to communicate with this loyal and righteous man.
However, under normal circumstances, Vice Admiral- level Marines is not qualified to meet with the Five Elders through normal channels, and the Five Elders are unlikely to invite Ortolan with a long face, so they have never had any contact.
After a moment's thought, Saint Figarland said, "Have Sengoku go back and contact the four of them to inquire. If Borsalino really has no such consideration, then arrange for the other three to be promoted to Admiral."
After a slight pause, Saint Figarland added, "If Borsalino is interested, while you consider your own candidates for Admiral, we also have some replacements to make..."
"Please give your orders." Fleet Admiral Kong immediately responded.
"In this incident, Vice Admiral Bane deserves the most credit, and his special status allows him to play a role in our government and your Marines that surpasses that of any other general. Therefore, his position Admiral must be guaranteed no matter what!" Saint Figarland said in a deep voice.
"Yes, no problem!" Fleet Admiral Kong agreed without hesitation.
He had always thought highly of Ortolan, so even if the Five Elders hadn't spoken up, Steel Bone was determined to push Ortolan to the top.
Not to mention, there's also the soon-to-be-appointed Fleet Admiral Sengoku, and Ortolan is his prized possession. How could he not push Ortolan?