The Five Elders' Great Purge of Marine Headquarters!
Saint Nashuro believes that the North Blue is no longer trustworthy and has completely defected to the North Blue!
"We must immediately send people to North Blue to investigate and see what's going on North Blue!" Saint M. Jaygarcia said quickly.
While it's terrible that Ortolan possesses the New World alone, it's not entirely unacceptable to the New World's ruling government... After all, they haven't had any effective control over the New World in the past hundred years.
Even if Ortolan occupies the New World, it's still possible to negotiate terms with them; it's a good opportunity to have a proper discussion.
However, if Ortolan were to seize the North Blue while possessing the New World, there would be no room for negotiation. The World Government would never allow such a vast territory as the Four Seas to fall into the hands of others.
Losing the North Blue is equivalent to losing a quarter of the foundation of the world's government. Who can bear that?
In particular, nowadays it's not just North Blue that has problems.
The East Blue has been quite turbulent these past two years, but now, with the destruction of the Revolutionary Army's Eastern Army in the East Blue, it has returned to the strong rule of the World Government, and can be said to be the cornerstone of the World Government.
The West Blue is alright. Mafia is rampant, West Blue there's no shortage of violent elements. The people are known for their fierce nature. But in the eyes of the ruling government, the powerful Mafia and nobles are all the same. As long as you can maintain order, uphold the rule of the ruling government, and support our policies, does it matter whether you're a member of the Mafia or a noble?
Therefore, the West Blue has remained relatively stable to this day, without any major problems.
The South Blue is in a difficult position. South Blue is the sea area where the Revolutionary Army's ideology and influence are most rampant. In the past ten years or so, there have been riots every year, and countries have been overthrown every year. The world government has to send large armies to suppress them every year.
Originally, the South Blue alone wouldn't have put too much pressure on the government of the world, but if the North Blue were to disappear as well, wouldn't that mean that the foundation of the four major sea areas would be halved?
Therefore, the World Government will not allow Ortolan to occupy the North Blue Sea; there is no room for negotiation.
From a strategic perspective, if Ortolan were to occupy the New World, it would be nothing more than a skeleton in a tomb to the World Government. As long as Mary Geoise is not overthrown in one fell swoop, Ortolan would not be able to outlast the World Government in terms of resources.
But with a massive base and support like the North Blue, things are completely different. In particular, the Five Elders are well aware that the World Government has too many internal problems and its people are restless. In comparison, the Ortolan New World Marines Group is a rising sun, young and energetic. The two are completely incomparable in terms of their internal nature.
Soon, Saint Nashuro started rummaging through the office filing cabinets again.
Before long, he found a thick file in the filing cabinet, and without saying a word, he immediately began to carefully flip through it, his brows furrowed.
After a long silence, he muttered a curse in a low voice, "Damn it..."
Saint Saturn asked, "What have you discovered over there?"
"In the past decade, the number of ships traveling through Mary Geoise to trade in the North Blue has not only failed to increase, but has actually shown a downward trend. This situation is completely inconsistent with the economic development of the North Blue. I should have noticed this problem long ago... but I have been neglecting it!" Saint Nashuro gritted teeth.
"What do you mean?" Saint Peter asked, somewhat confused.
"What I mean is... the vast majority of merchant groups in the North Blue now have access to new channels that allow them to bypass Mary Geoise and enter the New World. In other words, we cannot curb the economic development of Ortolan by closing the shipping route between the North Blue and Mary Geoise. If nothing unexpected happens, this channel..." Saint Nashuro said, pointing his finger at the nautical chart spread out on the table.
The place where his finger landed was the Calm Belt between the North Blue and the New World!
"It's in the Calm Belt! It's possible that Ortolan has already fully opened up a safe shipping route between the Calm Belt and the North Blue in the New World, and even... he's already started developing the Calm Belt. Considering his patient and reserved nature and behavior, I'm pretty sure he's still hiding some big secrets and power in the Calm Belt!" Saint Nashuro said in an agitated tone.
"You mean, his food industry, which can support more than 100,000 Marines, and his mysterious shipbuilding base, might be located in the Calm Belt?" Saint Figarland asked, a look of realization dawning on his eyes.
Just as the Five Elders were analyzing the situation on Ortolan's side, there was a gentle knock on the door of the Chamber of Power.
Without looking up, Saint Figarland said, "Come in."
A moment later, the head of the CP Agency walked in with a document in his hand and said, "My lords, the reply from the New World has arrived."
"Whose?" Saint Figarland looked up at the chief and asked.
"It was sent by Stussy. It's a reply from Admiral Bane. The details are highly classified, and I don't have the authority to grant permission..." the CP Director said.
He was also puzzled. Although Stussy was the queen of Pleasure District, from the perspective of the CP system, she was indeed his subordinate. How come the tasks she was assigned were of such a high level that he did not even have permission to see them?
Upon hearing the CP Director's reply, a look of anticipation appeared in Saint Figarland's eyes, and he said, "Put the things down, you can go and get back to work."
Upon hearing this, the Chief of Staff dared not delay and quickly placed the classified document in his hand on the table before leaving the Chamber of Power.
After the man left, Saint Figarland hurriedly picked up the document from the table, tore off the seal, and began to read it with a mixture of anticipation and worry in his eyes.
I hope, I really hope, that this guy, Ortolan, will change his mind. We Celestial Dragons have already offered our terms. If you just nod, everything will be fine. They won't have to worry about this situation anymore. From now on, you'll truly be one of us.
He was worried because, as his intelligence investigation into Ortolan deepened and he learned more about the situation, he felt increasingly disloyal to the man and feared that he would refuse this final concession and invitation.
"That's Celestial Dragons... Celestial Dragons... he shouldn't... be so... insensitive, right?" Saint Figarland thought to himself.
In fact, although the other Five Elders didn't say anything, the pressure on Ortolan was immense, because it was he who had strongly supported Ortolan back then, which ultimately led to this situation.
Im-sama is not in Mary Geoise now, and this matter has not yet been reported. If Im-sama finds out about this, he will be in deep trouble.
Therefore, he desperately hoped that Ortolan would come to his senses. If he agreed to become Celestial Dragons, then what he had done before would not have been a mistake, but rather a great achievement!
Soon, after Saint Figarland read the document, his old face twitched, and his eyes grew increasingly angry and sinister.
A moment later, he slammed the item onto the table, nearly breaking it!
The other four Five Elders knew from his appearance that their last attempt to win over Ortolan had failed.
"There is no room for negotiation between us anymore..." Saint Figarland said coldly after calming himself down.
Seeing this, Saint Nashuro sighed regretfully and said, "Since that's the case, let's begin the purge of the Marines. Under the pretext of adjusting military spending, summon Sengoku to Mary Geoise to meet with us. Have the CP Agency issue an investigation order on the grounds of involving Revolutionary Army secrets, and order Garp to go to the CP Agency to cooperate with the investigation. Using the evidence we currently have on Ortolan's corruption and collusion with pirates, suspend Tsuru from his position Chief Staff Officer charges of harboring a criminal and dereliction of duty. Appoint Aramaki as the new director of the Marines Criminal Investigation Bureau and detain him. As for Zephyr, Zephyr is simple. He has already resigned from his position and is currently retired. Order Zephyr to immediately close the Marine Headquarters Military Academy and confine himself at home. Have Aramaki keep an eye on him too!"
After Saint Nashuro finished speaking, Saint Saturn, the Scientific Defense God, added, "The appropriate orders should be issued in the name of the Fleet Admiral, Steel Bone. Steel Bone has a high prestige in the Marines. If orders are issued in his name, the Marines will have to think twice before resisting, and the internal situation may not be stable."
The Fleet Admiral, Steel Bone Kong, had been secretly placed under house arrest by the Five Elders and others a month ago, with the public claiming that he was unwell and recuperating at the medical center in Mary Geoise.
"Even so, we must be wary of these people resorting to desperate measures. Order Figarland Gringu to lead the Holy Knights and the elite forces of the CP Agency headquarters to the Marine Headquarters to carry out these orders!" Saint Saturn added after a slight pause.
"That's not enough. Deploy Borsalino from the Science Unit to headquarters, and order Admiral Sakazuki of headquarters to cooperate with the Holy Knights in carrying out these orders..." A sinister glint flashed in Saint Figarland's eyes as he spoke.
The Five Elders' goal is clear: to take down and imprison the bigwigs who currently wield significant influence over the Marine Headquarters, thereby creating a large-scale shortage of personnel in the Marines's upper management.
The Five Elders' decision to have Borsalino and Sakazuki cooperate in this operation wasn't because they trusted Sakazuki and the Borsalino; rather Sakazuki, it was a final test of their abilities.
If these two cooperate with the orders, they will be useful allies. At that time, the Five Elders will immediately promote Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Aramaki to power and control the Marines.
If they don't cooperate, then they are the enemy, and the next step is to eliminate them as well!
Saint Saturn nodded, agreeing with Saint Figarland's opinion, but then felt it was somewhat unwise, so he said, "Alright, I'll go there myself. If there is any violent confrontation, I will directly summon you to cooperate with the Holy Knights to suppress the Marine Headquarters!"