The entire Marine Meeting Room was silent. Akainu's words had struck straight at their hearts.
The Marines had always been the strongest force against Pirates, yet now their reputation was in such a sorry state. The most outstanding record of hunting Pirates in the New World belonged to a newcomer who had only recently emerged. It was truly difficult for the Marines to save face.
"Uchiha Hiko joined forces with several major Pirate forces. His attitude toward us may change," someone raised a rather crucial concern.
Akainu's gaze was exceptionally stern. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Pirates joining forces to deal with Pirates means that, to a certain extent, it is Pirate strength being depleted. We can completely accept this. As long as Uchiha Hiko has not openly joined the camp of evil forces, we may as well show a little more tolerance."
Everyone looked at Akainu in surprise. They had not expected such words to come from his mouth, and it was genuinely astonishing.
"Blackbeard has already fallen, and Uchiha Hiko has inherited his forces. The number of Pirates in the New World has now declined, which is good news for us and for the people of the New World." Akainu spoke slowly. "As long as Uchiha Hiko helps our campaign to eliminate Pirates, we can continue cooperating with him without reservation."
Everyone understood. Even after Uchiha Hiko had clearly joined forces with the Pirates of three major powers, Akainu still chose to maintain the policy of cooperating with him in light of the obvious results.
"If the number of Pirates in the New World decreases, we can concentrate our strength and prioritize eliminating the Pirates of the major forces." Tsuru picked up where Akainu left off. "Kaido's activity in Wano Country has grown more frequent lately.