The Clash of Emperors Begins
"He, you can tell me your concerns." After the meeting, in Sengoku's office, Sengoku asked He.
At that moment, there were only the two of them in the office; there were no outsiders.
Crane frowned. There was no need to hide it now. In front of the other naval personnel, as a wise strategist, it was essential to remain calm and composed at all times, and he could not show any worries.
So, Crane shared her concerns with Sengoku.
"What can we do? It's a scheme by the Night Pirates. Teach wants to create chaos so they can develop faster in the New World," Sengoku sighed.
He had been so busy lately that he hadn't had much time to spend on the high seas. As a result, although he paid close attention to this matter and realized that the Night Pirates were using the gold in the waters around Gaya Island to cover up the fact that they themselves had obtained a large amount of gold.
However, he hadn't seen these deeper aspects. After Tsuru said that, he realized that it would have such a big impact on the situation of the navy and the sea.
With his perspective, he could naturally see that Crane's conjecture would come true. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he found it hard to imagine anything more impactful than over ten thousand tons of gold.
"But there's no rush. Even if a conflict does break out, it will take more than a year. The conflicts of interest are too intense, and even the World Government can't intervene so quickly. There isn't much gold being mined in the waters around Gaya Island right now." Sengoku's thoughts were similar to Katakuri's. The conflict surrounding Gaya Island wouldn't start so quickly, and of course, it wouldn't end so quickly either.
"I should be promoted smoothly in three months. During this period, stability is needed, and there shouldn't be any other unexpected events. After that, we can plan other things." Sengoku tapped the table with his pen.
The crane beside him nodded in agreement. Three months later, Sengoku would be promoted to Fleet Admiral, and the four Admiral would also officially become Admiral. Even the titles of Admiral had been decided and would be announced later.
The current Fleet Admiral Kong has not stepped down; instead, he has been promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, a rank one level higher than that of Fleet Admiral. The World Government does not want to give up such a powerful force and let him retire and live in seclusion, so it specially created this position for him. Previously, there was no Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, the nominal head of the Navy and the Army.
This is also because Kong's strength is truly formidable. His powerful physical skills, like those of Sengoku and Garp, were trained by him, coupled with his top-tier Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit ability that perfectly complements him.
Kong's strength is worth the World Government's investment in preserving such a powerful force.
The naval renewal will usher in a new era, a response to the rising tide of New World Sea Emperor.
At this point, Sengoku's expression turned somewhat grim. "However, the plan has been fully finalized, and the World Government is looking for a time to release it, probably around the time of our advancement."
"That project proposal?" Upon hearing this, He frowned. She naturally knew about the project proposal, but she had been in Beihai for a long time and hadn't paid attention to it. She hadn't expected that the project proposal would be completed so quickly. According to her prediction, it would take at least several years.
But it's too fast. Why is it so fast? It's been completed in such a short time since the plan was proposed.
And even at this moment, Tsuru's expression changed. She could imagine that the impact of this plan on the Navy and the World Government, and more importantly, on the Navy's image, would be absolutely negative and would be a huge blow.
The Shichibukai are seven Great Pirate recognized by the World Government, possessing catastrophic destructive power and immense fighting strength comparable to that of a nation.
In order to deal with the powerful pirates of the Great Pirate Era, reduce the pressure on the Navy, and also to incite infighting among the pirates.
At the same time, it is also to balance the situation of the Four Emperors and the navy standing side by side, forming a three-way balance of power.
This is the Shichibukai Plan. Under this plan, each member of the Shichibukai enjoys extraordinary rights. Apart from being required to accept mandatory summons from the World Government and pay a certain amount of income to the government, they are free to act as they please and are completely free from government interference.
Upon becoming Shichibukai, the original arrest warrant will be lifted, and the World Government will no longer pursue any previous crimes. Even if members of the Shichibukai engage in privateering, the World Government will tacitly approve, but they will be required to pay tribute if discovered.
The Shichibukai are legal pirates.
In addition, in order to ensure the cooperative relationship among the Shichibukai, the World Government will grant them certain, not excessive, requests.
The creation of this plan is tantamount to humiliating the Navy. The fact that they need to rely on pirates to maintain peace only highlights their incompetence.
The Navy absolutely does not approve of this plan, but ultimately, the Navy is just a subordinate agency of the World Government, and their voices are simply ignored by the World Government.
They don't care about the Navy's reputation. They use the Shichibukai to divide and weaken the pirates, and then create a third party to form another group to maintain a balance.
"I don't know why this plan was completed in such a short time. If Fleet Admiral Kong hadn't told me, I would have thought it would take at least two more years." Sengoku sighed, rubbing his hair. "The timing is completely wrong, and I don't know what to do."
"The World Government doesn't have a high opinion of our navy. There are many people who approve of this plan, so it's simply beyond our control." Sengoku said, somewhat angrily, but also helplessly.
After all, the Navy is under a lot of pressure. Its performance in recent years has been somewhat poor, and the defeat in the New World War caused huge losses to the World Government.
During this period, although efforts were still made, the work of suppressing the four seas was not yet completed, after all, it was a long-term project.
However, these higher-ups couldn't understand their navy; they were too eager for quick results and wanted to see outcomes in a short period of time, but how was that possible?
This also led to the establishment of the Shichibukai plan, which no longer intended to rely on the Navy's power; they wanted to find other methods themselves.
Sengoku believed that, given the current state of naval development, it would improve in a few years.
This plan was also driven by various forces, including the World Government itself and other interested parties.
And then there's Doflamingo. Doflamingo put in a lot of effort to push the completion of the Shichibukai plan, which granted him many more rights. After all, it was for his own benefit. He was confident that he could become Shichibukai and use those rights to quickly develop and expand his power.
The World Government is rotten to the core. Its officials not only represent the World Government also the interests of various parties, and corruption is extremely serious. After all, eight hundred years have passed, and corruption has reached its root.
Under the powerful offensive of interests, the efficiency with which this plan was perfected was naturally astonishing, completely catching the navy off guard.
"This matter has too great an impact, and we must exclude the navy. This has nothing to do with our navy in the first place," Sengoku said through gritted teeth.
"Sengoku, what are you doing?" Tsuru realized what Sengoku was about to do and couldn't help but worry that he might inadvertently offend the World Government.
"Yes, I've made up my mind. The plan to Shichibukai must be kept separate from our internal reforms, ideally before the Navy undergoes its own reforms." Sengoku nodded, a determined look in his eyes.
"But don't worry, I've already made arrangements. I won't be personally involved." The implication was that someone else would step forward to take the blame for the Navy and deflect the World Government's attacks.
It can't be called a crime, but there definitely has to be a scapegoat.
In reality, they're trying to pin the blame for the Shichibukai plan on the World Government, excluding the Navy. This time, they don't want to take the blame for the World Government either.
This person, Sengoku had already arranged, represents the navy and certainly carries considerable weight, but may subsequently face targeting from the World Government.
"Since we're prepared, let's do it this way." He nodded, fully aware of the consequences this would bring.
Sengoku knew that the plan to Shichibukai was complete and just waiting to be released. It had already received the approval of the Gorosei, and what he had said before was actually quite ideal. The plan would be released in a few days.
The news was given to him by the Fleet Admiral Kong two days ago. The plan had been presented to the Gorosei, who had approved and signed it. If it weren't for today's news and the impact of the images, it might have been released directly.
Therefore, he made preparations that very day.
According to the location on the sea chart, at their Night Pirates speed, the Night Pirates would need three days to travel from Long Ring Long Land to Water Seven.
The route is now halfway through.
"Hehe, let's make a scene, the more intense the better." Teach grinned broadly as he looked at the documents in his hand.
Since the beginning of the Great Pirate Era, the sea has never truly been calm.
This event undoubtedly had the greatest impact on the entire ocean, and was closest to Roger's last words.
The conflict in the New World is confined to the New World. Although countless people are watching, the inhabitants of the four seas are not actually that worried, merely observing from the sidelines. What they should be concerned about are the Navy and the World Government.
The waters off Gaya Island, where countless gold deposits are buried, have global implications.
Kingdoms, nobles, the wealthy, other powers, pirates, and people yearning to get rich overnight.
The allure of gold is undeniable, and no one wants to miss out on it.
Amidst this storm, the Night Pirates escaped and ventured to the New World, where they peacefully developed their power.
However, things often take Teach turn, and things seem to escalate even more dramatically.
For Teach, however, it had little impact; on the contrary, he was pleased to see these events unfold and create such a chain reaction.
There are four documents, one of which concerns the impact of the interview.
The other two reports were sent by Doflamingo and Stephanie, respectively, after Teach returned from Sky Island.
It's all about the Shichibukai plan. This plan has been completely completed, and the World Government plans to release this news to the world in the next few days, most likely tomorrow.
Recruiting pirates worldwide to become candidates for the Shichibukai.
The last piece of intelligence came from Mostima in the New World. His spies planted in the Big Mom Pirates and the Beasts Pirates discovered that the Big Mom Pirates and the Beasts Pirates had already amassed their forces.
The Big Mom Pirates disappeared on Whole Cake Island in a large group of flying Homie, and their whereabouts are unknown.
Meanwhile, the Beasts Pirates sailed aggressively towards the territory of the dominant Silver Axe Pirates, making no attempt to conceal their presence.
Given Big Mom and Kaido's tacit understanding, Teach guessed their target: two veteran sea lords who had already been defeated once and had become stepping stones— the Great Pirate Silver Axe and Ochoku.
It seems the battle for the throne has begun, with two candidates for the title of Sea Emperor finally ready to ascend to the throne.
The movements of the Big Mom Pirates and the Beasts Pirates had been closely watched. Before they made their move, no one knew their target, but once they did, people quickly guessed it.
Meanwhile, the other sea overlords breathed a sigh of relief. Big Mom and Kaido weren't targeting them; instead, they were eyeing the two old guys, even though these two old guys were incredibly powerful.
These forces tacitly refrained from making a move. This was a battle for supremacy, and since they were not yet qualified to participate, they decided to observe and wait for the outcome of the war. The most important thing was whether Big Mom and Kaido would succeed.
The news of the start of the battle for the throne was also released by the well-informed Morgans. This news spread to everyone in a short period of time, and Morgans had already confirmed that the Big Mom Pirates and the Beasts Pirates would be the two main targets of the battle. No one was ignoring it, and to some extent, it also diverted the attention from the Gaya Island area.
However, paying attention does not affect action; the two are not in conflict.
Morgans has already started the live stream. The war hasn't started yet. After all, the Big Mom Pirates and the Beasts Pirates have only set sail for a short time. A battle across the seas can't start so quickly.
"Haha, so the little brat from back then is already preparing to take the throne?" On a throne sat a figure dressed in knightly armor that covered his body. On either side of him were his weapons: a shield and an axe.
This figure wasn't tall, and was somewhat overweight, but no one dared to underestimate him. This was the Great Pirate Silver Axe, whose power had been accumulating for a long time. Even though he had been defeated by Whitebeard, who had become the Sea Emperor, he was still the undisputed top overlord of the New World.
"Gather all your men and prepare for war."
On the other side, the Great Pirate King Naoya, facing Big Mom's challenge, refused to back down and immediately prepared for a fierce battle.
In the past two days, one shocking news story after another has emerged, and many people haven't even had time to react to these unexpected changes.