Secret Discussions

After the meeting concluded, the core high-ranking officers at the Marine Headquarters held a secret meeting.

There have actually been several such small meetings, ever since we learned from Borsalino that the navy was fully capable of operating independently and what the general implementation strategy was.

They need to be responsible for the future of the Navy, and they need to be responsible for justice.

"The title 'Pirate Emperor' isn't wrong. These top-tier pirate crews, by occupying territory and collecting protection money, can no longer be considered true pirates."

"To be honest, for them now, being a pirate is just a label that can be ripped off at any time. Everyone is an emperor of their own seas if they don't want to be pirates."

The crane spoke quietly.

"When it comes to managing territory, the Night Pirates are undoubtedly the best, unmatched by anyone. Their control over their territory is also unparalleled by any kingdom; it's terrifying. To be honest, I don't want to be their enemy."

This is true.

"The Beasts Pirates are second only to the Dark Night Pirates. They also have management talent among their members. Through governing the Babarossa Kingdom, they learned from the Night Pirates and gradually expanded outwards. Furthermore, they possess strong scientific research capabilities."

"Finally, there's the Big Mom Pirates, the Whitebeard Pirates, and the Red-Haired Pirates."

"The difference is that the Big Mom Pirates have a fixed base, and their control over territory is unmatched by the Red-Haired Pirates or the Whitebeard Pirates."

"The Red-Haired Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates only collect protection money. The Red-Haired Pirates have several fixed bases, while the Whitebeard Pirates roam freely within their territories."

"Especially the Night Pirates, their current style of doing things is no longer like that of pirates at all; they've long since completed the transformation from pirates to a kingdom."

The crane's words were somewhat intriguing, and those present understood their meaning.

If Golden Lion Shiki were still alive, the Night Pirates would never be as quiet and peaceful as they are now.

"Currently, it seems the Night Pirates haven't shown any ambition to become the Pirate King, and they haven't made any moves regarding the Road Sign Stone."

"But we can't rule out the possibility that the Night Pirates have already secretly obtained a copy of the Road Sign Stone, can we?"

Sakazuki said seriously, "I don't believe the Night Pirates didn't take any action during the events in Wano Country."

"According to intelligence, all of Wano Country's resources, including numerous mines such as the Seastone, are controlled by the Night Pirates. Wano Country is still plagued by Rat Plague, and its population is constantly declining, with a total population of only 100,000."

"I don't believe the Night Pirates didn't interfere, and that the World Government's victory was stolen by the Night Pirates."

How terrible! Wano Country was once so glorious, but now, its homeland has only 100,000 people.

Most of them were taken away by the Night Pirates, but where have they gone now?

Since the upheaval in Wano Country, so much time has passed, and the situation in Wano Country has not improved; on the contrary, it has worsened, and many people have been unable to endure it and have left Wano Country.

The Night Pirates could easily solve the Rat Plague if they wanted to; they knew that. The reason they didn't was because Night Pirates didn't want to.

Like a frog being slowly boiled in water, Wano Country has gradually weakened, and Wano Country now, it still needs the Night Pirates to survive.

It's terrifying to even think about.

"In my opinion, the Dark Emperor doesn't actually want to become the Pirate King; his ambitions are far greater."

Tsuru didn't explicitly say, but besides the Pirate King, what else is there? Only the King of the World.

Both Rocks and Golden Lion Shiki harbored ambitions to become the King of the World, and the Dark Emperor was no less ambitious.

"Yes, the establishment of the West Blue Dark Council and the West Blue Alliance are both related to the Night Pirates, and the changes in the world situation have been affected as a result."

"Considering past events and the fact that he told us this idea, he seems to be working towards taking down the World Government."

"I never imagined that the World Government would weaken to this extent in just a few years."

"Public opinion around the world is very bad, especially towards the Celestial Dragons. Their status is no longer recognized, and the Navy is also negatively affected."

"Hmph! Those utterly foolish guys. The world is already out of their control. The Navy can sacrifice everything for justice, but not for the stupid Celestial Dragons." Sakazuki sneered, showing no regard for the World Government.

This surprised the others present. It was clear that Sakazuki's thinking hadn't changed; he still thought the same way. It was just that in the past, the World Government was powerful and he was suppressed, unlike now when he was so unrestrained.

But that's also their thinking. With the navy's growing strength and the World Government's weakening, some things no longer need to be hidden too much.

Borsalino, seeing that no one else seemed to object, felt a sense of danger about his position, but he didn't regret telling them about it in the first place.

"It's time to consider the future of the Navy. With the stability of the world and the emergence of the Four Seas Alliance, the number of pirates on the high seas has decreased significantly. Even though many adventurous people still set sail, they mostly don't fly pirate flags, which is a good thing for us."

This is a major trend; the generally peaceful environment, coupled with the desire to go to sea, has led more and more people to set sail with adventurer flags that do not feature skulls.

The ability to adventure and travel across the high seas can be sensed through big data.

However, this situation mainly occurs in the four seas, while the greatest pressure on the navy still lies in the Grand Line and the New World.

"Conversely, the influence of pirates has not declined, but rather grown stronger, and a considerable portion of the world's negative sentiment towards pirates has shifted to the World Government."

"Compared to pirates, the Celestial Dragons are the scourge of the world, the culprits behind the chaos on the seas. With the establishment of the Four Seas Alliance, the World Government's influence has plummeted, and all sorts of evils have been exposed. The only ones that even pirates can hate are the Celestial Dragons."

Nearly eight hundred years of negative emotions erupted completely, and people dared to say things they wouldn't have dared to say before, directed at the Celestial Dragons.

The Celestial Dragons have become truly universally hated. In the four seas and the New World, and Grand Line, there is some restraint, but not much fear. The Celestial Dragons also rarely descend to the mortal realm.

They wouldn't have dared to say these things in the past, but now they have fewer reservations.

"The World Government has designs on controlling the Navy." Sengoku's words made the others' expressions turn grim.

"Absolutely not! The Navy is not a tool of the World Government," Sakazuki was the first to object.

"The Inspection Department has been observing, and I've already made a record of some people who have connections with the World Government. We'll deal with them when the time is right."

This was unacceptable to everyone present; it meant that justice had become a slave to the World Government.

In recent years, the World Government has become increasingly weak, and they have also seen their obvious weakness: they rely too much on the navy. Whenever the navy takes action, it will cause them a devastating blow.

Therefore, it is not unusual to have such thoughts, but the navy today is not so easily controlled.

The various systems of the Red Line completely collapsed, and the population continued to decline, migrating to the four seas.

The army numbered only 100,000 and could not be expanded further; it was commanded by Army Admiral Vulture.

Being checked and balanced by the Affiliated Nation, they can no longer act as recklessly as before.

The World Government's power has not recovered much over the years, and before the great battle with the Flying Pirates, it still had more than 5,000 agents.

Only three thousand remained after the war, a devastating loss.

In the battle with Wano Country, nearly a thousand agents were lost. Now, the number of agents remaining in the New World and the Grand Line is truly small.

In the past, World Government did not care about the extent of the damage, and they did not change their approach in time, resulting in huge losses that are now difficult to recover from.

The World Government, wanting to regain control of the powerful Navy due to its weakened strength, has been secretly taking action.

However, this was noticed by Sakazuki and his team, who had already undergone reforms.

"Yes, the World Government is currently determining the fourth Admiral." Sengoku knew some information about the World Government's internal affairs.

"Really, they wouldn't do it when we told them to fill in the gaps themselves, and now they've suddenly remembered." Kuzan frowned. He didn't want to accept it, and he didn't want the headquarters' justice to be tainted.

The World Government wants to take control of the Marine Headquarters through an Admiral. There was an Admiral Black Pigeon, but he was killed in action. Where can they find another one now?

Although the World Government possesses several top-tier combatants who are all untouchable, aside from the Gorosei, there are also three top-tier monsters from CP0: Army Admiral Vulture and Isaac, who is located in Impel Down.

However, each of them is difficult to move. Not to mention the Gorosei, how could they possibly lower themselves to become Marine Admiral? Isaac has the support of the Celestial Dragons, so even the Gorosei would find it difficult to command him. CP0 is directly under the Gorosei.

We must choose someone who is powerful and can gain their approval.

"There shouldn't be anyone here, right?" Kuzan asked.

"Yes, according to intelligence, someone from the World Government has secretly contacted Novoya."

"Ha! But Novoya didn't give a definite answer; he just told me about it directly."

As he spoke, Sengoku couldn't help but laugh. "Novoya is shrewd! He has a clear understanding of the situation; the current World Government can hardly offer him any useful assistance."

Can World Government rise again?

This is highly uncertain. Even during the Sengoku, no one held out much hope. For a power, simply possessing top-tier combat strength is not enough. The World Government has the largest number of top-tier combat strength on the high seas.

However, with the collapse of the kingdoms on the Red Line, the World Government has lost its foundation and can only rely on the Heavenly Gold of these kingdoms Grand Line.

If Affiliated Nation has a problem, the World Government will have a problem.

A regime requires a large power base.

"We don't need to worry about that for now. The Navy isn't so easily corrupted by the World Government these days." Sengoku said that earlier only to make others more wary of the World Government.

The Navy and the World Government are outwardly united but inwardly estranged. The World Government needs the Navy to stabilize the situation on the Grand Line, while the Navy needs the World Government's military spending support, though it is not entirely dependent on it.

From beginning to end, the foundation of World Government rule over the seas has been the navy.

"The World Government's situation isn't good. Chaos has returned to the Red Line, and after several years, the Revolutionary Army seems to be becoming active again," Tsuru said quietly.

"Leave the Revolutionary Army aside for now and let the World Government deal with them." Sengoku no longer intends to confront the Revolutionary Army. The Navy is now resisting the World Government, so in terms of stance, they are not enemies with the Revolutionary Army.

They actually approve of the Revolutionary Army's ideology, but such methods are too violent. Overthrowing the World Government's rule and eliminating the Celestial Dragons would plunge the still orderly seas into chaos.

This was something the Navy originally did not want to see. The Navy was working hard to maintain order at sea, and the Revolutionary Army's radical actions were undermining all of that, which the Navy naturally could not accept.

Moreover, that was the World Government, which still represented the entire world.

The World Government is different now; even if it were overthrown, it wouldn't have a significant impact on the global order.

The four seas and the New World will remain unchanged. The Grand Line may experience some turbulence, but this is within the acceptable range for the navy.

The disappearance of the Celestial Dragons was also something they hoped to see.

Perhaps we can even use this opportunity to establish a new order.

People are realistic, and Sengoku and his group are no exception. Especially now that they have firmly decided to lead the Navy to break away from the World Government, they just can't do so yet. The Navy needs more time to prepare and also needs to obtain feedback from the Affiliated Nation.

The kingdoms of the Grand Line can only rely on their navy.

This is the confidence of the Sengoku. During this time, they have thought things through very clearly. The navy holds the initiative, whether it is establishing a military government or obtaining military funding from various Affiliated Nation.

Whether they choose to become affiliated with the newly formed United Kingdom and serve as its navy, it is acceptable to them.

However, I prefer to establish a military government, which would offer greater freedom; otherwise, I would become a tool of the new government, just like the World Government.

But they also hesitated, wondering what would happen if they clashed with the World Government.

The World Government's top-tier military forces are extremely powerful and numerous. Even with heavy losses, they still wield considerable strength, perhaps even surpassing that of the Navy.

If a real fight breaks out, it will only result in mutual destruction, which is something they don't want to see.

If they were to do that, conflict would be unavoidable, since they had seized the foundation of the World Government, which made them somewhat wary.

In that case, the Revolutionary Army would once again become their enemy, and the establishment of a military government would naturally replace the role of the World Government.

They talked to each other, preparing themselves mentally for the new order of the seas in the future. In any case, the Grand Line was the foundation of the navy, and they would not give it up.

The World Government is gradually being abandoned by them unless World Government reforms itself, which is impossible. How could these vested interests give up their rights? Therefore, only external forces can crush them.

Before the World Government was in trouble, the Navy could not betray it. Even now, the World Government still represents the Grand Line and the will of its Affiliated Nation.

Even if the World Government is terrible, we still have to wait.