Naval Expansion
But what about the Uchiha?
They are the slowly rising tides.
Silently, it spreads layer by layer, day and night, never fading.
Rocks single-handedly held up the entire force; his death meant the end of it.
The Uchiha Natsu remained hidden, Fugaku firmly guarded the foundation, and Qi was in charge of the battle. Yaoyu and Yakumi provided dual support. Even the new generation of teenagers who had just set sail were able to stand alone and directly confront the main force under the command of the Emperor Level executives.
As long as the tide keeps rising, the old order will eventually be completely submerged.
He listened quietly to this analysis, having already grasped the pros and cons in his mind. After a few seconds of silence, he asked, "What are your specific plans?"
Sengoku picked up his pipe again, lit it, took a deep drag, let the smoke settle in his chest, and then slowly exhaled, slightly easing the pent-up emotions in his chest.
"G-2 Headquarters remains intact. This is the first line of defense against the Four Emperors of the New World; not a single troop can be withdrawn."
"Deploy all available patrol fleets around Sabaody, covering all main shipping routes in the first half of the Grand Line, and double the patrol density."
He saw things perfectly clearly; this kind of arrangement could never stop the Uchiha's advance.
Given the current combat strength of the Uchiha, the mere presence of the Navy is simply insufficient to stop any of their actions.
But this line of defense must stand.
The entire ocean must see that the navy has never retreated;
The goal is to demonstrate to all the hesitant Affiliated Nation that the World Government still exists;
Furthermore, it is crucial to make the Uchiha Ming that there are still forces in this sea area that can restrain them.
"Furthermore, issue an order to all officers stationed in the first half of the garrison: without authorization from the highest command, no one is permitted to initiate combat with the Uchiha Clan."
He frowned slightly. "Is this a sign of weakness?"
"This isn't a sign of weakness, it's about conserving strength." Sengoku's tone was crisp, revealing a cruel clarity. "With the Navy's current combat power, a full-scale war with the Uchiha would never be a matter of possible defeat, it would be certain defeat. Pointless sacrifices are meaningless."
He nodded in understanding, picked up his pen and wrote down all the arrangements point by point, closed the draft document, and his gaze fell back on him.
"Expansion requires massive military spending, ships, and supplies; I need to liaise with the World Government's reviewers."
"Go." Sengoku waved his hand casually, his tone tinged with a weary indifference.
"We'll try to get as much as we can. They forced this order on us, so they should be the ones to pay for it."
He turned around in response, but when he reached the office door, he suddenly stopped and looked back at Sengoku, who was bent over his desk.
"You just said that the Uchiha is the ocean tide."
She paused, then asked softly, "Is there any chance that the tide will recede?"
The office fell into a deathly silence, with only the faint burning of the pipe echoing in the empty room.
Sengoku tapped his pipe lightly with his fingertips, shaking off the ash that had already piled up, the movement slow and heavy.
He looked out the window, where the loud and lively sounds of drills still echoed, but now they sounded like hollow reverberations.
"To date, they have never retreated."
These six simple words, as light as a sigh, crushed all hope and expectation.
He lowered his head again, burying himself in the mountain of official documents, and said nothing more.
The bright sunlight filled the entire office, but it couldn't illuminate the deep Dusk in his eyes.
The new recruits' vigor, the headquarters' orders, and eight hundred years of established order—all the struggles and perseverance became futile resistance in the face of the surging tide of the new era.
The tide has come, the tide is turning, and there is no chance of a comeback.
News Coo swarm Four Blues, their wings carrying a major news story that spreads across the entire ocean in an instant.
The navy is conducting a large-scale recruitment drive across all domains.
Recruitment notices bearing the headquarters' white dove emblem were plastered all over the bulletin boards of every island.
The written wording was impassioned and earnest, every sentence advocating justice and safeguarding maritime order, and calling on like-minded people to join the cause across the entire ocean.
The recruitment network stretched from the Four Seas all the way along the Grand Line, creating an unprecedentedly grand spectacle.
In an instant, countless bounty hunters, down-on-their-luck retired officers, and low-level pirates hoping to rise through the chaos of the seas set off for the nearest recruitment point.
At the entrance of the Marine Base in the first half of the Grand Line, long queues, unseen for many years, formed, with a constant stream of people and an unusually lively atmosphere.
More than twenty years have passed since the Great Pirate Era began, and the Navy has not displayed such power for a long time.
The last time the Four Blues's resources were mobilized to expand military strength was during Roger's execution, when the seas were plunged into complete chaos and disorder—the darkest moment of the world.
It's obvious to everyone that this Great Conscription is no ordinary, routine recruitment.
While the people in ordinary seas were still reeling from the spectacle, only the people of the New World, at the eye of the storm, saw through the panic behind it all.
The pirate taverns of the New World are always filled with smoke and the aroma of alcohol.
Several veteran pirates, who had been navigating the seas for twenty years, quickly glanced at the newspaper headlines without even lifting their eyelids, casually flipped through the pages, and continued drinking.
The old captain, sitting at the table, had spent half his life navigating the power shifts of the New World and had long since developed a keen eye for understanding situations.
In his eyes, this seemingly grand naval expansion was nothing short of an attempt to cover up its true embarrassment.
Where is the aim of counterbalancing the Four Emperors? What the Navy truly needs to guard against has always been the Uchiha Clan, which rose to power in the West Blue.
The Marineford War severely damaged the navy's foundation and caused it to lose face.
Nowadays, let alone getting involved in the power struggles of the New World, even the West Blue Sea, which they once firmly controlled, dare not easily set foot there.
The massive expansion of grassroots troops was merely a way to inflate numbers and create a false impression in the first half of the sea, relying on sheer numbers to barely maintain the dignity of the World Government.
The young crew member beside him looked puzzled and couldn't help but whisper, "What kind of power could make the navy, which dominates the Four Blues, cower in fear like this?"
The old captain slammed his wine glass down on the wooden table, sending ripples through the liquid. He looked up and uttered a cold, blunt summary. "The Demon-Subduing Ghost Clan of the West Blue, Red Eye, Gunbai banner, bounty of 15 billion."
These few words represent the latest taboo and deterrent to the entire ocean.
While the deep sea is turbulent and turbulent, the Foosha Village far away in the East Blue remains a peaceful and idyllic place.
The sunlight shone gently, the village was quiet and peaceful, and Makino's little tavern was as lively and cozy as ever.
The naval recruitment notice, a symbol of turbulent seas, was quietly pasted on the outer wall of the tavern, abrupt and cold, forcefully intruding into this peaceful and lively atmosphere.
Several villagers gathered around the bulletin board, chatting idly, their tone carrying the bewilderment and trepidation unique to ordinary people.
People whispered among themselves about the unprecedented scale of the conscription, speculating whether another major war was about to break out at sea, and that the peaceful days were probably coming to an end.