Sengoku: What a Thankless Job

The paper clearly listed the orders in lines of text: Initiate the second large-scale global conscription, mobilize forces, use the Sabaody Archipelago as a transit point, after the conscription work is completed, fully prepare all Marine Branch in the first half of the Grand Line, blockade the Paradise Sea, carry out a large-scale pirate extermination operation, and make all preparations for advancing into the East, West, North and South Four Blues.

A long sigh escaped from Sengoku's lips, his shoulders slumped slightly, and his brows were filled with undisguised weariness and helplessness.

"It's really a tough job."

He muttered to himself in a low voice.

Sengoku knew perfectly well that while the order was ostensibly to eliminate pirates from Four Blues and maintain order on the seas, its true cause was still the rapidly rising Uchiha Clan.

Summit War, Imu personally fought fiercely against Uchiha Natsu, but the final outcome of that battle remains unknown.

After that battle, the Five Elders directly ordered the Navy to withdraw from the West Blue and relinquish control of the entire sea area. Uchiha Natsu also disappeared for nearly a year, rarely appearing in front of the world.

No one knows exactly how that epic battle ended, but the Navy being forced to abandon the West Blue was the result before everyone's eyes.

The World Government' current rapid expansion of military forces and defenses is essentially a way of accumulating strength for a potential major conflict in the future.

Despite his many emotions, as Fleet Admiral, he had no right to refuse this order.

Sengoku withdrew his gaze, turned around and walked to the long table, reaching out to pick up the Den Den Mushi) on the table.

"Pop pop pop--"

The Den Den Mushi rang in the quiet conference room. He dialed Kizaru and Akainu's lines in turn, relaying the Five Elders ' orders verbatim.

"Kizaru, Akainu, upon receiving orders from headquarters, you two must immediately depart and return to the Sabaody Archipelago to oversee operations."

After this large-scale conscription concludes, we will begin preparing all branches along the first half of the Grand Line, blockade the Paradise Sea, and launch a campaign to eradicate pirates. Following this, we will also need to prepare for the cleanup operations in the three major sea areas to the east, south, and north.

On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, the first thing you hear is Kizaru's nonchalant, drawn-out tone.

"Oh dear, this is really a headache, Fleet Admiral. We finally settled down in the New World, and now we have to rush back to Sabaody. Such a huge workload is really exhausting." Kizaru's voice was as perfunctory as ever, as if this military deployment concerning the entire sea was nothing more than a troublesome and tedious task for him.

"With large-scale conscription, branch reorganization, and the need to clean up several sea areas, there's no time to relax."

Sengoku frowned slightly as he listened to the complaints coming from the Den Den Mushi: "This is an order directly from the Five Elders, and there's no room for shirking it. The Sabaody Archipelago is a crucial hub on the road to the New World; you must defend it."

"Okay, okay~" Kizaru's lazy reply came through, and then he hung up the call.

Immediately afterwards, the receiver switched to Akainu's side, and his firm, unambiguous voice came through the Den Den Mushi.

"Understood, Fleet Admiral." Akainu's tone was decisive and stern, without a single superfluous complaint.

"Eliminating pirates is the Navy's duty. I will immediately head to Sabaody and be on high alert. Once our forces are in place, I will wipe out all the pirates in the Paradise Sea."

Unlike Kizaru's perfunctory attitude, Akainu has always been resolute in his attitude towards eliminating pirates. The moment he receives the order, he has already conceived a plan for troop deployment in his mind.

After ending his call with the two Admiral, Sengoku pressed the intercom on the table. Shortly afterward, several senior lieutenant Headquarters Vice Admiral headquarters entered the conference room.

A group of figures wearing Vice Admiral's cloaks stood on both sides of the long table, each with a different expression, and a tense atmosphere filled the air.

With his arms crossed and a grave expression, the Momonga spoke first, "Fleet Admiral, once the large-scale, all-domain conscription begins, a large number of new recruits will flood into various branches in a short period of time. The training of these new recruits, troop deployment, and supply of materials will all become enormous burdens."

"That's not all." Tokikake in, tapping the open sea map on the table with his fingertips. "The Paradise Sea is vast, with pirate strongholds scattered everywhere. To completely blockade and wipe them out, we would need to deploy a massive force."

If too many elite troops from headquarters are transferred, the defensive forces in the New World will be weakened. Currently, various factions are engaged in turbulent power struggles, and rashly transferring a large number of combat troops would be quite risky."

"But this is an order from the World Government, and we have no choice but to obey." Sengoku slowly walked to the front of the map, his fingertip landing on the mark of the Sabaody Archipelago.

"Using Sabaody as a transit hub, after conscription is completed, troops will be deployed downwards in batches, prioritizing the consolidation of the first half of the Grand Line before advancing into the Four Blues."

Just as everyone was discussing issues such as troop deployment, supply of materials, and branch deployment, a Navy Major knocked on the conference room door, holding a newly compiled intelligence file in his hands, and Earth Flow cautiously, bowing.

"Reporting to the Fleet Admiral, the latest intelligence from the Sea Area Monitoring Fleet indicates that a large warship bearing the Uchiha Clan crest is sailing towards the Sabaody Archipelago."

As soon as those words were spoken, the previously noisy discussion in the conference room instantly fell silent. The lieutenant Vice Admiral exchanged glances, a complex expression flashing across each of their eyes.

Various rumors about the Uchiha Clan have long circulated among the Navy's high command.

Less than a year after the end of the Summit War, Uchiha Natsu personally visited Fish-Man Island, slaughtered tens of thousands of pirates who planned to cause trouble on the Fish-Man Island, and publicly declared that Fish-Man Island would henceforth belong to the Uchiha Clan's sphere of influence.

Since then, Fish-Man Island has been under the protection of the Uchiha, and the Navy has been unable to intervene in its affairs due to the Uchiha's formidable strength.

The Momonga frowned. "Sailing towards the Sabaody Archipelago... Based on past intelligence, could they be planning to go to Fish-Man Island for trade or inter-group exchanges?"

"There is currently no evidence to suggest that the other side harbors hostility." Tokikake moment of contemplation, Jia Ji slowly spoke, "We have no way of determining the true purpose of this warship's voyage."

Since the other side has not given any signal of war, we must not provoke a conflict.

Everyone still remembers the outcome of the Deserted Island Battle. A small field team was able to repel the main naval force led by the Three Admirals. If a conflict were to break out, the consequences would be unbearable.

A brief silence fell over the meeting room.