Marineford.
Marine Headquarters Building, Fleet Admiral's Office.
Zephyr sat on a long sofa, looking at Sengoku across the coffee table. Sengoku was seated on the opposite sofa, calmly brewing tea with a tea set. Zephyr let out a long sigh. "Sigh! The overall quality of this Military Academy's graduates is worrying. It really feels like each class is worse than the last..."
"There's nothing we can do about that... The Great Pirate Era has driven too many ambitious young people to take up the pirate flag and flood out onto the seas, making the situation increasingly chaotic. And the Marines are destined to oppose pirates. It's dangerous, the death rate is high, and the pay and benefits are poor... Recently, I applied to the Five Elders for improved benefits for active Marine soldiers, as well as those discharged due to injury or disability, but they rejected it outright! An ordinary person can earn several times, even more than ten times, as much by becoming a pirate as they can by becoming a Marine! Since both paths are dangerous and deadly, most people think that rather than dying with nothing, they might as well become pirates and take a gamble on getting rich..."
Sengoku placed a teacup before Zephyr, then picked up the teapot and poured him a steaming cup of green tea.
"If we can eliminate those famous great pirates, perhaps we can effectively curb the tide of the Great Pirate Era!" Zephyr muttered as he sipped his tea.
"Sigh! Perhaps. But none of those great pirates are easy opponents. If we push them too hard, there's nothing they won't do. Unless the Marines are completely certain of victory, we can't act rashly..." Sengoku gently shook his head and sighed. Seeming to recall something, he paused briefly. "Speaking of which,