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After listening, Garp picked his nose indifferently. "Haven't they always left civilians alone? They've even dealt with plenty of pirates along the way. I think they're doing a pretty good job."
"You can never wipe out all the pirates anyway. Leaving them around might not be such a bad thing."
At the moment, he held no particular hostility toward the Uchiha Pirates.
Sengoku sighed helplessly. "You're oversimplifying things."
"If they fly a pirate flag, they're pirates. It's a matter of where we stand."
"Just because they aren't attacking civilians now doesn't mean they won't later. Whatever the case, we can't stand by and let a pirate crew with that much potential run wild at sea."
"The problem is, an ordinary Headquarters Vice Admiral probably wouldn't come back alive. That's why I want you to go in person and see what they're made of."
"Ideally, you eliminate them. At the very least, bring them into the Shichibukai Plan. What do you think?"
The Shichibukai Plan had yet to be officially implemented. It was still in the preliminary investigation and selection stage.
Sengoku had received strict orders. There was no getting out of this.
Simply put, it was meant to stabilize the situation at sea.
Though Sengoku and the others were deeply unwilling, the orders were absolute.
Everyone knew this wasn't just about bowing to pirates. It was also a tactic the higher-ups used to suppress the Marines and keep them from growing too powerful.
All that talk about balancing the powers at sea was bullshit.
If they truly got serious, the Marines could recruit more capable fighters through mass recruitment, build up their strength, and crush the three emperor-class pirate crews in the New World outright.
Yet the higher-ups insisted on coming up with the Shichibukai Plan. There was far