His old friend's departure did not disappoint Sengoku too much. He knew Garp well, and he knew that Garp would help him in the end.
They had spent most of their lives in the Marines, long since dedicating their lives to this sacred profession.
And Garp's character was all the more worthy of his respect and trust.
No matter what happened, he believed Garp would never betray the Marines.
"If we want to fight Whitebeard, we must gather the Marines' strongest forces. Only then will we have a chance of taking him down in one decisive stroke in the final battle."
Sengoku's eyes flickered, his expression utterly grave.
He never underestimated his enemies, much less the strongest man in the world.
The forces of the Four Emperors held sway over the New World, and Whitebeard's was the strongest among them. Once news of Ace's capture was made public, it was easy to imagine how furious this emperor of the seas would be.
A great war was unavoidable.
"The Shichibukai, headquarters' fighting forces, River-only with all of them present can we ensure nothing goes wrong in this war."
Sengoku spoke solemnly.
Perhaps River's current stance, or rather his thinking, had already drifted somewhat toward the fringes of the Marines. But Sengoku believed his attachment to the Marines remained.
This war stood a very good chance of winning him over.
"But the World Government..."
His gaze darkened slightly, and Sengoku frowned again.
The World Government would be very reluctant to let River regain power within the Marine system and rise again.
Twenty years ago, River had commanded an immensely powerful force. The three thousand elite soldiers under him had struck terror into pirates at the mere mention of their name.
Now, although those men had been dispersed across the world and the