Above the blue sky and white clouds, Xia Chen stood on the Flying Nimbus, gazing intently downwards.
Although he failed to kill Imu, he severely injured her, rendering her unable to cause trouble for at least a long time.
His guess was correct; as long as he didn't kill Imu, the Heavenly Dao of this realm wouldn't stop him.
He would only come to stop him if he wanted to kill Imu.
But none of this matters; even if Imu doesn't die now, he'll die sooner or later anyway.
And this time... won't be long.
Xia Chen's gaze was deep and unfathomable.
Before long, he arrived at an island and flew there without hesitation.
And this island is Marineford, the Marine Headquarters!
At this moment, in the highest conference room of the Marine Headquarters, countless naval officers were present, each with a solemn expression on their face.
At the very top of the list is none other than Fleet Admiral Sengoku the Buddha!
Below them were the four Admiral, followed by veteran naval commanders such as Garp and Tsuru.
Finally, there were the remaining Vice Admiral and Rear Admiral!
Sengoku glanced at everyone, then said in a deep voice:
You're probably aware of what the World Government has been doing lately, aren't you?
"It was one thing to slaughter pirates, but now they're massacring civilians! Is this the kind of thing a government should do?"
Sengoku actually disagreed with the World Government's large-scale massacre of pirates.
Because evil forces can never be eradicated; everyone harbors the seeds of evil within them, the only difference being whether or not they are awakened.
Killing these pirates will only lead to new ones emerging.
These pirates will be the civilians they previously protected.
Even without the threat of pirates, the common people live in peace and harmony, which makes it easier for internal conflicts to erupt.
Therefore, Sengoku's consistent approach has been to suppress pirates as much as possible, rather than to exterminate them completely.
Of course, their navy alone couldn't do that.
However, the massacre of pirates was an order from the World Government, and he really couldn't do anything about it. His advice to the Five Elders was probably forgotten somewhere.
Therefore, he had no choice but to comply with the World Government's decision and join forces to fight against pirates around the world.
But what did he see now?
The self-proclaimed righteous World Government has turned against civilians, carrying out massacres of civilians around the world.
That wasn't all; what disappointed him even more was that some of the naval officers carried out the order without a second thought.
They also joined the ranks of those massacring civilians.
He couldn't understand—where was their conscience? Had it been eaten by dogs?
What were your original reasons for joining the navy?
Does it mean becoming a dog that only obeys orders, even turning against those it previously protected?
Upon learning this news, Sengoku immediately took strict measures against these naval forces without saying a word.
At the same time, it is strictly forbidden for any other naval units to engage in the massacre of civilians.
However, the other naval personnel did not do that either; their sense of justice prevented them from doing such a thing.
With his thoughts wandering to this point, Sengoku glanced at the numerous naval personnel below him, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke:
"Since the World Government has done something so self-destructive, I believe we must not aid and abet them! We must even try to stop them!"
"I propose that, from this day forward, our navy shall be independent and no longer subject to the jurisdiction of the World Government!"
What about you? What do you think?
Upon hearing this, none of the many navy personnel below the stage spoke, but after a few breaths, they all said in unison:
I agree!
They were able to sit here and hold this meeting today because they already knew the gist of it.
For them, the sense of justice they held simply could not compel them to make the decision to massacre civilians.
Therefore, it doesn't matter if we stand against the World Government.
But soon, Aokiji said in a deep voice:
"But! With our navy's strength, we're probably no match for the World Government!"
Prior to this large-scale operation by the World Government, they had never known that the World Government possessed such a powerful hidden force.
Countless Cipher Pol members, and a large number of high-end combatants.
In terms of mid-to-low-level strength, their navy is in no way inferior to the World Government, and may even surpass it.
However, in terms of high-end combat capabilities, they are far from being a match for the World Government.
They had never known before that the World Government was hiding so many top-tier experts.
"I know! With our current naval strength, we are indeed no match for the World Government!"
"But... what if we seek outside help?"
Sengoku asked in a calm voice, then continued:
"For pirates today, the World Government is like a sharp blade hanging over their heads, and that blade could fall and take their lives at any moment!"
"Currently, there are only a handful of pirate crews left in the world, apart from a very few scattered ones!"
"That leaves only the Red Hair Pirates, the Beasts Pirates, and the Straw Hat Pirates!"
"If we were to cooperate with them now to fight against the World Government, they probably wouldn't refuse!"
"But... our navy is going to cooperate with pirates? That doesn't make sense!"
One of the Vice Admiral in the crowd looked troubled.
He and the pirates have always been mortal enemies, and now they're telling him to cooperate with them to take down his former boss?
He wasn't opposed to becoming the boss, but he was somewhat uncomfortable cooperating with pirates.
"Madness!"
Sengoku shouted loudly, then stared at him and said:
"What kind of time is this to still think it's unreasonable?"
"Do you think it's justifiable for the World Government to massacre civilians?"
Special times call for special measures!
"Those pirates at least know the principle of not eradicating the root of the problem; most of them only plunder, while only a few extremely vicious pirate crews would commit such heinous acts as massacres!"
"What's the difference between the current World Government and those vicious pirates?"
"Therefore! Even if we have to cooperate with pirates, we must overthrow the World Government!"
The voice of the Sengoku was filled with unwavering determination.
"That's right! Special times call for special measures!"
Garp also stood up and spoke.
"For the sake of justice, we absolutely cannot allow the World Government to do such a thing again!!"