Snap...
"Damn it, that guy! We haven't dealt with him properly and he's already caused such a huge mess again? And are the naval personnel stationed on Supomachi Island just sitting around doing nothing? Even if they couldn't capture him, couldn't they have reported his whereabouts to headquarters beforehand? Now we're in such a passive position because of Morgans's newspaper report. They should all be expelled from the navy!"
At Marineford, Marine Headquarters, after Morgans spread the news of Luo Chen's defeat of the Dark Lord Carlos, he learned of this from his subordinates. This made him even more furious, as he was already exhausted from gathering all the waiting admiral-level officers in the conference hall to discuss any plans to defeat Whitebeard. He slammed the newspaper on the table and said angrily.
"What's wrong, Fleet Admiral? Has something big happened? Is it something to do with the Whitebeard Pirates?"
All the officials present were somewhat surprised to see Sengoku so angry. In their memory, Sengoku had never acted like this before. Among them, Vice Admiral Mole was the first to speak up and ask a question.
As he asked the question, almost everyone's eyes were focused on Sengoku, wanting to see how he would explain himself.
"Yes, the garrison commander on Supomachi Island just sent over a newspaper report; you can take a look..."
"Hey, turn on the video feed in the conference room..."
Upon hearing his subordinate's question, Sengoku seemed to realize his lapse in composure, so he composed himself and calmly replied. After speaking, he instructed his men to turn on the video feed in the conference room.
brush...
With a screen flicker, the video screen opened, displaying a clip of Luo Chen and his companions battling Carlos at the auction. This was Morgans had intentionally had the Navy collect.
Swoosh...
Finally, after the video ended, the screen froze on the front of a newspaper, which contained a written account of Luo Chen's experiences and deeds throughout the entire incident.
"You've all watched the video. Now, what are your thoughts? Please offer your suggestions regarding how to handle the Luo Chen Pirates so I can consider them before making a final decision."
After everyone had learned about the matter, Sengoku looked around at them again and asked.
" Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I believe we should use all our strength to wipe them out as soon as possible. Otherwise, if we allow them to continue sailing and developing, who knows what kind of trouble they will cause? To ensure our future is not threatened, eliminating them is the best solution."
Just then, as soon as Sengoku finished asking his question, a middle-aged officer wearing a duckbill military cap and with a serious and resolute face stood up and said to Sengoku.
"Yes, Sakazuki, I have considered what you said, but our primary threat right now is still the Whitebeard Pirates. We simply don't have any other military forces available to capture them, so this method won't work. Let's find another way!"
Sengoku had already considered Akainu's suggestion, but had rejected it due to Whitebeard's threat. Now that Akainu had brought it up again, he could only shake his head with a wry smile.
"However, if I were allowed to lead a warship out alone, I would definitely capture them all and bring them to justice, if you agree..."
Although his proposal was rejected, Akainu was still unwilling to give up and wanted to try again, he said.
"No, even if you personally went to arrest them, you probably wouldn't be able to capture them. Didn't you already try before? You encountered the Luo Chen Pirates near Marineford and injured him, but he still managed to escape."
After Akainu finished speaking, another slightly aged voice rang out. It was none other than Tsuru, the strategist of the headquarters. She clasped her hands together under her chin, her bright eyes fixed on Akainu, and spoke with clear and meticulous thought.
"That was just a momentary lapse in judgment on my part. If I had another chance, he wouldn't be able to escape from me..."
Akainu disagreed with Tsuru's statement, stubbornly believing that Luo Chen's escape last time was merely due to his carelessness.
While he was arguing, the generals present were roughly divided into three factions: the hawks who supported Akainu's expedition, the conservatives who did not intend to attack and supported Sengoku, and the neutrals who remained silent like Kizaru. In the end, as the group argued, they all turned their attention to Sengoku to see how he would handle the matter.
Cough cough...
"Alright, Akainu, you don't need to say anymore. It's unrealistic to send troops out now. You must understand that our biggest enemy right now is Whitebeard. As one of the Navy's top combatants, you should stay at headquarters to guard against pirate attacks. Leave the matters concerning the Luo Chen Pirates to Tsuru!"
Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, Sengoku couldn't help but cover his mouth and cough lightly twice to remind them, and then made a decision and said.
"But... okay!! I understand, I won't get involved in this anymore!!"
Akainu wanted to try and get something more, but when he saw Sengoku looking at him, he instantly understood from his eyes that Sengoku was reminding him not to forget the responsibilities of Admiral, so he said no more.
"Alright, let's leave it at that. Proceed with the plan we just devised to deal with the Whitebeard Pirates. Everyone, go and prepare. Tsuru, you stay here..."
Seeing that no one objected, Sengoku then ordered the meeting to end, leaving He behind to discuss the matter of arresting Luo Chen with her.
The generals left the meeting room in pairs, leaving only Tsuru and Sengoku in the end.
"Well, everyone's gone. Now it's up to us to decide what to do. Tsuru, tell us your plan for dealing with the Luo Chen Pirates..."
After everyone had left, Sengoku Guo asked He about her handling of the situation.
"Hmm... In my opinion, it's not advisable for our navy to engage them for the time being. Judging from the footage just now, Luo Chen's strength is already at the Vice Admiral level. It's probably unrealistic to send Vice Admiral to arrest them. If we really want to capture them completely, we should at least use Admiral or Buster Call. But right now, the navy can't deploy that many troops, so relying on the navy to deal with them is simply not realistic."
Crane slowly revealed her thoughts to Sengoku.
"Hmm, what you said is what I was thinking. So tell me, what's the best way for us to handle this perfectly?! Since you've thought it through, you must have a better plan ready, right?!"
After listening to her, Sengoku asked her for her proposed solutions.
"Well, the best solution right now is Shichibukai authorization letter, but that requires your approval as Fleet Admiral and approval from the government."
Crane revealed her thoughts: she wanted to bestow the title of Shichibukai Luo Chen, and then have the government promote it to encourage pirates, even the most powerful pirates in the New World, to come out and fight them. It would be best if both sides were severely weakened, but if not, it would greatly reduce the threat to the Navy—a win-win situation.
"I see, I understand. I'll go report this to my superiors now. I'm sure the higher-ups in the government will agree. The rest of the publicity work is up to you..."
Sengoku's ability to become the Fleet Admiral was naturally remarkable. With just a slight reminder from Tsuru, he understood the cause and effect and hurriedly went to his office to report to the government.
"Okay, leave the rest to me. I'll arrange everything perfectly. Oh, right, there's one more thing. Sengoku, first of all, raise the overall bounty for the Luo Chen Pirates."
He nodded and accepted the task that Sengoku had given her. Seeing him leave in a hurry, she suddenly remembered another plan and quickly reminded him.
"Huh?! Why? Wasn't it already decided to make him Shichibukai? If that's the case, then why raise his bounty?"
After being stopped by the crane and having finished speaking, Sengoku was also somewhat confused about her intentions and asked in bewilderment.
"That would attract more bounty hunters' attention, but the bounty should be increased. That way, he'd face not only the threat from pirates but also the bounty hunters. If he could be captured that way, then we wouldn't have to worry about them anymore..."
Crane carefully explained, making it clear to Sengoku. After deciding on the appropriate bounty amount in his mind, he hurriedly left again.