Chapter 141: The Voice of the Marines

Taka paused slightly, her brows knitting together tightly:

"He has already been doing his utmost to avoid a struggle for the right to speak with you; even this return to the front lines, he has been obedient to your every command."

Sengoku was momentarily speechless, sighed, and said:

"How could I not know? He is also a comrade-in-arms who has stood shoulder to shoulder with me for many years, even saving my life several times."

"But... there cannot be two voices within the Marines. This is not me being greedy for power, but the situation of the world has now become extremely dangerous."

"I originally thought that after establishing the Seven Warlords and the Four Emperors structure, this sea would stabilize, but now it seems that is not the case."

"This time he returns, let him retire to the background; cultivating the new generation is what he is best at."

In his words, Sengoku's expression seemed to have aged considerably.

Only those around him knew that he was already completely white-haired; normally he dyed it black just to maintain the dignity of the Fleet Admiral.

It must be known that Sengoku's age is a few years older than Zephyr's.

Even with his condition being the best, he ultimately no longer possessed the formidable combat power of his youth, enough to contend with Jin Shizi, Whitebeard, and others.

Thinking of this point.

Taka's heart tightened slightly; although she was somewhat dissatisfied with Sengoku's actions, she ultimately said nothing more, and turned to ask about Gao Wen's matter:

"Have you already decided to agree to this deal?"

Sengoku nodded and said:

"That is correct."

"This is also the wish of those few; after all, if it were not for the Baroque Works-Bear incident, Knight Gao Wen should have become the successor Seven Warlord."

"Among the current Seven Warlords, some no longer possess the power to suppress a sea area."

"But he is different; the potential he has revealed is extraordinary, and even according to the intelligence we found, that Hawkeye looks at him with different eyes."

"If all these can only serve as reference..."

"Then a Mythical Zoan Dragon type plus Conqueror's Haki aptitude, who can you think of..."

Taka was suddenly startled and said:

"Kaido of the Beasts...?!"

"Ah, unknowingly, that brat really has the aptitude to stand shoulder to shoulder with Kaido."

Sengoku gritted his teeth and said:

"If I had realized the problem was so serious earlier, I should have let Sakazuki crush him in the cradle before."

"Unfortunately, now it is ultimately one step too late."

"With its huge size plus flight capability, it can not only advance and retreat freely itself, but also lead the entire team to retreat."

"Within the Marines, excluding Borsalino, I cannot find anyone confident enough to detain him, and this is even under the condition that he cannot perceive the danger."

"Whether we are willing to admit it or not, that fellow has already grown into a force; now it is actually us who need to use the Seven Warlord position to stabilize him."

"I am even somewhat relieved; judging from his previous personality, he does not seem like the type to actively provoke conflict."

In his words.

Sengoku's voice was filled with exhaustion.

Taka then realized that the man before her was not only old, but also tired; now he was merely forcing himself to hold on for the sake of the greater good.

Since when did it start?

Taka could not help but generate such a question; the only thing floating before her eyes was an excessively young face.

Donquixote Rosinante.

The younger brother of the Seven Warlord Donquixote Doflamingo, and also Sengoku's adopted son.

Eight years ago, the undercover mission failed, and he was personally eliminated by Doflamingo.

Suddenly.

Taka finally realized that of the three men who originally fought shoulder to shoulder with her and led an era, two could be said to have had their families destroyed and their homes ruined.

Taka was silent for a moment.

She forced herself to focus her attention on Knight Gao Wen, but her gaze also darkened.

She knew the threat Knight Gao Wen revealed was great, but never thought the situation would be this dangerous.

Mythical Zoan types, especially those with huge size and flight capability, can basically be regarded as aerial fortresses; in the era of naval warfare, the importance of air superiority is self-evident.

Jin Shizi, who traversed an era and was almost uncontainable, is good proof.

Even in the Marineford War, if the timing had not been on Roger's side, the ultimate winner would inevitably have been Jin Shizi.

A few breaths later.

Taka took a deep breath and spoke:

"I understand."

"I will support your decision."

The voice entered Sengoku's ears; his back paused slightly, he raised his hand to take off his glasses, pressed the moist corner of his eye, and forcibly swallowed all the bitterness in his heart.

A few breaths later.

Sengoku opened his eyes again, restoring the dignity and dominance of the Fleet Admiral; he slapped the table with one palm and shouted:

"Those five have already reached a conclusion on this matter."

"This time I called you over just to notify, not to discuss."

Before the conference table.

Kuzan's breath hitched; he gritted his teeth, ultimately said nothing, and raised his hand to directly take off the eyepatch on his head.

He knew the result before him was the best way to handle the situation under current circumstances, but he could not accept that this was a direct order from the World Government.

A Marines completely dominated by the will of the World Government—does it truly still have justice?

Kizaru took in his reaction entirely, his lenses reflecting the light so that no one could see his eyes.

Naturally, no one knew what exactly was on his mind.

"In any case, Instructor Zephyr doesn't really like this old man~"

"Ko~wa~i~ne~"

Amidst Kizaru's lazy sigh.

Everyone gathered around the conference table instantly fell into a cold, deathly silence.

Some wore looks of undisguised dissatisfaction and anger in their eyes, believing this was dragging the Navy's dignity across the ground.

Others similarly revealed smiles of relief.

Tsuru took in everyone's reactions, then turned her head to look at Sengoku, while a low whisper echoed from the depths of her heart:

"Sengoku~"

"The Navy has long ceased to have just one voice."

"Even your will cannot stand above Mary Geoise!"

"Justice..."

"Justice is absolute!"

A few minutes later.

The meeting dispersed.

Decisions regarding the Five Elders gradually spread, and order within the Navy was restored to what it once was.

Orders were transmitted step by step; Navy officers who had originally dropped their tasks from all over the world to rush back now, upon hearing the news, chose to return to their posts.

The news of Zephyr's fall caused an upheaval within the Navy, yet it was also erased without a trace by the orders from Mary Geoise.

Merely two days later.

Before Gao Wen had even arrived at Raven Port, the news of his appointment as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea had already made it onto the World Government's newspaper.

And the one he had replaced was, as expected, Gecko Moria.

If one were to choose the person among the Seven Warlords of the Sea whose strength had declined most severely, Gecko Moria would undoubtedly rank first.

This could be seen from his physique alone.

Although Crocodile had suffered a crushing defeat at Whitebeard's hands and lost all morale, he still retained that ruthlessness belonging to a pirate.

But looking through the entire Thriller Bark arc of the original work, the most profound thing one could see in Moria was only fear.

Fear carved into the bones and permeating the soul.

Clearly, Kaido had shattered not only his ambition to reach the top and the companions on his ship, but also his soul.

This remained unchanged even at the moment after the Summit War when he was stripped of his qualification as a Warlord of the Sea.

It would only be when Absalom truly fell before his eyes that he might possibly regain his former will through hatred.

Sitting on the deck, Gao Wen looked at the newspaper in his hand; while sighing at how fast the Navy acted, a trace of mockery also rose within his heart.

"Back when I tried my best to avoid direct conflict with the Navy, Smoker dared to spout nonsense right in front of me; now that I've let go of all restraint, you instead let me in."

"It seems that whether it's the World Government or the Navy, they are all bitches who prefer being forced rather than being licked."

"Simp, simp, end up with nothing."

Having said this.

Gao Wen directly raised his hand and threw several newspapers into the sea, then turned his head to look at Zephyr, whom he had already released, and said indifferently:

"I'm keeping this ship."

"If you wish to leave, you can find a nearby port, and I will drop you off there."

Contrary to Gao Wen's expectations, Zephyr instead shook his head and said:

"I heard from Issho that Raven Port is different from other places; I actually want to go see for myself how a port ruled by a pirate would differ."

"To verify whether those words you spoke are true or false."

"To be honest, I do not hate you; I even feel somewhat grateful to you, but even until now, I do not believe the Navy is wrong."

Gao Wen was slightly stunned, the smile on his face growing deeper and deeper, until it finally reached a point where it could no longer be suppressed; finally...

"Hahahahahaha—!"

A burst of arrogant and wild laughter rang out on the deck, lasting for a full dozens of seconds before slowly subsiding.

Gao Wen raised his hand to wipe away the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes and said:

"Then go ahead and take a look."

"Go listen to the true voice of this world."

"I am actually quite curious now; if you come to understand the truest aspect of this world, what will your reaction be?"

"What kind of turmoil will it cause within the Navy?"

At the same time.

The Grand Line.

The Florian Triangle.

Gecko Moria looked at the newspaper he had just received, his gaze fixed on the front-page headline, his knuckles turning white from squeezing so hard.

Arriving together with the newspaper was also a brand new wanted poster.

Former King's Seven Warlords of the Sea, Gecko Moria, bounty: 320 million Berries.

The completely unchanged bounty amount was, for a Warlord of the Sea, no different from an insult; after all, if it were his combat power at its peak, a '1' would likely need to be added in front of this bounty figure.

But the posture the World Government was now striking had contempt written all over its face.

The more Gecko Moria thought about it, the angrier he became, until his voice grew somewhat hoarse:

"To think a rookie has actually replaced my title?!"

"Damn World Government!"

Several subordinates surrounded Gecko Moria, all adopting a posture as if facing a great enemy.

"Captain, what do we do now?"

Hogback's face was written with undisguised fear:

"Once we lose the title of Warlord of the Sea, we will inevitably face a crackdown by the Marines; that man called Bachi caused quite a ruckus on the ship previously, and the zombies we lost have not yet been restored."

(End of Chapter)