Ever since Roger's death kicked off the Great Pirate Era, pirates have become stronger every day. To fight back against these powerful pirates and the Sea Emperors who rule the oceans, the World Government created the Seven Warlords of the Sea system.
But this system wasn't great for the Marines. It showed how they couldn't handle things on their own and gave the World Government a way to control them.
Over time, the relationship between the Seven Warlords and the Marines shifted, even leading to secret deals and favors.
Just like Roya wanted Ace to become one of the Warlords, many Vice Admirals had their own Warlords they were connected to.
Inside the meeting room, the Vice Admirals were frowning, deep in thought.
Adding more Warlords was out of the question. To change the system, they'd need the World Government to agree.
And getting rid of one of the current Warlords would be even harder than giving up on saving Fire Fist Ace.
Onigumo spoke in a cold voice, "The Seven Warlords of the Sea are pirates the World Government has approved. We can't attack them unless there's a very good reason. We definitely can't break our agreement with them just for one Fire Fist!"
"That makes sense," someone agreed.
Roya's gaze turned icy, and he stared at Onigumo.
He knew the rules. To get rid of a Warlord, you couldn't just kill them. First, you had to find proof of their crimes.
And the proof had to show they were hurting countries that were part of the World Government. The World Government didn't care as much about what the Warlords did in neutral countries.
"But you're assuming they're innocent," Roya said. "They were all evil pirates before, and they haven't changed!"
Roya looked at Sengoku.
"Marshal Sengoku, to stop these bloodthirsty leeches from hiding among the Warlords, I suggest we create a secret Inspection Team to investigate them."
"Also, I suggest we consider Fire Fist Ace as a possible Warlord, stop chasing him, and have him fill any spot that opens up among the Seven Warlords!"
He had thought of these ideas before even coming to the meeting.
This was Marine Headquarters. You couldn't just mess around. To get what he wanted, he had to have a solid plan.
"Inspection Team..."
Sengoku looked thoughtful, and he was actually interested.
Roya's idea lined up with what he wanted. It could keep Ace under control and also keep the Warlords in check, making them behave.
If there really were problems with the Seven Warlords...
It would be the perfect chance to make an example of them!
Sengoku thought of Vergo, a spy deep within the Marines.
Some of the Warlords were getting too powerful. It was time to cut them down to size and remind them who was in charge!
Sengoku looked around the room and asked in a deep voice, "What do you all think of Rear Admiral Roya's idea?"
"..."
The Vice Admirals thought about how well it would work, and many nodded in agreement.
It really was a good idea.
But it was just a temporary fix. It didn't solve the bigger problem.
Onigumo spoke coldly, "Marshal Sengoku, how long will this inspection of the Warlords last? If it goes on too long and causes trouble, how will we explain it to the World Government?"
An inspection was fine, but it couldn't take too long.
The Warlords answered to the World Government, not the Marines. Investigating them secretly was overstepping their authority.
If things went wrong, the Marines would be blamed.
"One year!"
Sengoku decided.
One year.
Not too long, not too short.
Even if it was just for show, it would scare the Warlords and let them know their position wasn't so safe.
As for Fire Fist, it would depend on luck.
The next question was: who would lead the Inspection Team?
The Vice Admirals all looked at Tensei.
Vice Admiral Tensei, the "Dark Horse," the head of the Marine's Criminal Investigation Bureau, was usually in charge of inspections.
Tensei didn't look happy. Inspecting the Warlords wasn't a good job. It would be easy to make enemies, and it would take a lot of time and effort. Those old foxes wouldn't be easy to deal with.
Besides, the Warlords were scattered all over the world. How could they investigate everything in just one year?
But with everyone watching, he couldn't just stay quiet.
Tensei thought for a moment, then looked up at Roya: "Rear Admiral Roya came up with this idea, so why not let him lead the inspection?"
"Leave it to him?"
The Vice Admirals looked at Roya, unsure.
Was it too casual to give such an important job to a Rear Admiral? Could he handle it?
Roya was also surprised. He looked at Tensei's calm face and cursed the old fox in his mind.
Where would he find the time to run around!
Crocodile's control of Alabasta was a perfect example. It would take over a month just to sail a warship from Headquarters, and finding evidence would take even longer.
If a year went by and he couldn't find any real proof of crimes, people would probably try to make trouble for him.
Of course, there were some good things about it.
If he could find proof and send one of the Warlords to Impel Down, his Vice Admiral rank and his position as the head of the G-5 Branch would be safe.
Good and bad, all mixed together.
Besides, if someone else took the job, they probably wouldn't find anything. The Warlords were all smarter than average. How could they be easily exposed?
The others don't have my foresight!
If he didn't take one of them down, Ace's situation would be bad, and he might end up being hunted by the Marines again.
He couldn't let that happen.
Damn it, let's do it!
Roya stood up suddenly.
"Marshal Sengoku, I can handle this difficult mission!"
"..."
Sengoku frowned.
Roya was strong, even stronger than many Vice Admirals. He was strong enough for the job, but finding evidence needed more experience.
Roya was too young.
Garp laughed, "Po ha ha ha." He never cared about meetings, but when it came to his grandson Ace's future, he had to pay attention.
"Let Roya go, Sengoku."
It didn't matter that Roya was young. All he knew was that Roya cared about Ace, and that was enough.
"Garp."
Sengoku glanced at Garp.
"Okay, Rear Admiral Roya will be in charge of this inspection!"
The meeting ended quickly.
Roya left the meeting room with energy, feeling like he wanted to grab his Den Den Mushi and call each of the Warlords one by one.
Seven Warlords of the Sea, your nightmare has arrived!
"Let's go, let's go find Teacher Zephyr."
This time, coming to Marine Headquarters wasn't just for the meeting. He also had something very important to do.
Training!
He and Teacher Zephyr had agreed to spend two months each year training together, and there were just over two months left until the end of the year.
He didn't want to leave before then.
After a few steps, Roya stopped. He didn't know the way.
"Where is Teacher Zephyr?"
"Hina will show you," Hina replied, already turning to lead the way.
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[T/N:
Final Total Power Stone Collection : 490 PS
Goal : Reach +50 Total PS = +2 Bonus Chapters next day! 🚀
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]