Hearing Sengoku's words, the atmosphere in the room grew even heavier.
No one had expected that among the Seven Warlords, there were actually three who had come out of the Gray Kingdom.
The sheer lineup of the Gray Kingdom made everyone feel wave after wave of helplessness.
No wonder the Marines and the World Government had been willing to pay such a terrible price ten years ago just to wipe the Gray Kingdom out.
Even without their captain, they had still developed to this level.
If the Dragon King himself had been leading them all this time as their overwhelming captain...
Then the Gray Kingdom might truly have been able to suppress even the Marines and the World Government.
"Then what's the point of keeping Warlords like that?" Issho suddenly said, finally revealing what he had been aiming at all along.
"Mr. Issho, I know you don't think highly of the Seven Warlords," Sengoku replied, "but in order to restrain the endless rise of pirates across the seas, the existence of the Warlords is still necessary."
After hearing that, Issho took a sip of tea and said nothing more.
He knew the timing wasn't right yet.
At present, the Seven Warlords were still extremely important to the Marines.
While each individual Warlord might not be among the absolute top monsters of the sea, if all seven acted together, they were enough to form a major force.
And in terms of suppressing the growth of pirate rookies, they played a very significant role.
At a time like this, the Marines naturally wouldn't be willing to cut off one of their own arms.
The atmosphere in the room became stifling once again.
Most Marines disliked the Seven Warlords.
In fact, many considered the very creation of the system to be a humiliation to the Marines.
But with pirates continuously surging across the seas, the existence of the Warlords was also undeniably necessary.
That contradiction made the topic itself feel suffocating every time it came up.
"Ara ara... aren't we supposed to be discussing Rosinante right now?" Kuzan said lazily, seeing the room sink into silence.
Hearing that, the officers started discussing the matter again.
But even after all the debate...
No one could come up with a truly effective solution.
"I will report this matter to the Five Elders," Sengoku said at last. "In the end, how we respond will be decided by them."
He swept his gaze across the room, his expression severe.
"Until then, if any of you encounter Rosinante, you are not to engage him on your own."
He repeated it, word by word.
"Remember this carefully."
"No one is to make the first move."
"For the time being, we cannot allow any conflict with him."
"Understood?"
"Understood!" all the Marines present answered in solemn unison.
Only one person remained silent.
Sakazuki.
His face was dark, but he gave no response.
Sengoku noticed, but he said nothing.
After all, Sakazuki was an Admiral.
In front of everyone, Sengoku still had to leave him some dignity.
Even so, a trace of worry inevitably appeared on Sengoku's face.
...
While Marine Headquarters was holding its emergency meeting over Rosinante...
Rosinante himself had already brought Bins and Redfield flying through the sky to the Sabaody Archipelago.
To Rosinante, Impel Down was close enough to Sabaody anyway.
And after just getting out of prison, Bins and Redfield obviously needed a change of clothes—and a proper wash.
So he had simply brought them straight there.
Once they arrived at Sabaody, Rosinante led Bins and Redfield directly toward Sleepless City.
Ten years had passed.
And Sleepless City had changed a lot.
The very first thing that greeted them upon entering was this:
There was now an entry tax just to get into the city.
Then there were the streets.
Filthy.
Poorly maintained.
And everywhere, there were drunkards reeking of alcohol.
Casinos, bars, and brothels lined the streets almost everywhere they looked.
Worse still...
Rosinante even saw people being trafficked openly.
Walking through the streets of Sleepless City, Rosinante's brows slowly furrowed.
Bins, meanwhile, looked outright furious.
"Come on," Rosinante said at last. "Let's get you two a proper outfit first."
As he spoke, he led the two of them toward a more remote part of the city.
All of Rosinante's old properties in the Sabaody Archipelago had already been confiscated by the World Government.
His villas.
The Sky-Covering Hall.
Everything.
They were all now under the World Government's control.
And especially the Sky-Covering Hall...
It had become the residence of the Celestial Dragons whenever they stayed in Sleepless City.
But even now, Rosinante still knew some familiar faces in Sleepless City.
Before long, he led the two of them to a secluded corner.
Tucked away there, surprisingly, was a bar.
On the sign above it were the words:
Shakky's Rip-off Bar
"Shakky, huh?" Redfield said, slightly startled when he saw the name.
"You know her?" Rosinante asked, a little surprised.
"We've crossed paths a few times," Redfield replied with a faint smile.
"Let's go in," Rosinante said. "Times are different now. In Sleepless City, they're probably the only familiar people I've got left."
He glanced at Bins and Redfield's prison uniforms and laughed.
"Let's have them get you two some proper clothes first."
"Otherwise, going around dressed like that... it'll be your faces getting embarrassed."
With that, Rosinante pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Inside the bar, Shakky was sitting there smoking.
As for Rayleigh...
Who knew where he had run off to.
At any rate, he wasn't in the bar.
The moment Shakky saw Rosinante and the other two walk in, her mouth fell open in shock.
"Yo, long time no see," Rosinante greeted with a grin.
"Rosinante... you're actually still alive?" Shakky said in astonishment.
Rosinante's face darkened slightly.
"We've known each other, haven't we? Isn't that a little too much for a greeting?"
Honestly, anyone would feel a little uncomfortable if the first thing they heard upon meeting someone again was:
How are you still alive?
"For the last ten years, where exactly have you been?" Shakky asked calmly, as if not the least bit bothered by his reaction. "I heard you were besieged by Kong and Garp... and even one of the Five Elders personally moved."
"There was no trace of you for ten whole years."
"Anyone would've assumed you were dead."
Hearing that, Redfield at the side couldn't help but look surprised.
He truly hadn't expected that Rosinante had once forced Kong and Garp to join forces against him—
And that even a member of the Five Elders had made a move.
Even for Redfield...
That was a level of record he couldn't match.
"Forget about me for now," Rosinante said. "First help me get these two behind me a decent set of clothes."
"Bins... and Red?!" Shakky exclaimed in shock.
Only now, following Rosinante's words, did she properly notice the two men behind him.
Bins was one thing.
She knew him too.
Though she was surprised Rosinante had already rescued him, it didn't completely throw her off.
But when she saw the other one—
She actually gasped.
She had not expected Rosinante to rescue that man too.
"Long time no see," Redfield said with a small nod.
Shakky took a slow breath and nodded back.
"I'll go find you two something to wear first."
With that, she turned and went off to look for clothes for Bins and Redfield.