The storm on the sea suddenly changed.
Just when everyone was waiting for the war between Whitebeard and the Navy, waiting for this impending world war to erupt.
Suddenly, another eye-popping news came out first, the Red Hair Pirates were completely defeated by the Navy... even one of the Four Emperors, Red-haired Shanks, was captured and imprisoned!
The other two pieces of news were hardly worth mentioning.
Benn Beckman, the vice-captain of the Red Hair Pirates, led the remnants of the Red Hair Pirates and ambushed Marinford, which was not guarded by an admiral at the time, only to be repelled by Navy Admiral Sengoku leading the troops.
To capture the remnants of the Red Hair Pirates, the Three Great Admirals of the Navy Headquarters immediately returned to Marinford. However, after Benn Beckman retreated, he didn't leave. Instead, he boarded a small pirate ship and attacked the naval warship transporting prisoners once again.
Coincidentally, the person responsible for escorting the Red Hair Pirates was precisely Vice Admiral Uehara Naraku, whom they had previously captured. What a coincidence?
As a result...
Benn Beckman once again captured his old friend, Vice Admiral Uehara Naraku.
Unfortunately, Red-haired Shanks was not on the escort warship. He was detained on Enies Lobby as a major criminal...
All other pirates who were initially to be sent to Impel Down Prison were rescued by Benn Beckman. This vice-captain, known for his deep strategy, is indeed elusive...
However, compared to Red-haired Shanks being captured and imprisoned, these little matters were trivial for the Navy, but it did make Navy Admiral Sengoku lose face in front of the Five Elders...
Next, the First Half of the Grand Line was no longer peaceful.
In line with the personality of the Red Hair Pirates, they would never miss the chance to rescue their captain, but the World Government wasn't really worried about the threat from the Red Hair Pirates due to the performance of the CP Department in the Enies Lobby incident...
In fact...
The World Government also had a little new interest.
Who would have thought that in just a few years, the CP Department on Enies Lobby could already be on par with the Four Emperors Pirate Gang, especially since Yakushi Kabuto could even recruit a strongman comparable to Red-haired Shanks!
The only trouble is...
According to Yakushi Kabuto, these strongmen's loyalty wasn't that great because they were willing to serve the CP Department only due to the benefits brought by it.
That doesn't matter.
If someone can be tied down by benefits, it shows they can be utilized; after all, the World Government and the Navy pay quite a bit of money to Kakuzu every year...
Water Seven City.
Due to the turbulence on Enies Lobby, the First Half of the Grand Line was a bit lively. As one of the islands closest to Enies Lobby, Water Seven City naturally wasn't that peaceful either...
Even though it had become a haven for pirates.
But Water Seven City did receive two big businesses, the Red Hair Pirates paid money to have two pirate ships built by Water Seven City.
One of the ships was for their own use...
The other ship was a gift to the Straw Hat Pirates.
In the Enies Lobby incident, the Ship Spirit born from the Golden Merry rushed to Enies Lobby at the most dangerous moment to rescue the Straw Hat Pirates and the Red Hair Pirates.
However, this small ship could no longer withstand the trials of the Grand Line...
Thus, the Straw Hat Pirates got a Thousand Sunny in Water Seven City, and the Red Hair Pirates went ahead to build a new Red Force in Water Seven City.
The new Red Force will continue to be active in the First Half of the Grand Line, seeking the chance to rescue their captain, Red-haired Shanks; while the Straw Hat Pirates decided to head to Shampodi Archipelago to find a person named Dark King Rayleigh.
This message...
was actually told to the Straw Hat Pirates by Uehara Naraku when they were on Jaya Island, that if the rescue of Ace failed, they should go look for the Pirate King's vice-captain, Dark King Rayleigh.
When Benn Beckman, the vice-captain of the Red Hair Pirates, heard about this, he suddenly felt a bit scratching his head, as if kidnapping Vice Admiral Uehara Naraku was a mistake?
Seriously...
That guy should be a good person!
It's just that his luck wasn't very good, being captured twice in a row by their Red Hair Pirates, who knows how that vice admiral is doing...
Uehara Naraku's days were naturally not going well.
Since he was once captured by them, after Vice Admiral Uehara Naraku followed the admirals back to Marinford, he was scolded all afternoon by Navy Admiral Sengoku...
This incident was really unjust.
What could an ordinary Vice Admiral do when encountering the Four Emperors?
No matter which Vice Admiral of Marinford, if they encountered the Four Emperors Pirate Gang, there was nothing they could do but give up without resistance, right?
Especially encountering the Red Hair Pirates twice in a row!
Uehara Naraku could only say it was his bad luck.
Indeed, it was his bad luck, because even for other naval vice admirals, encountering the Red Hair Pirates meant no escape, but unfortunately, this incident ultimately disgraced Sengoku, especially in front of Yakushi Kabuto...
Moreover, Yakushi Kabuto coldly mocked Sengoku, directly suggesting that Uehara Naraku should leave the Navy to avoid wasting his life as a Vice Admiral...
Such words...
Were definitely satirical.
"Alright, no matter what, Vice Admiral Uehara has made significant contributions before."
After scolding Uehara Naraku, Navy Admiral Sengoku tapped his desk and coldly said, "At least let him redeem his merits in the upcoming war!"
However, after saying this, Sengoku suddenly glanced coldly at Uehara Naraku and said in a deep voice, "Forget it, let Vice Admiral Uehara go to Shampodi instead..."
When saying this, Sengoku turned to look at Yakushi Kabuto, snorted disdainfully, and said, "Kabuto Staff, didn't you just say that Shampodi can't lack naval protection for those constantly troublesome World Nobles?"
Yakushi Kabuto, this lackey of the Heavenly Celestial Dragons...
It really makes one feel somewhat ashamed to associate with them.
The Navy is originally forced to protect those scum, the Celestial Dragons, as per the World Government's orders, which makes the Navy's attitude towards the Celestial Dragons very unfriendly...
But Yakushi Kabuto, someone who's from the Navy, has managed to swiftly rise through the ranks in recent years by pleasing the Celestial Dragons and the Five Elders through the CP Department...
And those Celestial Dragons often frequent the Shampodi.
Besides, there's currently no Vice Admiral stationed to guard Shampodi.
Simply send Uehara Naraku to guard the Shampodi Archipelago, protect the Celestial Dragons who frequently appear at Shampodi, and intercept the Super Rookies who are about to enter the Shampodi Archipelago.
Stationed at Shampodi Archipelago...
This task is a troublesome one that other Navy personnel don't want to get involved in, as the Celestial Dragons are arrogant towards everyone and have a very bad attitude towards the Navy as well.
The appearance of the Celestial Dragons always means big trouble for the Navy.
Nonetheless, the Shampodi Archipelago must be tightly guarded.
Because the Shampodi Archipelago is one of the transit points from the First Half of the Grand Line to the latter half, and many new pirate ships don't know how to enter the world and need to coat their ships at Shampodi to dive to Fishman Island and enter the New World.
The Navy has been stationed here long-term, capturing unruly new Pirate Gangs and concurrently protecting the Celestial Dragons who might appear anytime at the Shampodi Archipelago.
However, given that a war is about to break out with the Whitebeard Pirates, the elite troops stationed at Shampodi have mostly been recalled to Marinford.
Navy Admiral Sengoku, adhering to the principle of waste utilization, decided to send Uehara Naraku to the Shampodi Archipelago to take up his position and become the babysitter for the Celestial Dragons.
Also, it was to have some peace of mind...
After all, since Uehara Naraku became a Vice Admiral, he's made numerous mistakes, with each one causing Sengoku the Buddha a headache...
Is this Uehara Naraku here to settle debts?
Why was this guy ever promoted to Vice Admiral...
Every time Sengoku thinks of Uehara Naraku, he can't help but feel a bit of regret, this old man genuinely regrets it...
This Uehara Naraku truly is just as Yakushi Kabuto described, he doesn't have the abilities required of a Vice Admiral of the Navy Headquarters, and every time there's a major event, he becomes a hindrance to the Navy!
How embarrassing!
Marinford Office.
Marshal Sengoku waved his hand to signal Uehara Naraku to leave: "Alright, Vice Admiral Uehara, once you're out of this office, you should report to the Shampodi Archipelago!"
"Yes."
Uehara Naraku slowly clenched his fists, as if feeling a bit humiliated, and stepped out of the Navy Admiral's office one step at a time: "I understand, Marshal."
"..."
Yakushi Kabuto watched as Uehara Naraku left, shook his head helplessly, and couldn't help but let out a small smile: "Marshal, today you chose not to heed my advice to remove Vice Admiral Naraku from the Navy, and you will definitely regret this in the future…"
"Yakushi Kabuto, I am the Navy Admiral!"
Sengoku the Buddha shot a cold glance at Yakushi Kabuto, with a gaze full of warning: "As long as I'm still in the position of Navy Admiral, don't ever think you can rely on your CP Department and World Government connections to manipulate the Navy into becoming your tool..."
"Rest assured."
Yakushi Kabuto adjusted his glasses, chucking lightly as he continued: "Then, shall we continue our discussion about conscripting the Seven Warlords of the Sea!"
"Hmm…"
Sengoku slowly nodded, clutching his list: "The Seven Warlords of the Sea, except for Boa Hancock the Empress of the Nine Snake Pirates, who hasn't agreed yet, the remaining six have chosen to agree to the conscription…"
To be honest…
That number is quite good already.
After all, out of the six, none made any demands and simply agreed to the conscription, and a few of the Seven Warlords of the Sea are already on their way to Marinford.
"Ha, the Nine Snakes huh…"
Yakushi Kabuto chuckled lightly, a glint flashing in his glasses, as he continued casually: "Then let's just directly revoke her position as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea!"
"Isn't it a bit inappropriate to do that at this time?"
Vice Admiral Tsuru frowned, advised softly from the side: "If we revoke her position as a Warlord of the Sea, wouldn't that mean we face another enemy?"
"Well, besides her, others will be revoked too!"
Yakushi Kabuto clasped his hands together, speaking softly: "Either way, we have to at least revoke Bartholomew Kuma's position as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea because according to CP's intelligence, we have ample evidence to prove that this Warlord is a Revolutionary Army spy…"
"What?"
Sengoku's eyes couldn't hide his shock.
The next moment, Sengoku thought of something, his face looked rather grim: "Recently, Bartholomew Kuma has been in contact with Vegapunk, even the Navy's latest technological weapon, the PX Pacifista…"
"There's no need to worry about that."
Yakushi Kabuto continued slowly: "Vegapunk has always been under our control, and there won't be any accidents with the Pacifista...
But we have to deal with not just the Whitebeard Pirates but also the Revolutionary Army, so there's no need for Bartholomew Kuma to be on the battlefield!"
"Little Kabuto…"
Vice Admiral Tsuru's brows remained tightly furrowed, and she spoke softly: "It's hard to find a suitable replacement in such a short amount of time. Although there are many Super Rookies this year, their nature is quite rebellious, and it's hard to say if they'll accept the position of Warlord of the Sea, and their strength might not measure up, right?"
"Then we pick some fallen pirates who once wanted to become Warlords of the Sea…"
Yakushi Kabuto tapped his fingers and calmly said: "Captain of the Art Pirates, Deidara, with a bounty of 190 million Belly, this number should be about right?"
Talking about it, Yakushi Kabuto's lips curled into a smile: "I've dealt with him before, this Deidara once desired the position of Warlord of the Sea that Crocodile held…"