Marine Headquarters, main conference room.
The Fleet Admiral's seat at the head of the table remained empty, with several adjacent seats also unoccupied.
These were the positions for the two Admirals and Vice Admiral Garp - none of them had arrived.
The golden seagulls on the shoulders of the Vice Admirals seated along both sides of the conference table gleamed brightly, while Rear Admirals and Commodores were arranged according to seniority and rank.
The conference room was enormous, spacious enough even for the giant Vice Admirals to move comfortably.
All officers from Headquarters had been summoned, their scrutinizing gazes shifting among one another in the heavily oppressive atmosphere.
Though the tension wasn't due to any particular strain.
As everyone knew, Marines who didn't smoke were rarer than eighty-year-old virgins.
With so many heavy smokers gathered together, no matter how large the conference room was, it had already become shrouded in clouds of smoke.
At the far end of the left side, Griffin rested his chin on one hand, fitting in with a cigarette dangling from his lips.
His eyes scanned the people in the conference room, recognizing many familiar faces.
...
—
He had just returned to Headquarters when he received notification from conference liaison Brannew, summoning him to the main conference room for discussions.
Brannew had recently transferred from the Four Seas Branch to the Bounty Assessment Department, specializing in coordinating intelligence related to the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea.
With his dark green curly hair, thick lips, and bushy sideburns, he cut a distinctive figure.
Given his experience and capabilities, the 44-year-old should have come to Headquarters for promotion to Commodore. Considering his areas of expertise, Sengoku had assigned him to handle the crucial sector concerning the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Though only holding the rank of Major, the department under his charge wielded significant authority, surpassing that of ordinary base Rear Admirals.
Griffin remembered him - after all, he was the one later jokingly called the 'Conference King'.
...
Standing before the blackboard on one side of the long table, Brannew held a thin pointer, indicating a massive map of the Grand Line waters.
The map was marked with different colored pins and red lines: sea-blue for "Marine Headquarters", bright red for the "Three Pirate Emperors", and emerald green for the "Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea".
...
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku will arrive shortly. He instructed me to begin the meeting first."
"Please observe—"
Brannew pointed at the green areas representing the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea, his voice clear and forceful: "Since the implementation of the Seven Warlords system, the pressure on our Marines in the Grand Line has significantly decreased."
"Compared to before, the number of pirate attacks on Member Nations has dropped by forty percent!"
He gently tapped several marked locations: "These areas are respectively overseen by Hawkeye Mihawk, Snake Princess Hancock, Sea Warrior Jinbe, Desert King Crocodile..."
"Their presence has deterred numerous small and medium-sized Pirate Crews, saving Headquarters the deployment of forces equivalent to at least seventeen branch bases."
...
Some attendees nodded, while others engaged in hushed discussions.
Brannew continued: "Moreover, the powerful pirates occupying positions among the Seven Warlords typically possess their own intelligence sources and spheres of influence in the New World. This provides the Marines with previously inaccessible intelligence, helping us deploy defenses in advance or formulate strategies..."
"To counter the Marines' true threats—"
Clack—
The pointer struck heavily on the bright red areas.
"The great pirates who reign over the New World like emperors - the three who can be called Pirate Emperors!"
...
"The Whitebeard Pirates, BIG MOM Pirates, and Beasts Pirates!"
"They not only possess individual strength considered top-tier in the world and a powerful lineup of officers, but also command numerous subordinate pirate crews, controlling key sea territories and shipping routes in the New World."
"Some of you here should be quite familiar with this... just like Roger, Whitebeard, and Shiki from back in the day."
"The World Government cannot implement an eradication policy against them, as the consequences of all-out war would be too great."
——
The room fell into silence.
Truth be told, for the Marines, the existence of the Seven Warlords of the Sea was quite humiliating.
After all, the World Government's justification was that the Marines were insufficient to counter the threat of the Pirate Emperors, forcing them to establish the Seven Warlords as a balancing force.
Indeed, if these three major pirates were to unite, the outcome would be uncertain even with the full strength of Marine Headquarters.
However...
The older generation of Marines who truly understood them knew that the person capable of uniting them no longer existed.
...
Griffin gazed at the map, resting his chin in his hand as he pondered.
He believed that if the great pirates of the New World were truly pitted against the Marines in direct confrontation, the Marines would likely emerge victorious.
But the Marines' primary duty was first to protect the Celestial Dragons, and second to safeguard the Member Nations. There was no reason to risk severe losses by engaging in fierce battles with the Pirate Emperors, nor would the World Government permit such actions.
Moreover, pirates could never be completely eradicated.
There would always be those who set sail toward the oceans—if anyone not recognized by the World Government was considered a pirate...
...
...
As the meeting progressed to the topic of "filling the vacancies among the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea," a figure entered through the back door, drawing the simultaneous attention of all officers.
"My apologies for the delay."
...
He wore round-framed glasses, with his long chin beard braided into a plait. The heavy epaulets on his Justice Coat gleamed with golden light.
His eyes, beneath the military cap, swept calmly across the room. Though he made no deliberate show of presence, everyone instinctively held their breath.
The commander of the sea's greatest military force, the highest authority in the Marines—
Sengoku!!
...
The officers rose one after another to salute. As Griffin stood up, he lowered his gaze to assess.
He had been at Headquarters for over half a year and had participated in recruitment campaigns for the Publicity Department as arranged by Sengoku.
But this was his first time meeting in person this legendary figure said to rival Garp.
Unlike Zephyr, whose powerful aura was visibly imposing,
Sengoku gave off a sense of weightiness.
While restrained, his immense presence was profoundly oppressive.
...
Sengoku walked to the head of the conference table and sat down. His gaze swept across the room and met Griffin's.
A slight, casual nod made Griffin instinctively tense his nerves.
Griffin felt his heartbeat quicken, his blood pumping faster.
...
Griffin, who habitually viewed every first-encountered powerhouse as a hypothetical enemy, now saw a colossal Buddha statue standing like a mountain over the seas!
Unrivaled, reigning supreme!
So strong...
This is... the power of the world's top tier!!
...
"Please, everyone, be seated."
He scanned the room, then turned his gaze back to Griffin.
"No matter how many times I've seen photos, they don't compare to seeing it in person."
Sengoku showed a kindly smile: "Commodore Griffin, your eyes are quite beautiful. If you don't mind, please keep them open for the next publicity photoshoot as well."
The eyes of all present officers turned toward him.
?!
Griffin realized belatedly...
He had unconsciously activated his Sharingan!
Merely considering him as an enemy made me this tense...
No!
Griffin took a deep breath, suppressing his surging emotions.
Not tension—but excitement!
There will come a day when I can rival such top-tier powerhouses!
I really want to quickly understand the gap between me and this level...
...
Sengoku's smile faded as he turned to Brannew. "Continue."
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable authority.
——
Brannew pulled two bounty posters from his notebook and pinned them to the blackboard, adding a few lines of text.
The first bounty poster featured a man in black clothes holding a sickle, the end of which was connected by an iron chain to an iron hammer.
His fierce face was familiar to many.
"Former executive of the Beasts Pirates, rumored to be an Ancient Zoan-type ability user, the great pirate known as the Lizard King—Hanafuda."
"With a bounty exceeding 800 million Berries, his strength is extraordinary!"
Brannew pointed at one of the bounty posters and said, "World Government officials have contacted him. His condition for accepting the position of Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea is to be given two Ancient Zoan Devil Fruits."
"The evaluation given by the government officials is…"
…
After the introduction, Brannew pointed to the other bounty poster.
"As for this one, newly joined Marines might not be familiar with him."
"Twenty years ago, his bounty already exceeded 500 million. He is the leader of the Happo Navy in Kano Country—Chin Jiao."
"The one who recommended him as a candidate for the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea is Commodore Griffin."
The eyes in the conference room once again gathered on the last seat.
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