"Apologies for not informing you beforehand. We announced it directly to imdiately calm the waves of public opinion across the seas."
The Elders felt it was necessary to give Orin a heads-up since most of the individuals involved were actually his people.
Even though Orin had already agreed and promised he would support the decision, delaying the announcent by even a single day would only cause rumors to spiral and pirates to set sail in greater numbers.
A swift response was crucial, which was why they didn’t wait for Orin’s confirmation.
In truth, Orin didn’t care about such trivialities.
What concerned him more was the actual implentation of the Seven Warlords of the Sea system.
"There’s no need for empty pleasantries, everyone. I’m not soone who worries about these things."
He paused briefly, his tone growing casual.
"However... if I rember correctly, the confirmation ceremony for the Seven Warlords is to be held at Marineford, right?"
Hearing this sudden question, the Elders exchanged subtle glances, their expressions turning slightly unusual.
"Indeed," one of them replied. "Marine Headquarters has a dedicated reception hall for this purpose."
Much like the eventual prelude to the Summit War, where the Seven Warlords would gather at Marineford for a formal dinner, there were many occasions when Mary Geoise wasn’t suitable for hosting certain events.
In those cases, Marineford would take over the responsibility.
After all, they already had the manpower and facilities prepared and with Admirals stationed there permanently, there was little risk of any unexpected trouble.
"In that case... I’d like to pay a visit and take a look around. That shouldn’t be a problem, right?"
Orin stroked his chin; he was, frankly, feeling a bit bored anyway.
The Elders didn’t object in the slightest.
In fact, they welcod the idea — as long as Orin wasn’t there to cause trouble for the Marines, it was fine.
His presence might even boost the prestige and influence of the Seven Warlords as a whole.
"Then... we will inform Marine Headquarters of Orin-sama’s arrival."
...
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
At this mont, the Marine officers were also busy preparing for the establishnt of the Seven Warlords system.
After all, it involved several powerful, high-profile pirates.
Sengoku was presiding over a eting:
"...So, this ti, the Marines must be thorough — extrely thorough. The eyes of the entire world will be upon us."
However, as Sengoku’s gaze swept the room, it seed like no one was truly invested in the matter.
First, there was Zephyr. His dissatisfaction was written all over his face — understandable, considering pirates had recently destroyed his family.
Tsuru, at least, was taking things seriously.
As for Garp... Sengoku decided to skip over him entirely.
Sakazuki sat with a grim expression, the killing intent radiating from him barely contained.Letting soone like him — who hated pirates to his core — manage this event? Clearly unrealistic.
Borsalino... well, he was far too laid-back, likely to dump the workload onto his subordinates.
And Kuzan? Absolutely not.
Most of the Warlords were Orin’s subordinates, and putting Kuzan in charge would be like lighting a match on a powder keg.
After thinking it over, Sengoku realized there was only one solution: he would have to handle it himself if they wanted everything to go flawlessly.
The eting ended, and Sengoku slumped into his chair, visibly fatigued.
In the background, he could still hear his officers murmuring among themselves:
"Seriously? We’re supposed to entertain pirates?"
"There’s no choice — this is an order from the World Governnt."
"Don’t tell we’ll have to sit politely while they swagger around. And we can’t even lay a hand on them..."
Particularly among the higher-ranking officers, resentnt was growing:
"Pirates should be eradicated. They’d better not cause trouble this ti."
"Ohhh~ so scary, huh? Those are Orin’s subordinates we’re talking about..."
"Crack... crack... crack..."
Soone stayed silent, frost spreading from his body as the temperature in the room dropped sharply.
While many officers didn’t understand the bigger picture, Sengoku — the man upholding the "Justice That Rules Over the World" — knew exactly what this represented.
The World Governnt planned to leverage Orin’s influence to deliver a heavy, decisive blow to the morale of pirates everywhere.
"You’ve got it rough, Sengoku."
Tsuru remained in the office after the eting, sipping her tea as she addressed Sengoku, who was still sorting through preparations.
"They don’t understand yet, but soday they will."
"I know, Tsuru," Sengoku replied, waving dismissively.
"In tis like these, when piracy is growing rampant, launching a system with seven infamous, high-profile pirates demonstrates to the entire world the strength of the World Governnt and the Marines."
He leaned forward, his tone solemn.
"As long as the world sees that even Orin’s subordinates submit to the authority of the World Governnt — and that these ties are strong and coordinated..."
Sengoku’s gaze sharpened.
"All I hope... is that nothing goes wrong. If the Seven Warlords system is established successfully, my achievents should be enough to secure the Fleet Admiral position."
Tsuru nodded in agreent.
In her view, Sengoku truly was the best — and only — candidate to succeed as Fleet Admiral.
Rubbing his temples, Sengoku sighed deeply.
Aside from organizing Marineford’s reception work, he also had to coordinate and notify the Warlords themselves.
Taking out a Den Den Mushi, Sengoku began making calls — starting with a flamboyant flamingo wearing sunglasses.
"Fuffuffuffuffu... I know. Marineford, three days from now, right?"
"Shishishishishi... I’ll be there."
"Don’t worry. As long as I’ve got a map, this god only needs a dozen minutes to reach Marineford."
"..."
After successfully notifying several of the pirates, Sengoku hesitated for a mont, just as he was about to contact Crocodile and Mihawk.
Suddenly, the Den Den Mushi rang.
Sengoku’s expression stiffened instantly — he recognized this line.
It was the one the Elders had given him for direct contact.
"Moshi moshi, honored Elders!"
"Sengoku."
"Regarding preparations for the official confirmation ceremony of the Seven Warlords, how are things progressing?"
Saint Saturn was the first to speak, making a routine inquiry.
...
"Everything is proceeding smoothly," Sengoku reported.
"Marine Headquarters is notifying each of the Warlords to ensure their tily arrival..."
The Elders nodded, visibly pleased with Sengoku’s efficiency.
They had no objections to him taking over Kong’s position as Fleet Admiral; in fact, they were quite satisfied overall.
"There’s one more matter we need to inform you of."
"Please, go ahead."
"Three days from now, during the Warlords’ confirmation ceremony, Orin will also be attending. Make sure you handle things carefully."
Sengoku froze on the spot, his mind briefly blank.
Orin-sama... would be attending personally?!
Even if countless thoughts flooded his mind, Sengoku could only bow his head and reply respectfully.
This wasn’t sothing he had any authority to oppose.
After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Sengoku’s face remained clouded.
Beside him, Tsuru had overheard everything.
"This can’t be helped, Sengoku," she said gently.
She’d expected this day would co sooner or later.
"Orin is, after all, a Celestial Dragon now — and the leader of most of these Warlords.Whether officially or privately, it was only a matter of ti before he visited Marineford.This isn’t sothing we could have avoided."
Sengoku fell silent at her words, then finally nodded helplessly.
"It just feels... surreal. I still rember, years ago, when Orin ca to Marineford and was repelled by the combined efforts of us old n."
"But now, only a few years later... we’re preparing to welco Orin-sama’s visit to this sacred ground..."
He exhaled heavily, his voice laced with mixed emotions.
"What a turn of events..."
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