One piece: Establishing a Pirate Family

Chapter 472: The Dispute in Mary Geoise

"They even had the nerve to tell me that Rockefeller Charlotte never left the island,"

Saint Saturn sneered with disdain, his lips curling.

He was growing sick of those useless figureheads.

Bang!

"We cannot let this slide! The World Government must retaliate. Invading Impel Down is a direct act of war! Even Rocks never dared such a thing!"

Saint Warcury slammed the table, his voice thunderous with rage.

"Hmph! Yes, even Rocks didn't go that far. But Charlotte, who was once nothing but a minor lackey under Rocks, has grown bold enough to invade Impel Down. Tell me—whose fault is this? Who allowed it?"

Saint Saturn glared directly at Warcury.

Warcury froze, unable to reply, his eyes fixed on Saturn.

"Ever since the God Valley Incident, I've been advocating to eliminate Charlotte, who was still running wild in the New World. But no one listened. He sailed through the seas with impunity, and we all looked the other way. This leniency has led directly to this moment—Charlotte and his pirates growing so arrogant. So tell me, who's responsible?"

Saturn's words struck like a hammer, silencing the other Four Elders.

Their expressions grew grim.

"Enough. This isn't the time for assigning blame. What's done is done. What we need to discuss now is how to contain the fallout and deal with the situation."

Saint Mars, who had been lounging with his legs crossed, sat up and spoke seriously.

"Hmph."

Saint Saturn scoffed and leaned back on the couch, saying nothing more.

Saint Nasjuro also stayed quiet.

Mars continued, "This move by the Rockefeller Pirates has released over ten thousand criminals back into the world. And these aren't ordinary pirates—anyone imprisoned in Impel Down is dangerous. If we don't act, they will cause widespread destruction. The Navy will have a very hard time cleaning this up."

This critical issue sent the rest of the elders into deep thought.

Nearby, the red-haired man with the sword—clearly bored with discussions on pirate strategy—turned to leave.

"You lot keep discussing. I'm heading out."

Without waiting for a response, he left the room.

As his figure vanished, the Five Elders quietly took note of his behavior, intending to use him as a scapegoat when reporting to Imu later.

Back to the main topic.

This was no easy problem to solve. The Navy could not possibly round up all the escapees. With this previous experience, the pirates would now be more careful. Hunting them down would be nearly impossible.

Especially dangerous were Golden Lion Shiki and Red the Aloof (Patrick Redfield).

The Navy had only managed to capture them by sheer luck:

One foolishly attacked Marineford head-on.

The other challenged the Fleet Admiral solo and was only captured because Garp interfered.

The Five Elders were shocked when they learned that the Fleet Admiral had lost to Redfield.

If Garp hadn't shown up in time, the Navy might have faced a leadership crisis.

"How about we increase the Navy's power?"

Saint Nasjuro finally offered.

"No!"

All four others immediately rejected the idea.

"The Navy is already strong enough. We cannot give them any more leeway. If they grow too powerful, they'll act without oversight."

Saint Jaygarcia Petes replied firmly.

This caused Nasjuro to frown and fall silent.

The room fell into awkward silence.

After a while—

"To deal with pirates, we don't necessarily have to rely on the Navy. I think it's time to rethink our strategy,"

Saint Mars said suddenly.

All eyes turned to him.

"What are you suggesting?"

Nasjuro asked.

"Suppose the World Government were to officially recruit some of the more famous pirates. Grant them legal looting rights—provided they turn over half their profits. In return, they'll fight other pirates and assist the Navy when necessary. This way, we can ease the Navy's burden, disrupt the rising pirate tide, and divide the pirate forces."

Saint Mars explained his plan calmly.

"No way. Absolutely not! The World Government cannot ally with pirates!"

Saint Nasjuro rejected it immediately.

How could a governing body join hands with criminals?

Not only Nasjuro—Saturn also shook his head in stern disapproval.

The other two elders, Petes and Warcury, remained silent. Neither supported nor opposed the idea.

Mars frowned at their rigid opposition.

Clearly, it would be difficult to wrest power from these two.

Nasjuro held sway over the Navy, the world's strongest military force.

Saturn controlled intelligence and espionage, including CP0.

Compared to them, the remaining three elders had significantly less authority.

Mars wanted to create a task force directly under the World Government, independent from the Navy or CP organizations. Even if they were only nominally under the Government, as long as he could command them, it would be enough.

Despite resistance, Mars didn't back down and began arguing his case.

Soon, the sacred hall of the World Government was filled with shouting.

It was Mars versus Saturn and Nasjuro, each defending their position fiercely.

Meanwhile, Petes and Warcury remained quiet, watching with faint glimmers of intrigue in their eyes.

Mars's proposal could very well benefit them too, if it came to pass.

But it wasn't something to be decided in a single meeting. It would require careful planning and maneuvering.

"Alright, enough. Don't disgrace this sacred chamber with such shouting over a single issue. Let's put this matter aside for now,"

Petes said, playing the mediator. He subtly gestured at Mars to stand down for now.

"Hmph. I'll never agree to that proposal,"

Nasjuro declared loudly in the end.

This time, Mars did not argue.

"For now, let's leave the pirate clean-up to the Navy. Even if they're slow, that's fine. But we must control the media narrative. Someone needs to speak to Morgans."

Petes's eyes glinted coldly as he said this.

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

The World Government had long been dissatisfied with how Morgans controlled the flow of public information.

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