"The pirates are just biting each other—what does that have to do with us?"
Kizaru, who was about to be promoted to Fleet Admiral, was the first to set the tone of the meeting.
Many of the Marine Headquarters officers nodded instinctively, though some didn't agree with such a passive stance.
"That's still a Yonko we're talking about. If we let them swallow each other up unchecked, it'll eventually turn into a disaster we can't contain."
It was Vice Admiral Doberman who spoke up, a well-known hardliner in the Marines. His stance had always been that the Marines should interfere with and control the scale and power of pirate forces as much as possible.
If it were just regular pirate infighting, there'd be no need to step in—but this Cosmic Dark Matter Pirate Crew had clearly swallowed up the Beasts Pirates.
Even allowing for a short adjustment period, they were already significantly stronger than the original Beasts Pirates.
"Besides that, we still need to acquire seastone from Wano. If the Cosmic Dark Matter Pirates fully seize control of Wano, getting our hands on seastone won't be so easy anymore..."
Another Vice Admiral, Onigumo, added this point. Wano, home to many skilled stonemasons, was one of the primary sources of seastone.
Even when Kaido ruled over Wano, the Navy and World Government had managed to get what they needed from there.
But now that the Cosmic Dark Matter Pirates had taken over Wano, no one knew whether these mysterious cosmic pirates would continue the same dealings with the Navy.
"Seastone, huh… Remind me, why didn't we ever decide to bring Wano under our control in the first place?"
Kizaru rubbed his chin and asked with visible confusion. Considering how important seastone was, even with how strong Wano's samurai were, it didn't seem like they could have kept the Marines at bay.
And yet, the Marines and World Government had stayed out of it for centuries—willing to make under-the-table deals with the Beasts Pirates rather than get involved directly. It was, undeniably, strange.
The top brass of the Navy exchanged awkward glances. For a moment, no one could answer Kizaru's question.
"The secrets about Wano can't be made public yet. If you really want to know, I'll tell you later. For now, focus on dealing with the Cosmic Dark Matter Pirates."
Former Fleet Admiral Sengoku, who no longer needed to dye his hair and now sported a full head of gray, spoke calmly.
Some secrets were reserved only for the Fleet Admiral—especially when they involved the Celestial Dragons or the Five Elders.
"Then let's just send someone over to check. See if those pirates are still willing to uphold the agreements the Beasts Pirates made with us."
Kizaru said lazily. Time was on his side. By the time the World Government and the Five Elders realized something was off, Boros would have likely already swallowed up both the Beasts Pirates and Big Mom's crew.
At that point, even if the Navy wanted to intervene, it would already be "too late." After all, Boros and his top-tier allies made a force arguably stronger than even the old Rocks Pirates.
And with Kizaru—now Fleet Admiral—leading the Navy in dragging its feet, even the Five Elders would be powerless to command Marine Headquarters.
"..."
Fleet Admiral Sengoku exchanged a subtle glance with Vice Admiral Tsuru. Something felt off. Knowing Kizaru's personality, it didn't make sense for him to slip into the role so easily.
But no matter how imaginative Sengoku's thoughts got, he couldn't possibly imagine that Boros—who had subdued Kaido and the Beasts Pirates—had been sent there by Kizaru himself.
After wrapping up the discussion on the Cosmic Dark Matter Pirates, the meeting moved on to the topic of Kizaru's promotion ceremony.
Unlike the rather simple event held in Mary Geoise, the official promotion of a Marine Fleet Admiral had to be done in front of tens of thousands of Marines and all top-ranking officers at Marineford.
As the new Fleet Admiral, Kizaru would officially receive the Fleet Admiral's staff from Sengoku's hands under the watchful eyes of all.
It sounded straightforward enough, but with so many high-ranking officers involved—many with major responsibilities like Vice Admiral Jonathan who guarded the Marine branches—detailed planning was essential to avoid any issues.
Of course, from Kizaru's point of view, all of this was unnecessary. He'd already made up his mind to stir the pot. No matter how carefully the ceremony was planned, it wouldn't stop the highest-ranking "mole" from sabotaging it all.
"What's this?"
As soon as the meeting ended, Kizaru casually handed two exquisitely wrapped gift boxes to Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru.
Sengoku, already suspecting something, frowned slightly. He couldn't guess what Kizaru was up to this time.
"Fancy wrapping… A luxury ticket for a seven-day, seven-night cruise on the Gran Tesoro casino ship?"
Vice Admiral Tsuru opened the box and spoke in surprise.
This was a package usually priced over 30 million Berries, but in reality, you'd need 60 to 70 million plus a few connections to actually get one.
"I got a Sky Island Seven-Day Vacation combo… Why the sudden generosity? Planning to send us on vacation?"
Sengoku was genuinely puzzled. He couldn't figure out Kizaru's motive for giving them travel passes.
What's more, the cruise dates were conveniently set after the promotion ceremony. If Tsuru hadn't gotten one too, Sengoku might have suspected Kizaru was just itching to get him out of the way and take over as Fleet Admiral sooner.
"It's just that you've both worked so hard all these years. Now that there's finally a chance, I figured you deserved a break."
Kizaru smiled cheerfully. By the time the promotion ceremony ended, Boros would likely have defeated the Big Mom Pirates too.
And it would conveniently coincide with most of Marine HQ going on collective vacation. As for workaholics like Sakazuki, Kizaru already had plans for them too.
After that, it'd be up to the Five Elders and the World Government to handle the mess. The Marines certainly weren't going to take the fall.
"Haha, well, I won't refuse a thoughtful gesture."
Sengoku, while feeling vaguely uneasy, didn't reject Kizaru's gift.
If the vacation were longer, he might have sensed something was wrong—but seven days seemed like a normal break.
No matter how hard he racked his brain, Sengoku couldn't imagine that Kizaru would use such a short time to pull off something big.
"You've prepared something for Garp too, right?"
Vice Admiral Tsuru reminded him. If Garp found out they got gifts and he didn't, that troublemaker wouldn't let it go easily.
"Don't worry—Vice Admiral Garp gets the same as Sengoku. A Sky Island luxury seven-day vacation! And just to be safe, I've booked the entire travel group!"
Kizaru spoke generously. Everyone in the tour group, on the sky island, and even on the casino ship were his people. Even the day's newspaper had been replaced in advance with fakes.
As long as Fleet Admiral Sengoku and the others boarded the ship or sky island, all contact with the outside world would be cut off immediately, ensuring the World Government and the Five Elders couldn't reach them.
At that time, the Five Elders still had no idea that Kizaru had already made up his mind to screw them over. Ever since they acquired Pure Gold, Mary Geoise had been caught in an almost endless cycle of internal conflict.
Even the dumbest Celestial Dragons had gotten a bit smarter in the face of such a tempting treasure, even learning to band together to pressure the Five Elders.
Ordinary Celestial Dragons couldn't sway the decisions of the Five Elders, but among them were also high-ranking individuals—especially the direct descendants of the Twenty Kings who founded the World Government.
Aside from the Nefertari Family, who alone chose not to stay in Mary Geoise, the direct bloodlines of the remaining nineteen kings weren't people the Five Elders could simply dismiss like regular Celestial Dragons.
This was also why, despite the massive incident in Wano, the Five Elders remained relatively silent.
Desperately trying to keep hold of the Pure Gold, the Five Elders had no energy left to handle anything else. They would only be able to deal with the Cosmic Dark Matter Pirate Crew after they resolved their internal chaos.
With the promotion ceremony for the new Fleet Admiral drawing closer, more and more high-ranking Marines began returning to Marineford.
Though reluctant, the uniquely positioned Hancock had to tearfully bid Kizaru farewell and return early to Amazon Lily.
In preparation for the Fleet Admiral's promotion ceremony, Marines from various branches had gone to great lengths to clear the surrounding seas of pirates, ensuring no disruptions during the event.
"It doesn't feel all that different from the old one…"
Dressed in the Fleet Admiral's uniform, Kizaru stood before the mirror, casually examining the image of the dashing young man reflected back at him.
He never expected that after all these years of drifting along, he would actually become the Fleet Admiral.
"How could it not be different? The shoulder epaulets, the cuff studs, and the sash buckles—they're all pure gold!"
Nami couldn't help but loudly object. She wouldn't tolerate anyone showing disrespect to such a valuable uniform!
"Alright, alright. I'll get you your own pure gold outfit later."
Kizaru affectionately patted Nami's head. Once she left carrying the uniform he'd changed out of to finalize its design with logistics, Kizaru finally had a moment to relax and opened the group chat.
[Passerby Wanting to Cling to Luo Feng's Leg]: It was brutal! You guys didn't see it, I was so scared I forgot to start the stream! Thirty thousand people! Big sis Esdeath froze them all into ice statues in one go!
[Xiao Lin]: That's terrifying! She's that ruthless?
[Passerby Wanting to Cling to Luo Feng's Leg]: Just look at this pic—you'll see how insane it was. She froze an entire mountain!
[Xiao Mei]: Amazing! Even a Dou Huang wouldn't be a match for Miss Esdeath, right?
[Kizaru]: What are you guys talking about? Thirty thousand what?
[Passerby Wanting to Cling to Luo Feng's Leg]: Finally! Kizaru-senpai's here! Quick, use your powers and recall big sis Esdeath! People on Master Zhang's side are starting to think she's some kind of immortal demon!
[Kizaru]: Huh?
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