After two hours of fruitless debate, Kong had no choice but to leave in a huff. In the end, he couldn't stop the Gorosei's decision.
Zephyr was a Marine's Marine, but with this matter now in play, Kong couldn't predict what the consequences would be.
"Kong has become arrogant and uncontrollable," the sword-wielding Gorosei said after Kong had left.
"Ever since the failed operation to wipe out Alucard, he's become increasingly cautious, so cautious that he's afraid to move forward, afraid to make any sacrifices. He is no longer worthy of being a Fleet Admiral."
The other Gorosei all agreed. After suffering that major defeat, Kong, who had been too eager for quick results and didn't heed Tsuru's advice, had become unusually cautious. A polite way of putting it would be "acting only after careful consideration." A less polite way would be "cowering in fear."
No matter how you put it, the Gorosei only cared about one thing: Kong being Fleet Admiral no longer served their interests. It was time for a change.
After discussing Kong, the five of them moved on to the Pacifista project.
"Let's have Borsalino lead the Pacifista project for now," the blond-haired Gorosei proposed. "Since some of his Glint-Glint Fruit abilities are integrated into them, I believe he is the most suitable candidate."
"But Borsalino is currently the base leader of Marine G-2 Branch in the first half of the Grand Line… are we sending some of the initial Pacifista prototypes there for testing?" the Gorosei with the curved mustache asked.
The long-bearded Gorosei said, "While Kong has been too cautious, the New World still needs Zephyr's Guerrilla Unit to maintain order. Until the Pacifista project is fully complete, we must still be mindful of him. I agree to secretly send the initial Pacifista prototypes to G-2 Branch for testing."
"Then the Pacifista matter is settled. For now, it must remain a secret. Once they are deployed in combat, they must be used for maximum effectiveness."
....
On the topic of pirates, if one were to ask which pirate crews besides the Yonko were the most famous, outside of the Government's lapdog Warlords of the Sea, it would have to be the Red Hair Pirates and the Donquixote Pirates.
There were currently five Warlords of the Sea: Dracule Mihawk, Crocodile, Gecko Moria, Bartholomew Kuma, and Jinbe, who had recently joined the Warlords to protect Fish-Man Island.
Shanks, the captain of the Red Hair Pirates, had a record of fighting Mihawk over a hundred times to a standstill. He was originally a strong candidate for the Warlords of the Sea, but he rejected the Government's invitation. While not the type to pick fights, he flatly refused the Warlord title.
He had now crossed the first half of the New World and was gradually entering the middle section, the territory of the Yonko.
And then there was Donquixote Doflamingo, the leader of the Donquixote Pirates, also known as "Heavenly Yaksha." Since he didn't hide his family name, the World Nobles were wary of him. His current bounty was over 300 million Berries, which was nothing compared to Shanks.
The reason was that he was more focused on building his power in the underworld than on high- seas combat, so his bounty was much lower than pirates like Mihawk and Shanks. He had just entered the New World, a bit later than the Red Hair Pirates.
In the New World, if one follows a standard course, the first Yonko they will encounter is Big Mom. After that, depending on a slight variation in the course, there's an almost equal chance of entering either Alucard's or Kaido's territory. Finally, there's Whitebeard's territory.
When the Red Hair Pirates entered the New World, they sailed in a straight line. The first territory they passed through was Big Mom's. The entire world was waiting for a show when the one-armed man from East Blue entered her territory.
A force not allied with the Yonko was entering a Yonko's territory. Would Shanks submit to one of the Yonko? Or would he fight Big Mom to the death?
Everyone waited for the result, and a week later, with no major commotion, the Red Hair Pirates emerged from Big Mom's territory unharmed. No one knew what had happened inside.
"How boring. I thought something might happen between him and that old woman~~"
In a dimly lit room in the Kuja Palace that Hancock had specially created for Alucard, he felt a sense of boredom as he read the newspaper that reported Shanks' safe departure from Big Mom's territory. He had hoped to see how much the guy who used to be with Roger had grown.
"Master, your words are quite misleading…" Hancock said, gently scratching her cheek from the side.
Something happening with that old woman… What could happen? Alucard's words sound like a sexual innuendo. Hancock felt a shiver run down her spine as she imagined Shanks and Big Mom together in that way.
Alucard tossed the newspaper aside and asked, "How's Shirahoshi doing?"
Hancock knelt beside Alucard, like a kitten. "Yes, she's now able to communicate quite well with sea creatures. Her power is starting to awaken."
For the past two years, Alucard hadn't sailed much. While there was a "no need to go out" reason, another reason was that Shirahoshi's power hadn't yet awakened.
Viola's mind-reading ability had helped them avoid situations with infiltrators like Laliya, but the Government was still trying to get to Shirahoshi. So, it was better for Shirahoshi to awaken her Poseidon power as soon as possible.
Suddenly, the atmosphere in the room became quiet. Hancock saw that the room was dimly lit and that she had found a way to send Scarlett and Viola away. It was a rare opportunity. She finally lifted her qipao and pressed her soft waist against him.
Several hours later, Hancock, her face glowing with satisfaction and her spirit high, walked out of the underground room where Alucard was. Rindo, one of the Kuja Pirates' executives, saw her. She dropped the cigarette she was holding and quickly walked up to her. "Snake Princess-sama, a pirate crew that doesn't belong to Alucard-sama's forces is outside the island, requesting an audience."