Raleigh, on the other hand, was in a completely different position.
Fleet Admiral Kong and Sengoku both held high hopes for his future.
Moreover, he had saved Zephyr's son, a favor Zephyr had never forgotten.
Among the active Vice-Admirals, Sakazuki and Borsalino both stood firmly on Raleigh's side.
Kuzan gritted his teeth and asked, "If I hand him over to you, what will you do?"
A dark smirk curled at the corner of Raleigh's lips.
"What will I do? I haven't decided yet, but Saul has committed treason—he definitely won't get off easy with a simple death. First, I'll take him back to Marineford to stand trial. After that, I'll hang him on the training ground at Headquarters, so every Navy soldier knows the consequences of betraying the uniform."
Raleigh's words made Kuzan clench his fists again, his teeth grinding in fury as he retorted.
"Saul was once my friend. Even if he needs to stand trial, there's no reason to humiliate him so mercilessly, right?"
Upon hearing Kuzan's words, Raleigh's gaze turned icy cold.
"How is that humiliating him? Do you still consider this Navy traitor your friend?" Raleigh pointed at the frozen giant.
"Look at him—does he show any regard for his past with the Navy?"
"Kuzan, I know you don't want Saul to suffer, but let me make this clear: Saul must be punished severely! No Navy soldier would tolerate such a betrayal, and no one who attacks Navy soldiers should be allowed to die an easy death."
Raleigh stepped closer, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper.
"You might think my methods are too cruel, but go ask those Navy soldiers who nearly died on that ship what they think."
Kuzan fell silent, unsure how to refute Raleigh.
Because Raleigh was right—if he were to ask those nearly slain soldiers, their answer would undoubtedly be to make Saul suffer.
...
Three years had passed since the Ohara incident.
During these three years, the world appeared stable on the surface, with no major upheavals occurring.
But those with ambition could sense the undercurrents beneath the calm waters.
After Ohara was flattened by the Buster Call, the fervor for setting out to sea was doused. Now it seemed to have revived.
Fleet Admiral Kong was detached from Navy affairs, having delegated authority to Sengoku.
Throughout the hierarchy, this reality became accepted—the title "Admiral Sengoku" was being replaced by the epithet "The Resourceful General."
Over these three years, Raleigh hadn't had many pressing duties, allowing him to slack off.
He seemed to have hit a plateau, feeling his strength had reached its limit.
It had been a long time since he'd drawn any skills or items that could help him advance further.
The most significant changes were in Enel and Bullet.
Enel had spent these three years fighting alongside Bullet in the perilous regions, earning the moniker "Thunder Dragon."
Raleigh and Gion's relationship grew closer—Gion even asked Raleigh whether he preferred boys or girls.
Raleigh evaded the question, he still couldn't decide if he wanted to leave descendants.
Opposing the Celestial Dragons was no easy task.
Over these three years, as Cleveland trained more Marine soldiers, Raleigh gained access to unknown information.
For instance, before the Rocks Pirates, there were several pirate crews or underground forces that dominated their eras.
Yet, without exception, they vanished into the dust of history, with few remembering their names—only vague recollections of their existence.
It was said that one overlord-level pirate crew once gathered three top-tier Elemental Devil Fruits: the Magma-Magma Fruit, Ice-Ice Fruit, and Glint-Glint Fruit now held by Sakazuki and the others.
They called themselves the "Calamity Pirates," leaving islands they passed through looking as if struck by natural disasters.
Raleigh believed this—these three Elemental Devil Fruits were among the world's finest, and those who possessed them would be elite among the strong.
Take the Rocks Pirates for example: Rocks' Dark-Dark Fruit, Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Golden Lion's Float-Float Fruit, Big Mom's Soul-Soul Fruit, and Kaido's Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Zoan Type: Azure Dragon.
Each was a world-class Devil Fruit, so Raleigh found it plausible that a pirate crew could possess three top-tier elemental abilities.
However, even such a powerful force was like a wolf facing a tiger before the World Government—both carnivores, yet the tiger could kill the wolf.
Without even deploying the mysterious Uranus in the World Government's possession, the Calamity Pirates were eliminated through a joint operation by the World Government and the Navy.
Raleigh's agents had infiltrated CP9, in the same batch as Lucci.
Through discreet inquiries, he learned that CP9 had at least six instructors at the vice-admiral level.
As for CP0, known as the "Shield of the Celestial Dragons," infiltration remained impossible for now, though Raleigh speculated they had at least two admiral-level agents.
The Navy had more powerful figures in number, but its members weren't united.
After the Ohara incident, Kuzan grew estranged from Raleigh, Sakazuki, and the others—they could hardly hold a conversation.
Particularly after Raleigh ordered Saul's body to be hung in Ohara's central square, Kuzan wished he could kill Raleigh.
The outcome was predictable: Raleigh beat up Kuzan, and both were punished by Sengoku.
However, as a hawkish figure, Sengoku showed no sympathy.
He ordered journalists to capture the scene as propaganda material.
In the photograph, the flattened Ohara island served as the backdrop, where a giant was suspended with his hands bound together.
Raleigh had slit the blood vessels in his legs, causing bleeding, while a medic treated the wounds to prevent them from healing.
After suffering this blow, Kuzan fell into despondency, his "Burning Justice" transforming into "Lazy Justice"—a development consistent with the original storyline.
The key difference lay in Robin's fate: while the original narrative depicted Kuzan's quiet concern for her, here Robin was guided by Raleigh's agents to the North Blue.
She was eventually delivered to Monkey D. Dragon in the far northern kingdom.
Robin needed solace, and individuals capable of deciphering ancient texts were becoming rare.
Like Kozuki Oden, the Mink Tribe were foolish people in Raleigh's eyes, so he had no intention of establishing contact with them.
His influence had grown substantial enough.
Through three years of effort, approximately one-third of the foundational forces across the four seas branch offices had been replaced.
Although Sengoku suspected these deaths might be orchestrated, multiple investigations led by Raleigh and Borsalino proved the victims were killed by pirates, dismissing his concerns.
Buru buru buru buru...
The ringing of the Den Den Mushi interrupted Raleigh's wandering thoughts.
Reaching into his coat, he retrieved the transmitter.
He raised an eyebrow.
The caller was none other than the current Fleet Admiral, Kong.
"Reporting, Fleet Admiral. This is Christian Raleigh. Awaiting instructions."
Though aware Kong couldn't see him, Raleigh chose to stand while taking the call.
Who knew if Kong had planted spies aboard his ship? Raleigh had identified two from the beginning but opted to ignore their presence.
Any Fleet Admiral would monitor a Vice-Admiral commanding thousands of elite Navy soldiers navigating the Grand Line.
Such surveillance was expected.
The elite officers originally serving under Raleigh had been reassigned to other posts under Sengoku's arrangements.
Enel and Bullet exemplified this trend.
Through three years of combat training and pirate extermination, both had advanced to the rank of Rear Admiral.
Enel outperformed Bullet in popularity and resource acquisition—an expected outcome given his upbringing within the Navy under Raleigh's wing, making him a true naval soldier. His promotions progressed faster.
Bullet's service on Roger's ship initially hindered his advancement opportunities until Raleigh leveraged his influence to mitigate the prejudice, enabling Bullet's promotion within two years.
"Raleigh, naval intelligence has located information on 'Lone Red' Patrick Redfield. He's currently on an island near your position." Kong's voice came through the snail.
"Check your charts, calculate the distance to Lipoli Island, and inform me of your estimated arrival time."
Upon receiving Kong's order, Raleigh gestured to Miles, who brought the nautical charts from the office to the deck.
"Reporting, Fleet Admiral. Approximately a day and a half."
After marking the distance on the chart and calculating the travel time, Raleigh relayed the estimate to Kong.
"Alright, I'll give you a day and a half to get here. We need to deal with the Lone Red."
Kong declared, his tone heavy with Haki, then hung up the phone.
Raleigh stroked his chin and chuckled.
This must be Kong's way of giving himself a dignified exit before leaving.
After half a lifetime of dedication to the Navy, Kong intended to accomplish one last major feat before departing.
Following Sengoku's analysis, they determined Patrick Redfield was the most suitable target.
Red Count Patrick Redfield possessed the innate ability to hear others' inner thoughts, which made him avoid crowded places.
As a lone wolf with a notorious reputation, he presented the perfect opportunity for Kong to secure his farewell.
Kong didn't believe in fighting alone. He gathered everyone he could summon.
Sengoku came, Kuzan came, Gion and Tokikake arrived too.
Only Borsalino, who was guarding the government island, and Sakazuki, who had advanced into the New World territory, were too distant to participate.
This was a deserted island, uninhabited by humans.
The island's highest peak served as Patrick Redfield's residence.
...
Two days later, Raleigh reunited with Kong's group.
"Reporting, Fleet Admiral. We encountered storms during the journey, causing some delay," Raleigh said.
Kong nodded without speaking.