"Sabaody Archipelago is an extremely complex place, and it's actually quite fitting for the two of them to go there." Sakazuki was well aware of how deep the waters ran at Sabaody Archipelago, where the ugliness of human nature was on full display.
Because the Celestial Dragons frequently visited Sabaody Archipelago, it was even more revealing than Mary Geoise in terms of the destruction they wrought upon ordinary people.
Given the personalities of Sengoku and Garp, it was hard to say how they would handle encounters with Celestial Dragons who bullied civilians.
"What about Kuzan?" Borsalino suddenly interjected.
His relationship with Kuzan was neither good nor bad.
In fact, throughout the entire Navy, he didn't have poor relations with anyone.
If Raleigh weren't his younger brother, he would never have publicly supported him.
"This involves our future strategic plans. I believe Marineford's days as the Navy Headquarters should come to an end. After resolving the Revolutionary Army issue, we should advance into the New World and prepare to take down the remaining two Pirate Emperors."
"We'll recall Kuzan from the front lines and have him go to the New World to find a suitable location to establish a Navy Headquarters."
Although Marineford's buildings weren't significantly damaged, the island's landmass has sunk considerably, and its location isn't ideal either—it lacks a foothold in the New World.
Kuzan can serve as the vanguard force, establishing a Navy Headquarters in the New World.
After Raleigh and Sakazuki took down Kaido, the Pirates in the New World are actually feeling panicked.
The big shot they looked up to, Kaido, was killed by the Navy in his own stronghold.
This has left them with no sense of security whatsoever.
If the Navy hadn't already withdrawn from the New World, they would have already clashed with the pirate fleet united under Shanks.
Kuzan is strong enough.
Even if his offensive drive isn't particularly strong, he can still hold a base under such circumstances.
Without the two Pirate Emperors, they simply can't mount effective attacks against the Navy building the new headquarters.
"In the coming days, Sakazuki, your task will be heavy." Raleigh said with an apologetic expression on his face.
"What Kuzan failed to accomplish, you'll need to do, Sakazuki. And this time, I hope you can lead the Navy soldiers to drive the Revolutionary Army from the Four Blues into a single location."
Sakazuki looked completely unconcerned.
He loved to fight and didn't care who his enemies were. As long as Headquarters issued the military order, he would fight.
Back in Ohara, he hadn't even blinked when ordering the bombardment of the refugee ship.
Now, attacking the Revolutionary Army, which was causing trouble for the World Government, was naturally no issue for him.
...
Holy Land Mary Geoise.
The Five Elders, who hadn't slept all night, finally got the result they wanted.
That was Sengoku voluntarily stepping down from the position of Fleet Admiral.
"Sengoku.... if the Revolutionary Army hadn't appeared, wouldn't have been such a bad choice." The bald Gorosei said.
Back when Kong recommended Sengoku, they had all agreed.
Because they felt the Navy was becoming too strong while the Pirates were too weak.
If they replaced him with a more hardline Fleet Admiral, it would definitely upset the balance among the world's various forces.
Moreover, their decisions continuously influenced Sengoku's orders.
Talking about those things was useless; the key was to push Raleigh forward to handle the Revolutionary Army issue.
Once the situation stabilized after some time, Raleigh would take over as Fleet Admiral.
The others nodded in agreement.
They knew that Sengoku and Garp's problems couldn't be resolved for the time being.
First, Sengoku and Garp were extremely powerful.
Ordinary CP0 agents would be useless; only the Gods Knights could be deployed against them.
Second, Sengoku and Garp still had a considerable number of supporters within the Navy.
Action could only be taken once Raleigh had fully taken control of the Navy. For now, the primary focus remained on dealing with the Revolutionary Army.
...
On the deck of the Red Hair Pirates in the New World, Shanks leaned against the railing, reading a newspaper in his hand.
Benn Beckman walked over, a cigar in his mouth, and asked after a glance, "Shanks, is there something big happening? You seem to be reading very intently."
Shanks raised the newspaper in his hand and said, "It is indeed a major event. There was a fierce conflict within the Navy. Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Admiral Raleigh clashed fiercely above Marineford, with Garp and Sakazuki also involved."
The crew members who had just woken up were stunned upon hearing Shanks' words.
They could hardly believe the truth of the matter.
Benn Beckman took the newspaper from Shanks and began reading, while the others crowded around him to look.
Thanks to the vigorous promotion by newspapers worldwide, the events of the previous night quickly became known across the seas.
The cover featured the shattered buildings of Marineford, with the massive walls of the fortress visible even from a distance.
The content was pieced together by a newspaper reporter through interviews and covert investigations.
Although no Navy soldier dared to reveal the truth, everyone understood the reason behind it.
Shanks frowned and said, "I don't know what happened between Raleigh and Sengoku, but I've dealt with both of them, and neither is a simple character."
Pirates who have fought both Sengoku and Raleigh and are still alive are few and far between.
Starting with Byrnndi World, many famous pirates have died one after another.
Pirates who weren't very familiar with the inner workings of the Navy celebrated upon seeing this news, thinking that the Navy had begun to split and would no longer have the capacity to deal with them.
Only those who knew Sengoku and Raleigh well understood that there must be something fishy behind this incident.
...
In the South Blue, in the Sorbet Kingdom, Dragon also saw this news.
As someone who knew both Sengoku and Raleigh well, Dragon had already learned more than others through his own information channels.
Especially when he learned that Sengoku had slightly lost to Raleigh and voluntarily stepped down as Fleet Admiral, with Raleigh set to become the next Fleet Admiral, he felt a wave of crisis.
He knew exactly what kind of person Raleigh was.
If it weren't for him, the Revolutionary Army could have maintained several bases in the Grand Line.
But as soon as Raleigh took action, he forced the Revolutionary Army to abandon all their bases and retreat to the Four Blues.
Moreover, Garp had called Dragon and told him that the reason the World Government supported Raleigh as Fleet Admiral was because Raleigh was highly effective in suppressing the Revolutionary Army.
The gathering of various pieces of intelligence also indicated that the days ahead for the Revolutionary Army would grow increasingly difficult.
Either they would rise to fame in a single battle, freeing themselves from the Navy's constraints on their development, or they would be utterly defeated, vanishing into dust and ashes.
Dragon pressed his temples, uncertain of how to prevent the Navy from entering the Four Blues.