The Marines had never had a good impression of Mary Geoise. As for Pask, that man had occupied the position of Commander-in-Chief for so many years without ever having any friendly exchanges with the Marines.
The two sides had always been at odds. In fact, the reason the relationship between the World Government and the Marines had deteriorated was partly because Finn had been pushing it in that direction, and partly because Mary Geoise had appointed such a Commander-in-Chief in the first place.
Now that the Five Elders had personally beheaded him, the Marine top brass naturally laughed heartily.
But after the laughter subsided, Fleet Admiral Kong straightened his expression. "This isn't just about personal advancement. That idiot Pask deserved death, but the position of the next Commander-in-Chief absolutely cannot fall into CP hands. This is extremely important for the Marines, so you must pay close attention to the Fisher Tiger issue."
That was true. From a personal perspective, Fleet Admiral Kong wanted promotion and advancement. Finn and other Marine officers who'd risen alongside him naturally wouldn't stand in his way. On the contrary, if Kong was promoted, Admiral Sengoku would definitely have room to advance. After working a few more years, Finn might be able to assume the position of Fleet Admiral.
So from a personal standpoint, this matter deserved full support.
From the Marines' institutional perspective, having a Marine officer serve as Commander-in-Chief... did the benefits really need explanation?
Whether public or private, this was something the Marines had to prioritize.
"Is there new intelligence?" Finn asked.
Chief of Staff Tsuru spoke up. "Yes. Fisher Tiger is currently wandering the New World. He took some of the slaves liberated from Mary Geoise with him. Most of them are Fish-Men and mermaids. He recently raised a pirate flag and calls himself the Sun Pirates. However, their whereabouts are uncertain. What we have discovered is that he seems to be returning the rescued slaves to their homes..."
As soon as Chief of Staff Tsuru finished speaking, everyone in the office fell silent.
After a long moment, Garp spoke first. "It's one thing not to respect or protect a man like this, but now we're supposed to kill and capture him..."
Unexpectedly, Sakazuki also said, "Although he raised the pirate flag, he really hasn't done anything wrong."
This surprised Finn somewhat. When did you, Sakazuki, start considering these nuances?
"Indeed," Admiral Sengoku said helplessly.
Deep down, these senior Marine officers all felt some respect and admiration for Tiger.
After all, while what he'd done sounded heinous—like burning Mary Geoise—it could actually be defined as a "just" action.
Now the Marines were being asked to eliminate him, and everyone felt conflicted.
Even Fleet Admiral Kong, who had the deepest vested interest in the matter, looked somewhat regretful.
"But if we don't take action, the CP will catch him sooner or later," Chief of Staff Tsuru said softly. "If we act, we may be able to give him a quick death. But if he's caught by CP, he'll face a terrible fate."
However, no one spoke. Perhaps Chief of Staff Tsuru's reasoning was sound, but everyone knew it was just a pretext, an escape route for them to cover up the "darkness" of their actions with high-sounding justifications and make this decision seem more righteous.
Simply put, it was forcing the narrative to be "for Tiger's own good," making it seem as if the Marines killing him now was actually mercy.
At this moment, Admiral Sengoku waved his hand. "Alright, alright. Stop making excuses. Tiger is a good man, a great man, worthy of admiration. However, for the Marines' benefit, he must pay the price. Reality is cruel. There's no need to pretend to be righteous and noble, and there's no need to make excuses. Embrace this guilt and selfishness, endure this moral burden, and then... give him a quick death."
Finn agreed completely. Why bother finding some bright, grand, just reason for themselves? If they needed to spin it for public consumption, fine. But they were all sitting here together—who didn't understand each other?
Seeing that Admiral Sengoku had stated it so plainly, the others stopped agonizing.
But at this moment, Finn spoke up. "Speaking of which, I also need to tell you something."
"It seems related to this Tiger situation?" Admiral Sengoku asked.
"Yes. You all know about Jinbe, right?" Finn asked.
"Of course we know," Admiral Sengoku and the others nodded.
"Although he's still just a Marine Captain, his identity is quite special. He's the hub connecting Fish-Man Island and the Marines. I'd planned to train him well for the future, but unfortunately, he was raised by someone he regards as an elder brother and respects deeply..." Finn said softly.
Fleet Admiral Kong's expression shifted slightly. "You're not about to tell me that elder brother is Tiger, are you?"
"Fleet Admiral, you're so perceptive," Finn said dryly.
"This complicates things..." Admiral Sengoku murmured.
Just as Finn had said, Jinbe's identity was somewhat special. If he were a simple, ordinary Marine Captain, there'd be no need to consider his feelings at all.
Unfortunately, the Marines had just established relations with Fish-Man Island, and they needed him to communicate and maintain that relationship. And now this situation had arisen.
"So I'm going to adjust my plans. I intend to have Jinbe join the Seven Warlords of the Sea..." Finn said suddenly.
Of course, he'd actually planned this long ago.
Everyone looked confused. Your thought process is jumping all over the place. Are we even talking about the same thing?
"I'm Jinbe's superior, and he's my direct subordinate. You may not know him well, but I know him very thoroughly. I can tell you plainly that he's an exceptionally loyal man who repays his debts. On the way here from the port, I already inquired. He hasn't left the Marines yet. I suspect he's waiting for me. When I return to my office later, he'll definitely come to resign. After that, he'll definitely join the Sun Pirates and follow Tiger," Finn said with certainty.
"So what?" Admiral Sengoku asked.
"A forced melon isn't sweet. Let's handle this matter properly. Anyway, I've always been responsible for Seven Warlords affairs. I'm just informing you all in advance to avoid misunderstandings in the future. Also, regarding Fisher Tiger—how long can we let him live?" Finn said this while looking at Fleet Admiral Kong.
It was obvious that Chief of Staff Tsuru had already caught on. Tiger had no experience as a pirate, and his subordinates were a group of Fish-Men unfamiliar with maritime operations. He also had slaves who needed to be returned home.
In his current state, trying to evade the Marines was essentially suicide. In the original timeline, for unknown reasons, he'd persisted for more than two years before being killed.
But now, Finn estimated that if the Marines took it seriously, they could locate and eliminate him within six months.
That's why he asked this question. Now it wasn't a question of how long Tiger could survive out there, but how long the Marines would tolerate him being out there.
In other words, how long would Fleet Admiral Kong need to prepare and transfer Fleet Admiral authority to Admiral Sengoku in a safe and stable manner before he could calmly eliminate Tiger and be promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the entire military.
Fleet Admiral Kong was silent for a moment, then said, "Originally, I was planning to capture him as soon as possible, or give him a quick death. But now that you've said this..."
He paused briefly, then looked at Sengoku. "Actually, Sengoku is already familiar with all Fleet Admiral responsibilities. About half a year will be sufficient for the Marines to smoothly transition power. So we can't give Tiger too much time. Finn, a year and a half at most. That's all I'll give him."
"But Finn, the Marines can give him a year and a half and pretend not to pursue him, but the CP may not do the same..." Admiral Sengoku said.
"I'll handle the CP side. If nothing unexpected happens, Stussy will be promoted this time. I've asked her to pay close attention to this matter. With her intelligence support, and with Jinbe as the communication hub, I can pass messages to Tiger. Avoiding CP for a year or two shouldn't be a problem..." Finn openly revealed his relationship with Stussy.
Admiral Sengoku looked at Finn strangely, and Fleet Admiral Kong seemed hesitant to speak.
Finn waved his hand. "Alright, alright. I know what you're thinking. That woman isn't trustworthy in your eyes. Don't worry, I won't compromise on matters of principle."
"Forget it. You're an Admiral. You know what you're doing," Instructor Zephyr said with a smile.
"Then I'll leave this matter to you, Finn—whether it's Jinbe or Tiger... In a year and a half, I hope you can handle it properly," Fleet Admiral Kong said.
"Thank you, Fleet Admiral. Leave it to me," Finn replied.
For Finn's plan, the Fleet Admiral was willing to delay his own promotion by a year. It showed that Kong still cared deeply about the Marines' wellbeing.
"By the way, the Five Elders indicated that when you return, if you have time, you should go to Mary Geoise. They want to meet with you formally," Fleet Admiral Kong suddenly added.
Finn was momentarily surprised. What's this about?
"It seems the Five Elders want to ease relations with us?" Finn asked with a slight smile.
"That appears to be the case," Admiral Sengoku nodded, then asked, "Are you going?"
"Why wouldn't I go? But not right now. Mary Geoise is currently being rebuilt, and I doubt they have time to see me anyway. Let's arrange it based on how things develop," Finn said casually.
"After you get there, you..." Fleet Admiral Kong was about to give some instructions, but then he smiled. "Actually, I don't think there's anything I need to tell you. You're quite the cunning fellow. You'll handle it yourself."
"Understood, Fleet Admiral," Finn said with a smile.
Now that the Fleet Admiral would soon become Commander-in-Chief, this matter was basically a foregone conclusion. In fact, even if Fisher Tiger weren't eliminated, after some delay, the World Government would still have to let Kong become Commander-in-Chief, because they couldn't give the position to a CP Chief in the short term. They'd already learned that lesson.
Therefore, with Fleet Admiral Kong going to Mary Geoise, the Marines would indeed have to maintain cordial relations with the World Government for a while. They couldn't go too far, otherwise Kong would be caught in the middle, making it even harder for him to do his job and secure benefits for the Marines.
During this period, they needed to do something that would reassure the World Government and ease tensions between the two organizations.
This was also why Finn didn't refuse to meet the Five Elders.
Of course, Finn didn't think the Five Elders would humiliate him during this meeting. If they did, then the Five Elders would be truly foolish and unworthy of their positions. At this stage, the World Government urgently needed to maintain relatively friendly relations with the Marines. Why would they humiliate a Marine Admiral for no reason and cut off their own arm?
So Finn figured this meeting shouldn't be too uncomfortable.
After that, they discussed various issues, most related to Mary Geoise. Finn wasn't particularly interested since this wasn't his responsibility. It was obvious Mary Geoise wanted to coordinate with the Marine Fleet Admiral on these matters. As for Admirals, only Admiral Sengoku was qualified to participate. Finn and Sakazuki had no room to intervene.
So after chatting for a while, Finn stood up. "I can't contribute to this discussion. I think Jinbe must be getting impatient anyway. You all can continue. I support all of Admiral Sengoku's proposals. I'll be leaving now."
The others didn't stop him. After saying his goodbyes, Finn turned and left the Fleet Admiral's office.
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