When Lancelot heard that, his eyes immediately lit up.
"Oh? In other words, you've already prepared a detailed response plan for this operation?"
"That's right," Issho replied without hesitation.
Lancelot said, "Then let's hear it."
Issho answered, "My plan is to form a team with Yamato, Sasaki, Ulti, Page One, Denjiro, and Kikunojo. Their main task will be to launch a fierce attack on the Big Mom Pirates' original territories, seize the islands under their command, and force them to divide their manpower for defense."
After a brief pause, Issho continued, "At the same time, Shiryu, Ashura Doji, and Kawamatsu will be responsible for hunting down the Big Mom Pirates' members who return to reinforce those territories. This will further force the Big Mom Pirates to pull back even more of their strength. In that case, their outward expansion will inevitably slow down significantly."
"Kake, Zoro, Lena, Lise, Miss Valentine, Hajrudin, Gerd, Stansen, and Road will remain stationed at G-5 to deal with any sudden developments and ensure the safety of our rear."
"As for Vergo and me, we will launch a direct raid on Onigashima. Our target is Queen the Plague, the only subordinate Kaido can currently still put forward with confidence. We will take him down in one strike. At the same time, we will cause large-scale destruction across Onigashima. That way, Kaido will have no choice but to temporarily abandon his plan of territorial expansion and return to reinforce Onigashima. Otherwise, his own base will fall completely."
It had to be said that Issho's plan was truly brilliant.
He had considered almost every possible situation and arranged everyone's role in an orderly, precise manner.
More importantly, he had not become arrogant or arbitrary simply because his authority had grown. Instead, he maintained the proper attitude and discussed the decision with Lancelot.
In fact, he had only presented it as a suggestion.
And yet this suggestion had the potential to influence the entire structure of the New World, perhaps even the structure of the entire world.
He had placed the final decision-making authority in Lancelot's hands.
That proved Issho understood his own position very clearly.
And this kind of behavior often made those in higher positions feel extremely comfortable.
After Lancelot listened to Issho's plan, a satisfied smile appeared on his face, and he could not help nodding in praise.
"Good. This plan is excellent. Carry it out exactly as you said."
Hearing Lancelot agree so decisively, the weight in Issho's heart finally eased.
This feeling of being trusted and given authority made Issho feel extremely comfortable and fulfilled.
After all, this was his first attempt at creating a proper battle plan, and whether Lancelot supported him or not was extremely important to his standing within Lancelot's faction.
Now, with Lancelot's approval, Issho's position within the faction had been completely stabilized.
Previously, his status had already been second only to Lancelot's, which was undoubtedly an acknowledgment and affirmation of his ability.
But that did not mean everyone else would be sincerely convinced.
For example, Vergo, Denjiro, Kikunojo, Ashura Doji, Kawamatsu, and Yamato—was there a single one among them whose strength could be underestimated?
However, Issho was not someone who particularly cared about status or power.
What he truly cared about was using that status and authority to spread his own ideals of justice across a wider range, and to govern a larger territory.
That was the goal he had always pursued.
…
On Lancelot's side, he was discussing with Issho how to handle the sudden changes brought about by the Beasts Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates.
At the same time, however, Marine Headquarters had fallen into chaos.
After the Summit War ended, Kong, Sengoku, Garp, Vice Admiral Tsuru, and the others immediately held an emergency meeting.
After an intense discussion, they finally decided to nominate Aokiji as the successor to the position of Fleet Admiral.
This decision fell like a heavy bomb within the Marines, causing a massive uproar.
Akainu, in particular, strongly opposed the nomination.
His eyes widened, his face filled with anger as he roared, "Why Aokiji? His performance during the Summit War was an absolute disaster!"
Akainu's voice echoed through the meeting room, drawing everyone's attention.
He continued, "Whitebeard died by my hands! I fought bravely on the battlefield and never backed down. And what about Aokiji? Apart from freezing the tsunami Whitebeard caused at the beginning, he spent the entire war slacking off! What qualifications does a man like that have to become Fleet Admiral?"
The more Akainu spoke, the more agitated he became.
His fists clenched tightly, as though he might swing them at any moment.
He utterly despised Aokiji's lazy attitude and believed that someone like him was completely unworthy of leading the Marines.
"And that so-called 'Lazy Justice' of his is nothing but a blasphemy against justice itself! If someone like him becomes Fleet Admiral, won't the entire Marine force become just as lazy and useless?" Akainu's words were like a sharp blade, cutting straight into the heart of the matter.
However, Kong and the others did not give much response to Akainu's fury.
They merely watched him in silence.
The reason was simple.
Akainu was not only not part of their dove faction, his entire style of conduct ran completely contrary to theirs.
Because of that, they would never allow Akainu to sit in that position.
Once Akainu became Fleet Admiral, their dove faction would absolutely be squeezed out and suppressed.
After all, Akainu was not Sengoku, much less Kong.
He was not someone who could tolerate other voices or other factions.
If Akainu rose to power, the Marines would eventually become his one-man stage.
So even if they had to let Kizaru take that position, they would never allow it to be Akainu.
Seeing their reaction, Akainu grew even more dissatisfied.
He silently guessed that the Five Elders might support him.
After all, his performance during the Summit War was plain for all to see, and he had always been a firm hawk. When it came to maintaining the Marines' authority and enforcing justice, his resolve had never wavered.
But in the end, that was only his own speculation.
Although he had some confidence in his judgment, he still felt uncertain.
After all, this was only his personal assumption.
Before the Five Elders made their stance clear, it remained nothing more than an idea.
In truth, however, Kong, Sengoku, and Vice Admiral Tsuru were even more worried than he was.
Although they appeared confident on the surface, they knew very well that the Five Elders, who represented the World Government, absolutely did not want the next Fleet Admiral to come from their dove faction.
This was just like how they did not want Akainu to become the next Fleet Admiral.
It was practically an open secret.
Everyone simply understood it without saying it aloud.
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