Akainu had never expected things to develop exactly as he had predicted, and for a moment, his heart filled with gratitude toward Lancelot.
But more importantly, Lancelot's recognition of him caused Akainu's attitude toward Lancelot to change drastically.
Akainu knew very well that when dealing with pirates, one had to be ruthless.
Meeting violence with even greater violence was the wisest choice in the current situation.
Only by being fiercer than the pirates could the Marines make them feel fear, and only through fear would pirates no longer dare to act recklessly.
Only then could the next possible pirate wave be effectively suppressed.
However, if Kong and Sengoku had been ruthless enough back in Roger's era and taken decisive action, perhaps the situation would have been completely different.
They could have gathered powerful combat forces and large numbers of troops, then deployed them at the entrances from the Four Blues into the Grand Line, using strategic locations like Loguetown as choke points.
If they had done that, the vast majority of pirates would likely never have escaped annihilation.
And it would not have been only because the Marines had laid an inescapable net at the entrances from the Four Blues into the Grand Line.
They could also have stationed another powerful force at the exits leading from the Four Blues into the Grand Line, carrying out a second round of encirclement.
With a defense line that tight, how many pirates from the Four Blues could possibly break through?
Unfortunately, Lancelot did not know what Akainu was thinking at that very moment.
Otherwise, he would definitely have praised Akainu's strategy.
After all, if Sengoku and Kong had truly taken such action back then, the results would have been immediate.
Once the New World lost the constant influx of pirates from the Four Blues, the only ones left would be the pirates already in the first half of the Grand Line.
And those pirates clearly would not be able to create much of a storm on their own.
Of course, if Lancelot were the one making the strategy, he definitely would not stop at those two steps.
His third step would target the Sabaody Archipelago, the unavoidable route into the New World.
By stationing powerful forces at Sabaody, he would completely block off the pirates in the first half of the Grand Line, leaving them with nowhere to go.
The fourth step would be even more crucial: reaching an agreement with Fish-Man Island.
Not only that, he would specifically require them to organize a Fish-Man army led by Jinbe.
The mission of this army would be very clear—to intercept and kill any pirates who were lucky enough to slip past Sabaody, dive into the sea, and attempt to reach the New World.
One could imagine what changes would happen in the New World once such a plan was implemented.
Those pirates who were originally full of hope and eager to make their name in the New World would first be hunted down at Sabaody, then immediately face Fish-Men chasing them through the sea.
And in the sea, Fish-Men were practically invincible.
Those pirates would likely have no chance of escaping the Fish-Man army's pursuit.
In that case, the New World would undoubtedly lose a huge number of fresh forces, and its power structure would be greatly affected.
However, to accomplish all of this, Lancelot still had to wait for one key moment.
He had to enter the Holy Land and become the new ruler of the Empty Throne.
Because before he truly ascended to that seat, all these plans would be nothing more than fantasy.
Even Akainu's ideas would be treated as a joke.
Who was Kong?
He was the previous Fleet Admiral.
Anyone capable of holding such an important position had to be both wise and brave.
And Sengoku was known as the Resourceful General.
His intelligence and strategic mind absolutely could not be underestimated.
On top of that, there was also Great Staff Officer Tsuru, who was similarly famous for her exceptional wisdom.
With so many powerful and intelligent figures gathered together, was it really possible that none of them had thought of such an obvious plan?
That was simply hard to believe.
If they truly had never thought of it, then they were not worthy of sitting in those positions at all.
Perhaps they had once proposed such a suggestion, and perhaps they had even tried to carry it out.
But their proposal had been rejected, and their implementation had been forcibly stopped.
One had to remember that the Sabaody Archipelago was right next to Marine Headquarters.
Solving the problems there should have been extremely easy for them.
Yet reality was not like that.
Sabaody still contained large lawless zones.
Under normal circumstances, how could the Marines possibly turn a blind eye and simply allow them to exist?
The answer was obvious.
So who exactly had created this situation?
The answer already went without saying.
In the entire world, the only ones capable of leaving Kong, Sengoku, and Tsuru helpless were probably the Celestial Dragons of the Holy Land.
In other words, the person sitting upon the Empty Throne did not allow them to solve the problem of Sabaody.
All of this had been intentional.
And the reason behind it was actually very simple.
If the world under his rule appeared peaceful and prosperous, then people's attention would naturally shift toward the Celestial Dragons who oppressed them.
Because in a relatively peaceful environment, people would have more time and energy to notice those Celestial Dragons who enjoyed nearly seventy percent of the world's resources.
Once people's eyes turned toward the Celestial Dragons, problems would follow one after another.
At that point, there would probably not be only one Dragon appearing in the world. Instead, rebel armies would rise everywhere.
After all, the resources possessed by the Celestial Dragons far exceeded those of every other group.
Such extreme unfairness would inevitably provoke dissatisfaction and resistance.
So how should he deal with such a serious situation?
The answer was that he had to deliberately create unstable factors.
Only through those factors could he draw away most people's attention and leave them with no room to care about the Celestial Dragons.
Compared to the lofty Celestial Dragons who lived far away in the Holy Land, the pirates and criminals who could harm ordinary people at any moment were clearly far more terrifying.
Those pirates and criminals were like venomous snakes hiding in the shadows, or bloodthirsty butchers waiting with raised blades, always capable of bringing fatal danger to the people.
Therefore, in this vast world, setting aside a specific region and gathering those vicious pirates and criminals there seemed to become a practical strategy.
In this way, the entire world would feel the threat coming from that region, and that threat would hang over them like a dark cloud, pressing down until they could barely breathe.
On top of that, new pirates would constantly continue to emerge, looting and plundering without end.
Life and death would be placed directly in front of the people.
And when survival itself was at stake, what did a little wealth matter?
After all, in the face of fear, people often lost their attachment to money.
So those weak kingdoms, and those powerless people with no ability to protect themselves, had no choice but to accept the World Government's protection.
However, the World Government's protection was no free meal.
If they wanted that protection, they had to pay the price.
Berries.