"So, what should we do now, Raleigh-sama?" Enel asked.
Raleigh smiled, propped his legs up on the desk, put on his eye mask, and said, "Do nothing. That's our response for now."
The world's situation had grown increasingly peculiar.
On the Pirate front, many battles had erupted in the New World, with the rising star Red-Haired Shanks gaining the most fame.
From the moment he entered the Grand Line, he had captured everyone's attention because he was the only pirate from the Pirate King Roger's crew still active.
As he advanced, he fought Kaido of the Beasts and Charlotte Linlin in succession.
It wasn't that he never lost, but he clearly hadn't been defeated badly.
After leaving the territories of the two Pirate Emperors, he continued to write his own legend.
Many pirates believed Red-Haired Shanks would become the third Emperor of the sea.
Some even thought he might follow in the footsteps of the Pirate King Roger and become the second-generation Pirate King.
Because of Shanks' high reputation, countless pirates flocked to the islands he passed, hoping to join his great Pirate Crew and support him as the new Emperor.
On the government side, things remained as usual.
The Celestial Dragons' behavior hadn't changed—they still spent money extravagantly and sought slaves worldwide.
However, due to Fisher Tiger's rampage in Mary Geoise, security had become stricter.
Even the operatives Raleigh had planted frequently had their positions reassigned, making information transmission exceptionally difficult.
Therefore, Raleigh treated them with the same consideration as the Revolutionary Army.
As for the Navy, due to the complete trust placed in Sengoku and Tsuru, various conditions and resources were fully met, leading to the exceptionally rapid development of the Navy's intelligence department.
Many of the Revolutionary Army's contact points had already been discovered by the Navy, and even Dragon's true appearance had been photographed.
If it weren't for the fact that Dragon was Garp's son, and Sengoku chose to suppress the information rather than report it to the World Government, the World Government would have already begun punishing Garp by now.
Raleigh and Sakazuki were actively cracking down on pirates throughout the Grand Line.
The number of pirates who could survive the journey from Paradise to the New World had now decreased by a full two-thirds compared to before.
Within the Navy, the new ideological faction cultivated in the North Blue was also flourishing.
The list Cleveland had previously handed to Raleigh now covered the vast majority of the Navy's branches across the Four Blues, and even the G-numbered branches in the Grand Line had already been infiltrated.
Now, it wasn't Raleigh who needed to worry, but the unstoppable leader of the Revolutionary Army—Monkey D. Dragon.
...
A few days later, in the Polar North Country, Dragon returned once again to the place where he had started his movement.
Before its abolition, this place remained the headquarters of the Revolutionary Army.
During the return voyage, he had come to a realization.
Even if the task seemed impossible, he would exert every effort to accomplish it.
Otherwise, the Revolutionary Army's progress would truly come to a halt.
Even if an uprising erupted in the future, it would be nothing more than a fleeting flash.
Upon returning to the Polar North Country, he immediately notified the mid- and high-level cadres of the Revolutionary Army to gather at the headquarters for a meeting.
At the meeting, he firmly explained a principle to everyone: reckless expansion was like scattering sand.
Only after consolidation could they adapt to new battles.
To Dragon's relief, none of those present raised objections to his words.
Most of them were the original followers who had joined Dragon's uprising from the beginning, and they never questioned his decisions.
The few who had been promoted after the Revolutionary Army's large-scale expansion merely worried that such changes might delay the timing of the uprising.
In truth, those who voiced differing opinions were mostly elites sent by Raleigh, which was why they had risen so quickly.
They had to express opposition, yet they could not question Dragon's decisions.
Only in this way could they avoid arousing Dragon's suspicion about their loyalty.
After all, becoming staunch supporters of the Revolutionary Army immediately upon joining would hardly be credible.
After consolidating the opinions of the mid- and high-level cadres, Dragon began assigning individual responsibilities.
The original five-army structure was dismantled and reorganized.
It was divided into over a dozen smaller-scale armies, each to be independently led by the cadres present at the meeting, all of whom reported directly to Dragon.
In this way, Dragon consolidated all military authority within the Revolutionary Army.
Even if one or two commanders defected, it would not affect the overall situation.
As for those bases and individuals whose will did not align with the Revolutionary Army, Dragon prepared to carry out a ruthless purge.
Before formally declaring war on the World Government, he intended to cut through the internal problems swiftly and decisively.
....
In the two-story Western-style building in Mary Geoise, the Five Elders gathered once again, reviewing the intelligence in their hands.
Marcus Mars was the first to speak. "The Revolutionary Army seems to have detected our movements. They have now abandoned many of the contact points we had under surveillance. And several of our embedded agents have also lost contact. I can understand the Revolutionary Army reacting this way, but what is Sengoku doing? Does he really intend to do nothing at all?!"
Because the Revolutionary Army suddenly began replacing personnel and changing contact points, the intelligence secretly gathered by the Five Elders was being rendered useless at an alarming rate.
By the time the intelligence was sent back, one-third of it had already become obsolete.
Now, perhaps two-thirds of it has lost its value, yet the Navy has shown no response.
How could this please the Five Elders?
Nusjuro adjusted his glasses. "Have we been too lenient with the Navy in recent years, making them forget who is truly in charge? If Sengoku continues like this, we should replace him and bring in someone more obedient."
"Send Kong to Marineford to meet with Sengoku. We'll give him only this one chance. We must act quickly, because if we delay any longer, we'll have to expend effort to gather intelligence all over again."
...
At the port of Marineford.
Without any warning, Kong appeared alone in the sight of the patrolling soldiers.
The soldiers intended to salute him, but Kong waved them off, then used Moon Walk to dash toward the top of Marineford's fortress.
Knock knock—
"Enter."
Kong walked into the familiar office with an expressionless face, coldly staring at Sengoku, who was buried in paperwork, signing documents.
Sengoku had initially thought it was someone reporting for duty.
"Kong-san, what brings you here so suddenly?" Sengoku quickly arranged for someone to make Kong a cup of tea.
Kong's eyebrows furrowed. "No need for tea. I came here for one thing, Sengoku. Have you betrayed the Navy?"
Sengoku was alarmed. "No, how could that be? I would never betray the Navy! Kong-san, where did you hear such rumors?"
Kong's expression softened slightly, but it remained grim.
"Don't tell me you don't know about the Revolutionary Army's movements. Anyone paying attention to the Revolutionary Army would notice such large-scale operations."
"What puzzles me is, with your vast military forces and various intelligence personnel, why didn't you deal them a heavy blow during their mobilization? Instead, you gave them a chance to consolidate! I need an explanation, and the government needs one too!!"
Seeing Kong's forceful attitude, Sengoku sighed. "Kong-san, the government only tasked the Navy with monitoring the Revolutionary Army, it did not grant us the authority to engage in combat."
A cold snort came from Kong's nose.
"You are the Fleet Admiral I personally promoted. I know your character Sengoku, you should understand that my coming here represents the will of the Five Elders. I want to hear the truth, not words meant to fool an idiot."
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