For a long moment, the Fleet Admiral's office fell into a suffocating silence.
It lingered—
thick, heavy, almost frozen in place.
Only the distant echoes of commands from the naval port outside, and the steady tick… tick… of the clock on the wall, proved that time itself had not stopped.
A long while passed.
Then—
"YOU—BASTAAARD!!!"
The roar exploded through the stillness like a thunderclap.
Sengoku—who had been seated just moments ago—shot to his feet like a tiger whose tail had been stepped on. His massive frame surged forward, crossing the wide desk in a blur so fast it left afterimages behind.
"Oi! Gern! You bastard—are you serious?!"
He grabbed Gern Reginald Sigmar by the collar and yanked him straight off the sofa!
Their faces were suddenly inches apart.
Sengoku's usually composed, calculating eyes were now wide—burning not just with anger, but something else.
Excitement.
He shook Gern violently, his voice rising into a near shout:
"Do you have any idea what the words 'World Conference' actually mean?!"
"If the Marines really hold something like that—there's no turning back anymore!!"
"We'd be completely, publicly nailing ourselves—and the entire Marine force—to the position of the core power of the New World… the destroyers of the old order!"
"Even that last thin buffer between us and the World Government—gone! Torn apart completely!!"
Gern's head lolled back and forth as he was shaken like a ragdoll, his vision spinning.
He weakly raised a hand, trying to fend Sengoku off, his voice coming out in broken fragments:
"I know… I know… Sengoku… old man… could you… maybe… stop shaking me first…"
He rolled his eyes, adding with strained annoyance:
"Otherwise… my lunch… hasn't even finished digesting yet… I'm… gonna throw up…"
"…!"
Sengoku froze mid-motion.
Looking at Gern's half-dead expression—like he might actually vomit on the spot—his anger deflated instantly.
With a sharp snort of disdain, he released him.
Gern dropped back onto the sofa, adjusting his wrinkled collar as he took a slow breath.
Then—
his tone shifted.
Calm.
Measured.
"Listen, Sengoku."
"Declaring Marine independence. Taking Wano. Intimidating the New World…"
"All of that—at the end of the day—are just military and political victories."
He paused briefly before continuing:
"But let's be honest."
"Those kings of the former World Government-affiliated nations… how many of them are truly loyal to us?"
"And how many are simply bowing their heads because the situation forces them to?"
Sengoku said nothing.
But his silence was permission to continue.
"They're all keeping score in their heads." Gern let out a cold, mocking breath.
"The moment the Marines show even the slightest sign of weakness in the future… or if the World Government offers them a better deal…"
"They'll turn their ships around without hesitation—and crawl right back to the Government's feet to reclaim their 'honored' status."
He paused.
His voice dropped, turning colder.
"…People like that can't be trusted."
"The ones who can truly be bound to us—"
"—are those who've never enjoyed the privileges of being affiliated nations."
"Those exploited, ignored, or even used as sources of slaves by the World Government."
"Unaffiliated nations. Oppressed small countries. Isolated island states."
Gern straightened, his eyes blazing.
"This is exactly why I'm using this moment—"
"The Marines have crushed two Emperors, dominated the New World, and expanded our territory at an unprecedented rate—"
"—to convene a World Conference that belongs to the Marines!"
"So those smaller nations can see it with their own eyes—"
"Feel it for themselves—"
"That the Marines are serious!"
"That we are fully committed to opposing the World Government—and that we have the power to establish a new order!"
He clenched his fist.
"Deep down, those nations have always longed for what the 'affiliated countries' had—"
"Security. Stable trade. Protection from pirates."
"Freedom from being seized as slaves by the Celestial Dragons."
"But they never had the qualification—or the strength—to obtain it."
"And now?"
"We're not just giving them all of that—"
"We're giving them a voice."
"A seat at the table."
"The same sense of participation that kings of affiliated nations once monopolized."
"We're making them feel that they are no longer prey—"
"but equal members of a new world order!"
His voice sharpened with conviction.
"Only by doing this—can we bind them to the Marines completely."
"From their interests… to their very mindset."
"They'll understand that their safety, their development, their dignity—"
"are inseparable from the existence of the Marines."
"And at the same time…"
He glanced at Sengoku, signaling him to continue.
Sengoku had already calmed down, his brows furrowed as he processed the implications.
He picked up the thread slowly:
"At the same time…"
"…the so-called 'superiority' those original affiliated nations pride themselves on…"
"That exclusive privilege of being protected by the World Government…"
"…will begin to disappear."
His eyes sharpened.
"Because once everyone enjoys the same benefits—and the same status of participation—"
"All those previously unaffiliated nations…"
"…will gradually come to see themselves as 'affiliated nations' as well."
"But this time—"
"They'll be affiliated to the Marines."
"Not the World Government."
A flash of insight lit up his gaze as his voice quickened:
"And in order to maintain that hard-earned equality and security—"
"those newly aligned nations will stand firmly with the Marines. Without question."
"As for the old affiliated nations…"
"Their advantage always came from the World Government."
"Now that the Marines are offering the same—perhaps even better—conditions…"
"Even if some of them waver… even if they consider returning to the Government…"
Sengoku let out a cold laugh.
"They won't be able to drag the others with them."
"Because the nations that the Marines have lifted up—"
"have only ever known oppression from the World Government."
"But from the Marines?"
"They've received not just protection—"
"but dignity."
"And a voice."
"Especially when the Government's greatest 'benefit'—security—"
"is now something the Marines can provide independently… and tangibly."
"…Cutting the firewood from beneath the cauldron."
Tesoro, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke under his breath.
"What a move…"
He looked at Gern, awe and realization mingling in his voice.
"Using the small nations… to surround the great powers."
This wasn't just expansion.
It was a complete political—and psychological—revolution.
One designed to dismantle the legitimacy and foundation of the World Government itself.
"Exactly."
Gern let out a quiet chuckle and nodded.
There was even a faint hint of respect in his tone—
as if acknowledging the wisdom of those who had conceived such strategies before him.
"A timeless principle."
He stood up and walked toward the massive world map mounted on the wall.
His fingers traced across the vast territories now under Marine control or influence.
"Then I'll leave the details… to the two of you."
"Send invitations to every nation and region willing to recognize the Marine order—and seek our protection."
He paused.
Then spoke, his voice steady and resolute:
"What I'm about to convene…"
"…is not the dying echo of the old era."
His gaze sharpened.
"It is the foundation ceremony…"
"…of a new one."