Back when Doflamingo had first set foot in the North Blue, both his methods and his vision had been utterly immature.
Raleigh had always given him a sense of being elusive and unfathomable.
It was only after Raleigh left, and Doflamingo gradually matured as a crime boss, that he finally came to understand the true terror of Raleigh's methods.
Before looking deeper into it, he had assumed Raleigh was merely acting recklessly because of his overwhelming physical strength.
But after gaining more insight into the underworld, Doflamingo realized that Raleigh was constantly treading on the absolute edge of the World Government's tolerance.
He was like a dancer performing on a high wire—any misstep would send him plunging into the abyss, shattered to pieces.
If Raleigh's corrupt actions were ever exposed, neither the World Government nor the Marines would be able to tolerate him, let alone the pirates.
Yet, after accomplishing his dark deeds, Raleigh always managed to use every available means to make those who knew the truth willingly keep his secrets.
This included Doflamingo himself, who, despite ruling the North Blue for so long, never once considered revealing what Raleigh had done.
Of course, Doflamingo simply didn't dare to.
He believed Raleigh surely had deadly countermeasures in place, and it would not surprise him in the least if there were already moles working for Raleigh hidden deep inside the Donquixote Family.
In fact, it was because of Raleigh that Vergo remained stationed at the family's base.
Doflamingo had abandoned the idea of sending Vergo to infiltrate the Marines as a spy, fearing Raleigh would immediately catch him.
Instead, they were now considering deploying him to infiltrate the World Government.
After careful consideration, Doflamingo finally conceded.
"You are asking for too much," Doflamingo gritted his teeth. "The Donquixote Family will hand over half of its assets in the North Blue to you. For the rest, you will have to offer something else in exchange. Once this Warlord matter is settled, our family will leave the North Blue. From then on, the sea is yours."
Raleigh smiled faintly.
His main objective had essentially been achieved.
"Discuss the asset transfers with Cleveland. I have not directly involved myself in North Blue affairs for a long time," Raleigh replied smoothly. "However, I will put your name forward to my superiors regarding the Seven Warlords of the Sea proposal."
Raleigh was quite comfortable with the idea of Doflamingo moving to the New World.
After all, barring any unforeseen changes to the timeline, that flamboyant pirate would likely still choose Dressrosa as his base of operations.
It was the Donquixote Family's ancestral territory, after all.
For a character he understood so well, Raleigh knew the only real caution needed was to avoid being touched by the girl named Sugar.
Her bizarre Devil Fruit power was an absolute rule-breaker.
Everyone else in the Donquixote Family, however, was nothing more than chickens waiting to be slaughtered if they ever crossed him.
After finishing the call, Gion, intoxicated by Raleigh's overwhelming confident aura, couldn't resist pulling him in for a kiss.
Their lips only parted after a long while.
But while the two were deeply entangled in their intimacy, Navy Headquarters was in an absolute uproar over the Seven Warlords of the Sea proposal.
...
The Marineford Conference
All Navy officers of Vice-Admiral rank and above were gathered in the grand conference room, engaged in a heated, furious debate.
Fleet Admiral Kong sat at the head of the heavy oak table, looking exhaustedly at the assembled officers.
"Everyone, if you have any differing opinions on the Seven Warlords of the Sea proposal, voice them now," Kong ordered.
Instantly, the previously quiet conference room erupted into a cacophony, sounding more like a bustling marketplace than a military headquarters.
The Navy hawks were the most vocal in their outrage.
"Do not be absurd! Pirates are pirates—how can we permit them to plunder legally?!"
"Exactly! The Navy was established to suppress pirates. If they can flaunt their crimes right before our eyes, where does that leave the Navy's dignity?!"
"We strongly protest! This proposal is practically trampling absolute justice underfoot!"
"Damn the World Government's proposal..."
Watching the endless arguments, Fleet Admiral Kong wearily rubbed his temples.
He had fully anticipated this outcome.
To be honest, Kong was also deeply resistant when he first read the proposal.
Having served in the Marines for decades, rising step by step from a common enlisted soldier to the position of Fleet Admiral—how could he not have friends and relatives who had died at the hands of pirates?
It was an undeniable truth that any Marine who served long enough would develop an irreconcilable hatred toward pirates.
It was a historical inevitability.
Whenever the Marines suppressed pirates, there would be casualties.
It might not be your turn today, but next time, or the time after that—sooner or later, you or your comrades would bleed on the battlefield.
If not for the World Government's strong political threats, Fleet Admiral Kong would have loved to throw the proposal right back in the Five Elders' faces.
After sighing heavily, Kong looked at Sengoku and Tsuru, who had both remained silently deep in thought.
"Sengoku, what do you think of this proposal?"
The room instantly quieted down. E
veryone stopped their arguing and turned their attention to the Resourceful General.
At present, Admiral Sengoku was almost certain to be the next Fleet Admiral.
Moreover, his strength and strategic intellect were among the greatest in the world; no one dared to overlook his opinion.
Sengoku adjusted his round glasses. "Actually, the Seven Warlords of the Sea proposal has good intentions at its political core: using pirates to restrain other pirates, thereby reducing Marine casualties. However, if this system is not handled properly, our Navy will undoubtedly be nurturing seven fierce tigers."
He placed his hands flat on the table. "I believe the Seven Warlords system can be implemented, but their authority must be strictly restricted. First, I think their 'legal plundering rights' are far too vague. What exactly falls within the scope of legal plundering? Attacking Marine ships or allied nations certainly cannot be considered legal."
"Secondly, should they provide intelligence to the Navy regularly, or only under specific conditions? Also, if the Navy needs to mobilize them for major wars, how should that chain of command work? None of these critical details are addressed in the Government's draft. If we do not resolve these loopholes before the proposal is finalized, it will lead to uncontrollable disasters in the future."
Hearing Sengoku's suggestions, Kong's tired eyes finally lit up.
His own thinking had fallen into a stubborn trap.
Kong's thoughts, just like the other angry officers in the room, had been entirely focused on trying to overturn and reject the proposal.
But Sengoku's strategy was based on the grim reality that the proposal could not be overturned. Instead, Sengoku was striving to limit the pirates' power as much as legally possible, forcing them to obediently follow the Navy's commands!
Nodding in approval, Kong then turned his gaze to the Chief of Staff.
"Tsuru, what are your thoughts?"
Tsuru pondered for a moment, resting her chin on her steepled hands. She raised her head and looked at the map on the wall.
"Fleet Admiral Kong, if we are to adopt Sengoku's strategy, I suggest we add a geographic restriction. We must confine the territories of these Seven Warlords to the first half of the Grand Line—Paradise."
She continued, her voice sharp and calculating. "The pirate emperors in the New World are currently too powerful. Even if candidates for the Seven Warlords are selected, they will not be able to securely hold territory against monsters like Whitebeard or Big Mom. Instead, we should use the Warlords as a gate. We will use their hands to clear out the rookie pirate crews who have just entered Paradise."
"By having the Warlords thin the herd in the first half of the Grand Line, it will free up our Marine personnel to deploy deeper into the New World. It will firmly contain the major pirate emperors, completely cutting off their supply of new pirate reinforcements from the Four Blues."
The other officers in the room nodded repeatedly, their anger cooling into military calculation.
There were only so many truly powerful individuals in the world, and they were already concentrated in the New World.
Every new pirate from the Four Blues had to pass through Paradise.
If the Seven Warlords could inflict heavy losses on those rookies and prevent them from advancing, the emperors in the New World would slowly bleed out without any fresh recruits.
As the pirates weakened and the Navy reinforced its front lines, the Marines' absolute influence would grow.
Having consolidated his two top strategists' suggestions, Kong hurriedly stood up, his massive frame casting a shadow over the table.
"Sengoku, I leave Headquarters under your temporary command," Kong ordered with renewed vigor.
"I need to go to Pangaea Castle in Mary Geoise immediately. I am going to discuss these new terms for the Seven Warlords directly with the Five Elders."
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