Chapter 100: As Long as Nothing Is Done, Nothing Will Be Difficult
If one were to ask what handling method the World Government excels at most, it would be the "cold treatment".
When an issue temporarily feels difficult for them to handle, they adopt a very simple response.
As long as nothing is done, the matter won't be difficult.
Dangerous information on Poneglyphs? No matter, just ban research on them. As for proactively collecting those Poneglyphs? Impossible.
The Nika Fruit evades capture on its own? Then just ban the dissemination of the name "Nika." As long as the outside world doesn't understand this thing, even if someone eats the Rubber-Rubber Fruit, practically no one can awaken it.
In the short term, the Five Elders really hadn't figured out how to target Fish-man Island.
It's easy for a worldwide alliance to target a nation within the alliance. If it were a normal situation, even if the nation wasn't in the alliance, it would be more or less influenced by the massive organization next door.
But on this sea, the World Government separates everything extremely clearly. Member nations might not necessarily live well, but non-member nations are definitely miserable.
Since there were no benefits to speak of originally, how could there be sanctions?
Most countries possess no transcendent martial power. Although there are always some strong individuals on the vast sea who bring surprises.
Issho (Fujitora) and Aramaki (Ryokugyu), the two Admirals who appeared during the World Military Draft, were born in the Four Blues. But "wild" strong individuals generally top out at this level.
Nereus, this overpowered monster, combined with the deep-sea environment, rendered the World Government's past methods completely ineffective.
In that case, let's consider the immediate matters first.
The quadrennial Reverie (World Council) was about to convene, but Mary Geoise had become dilapidated due to Nereus's actions. Letting Kings from various places see Mary Geoise like this wouldn't do.
Therefore, the first order received by the Marines in Mary Geoise was not to pursue pirates, but to assemble all logistics soldiers and fully repair the damaged Mary Geoise.
"What does this order mean?"
"Isn't it written very clearly? All shipwrights and logistics soldiers must be concentrated. Not just those in Mary Geoise, but soldiers from G1 and G5 branches must also repair the damaged Mary Geoise before the Reverie begins.
Admiral Kong... no, Fleet Admiral Kong, this is the first order from the World Government to you. Please execute it well."
The CP0 agent responsible for conveying the order spoke in a flat tone. Kong's official appointment hadn't been issued yet; it needed to go through the process of the World Government's official agencies.
However, once the Five Elders decided something, it was already a fait accompli. Therefore, this CP0 agent was also responsible for conveying some relevant oral messages.
"Then what about Fleet Admiral Salazar? That was our Fleet Admiral!"
"Fleet Admiral Kong, please calm down. I am also deeply saddened by Fleet Admiral Salazar's death in battle. The World Government also suffered considerable losses due to this vicious attack.
But the Reverie is about to open. We cannot postpone the Reverie because of such things. Therefore, the matter of Fleet Admiral Salazar must be temporarily shelved.
Fleet Admiral Kong, please mobilize troops as soon as possible and strengthen the defense of Mary Geoise. No more problems can occur during the Reverie."
He said he was saddened, but in fact, this CP0 agent felt nothing about the death of the Marine Fleet Admiral.
He didn't know exactly what the Five Elders meant either; what he said to Kong now was just polite diplomatic talk.
"I understand. I will go to Mary Geoise tomorrow to discuss this matter."
The reason Salazar appeared in Mary Geoise was inherently because the Reverie was approaching, and he was communicating about defense issues.
As a result, he happened to run into Nereus. If Salazar had acted like the people from the God's Knights and ignored the matter, nothing would have happened.
After all, the main goal of Nereus's operation this time was rescue, not slaughter.
Now, many Marine Generals had already been dispatched, responsible for the safety of Kings from various countries. Many pirates would specifically attack Kings' ships during this period.
Whether it was looting or kidnapping, as long as they succeeded, they could make a big profit.
Therefore, the current troop strength at Marine Headquarters (Marineford) was actually relatively empty. High-end combat power was only Kong alone. Thus, he couldn't immediately go to Mary Geoise to ask the Five Elders what their attitude actually was.
The next day.
After Sengoku completed his escort mission and returned to Marineford, Kong arrived at the Red Port.
The bodies of soldiers who died in the Red Port last night had been cleared away. Now, a large number of soldiers were below the rock wall, helping to rebuild the bubble elevator.
Kong could only choose to fly up by stepping on the air using Geppo (Moon Walk).
However, overall, Kong received a relatively pertinent answer here.
"We are considering how to handle this matter."
"But the Reverie is approaching. We must handle this first. Once the Reverie concludes, we will naturally arrange for the Marines to launch operations."
"The death of the Marine Fleet Admiral will have a significant impact on the Marines. The establishment of the Three Admirals has been vacant for a long time; let's fill it completely. We will handle the World Economy News Paper."
The handling method was essentially bribery. Morgans wasn't someone who took no money; he just selectively took money, and then with the goal of attracting attention, slightly modified the news facts.
When he was just starting out back then, he even used some news to extort hush money, then turned around and exposed it anyway to earn double the money.
The Five Elders slightly appeased Kong's emotions. After all, the Marines also belonged to the World Government. Kong was the successor favored by Salazar to begin with, and the Five Elders were also satisfied with this candidate.
It was just that Kong's mood didn't last long.
Sengoku had no extra thoughts about becoming an Admiral. Since joining the Marines, Sengoku had also focused on promotion.
Zephyr even became the youngest Admiral in Marine history at the age of 38.
The problem lay with Garp.
"Garp, what do you mean... you don't want to be promoted to Admiral?"
"About that, maybe my expression wasn't accurate enough. Let me say it again: it's not that I don't want to, I refuse to be promoted to Admiral."
"When Celestial Dragons are attacked, Marine Admirals have to mobilize. I don't want to deal with those vermin. Do you want me to repeat what happened in the West Blue?"
In terms of authority, Garp, holding the title of Marine Hero, even as a Vice Admiral, wasn't much worse off than an Admiral.
Independent ships, command rights, dedicated adjutants—all these were configured according to Admiral standards. In the eyes of the Marines and the World Government, he was originally one of the next Three Admirals.
What he lacked were things like the authority to initiate a Buster Call.
But now, Garp directly refused the promotion.
"Do you know how big an impact Fleet Admiral Salazar's death has on us? This cannot be hidden. The Marines need a big enough news story to dilute the impact of this event!"
"Yeah, to prevent the Celestial Dragons' slaves from escaping, killed by the pirate who liberated the slaves... What a heroic sacrifice.
For dying because of such a thing, how should the newspapers describe it?"
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