East Blue.
Marine 16th Branch.
Branch Chief's Office.
"Sean, I just received word from Captain Kaku. Moria and all of his officers have been captured!"
"A total of 478 Marine soldiers, 775 pirates, and 218 civilians have been rescued."
"Captain Kaku is asking how to handle the 775 pirates."
Entering Sean's office, Robin immediately reported the news she had just received.
Sean wasn't surprised that Kaku had taken down Moria; it was only natural.
"Tell Kaku to screen the pirates for any Devil Fruit users and bring them back along with Moria and the others. As for the rest..."
"Conduct a background check. Anyone with a record of killing Marines or civilians is to be executed on the spot. Send the remainder to Impel Down!"
"Regarding the rescued Marines and civilians... have Kaku stay there for a few days. I'll have Morgans send someone over for an exclusive interview!"
"Also, tell him not to get cocky just because he took down one Moria. That guy is nothing but a waste!"
Sean issued a string of orders in rapid succession.
However, Robin didn't leave immediately, as if she had something more to say.
"What is it? Something else?"
"Um, regarding Moria... it wasn't actually Captain Kaku who dealt with him, but the Marines of the Fifth Company."
Eh?
Sean paused, momentarily stunned.
That shouldn't be right. Even if Moria was pathetic, his shadow aggregation technique was still quite formidable. A single company of Marines might be able to hold him off, but they shouldn't have been able to defeat him, right?
"According to the report, after Captain Kaku arrived at Thriller Park, he deployed three companies to sweep and purge all the zombies on the ship."
"Simultaneously, before the encounter with Moria, the Fourth and Fifth companies had already purged over ninety percent of the General Zombies in the castle. Therefore..."
Alright, so that was it.
Sean understood.
No wonder a single company of Marines could handle Moria. It turned out the guy's entire zombie army had been wiped out.
In other words, he had no shadows left to use, making it impossible to activate his shadow aggregation. His combat power had been effectively cut in half.
In his base state, let alone a full company from the 16th Branch, even half a company could probably take him down.
"Fine. You don't need to deliver that last comment. Tell Kaku that once he completes the mission, he should spend another month hunting in the Grand Line before returning!"
"Understood!"
'''
Three days later.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Sengoku was currently unaware of the situation with Moria. He was in his office, reading the newly delivered World Economic Journal.
Wait...
The moment he picked up the paper, a headline on the front page caught his eye.
[The Fall of Warlord Gekko Moria]
What on earth?
He hurriedly read the details. As he did, Sengoku's hand trembled, and the newspaper slipped from his fingers, fluttering to the ground.
That brat, Sean...
He's caused trouble again!
"Messenger!"
"Fleet Admiral!"
"Immediately summon all officers of Vice Admiral rank and above to the conference room. I am calling an emergency meeting!"
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"
'''
At the same time.
Holy Land Mary Geoise.
The Five Elders had also learned of the event.
"That's the fourth one. The fourth one already. If he keeps this up, I fear that before the vacancies left by the first three can even be filled, the remaining ones will be gone!"
"We should report this to Lord Imu and tell him to make the boy restrain himself!"
"How? Lord Imu is currently slumbering. It will be at least another three months before his next awakening!"
"Sigh, then what do you suggest we do? The balance between the Marines, the pirates, and the Warlords is the cornerstone of our rule over this world. We can't just stand by and watch the Warlords be annihilated, can we?"
"Wait, why don't we look at this from a different perspective?"
Suddenly, the curly-haired Elder spoke up, interrupting the arguing quartet.
"The reason a three-way balance was formed wasn't because the Warlords were an absolute necessity as a third party. It was because the start of the Great Pirate Era put the Marines at a complete disadvantage. To prevent the balance from being utterly shattered, we decided to shift the original Marine-Pirate balance into a new era of balance: Marines plus Warlords versus Pirates. Correct?"
The other four paused, then nodded.
Indeed, for centuries, the World Government had relied on the equilibrium between the Marines and pirates to keep all Affiliated Nations firmly bound to the World Government, thereby ruling the world.
The existence of the Warlords was merely a desperate measure taken because the number of pirates surged after Roger's death, leaving the Marines overwhelmed.
Therefore, for the World Government, the Warlords were never the priority—the balance was. As long as balance was maintained, the Warlords themselves were meaningless.
This was precisely why the Warlord system was eventually abolished in the original timeline. After the Paramount War and the World Military Draft, Marine strength grew to unprecedented levels. Subsequently, Akainu aggressively entered the New World to confront pirate forces. In that situation, the Marines had regained their equilibrium with the pirates, rendering the Warlords useless.
"Now you understand. The fact that Sean can easily crush a Warlord proves that his own strength is already equal to, or perhaps even exceeds, the entire Warlord organization."
"So, should we consider shifting the three-way balance back to a two-way balance?" the curly-haired Elder continued.
The other four fell into contemplation. It seemed logical.
"It makes sense, but I feel it's still a bit risky. We need an extra layer of insurance," the blond Elder remarked.
"What insurance?"
"Find a way to further weaken the pirates. For example... turn the Four Emperors into Three Emperors. Only then do I feel we can truly find the perfect balance point!"
Within the Room of Authority, the other four Elders fell silent.
Taking down one of the Four Emperors?
Did the World Government and the Marines possess such power?
Of course they did, and it wouldn't even be that difficult.
The reason they were hesitating wasn't because they doubted their ability to kill one, but because they were calculating whether doing so would cause the Marines' strength to overshoot the pirates, thereby losing the balance once again.
This was something the World Government equally wished to avoid.
This matter required caution...
'''
Moria's death caused quite a stir within Marine Headquarters.
Some believed that the Warlords should never have existed in the first place. Just look at the others...
Doflamingo had directly attacked a Marine branch.
Crocodile had even plotted to usurp a kingdom.
And now Moria had been kidnapping Marines and civilians, stealing their shadows to build a zombie army.
Consequently, they believed that the Warlords were merely pretending to submit to the Marines while remaining evil pirates in secret. They didn't believe that if the Marines actually went to war with one of the Four Emperors in the New World, these men would obediently answer the call and fight with full effort.
Furthermore, every time Sean took down a Warlord, he had an airtight justification.
At the very least, from a legal standpoint, no one could find a flaw in his actions. After all, attacking the Marines or attempting to overthrow Affiliated Nations were strictly prohibited under the Warlord agreement.
Because of this, one faction believed that Sean should not be punished, but rather rewarded. Akainu, the core of the "Hawks," went as far as to make a suggestion that shocked everyone: promote Sean to the fourth Admiral of the Marine!
However, another group felt differently.
Led by several Vice Admirals, this "Dove" faction argued that even if a Warlord violated the agreement, Sean should have reported the evidence to Headquarters first and let the higher-ups handle the matter. He shouldn't have deployed his own forces to execute a Warlord on his own whim.
To them, this was a blatant violation of the chain of command. If such a precedent were allowed to stand, it would encourage a culture of insubordination that had to be severely punished.
Then there was the third group, represented by Kizaru—the neutral party. They offered no opinion, watching the clash between the Doves and the Hawks as if they were watching a play.
While this group was small, their silence left the Doves feeling powerless. This was because there were currently only two Admirals present at Headquarters: Akainu and Kizaru. With Kizaru remaining neutral and Akainu firmly supporting Sean, the balance of power was skewed.
Aokiji, who would normally have been a key figure for the Doves, was currently stationed at the G1 Branch in the New World and had not attended the meeting. In terms of influence at the Admiral level, the Hawks completely overshadowed the Doves.
"Enough! Everyone shut up!" Sengoku slammed the table violently, his voice booming through the room.
"Sean's rank will remain unchanged, but his position is hereby promoted to Admiral Candidate!"
"Furthermore, we will release a public statement claiming that Sean's strike against Moria was carried out under the direct authorization of the World Government!"
The meeting room fell into a heavy silence. However, the Vice Admirals of the Dove faction were clearly unwilling to accept this.
"This is unacceptable, Fleet Admiral! If this trend is encouraged, more people will follow suit. The entire Marine will fall into chaos!"
"Tch. If you have the strength, feel free to imitate him. I wouldn't object," Akainu retorted bluntly.
'More people will imitate him?'
'The prerequisite is that you actually have the power to do so.' Did they really think this was something anyone could just mimic?
"Enough! What I just stated is the final decision of the Five Elders. This matter is closed. If anyone still has an objection, feel free to appeal directly to the Five Elders!"
"Akainu, Kizaru, Tsuru, and Garp—stay behind. Everyone else is dismissed!"
The mention of the Five Elders immediately silenced the Doves.
Appeal to the Five Elders? Don't be ridiculous. Even if they remained resentful, they had no choice but to accept it.
Within two minutes, everyone except those Sengoku had named had exited the meeting room.
"The World Government just sent over two documents. One concerns the aftermath of the Moria incident, which I have already addressed."
"The second document is a top-secret operation known as..."
"The Whitebeard Hunt Plan!"