chapter 83

Sengoku was experiencing some headaches. With just a few words from Mu Feng, there was no way to gauge the degree of danger posed by Senju Hashirama. Wait... Old man!? Sengoku's expression turned strange, and he couldn't help but ask, "Mu Feng... Is that old man Rayleigh!?"

"Rayleigh!? 'Pluto' Rayleigh!? That... Sorry, I don't recognize him," Mu Feng shrugged and said innocently.

Sengoku didn't doubt it either.

To reduce the influence of the Roger Pirates on the seas, the bounties for Rayleigh, Crocus, and others had long since ceased being issued. This is why Rayleigh remained undiscovered after hiding in the Sabaody Archipelago for 20 years.

Sengoku drew a yellow bounty poster from the drawer beside him and handed it to Mu Feng.

"Is it him?" Sengoku asked.

Rayleigh, in the bounty poster, still had blonde hair.

Good grief... The bounty reached twelve or seven petaflops. Tsk, tsk, tsk... What a terrifying old guy. Ahhhhhhh...

"Well, although the hair color differs, it should be the same person. I didn't expect the old man to be such a big shot," Mu Feng nodded and said.

Rayleigh has indeed joined the Hunter's Guild. Although he is old, in a short battle, Rayleigh is definitely at the Four Emperors' level. And with Senju Hashirama, a terrifying existence who could even suppress the Four Emperors...

Merely considering their combat power, they cannot be underestimated.

Even Rao, known as the "wise general," was helpless. In the face of absolute strength, any strategy is just a joke.

"What do you think about the Hunter's Guild?" Sengoku asked.

"For crimes like this, it must be eradicated!!" Without looking, Mu Feng knew the only one who could say this was Akainu.

Sengoku frowned but didn't respond. Instead, he turned his attention to Mu Feng and asked, "Mu Feng, what's your opinion?"

Since Mu Feng first joined the Marines and resolved the situation at the G-5 branch, Sengoku had regarded Mu Feng as a strategist, akin to Tsuru, and was grooming him as the next Fleet Admiral. Naturally, he wanted to hear his opinions.

Um... Isn't my part supposed to be over? No way, after thinking about it, Mu Feng said, "I think we should... just wait and see."

"Huh! Faced with crime, did Admiral the White Bear flinch!?" Akainu suddenly said.

Mu Feng wasn't the least bit irritated and responded calmly, "Yeah, I cringed.

If the Chief Inspector Akainu thinks he can handle it, go ahead. I won't stop you...

The combat power shown by the Hunter's Guild already equals that of two Four Emperors, and I recall that Senju Hashirama is merely the vice-chairman of the Hunter's Guild, meaning it's very likely that there's another Four Emperors-level fighter.

Three Four Emperors-level fighters... Are you prepared to mobilize all of the Marines' combat power for an encirclement and suppression!? How many Marine casualties would there be? Have you considered that!?

Faced with such powerful opponents, if they choose to escape... Can you stop them!? If the encirclement and suppression fail, and we return in defeat, do you want the Marines to become the laughingstock of the entire sea!? Chief Akainu, brains are a good thing, but you don't seem to have one."

"You!!!" Akainu stood up, glaring at Mu Feng.

"Enough, Sakazuki." Sengoku frowned and scolded. Then he looked at Mu Feng and said, "Mu Feng, tell me more."

He sneered at Akainu, causing him to become even more anxious.

Mu Feng said indifferently, "First of all, the Hunter's Guild is not a pirate crew, nor an anti-government organization like the Revolutionary Army. Even if we want to deal with them, we must find a legitimate reason. Otherwise, we won't have a proper justification, and the Marines' reputation would be at risk.

Secondly, the Hunter's Guild has provoked the two pirate crews, BIG MOM and Kaido. I don't believe they will take this lightly. 

We should wait and watch, and by the way, try to stoke conflict between them. When two tigers fight, one is bound to be injured.

If we Marines act as the fishermen benefiting from their fight, isn't that a good thing!? Therefore, we should disregard the Hunter's Guild and not issue any bounties against them.

Of course, if they provoke us directly, that's a different matter."

Sengoku nodded inwardly; this was the best course of action for now.

"How do we provoke a conflict between them?" Sengoku asked suddenly.

Hearing Sengoku's question, Mu Feng smiled.

His smile was radiant... because the fish had taken the bait.

"Didn't the Hunter's Guild accept all sorts of missions!? Then we will issue missions, such as assassinating the officers of the BIG MOM Pirates or the Calamities of the Beasts Pirates. As long as the Hunter's Guild accepts the missions, the conflict between them will intensify, whether they succeed or not.

They might even eliminate the pirates for us if we're lucky."

Mu Feng said with a smile.

The more Mu Feng spoke, the brighter Sengoku's eyes became.

In Sengoku's view, Mu Feng's approach was simply the best solution.

It could resolve the Marines' dilemma without risking any of their forces.

Sengoku looked at Mu Feng more and more fondly.

If it weren't for his lack of seniority, Sengoku would have immediately given him the position of Fleet Admiral.

Tsuru, standing nearby, also looked at Mu Feng with admiration.

She had to admit that, as Marine's Chief of Staff, she wasn't as skilled as Mu Feng.

Garp laughed the entire time, clearly very proud.

Although Aokiji and Kizaru didn't speak, they couldn't help but nod in agreement. They also approved of Mu Feng's solution.

Although Akainu wasn't happy, he didn't argue back.

Seeing everyone's reaction, Mu Feng thought, I just want to slay the monster while... extorting Devil Fruits from the Marines. As the largest power on the seas, they've operated for hundreds of years. There should be plenty of Devil Fruits in the Marines' possession.

"Alright, Admiral Mu Feng.

You will carry out this task since you've had contact with the Hunter's Guild. Could you post it in the Hunter's Guild?

The mission is to kill Charlotte Katakuri, the head of the Four Sweet Commanders of the BIG MOM Pirates, and the 'Wind Calamity' Monges of the Beasts Pirates. According to what we understand, the Hunter's Guild rewards are settled with Devil Fruits.

Tsuru, you'll go to the Marine warehouse and collect 20 Zoan or Paramecia Devil Fruits to give to Mu Feng" Sengoku ordered. 

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Translator here agian please point out any mistakes no matter how small they may be.