123 Chapter 123

As for Nico Robin, she seemed to have disappeared completely. Despite the efforts of the Marines and CP9, they couldn't find any clues. After searching for a while, they had to give up and assume that she had escaped from Alabasta.

As for the historical poneglyph hidden by the Alabasta royal family, Admiral Aokiji and CP9 couldn't be bothered to look at it. The treasure map that had been found before turned out to be worthless.

The arrest of Warlord Crocodile by Admiral Aokiji was widely publicized by the World Government, in an attempt to regain the face they had lost previously.

However, this time, people were not buying it. Some even suspected that the Marines had taken advantage of the situation and claimed credit for someone else's achievement.

But upon further thought, it seemed impossible. The Straw Hat Pirates hadn't arrived in Alabasta yet. If they were responsible, then it was likely that the Straw Hat Pirates would also have been captured.

As a result, Admiral Aokiji's reputation and prestige surpassed that of Admiral Akainu and Admiral Kizaru, making him the most renowned among the three Admirals on the surface.

Although he was a slacker, at least he was a passable Marine.

The people of the pirate world always preferred a balanced approach. For example, if you gave them someone as proactive but ruthless as Akainu, they would reject it. Likewise, if you gave them someone as lazy and abusive of authority as Kizaru, they would also reject it. But if you gave them someone like Aokiji, who followed the rules but was a bit of a slacker, they would accept it.

In contrast to the talents of Akainu and Kizaru, Aokiji stood out.

Gradually, people from all over the world began to hope that Aokiji would succeed the position of Fleet Admiral.

This was something that even Aokiji himself hadn't expected.

Even within the ranks of the Marines, no one had anticipated that things would develop in this way. However, soon enough, they unexpectedly found themselves accepting the idea.

This was because Akainu had left a terrible impression not only on the general public but also on the Marines themselves. His actions had damaged the image of the Marines, and they didn't want such a man leading them.

As for Kizaru, although he was originally the most ideal candidate, his dereliction of duty and the possibility of him betraying the Marines to become a pirate gradually diminished his popularity.

In comparison, Kizaru became a more ideal choice in their eyes.

Akainu and Kizaru never imagined that things would turn out like this. They had been at odds for so long, contending for the position of Fleet Admiral, only for Aokiji, the slacker, to take advantage of the situation.

Could this be the so-called tale of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind? A similar scenario to the Summit War, but this time, it was not Blackbeard who gained the advantage, but Kizaru.

Akainu felt a deep anger in his heart. Who was Smoker to be called the King of Opportunism? It was Aokiji who was the true King of Opportunism, as he had even managed to snatch away his position of Fleet Admiral!

And this situation couldn't help but make the Sengoku and the Five Elder Stars reconsider the possibility of Aokiji becoming the successor to the position of Fleet Admiral.

...

As CP9 had indeed made significant contributions in capturing Crocodile in Alabasta, they had put in a lot of effort during the search for him. As a result, under the operation of Spandam's father, Spandine, Spandam himself ultimately did not receive a more severe punishment and remained a member of CP9.

The chief of CP9 was now Rob Lucci, who had also made achievements in the Alabasta incident. In order to appease the dissatisfaction among the lower ranks of the World Government and the Marines caused by Spandam's idiotic remarks, the news of Spandam's dismissal was immediately issued, which helped to calm the situation.

After resolving the Alabasta incident, CP9 continued their mission to obtain the Pluton blueprints in Water 7. With the Pluton falling into the hands of Luo Ke, the World Government hoped to have a warship that could counter Robin, at least in terms of firepower. Therefore, the Five Elder Stars demanded that CP9 must retrieve the blueprints and bring them back intact.

Previously, the Five Elder Stars did not attach much importance to the blueprints, as long as they didn't fall into the hands of someone with malicious intent towards the World Government. However, the situation had changed now that Robin had a completed Pluton battleship.

The importance of the Pluton blueprints had increased significantly, and their thinking was simple: since Robin had a super battleship, they must have one as well. If they obtained the blueprints, they could have one or even multiple battleships. They couldn't allow Luo ke to surpass the World Government in terms of warships.

The core of the World Government's control over the world lay with the Marines, and the key to the Marines was their warships. At least, the Marines couldn't be surpassed by anyone in this regard.

Thus, Alabasta finally settled down. Crocodile was captured, Nico Robin left, and the Pluton was taken away. There was nothing left in Alabasta except for the chaos caused by Crocodile. Fortunately, a civil war did not break out, and the mastermind behind it was arrested. The people could finally rebuild their homeland and live a peaceful life.

Everything was moving in a positive direction.

...

On the other side, things were not going well for Smoker. He had publicly made the Five Elder Stars eat shit, which naturally invited retaliation from them. As soon as he arrived in Alabasta, CP9 came to find him.

Under the orders of the Five Elder Stars, CP9 personally came to ask Smoker to eat shit, and the shit was prepared by Smoker himself, so it was fresh.

Rob Lucci and the rest of CP9 were not interested in such matters, especially those who disliked Smoker. They delegated the task to Smoker's subordinate, Spandine, who reluctantly went to the restroom to prepare the shit.

But did Smoker actually eat the shit?

The answer was no.

Fortunately, Hannyabal knew that the Five Elder Stars would not let Smoker off easily, so he specifically asked Vice Admiral Momonga, who was on his way to Alabasta, to take care of Smoker and prevent CP9 from carrying out their shit-feeding plan.

Since CP9 was no match for Vice Admiral Momonga, they could only report the situation back to the Five Elder Stars. The Five Elder Stars then contacted Warlord Doflamingo, who in turn contacted Smoker, and ordered CP9 to stop the shit-feeding.

There was a big argument between the two sides.

In this matter, Hannyabal did not obey the orders of the Five Elder Stars. He believed that Smoker had done nothing wrong and had simply done what a just Marine should do. In reality, it was the Five Elder Stars themselves who had caused this situation.

If they were to punish an outstanding Marine like Smoker for this, it would only make other Marines lose faith. The Five Elder Stars were furious at Hannyabal's disobedience, thinking that they would replace him sooner or later. However, it was not the right time now, especially with the current state of the Three Admirals. None of them were more suitable than Hannyabal.

After hearing about this situation, Sengoku also had a falling out with the Five Elder Stars. Smoker was his disciple, although just one of many, but in this matter, he stood firmly with Smoker. He had long been dissatisfied with the Five Elder Stars' disregard for justice and their willingness to do anything to achieve their goals, especially when he learned about the Summit War and how the Five Elder Stars had recruited someone like Weevil as a Warlord of the Sea.

All of these things had left him extremely disappointed with the World Government.

The disobedience of the Fleet Admiral and the opposition from former Admiral forced the Five Elder Stars to abandon the idea of punishing Smoker. If it were only Garp, they could retire him early and let Kizaru take over as Fleet Admiral. However, they had to be cautious because Sengoku held a special position within the Marines. Other than the older generation like Garp, the rest of the high-ranking Marines, including the Three Admirals, were all Fujitora's students. Punishing Smoker by making him eat shit not only humiliated him but would also humiliate other Marines. If Sengoku, as their teacher, openly opposed the World Government, it could create a more complex situation within the Marines that wouldn't be easily resolved. Moreover, Smoker had already caused quite an impact within the Marine ranks, so they couldn't afford any more trouble at this time. They couldn't cut off their own arm.

The Five Elder Stars had no choice but to temporarily give up on retaliating against Smoker for his insolence.

This incident also made them pay attention to Fujitora's special position within the Marines. He was an unstable factor that held significant influence within the Marines and could even challenge the World Government's decisions regarding the Marines. They couldn't tolerate such a person, nor could they allow him to continue existing within the Marines. Originally, they thought about squeezing the last bit of value out of the older generation of Marines and having them contribute their last bit of passion to the Marines. But now it seemed that keeping them in the Marines would be a disaster. They needed to find a way to deal with this problem.

...

It had been some time since the last live broadcast.

The events of the live broadcast had caused a series of reactions on the seas. Firstly, the conversation between Ohara's Dr. Clover and the Five Elder Stars confirmed the authenticity of Laugh Tale to people worldwide. Not only that, but they also confirmed that Laugh Tale contained the Great Treasure, ONE PIECE, which was the legacy left behind by the Ancient Kingdom and possessed the power to overthrow the World Government. Almost everyone believed this, whether out of a desire for treasure, the longing for such immense power, or the ambition to rule the world. After Roger's Great Pirate Era and the new generation's opening of the Summit War, the world had now entered the third Great Pirate Era, but this time, it was an era of rebellion to obtain the power to overthrow the World Government.

Those participating in this voyage included not only pirates but also civilians, and even royal nobles from allied countries who were secretly commanding and contributing their efforts. A hunt against the World Government had begun.

In order to cope with the sudden increase in seafarers, the Marines had to work overtime to apprehend criminals at sea while also increasing their numbers to deal with the influx. However, to their disappointment, due to the deteriorating reputation of the Marines, young people who aspired to uphold justice began to distrust the Marines. They believed that the Marines were merely dogs of the World Government, and notions of justice were nothing but deception, all serving the domination of the Celestial Dragons. As a result, the number of recruits joining the Marines started to decrease, and the Marines were no longer respected or welcomed as they once were.

Furthermore, in the New World, the Four Emperors began making significant moves. They seemed to have reignited their desire for ONE PIECE and started searching for the whereabouts of Laugh Tale in the New World. With more and more people rushing into the New World, it started to become turbulent.

The Marines were left with limited manpower. Due to Luo Ke's presence, there were now two Admirals stationed in Mary Geoise, and the nearby Marines responsible for patrolling had also consumed a significant amount of manpower. This led to a shortage of personnel within the Marines.

The Seven Warlords of the Sea were initially established to compensate for the Marines' manpower shortage. However, due to Crocodile's attempt to overthrow the Alabasta Kingdom, he had already been arrested by Fleet Admiral Akainu and was now imprisoned in Impel Down.

As a result, the Shichibukai lost another member. Another Shichibukai, Jinbe, voluntarily resigned from his position after his betrayal of the World Government during the Summit War was exposed. Although the World Government did not make a clear statement, in reality, Jinbe had already severed ties with the Shichibukai.

The Shichibukai were down one more member.

To their surprise, another unexpected event occurred. Kuma, one of the Shichibukai who had previously reached an agreement with the Marines, suddenly terminated the agreement with the Marine Science Division. He refused to continue cooperating with them in body modifications, forcing the postponed Pacifista project to come to a halt.

Fortunately, enough data had been collected in the early stages, but the progress in further modifications could not continue.

The completion of the Pacifista project, which was meant to achieve pacifism, had to be delayed once again.

Afterward, Buggy went from being the most cooperative and obedient Shichibukai to being just as unruly as the others. This further reduced the available combat power among the already disobedient Shichibukai.

With the Marines facing a shortage of manpower and problems arising among the Shichibukai, the World Government began seeking replacements for the Shichibukai.

The first candidate selected by the Five Elder Stars to replace Crocodile was Edward Weevil.

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(End of this chapter)