In the end, the proposal Ronan put forward passed unanimously among the kings present. Since the World Summit began, this was the first proposal to ever pass with a full unanimous vote—no one even abstained. Even Cobra-ō, who'd originally suggested cooperating with the Ōka Shichibukai, could only agree in silence.
And when that document reached the Gorosei, the expressions on all five faces shifted at the same time.
"Abolish the Ōka Shichibukai?" Peter-sei let out a snort of laughter and casually tossed the paper onto the low table beside him. "That little brat's reach is pretty long. What—he shows up at the World Summit once and thinks he's qualified to point fingers at the World Government's system?"
Nusjuro-sei's gaze skimmed the detailed contents, lingering on Ronan's added clause—"the Lulusia Kingdom will be responsible for maintaining the safety of the main routes in the first half of the Grand Line and cracking down on pirates." He spoke slowly:
"He's playing a neat little game. Abolish the Ōka Shichibukai, weaken the World Government's public means of controlling pirate power, then have Lulusia take over 'security' in the first half… He's trying to become an 'uncrowned king,' huh~?"
"Big ambition," Topman-sei said with a cold snort.
"First he used force to purge pirates across the first half and build authority. Now he wants to abolish the Ōka Shichibukai and shatter the current balance entirely, turning Lulusia into the de facto keeper of order in the first half. This is boiling a frog—step by step, he's gnawing away at the World Government's influence!"
At the side, Marcus-sei's eyes flashed with doubt. "He's promising to keep the first half safe—could that be a trap? Lure our Marines' attention completely away from the first half so he can expand there? Or even collude with certain pirates in secret?"
"He wouldn't dare."
Saturn-sei's voice carried a cutting chill. The incident at Mary Geoise some time ago had made the World Government swallow losses—and even make major concessions—but that didn't mean the World Government was afraid. They simply didn't want to disturb a certain existence.
Still, all of them understood: Ronan's proposal was extremely troublesome for the World Government.
On the surface, it was a "just" and "selfless" motion—an allied nation voluntarily taking responsibility for route security—seizing the moral and logical high ground so completely it was nearly impossible to criticize.
More importantly, it was a formal resolution passed at the World Summit by every allied king together. Of course, the Gorosei also understood that at the present Summit, no nation dared oppose Lulusia openly.
And as the maintainer of the allied-nation system, the World Government—unless it had an exceptionally legitimate reason—would have a hard time overturning a collective resolution of this level. And with Ronan as the proposer, it was even more delicate: both sides had only just signed a peace agreement, and now was not the time for another clash.
"This is an open plot," Nusjuro-sei concluded in a low voice. "He's using the Summit's rules to propose something we can't directly oppose, trying to shape Lulusia's image—and secretly expand its influence."
"Then do we veto it?" Marcus-sei asked.
"Veto?" Nusjuro-sei shook his head. "On what grounds? That the World Government needs pirates to check pirates? That we don't believe a single Lulusia Kingdom has the ability to keep the first half safe?"
He paused, a shadowy glint passing through his eyes. "Since he brought it up—and the Summit passed it—then let him try."
"You mean…"
"Agree," Nusjuro-sei said coldly. "Issue the formal order: abolish the Ōka Shichibukai system. At the same time, entrust part of the responsibility for maintaining security on the main routes in the first half of the Grand Line to the Lulusia Kingdom. But…"
His tone turned, his gaze sweeping over the other four—icy and unquestionable.
"We draw the boundaries clearly. Ronan wants to be the 'protector,' right? Then let him face the power vacuum and the pirate backlash that will appear after the abolition. Let him slaughter it out with the lawless pirates. We can sit back and watch the tiger and the wolf tear into each other."
"If he performs poorly, or if anything goes wrong, that becomes proof he's incompetent—or even evidence he's colluding with pirates. Then we step in to clean up the mess, in full righteousness."
The other four considered it, then nodded one after another. For the moment, it was the steadiest approach: it preserved the World Government's image of fairness, while shoving Ronan and Lulusia onto the very tip of the spear—forcing them to bear the greatest pressure and risk from the first half of the Grand Line.
"Do it," Saturn-sei declared, locking in the decision. "Notify Marine Headquarters. Prepare to execute the abolition order."
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
When the official World Government command—"Effective immediately, the Ōka Shichibukai system is abolished"—along with a copy of the World Summit minutes, landed on Fleet Admiral Sengoku's conference table, the entire room fell into a long silence.
Everyone who read the document was stunned—especially when their eyes hit the line "Proposer: Ronan." Many faces twisted with complicated emotions.
After all, lately the Marines had been "dealing with" that name nonstop.
"A-Abolish the Ōka Shichibukai?!" a vice admiral blurted. "And that Ronan proposed it?! Has he lost his mind?!"
"What is he trying to do?" another hardline vice admiral slammed the table, face dark with anger. "The Ōka Shichibukai system isn't great, but it maintained a balance to some extent and held back pirates in the first half of the Grand Line! Abolish it all at once and the whole Grand Line—especially the junction between the first half and the New World—will turn into a pot of boiling chaos!"
"Hey, hey, hey—what are you people, exactly?" Garp barked from the side. "Did you forget you're Marines? Do we need pirates to manage pirates now? Then what are you even doing wearing those coats?!"
Garp's words left the two vice admirals flushed with shame. They wanted to argue, but nothing came out.
"If you ask this old man, sure, that little brat has caused us plenty of losses," Garp said, utterly unconcerned. "But this proposal? I think it's great. A system like the Ōka Shichibukai should've been scrapped a long time ago!"
Listening to his old friend, Sengoku sat at the head of the table, fingers interlaced under his chin.
"Arguing about that now is pointless," Sengoku said after a deep breath. "The order is issued. We must execute it. The urgent problem is how we respond to the upheaval that will inevitably follow the abolition."
His eyes swept the commanders.
"Immediately notify every current Shichibukai: their positions and all privileges are formally revoked. Warn them—any further pirate activity will be met with full pursuit by the Marines."
"Also: order G-1 through G-8 and every Marine base in the first half into maximum readiness. Increase patrols. Closely monitor all major routes and the movements within former Shichibukai spheres of influence. Alabasta, Dressrosa, Amazon Lily—those places get priority attention."
"And one more thing," Sengoku said, turning to the intelligence officer. "Investigate the Lulusia Kingdom's movements at full force. I want to know exactly how they intend to 'maintain first-half security.' Are they making contact with other forces in secret—especially those who just lost their Shichibukai titles?"
Orders flew out one after another, and Marine Headquarters immediately spun into motion.
Soon, the abolition order for the Ōka Shichibukai system was delivered—by Den Den Mushi and by Marine warship—to every active member.
Dressrosa, King's Plateau.
Inside the palace, Doflamingo was discussing matters with his top executives when a subordinate burst in, pale and frantic, and presented an urgent document just received.
Doflamingo took it. The moment he read the title and contents, his expression froze.
A joint notice from the World Government and Marine Headquarters: Decision on the formal abolition of the "Ōka Shichibukai" system and the handling of former appointees.
The document declared that effective immediately, the Ōka Shichibukai system was completely abolished, and all privileges of former members were canceled as well. The Marines would reassess and reissue bounties for the former Shichibukai, and no official protection of any kind would be provided.
"Fufufufu… fufufufufu…" Doflamingo pinched the paper between his fingers and laughed low. "Abolish… the Shichibukai? Those old geezers actually went and did it?!"
Doflamingo initially assumed this meant the Gorosei were moving to cut down the Shichibukai.
But as he read on and saw the special note about him personally, the anger on his face eased a fair bit.
Special note: Former Shichibukai member Doflamingo. As he is the king of the Dressrosa Kingdom, and Dressrosa is a recognized allied nation of the World Government, only his "Ōka Shichibukai" status and related maritime privileges are revoked. His lawful rights as an allied-nation king are temporarily retained, but he must accept strict supervision by the World Government and the Marines.
"Temporarily retained… strict supervision… fufufu…" Doflamingo rolled the words around in his mouth, a thin sneer on his face. This was plainly the World Government's "special care" for a former Celestial Dragon—and just as plainly, it was a warning and a leash.
"Trebol!" Doflamingo slammed the document onto the table, voice turning icy. "Notify every Family member and all affiliated forces: starting today, we tighten everything. Total contraction. No one makes a move without my order."
"At the same time, strengthen Dressrosa's border alert and internal surveillance. The Marines and those World Government bastards are probably just waiting for an excuse to come at me."
"Behahaha! Got it, Doffy!" Trebol answered at once.
(End of Chapter)
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