Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
"Gran, no contact, just forget it!"
In the Fleet Admiral's office, Sengoku sat at his desk, hands clasped on the desktop, chin resting on the back of his hands. He looked at a female Marine standing by the sofa, continuously dialing a Den Den Mushi, and said calmly.
The female Marine, Gran, wore a Rear Admiral's epaulets on her shoulders and a Marine justice cloak. Her black hair was tied in a low ponytail behind her. Her beautiful face wore a pair of round, black-rimmed glasses, adding a touch of intellectual beauty to her heroic demeanor.
She put down the Den Den Mushi's receiver, stood up straight, and pushed up the frame of her glasses. Then, she turned to Sengoku and said, "Mr. Sengoku, I'm afraid it's as you suspected. Moria has probably met his demise."
"Hmm!"
Sengoku nodded, lowered his hands, and sat up straight. "We should have known as soon as the Silver Hair group entered the Thriller Bark."
"I just didn't expect this guy to act so quickly. Before we could even notify Moria to escape, Moria was already killed by this guy."
"And based on Silver Hair's attitude towards pirates, Moria's crew is probably all dead too!"
Gran looked at Sengoku, her expression serious as she considered the strength of the Silver Hair group. "So, Mr. Sengoku, what should we do next?"
"Report it to the World Government. Although it's not confirmed, it's more than ninety percent certain. As for the Silver Hair group, hasn't the World Government issued any orders?"
As he spoke, a glint appeared in Sengoku's eyes. "Let them worry about it!"
"Yes, Mr. Sengoku."
Gran saluted Sengoku loudly, then bent down to pick up the Den Den Mushi that had just called Moria from the coffee table and turned to leave the Fleet Admiral's office.
She was a member of the Marine Intelligence Division, responsible for contacting the World Government and the Seven Warlords.
Since Sengoku had already drawn a conclusion about the disappearance of the Seven Warlords, and she genuinely couldn't get through, the only course of action was to report it to the World Government.
As part of the intelligence department, besides the Fleet Admiral and the Admirals, perhaps only a small portion of people in their department truly understood the terror of the Silver Hair group.
Take the naval battle outside Water 7, for example. The Marine, "Cheals," who had narrowly escaped death, had not yet transmitted any news, but the Marines already knew the details of that battle.
This involved surveillance by various seabirds and, afterward, local Marines who received the news and went to clean up the aftermath, rescuing pirates from whom they obtained information.
After all, the Pirate Alliance had waited outside Water 7 for Kōta and the others for days.
Naturally, the Marines were aware of such a colossal force.
However, Kōta and the others were in Water 7, so the Marines dared not approach.
They feared Kōta would capture them along with the pirates.
"Goro Goro no Mi."
Since Kuzan had only discussed the intelligence about Kuina with Sengoku upon his return, the Marines' current intelligence on Kōta's group was still limited to Alabasta.
It was important to remember that Kuina did not possess the Goro Goro no Mi at that time.
The strength displayed by Kuina in this battle, even just hearing about it, allowed them to imagine the sheer devastation. After all, it was an alliance formed by nearly 20 pirate crews.
It included over a hundred wanted criminals, with a combined bounty exceeding 6 billion.
It was crucial to note that pirates who could sail to Water 7 were no longer novices who had just entered the Grand Line. Reaching this point meant they possessed some skill, having survived the pursuit of countless pirates and Marines.
Yet, such a force, a pirate alliance of over a thousand people with a bounty exceeding 6 billion, was dealt with like toys by Kuina, and the battle concluded in a short period.
When the Marines arrived at the scene, the devastation was akin to encountering a tsunami combined with a hurricane. Few pirates remained, and the sea was covered in charred corpses, a gruesome sight.
Even without an official report, the intelligence department had significantly increased their assessment of Kuina's dangerousness. It was no wonder Kuina's bounty had been inexplicably raised so much recently; the World Government must have known long ago that Kuina had obtained the Goro Goro no Mi.
Upon returning to the intelligence department, Gran reported Moria's death to the World Government and then paid no further attention to the matter.
After all, the Seven Warlords were ultimately under the direct jurisdiction of the World Government.
It had little to do with the Marines.
Fleet Admiral's office.
After Gran took her orders and left, Sengoku leaned back in his chair, lost in thought.
First Crocodile, now Moria. It seemed that except for Hawk Eyes, Silver Hair had eliminated every Seven Warlord he had encountered. Bartholomew Kuma was conducting research on a special World Government island, making him difficult to locate, so there was no cause for concern. "Empress" Boa Hancock resided on Amazon Lily, located in the calm belt, and rarely showed herself, so she should be safe.
The next targets would be "Soge King" Jinbe of Fish-Man Island, followed by "Heavenly Yaksha" Donquixote Doflamingo of New World's Dressrosa.
Given Jinbe's personality and the consistent demeanor of the Silver Hair group, as long as Jinbe didn't provoke them, there shouldn't be much danger.
However, Doflamingo was likely to be in peril.
"Should I warn him?"
Sengoku leaned forward, resting his hands on the desk again, his head on his hands, deep in thought.
To be honest, although the Seven Warlords played a role in stabilizing the seas, the Marines, from top to bottom, disliked this system.
This system belittled the Marines' achievements and highlighted the World Navy's incompetence, forcing them to rely on pirates to balance other pirates.
However, these were decisions made after careful consideration by the World Government. Even as Fleet Admiral, he couldn't object, and more so when he was an Admiral over a decade ago, making it even more impossible to object.
In reality, he didn't have much of an issue with the emergence of the Seven Warlords. After all, the Seven Warlords had genuinely helped the World Government and the Marines, stabilizing the seas under certain conditions and buying the World Government time.
Some things he only learned after becoming Fleet Admiral.
Yes, it was about stalling for time. The World Government needed to find new forces to quell the unrest and maintain balance in the seas.
After all, that one sentence from Roger before his death had completely ignited the seas, causing the already balanced seas to go completely berserk and lose their equilibrium.
As the pirate side significantly strengthened, the Marines gradually found themselves unable to cope. The Four Seas were manageable, but as more and more pirates entered the Grand Line, the pressure on the Marines increased, leading to the creation of the Seven Warlords.
On one hand, it was to balance the seas, and on the other, they wanted to make these individuals serve the World Government.
However, these were all free-spirited, lawless individuals accustomed to freedom; how could they possibly serve the World Government?
Their joining the Seven Warlords each had their own objectives.
Take, for instance, that scoundrel Crocodile, who nearly succeeded in his coup by using the title of Seven Warlord.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but recall the World Conference held not long ago, the King of Alabasta, Nefertari Cobra, and how Cobra, after receiving news from Alabasta during the conference, had vehemently condemned the Seven Warlord system in the subsequent meeting.
Furthermore, he had heard that Cobra proposed discussing the "abolition of the Seven Warlord system" at the next conference.
"In four years, the World Government probably won't need the Seven Warlords anymore."
Thinking of the power the World Government was secretly researching, he couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation.
Although he didn't know what it was, as a weapon to replace the Seven Warlords and balance the power of the seas, it was unlikely to be weaker than the current Seven Warlords.