บท 252: Dilemma

[ Third Person POV ]

Mariejois

"DAMMIT!!!!" Sengoku slammed his hand down on the desk.

He had just received the news of what had happened during the operation to catch The Storm Dragon. It was natural that he had to start thinking quickly about mitigating the situation before it blew out of proportion.

Fortunately, the World Government had already informed the Marines beforehand that this operation would be kept away from public scrutiny. That was only if the other people on the island kept their mouths shut about the incident.

He would soon be appointed as the new Fleet-Admiral for the Marines. Fleet Admiral Kong was soon going to be promoted to Commander-in-Chief. The transition had already begun, and Sengoku had been finding himself more responsible for Marine affairs. Naturally, in some affairs, he was being guided by Kong, but for the most part, he was doing things all on his own.

Unfortunately, this was one of those things.

The Marines that were on the scene had already called Marine Headquarters to request assistance. Borusalino, being one of the fastest individuals within the Marines, was immediately sent to the island to get a hold of the situation while more reinforcements arrived.

The damages were cataclysmic. All six World Nobles that were supposed to catch Boris had all been killed. The conditions of Kuzan and Zephyr were currently unknown; the only thing being noted was the fact that Zephyr had lost an arm in the fight against him.

Garp, who had been on vacation, could have been notified and sent to the island, but he had no respect for the Celestial Dragons. In fact, Sengoku had a feeling that if Garp had been on that island, The World Nobles wouldn't be worrying about the Storm Dragon alone.

After reading the report, Sengoku immediately got on the transponder snail and started dialing. Calling the Five Elders in question on how to move forward from there.

"What is it?" Saint Saturn asked.

"The operation has resulted in failure, and all the World Nobles participating have been killed," Sengoku reported.

"We already know; just send a Buster Call on the island to wipe out any witnesses," Saint Warcury instructed.

"What of the public?" Sengoku asked.

There wasn't a response from the other end of the line to that question.

"Just follow through with the Buster Call. Await further instructions in the future," Saint Nusjuro replied before their end of the call got disconnected.

Sengoku sighed before dialing another number. This time, the line connected to Borusalino; he wanted an immediate update on what was happening on the West Blue Island.

"Hello~" Borusalino's voice echoed on the other end of the line.

"Borusalino, do you have an update on the situation?" Sengoku asked.

"Hm~ I know I'm fast, but I'm not that fast, you know? I'm a couple of miles out from the island, but things don't look too bad so far~" Borusalino replied.

"Do you sense the presence of the Storm Dragon?" Sengoku asked.

"Not really~," Borusalino remarked, "Although I can feel some remnants of his Haki, I can't detect his presence on the island. He probably already left the island."

"That's good. Just get a proper handle over there; reinforcements from nearby bases will arrive soon," Sengoku informed Borusalino before hanging up the call.

Although he had been given a practical summary of the events that had transpired on the island. The exact details hadn't been mentioned so far. Sengoku relied on Borusalino to deliver the vital information that had been missed to make a proper decision.

He couldn't fix something that he didn't know the particulars of, so the next best thing that he did was focus on the things he could have fixed. There had been small reports coming from Paradise that a former member of the Roger Pirates had been acting up and making a mess of things. He started focusing on that paperwork over there.

The situation in the Holy Land was equally as chaotic.

Mariejois

The Five Elders were currently meeting with the three heads of the prominent families of Mariejois. The meeting had been marked so important that they had to empty the entirety of Pangea castle to host it.

The guards protecting the entrance to Pangea Castle and the Room of Authority were all strictly instructed not to allow anyone to enter the building. Anyone who had failed to do so, be it World Noble or Marine, was to be executed immediately without hesitation.

That was how important the meeting had been.

"This is absolutely absurd!" The Family leader of the Manmayer Family exclaimed, "How could our forces lose to mere garbage?!"

"Hmph! We should have the Marines have full hands on deck in the capturing of the Storm Dragon; this is something we cannot tolerate," The Family Head of the Donquixote Family remarked.

"That is something we will not be doing," Saint Warcury remarked.

Figarland Grandsen slammed his hand through the table as he let out his bloodlust.

"Are we to overlook the fact that he has not only disrespected our place of Residency but also has disrespected our families?!" Figarland Grandsen growled.

His bloodlust was immediately suppressed by the Conqurer's Haki of the Five Elders, only adding more tension to the already thick atmosphere in the Room of Authority.

"The prominent families of Mariejois have long been disrespecting our Authority," Saint Nusjuro growled, "If you think that you can just come inside here and order us to do your bidding. You have another thing coming."

"The Five Elders' role is to ensure balance in the world. That is your responsibility, and because of that, you were given authority suited for that role. You have no business interfering in our affairs," Saint Bjornstead of the Manmeyer family remarked.

"It is because we are responsible for maintaining balance in the World that we are interfering in this affair," Saint Saturn argued, "do you truly believe that creating such a fuss is in our best interest?"

"The prominent families haven't been restricted in their actions since the founding of the World Government; we even gave you all special status to absolve you from crimes that normally would have warranted an execution," Saint Marcus Mars added.

"We haven't charged you for disobedience over the situation. If anything, we're trying to mediate the situation with you," Saint Ju Peter also added to the argument.

"Well, this matter won't be resolved unless we have his head served on a silver platter right in front of us," Saint Frindral of the Donquixote Family argued.

"For once, I agree with Frindral; this is a stain on the prominent family's name. We won't let this pass," Saint Grandsen added.

"Do you wish to start another war?! Why won't it go through your thick skulls that the Storm Dragon isn't one to be trifled with easily!" Saint Nusjuro growled as the Room of Authority's temperature dropped a couple of degrees.

"We rule the world. We will do as we see fit," Saint Bjronstead growled.

Conqurer's Haki once again bloomed and suppressed the entire Room of Authority. All Five Elders were furious; what Bjornstead had just said was something akin to insurrection. Something that was not going to be tolerated within the Holy Land.

The three leaders of the prominent families slowly withdrew their weapons from their sheathes as they all readied themselves for a fight.

However, right as they were about to jump at each other. The cold, indifferent voice of their Lord called out to them. Immediately freezing everyone within the room and drawing their attention to the still-closed door.

They all got up, and quietly walked to the Throne Room. Where their Lord awaited for them, sitting on his throne.