As Garp had pointed out, if this incident wasn't orchestrated by William, the situation was even worse. It would mean that order in the East Blue had completely collapsed, with the region's instability now apparent to everyone. Cunning criminals were taking advantage of the Marines' preoccupation to commit atrocities, and Garp and the others had to consider whether more opportunists might follow suit, triggering even greater chaos.
Moreover, while attacks on Marine bases could be considered an internal matter for the Marines, the assault on a World Government member nation's capital—where the royal palace was burned and the king murdered—represented an entirely different level of crisis.
This was no longer just a Marine issue.
Certainly, in the Grand Line, where pirates were as numerous as stars, incidents of pirates wreaking havoc in major cities or even committing atrocities in member nations' capitals were not unheard of. But this was the East Blue—a region perceived as fundamentally different from the chaotic and lawless Grand Line.
It was akin to William's past life: when wars erupted in Africa or the Middle East, people tended to view them as routine occurrences, not particularly shocking. However, if similar events unfolded in stable, well-governed countries, the impact would be far-reaching and profoundly negative.
The East Blue had not witnessed such severe crimes in a long time. Garp and his colleagues could easily imagine the panic and outrage spreading among the World Government member nations in the region. These nations would undoubtedly escalate the matter to the World Government, which would then demand answers from the Fleet Admiral.
From an external perspective, it appeared that the Marines' actions had directly precipitated the current chaos: William's capture and imprisonment were followed by a collective uprising of East Blue pirates, culminating in the Marines' inability to prevent criminal groups from burning a royal palace.
This sequence of events inevitably raised suspicions that the Morgan Group might be involved. The timing was too coincidental: Marine bases surrounding the Faraise Kingdom's capital had been attacked just before the incident, rendering them incapable of monitoring the surrounding seas. This created the perfect opportunity for remnants of the Buggy Pirates and Arlong Pirates to march unopposed into the kingdom's capital and lay waste to it.
"I've already reported the situation to Sengoku over the Den Den Mushi," Garp said with a characteristic chuckle, addressing Doberman. "He's furious and has ordered us to stabilize the East Blue as quickly as possible to prevent further panic. However... he rejected my request for reinforcements from Headquarters. On the bright side, he did approve my proposal to increase the bounties on the Morgan Group's officers."
The other three Vice Admirals were unimpressed. The immediate priority was addressing the pirate uprisings. Even with increased bounties, it was unlikely that pirates would irrationally capture Morgan Group officers and march them to the Marines for rewards. At most, it might attract some bounty hunters or prompt civilians to provide information.
The real issue was manpower.
All four Vice Admirals in the conference room recognized that the pirate crews causing trouble were, in terms of raw strength, utterly insignificant. Any one of them could eliminate these pirates with a single finger.
And that wasn't just a metaphor—they could literally kill them with a single Finger Pistol.
The problem, however, was that they couldn't locate the pirates. Being powerful didn't mean they could be in a thousand places at once. The East Blue was vast, and the pirate crews were scattered throughout the region. Even if all four Vice Admirals abandoned Kalmar City and ignored William entirely, they still couldn't cover the entire East Blue. If four Vice Admirals could easily suppress all crime across an entire sea, the Marines wouldn't need to spend enormous sums annually maintaining such a large force.
Their only option was to redistribute the officers and soldiers brought from Headquarters, assigning them to various locations. These forces, led by captains or lieutenants, would reorganize the local Marines and systematically hunt down the elusive pirates.
"Recall all officers and soldiers stationed throughout the city," Garp ordered with a dismissive wave, his expression betraying irritation. "Let the nobles of this kingdom worry about their city's safety. We'll focus our manpower on guarding the prison where Morgan William is held."
This city—indeed, this entire kingdom—felt fundamentally wrong. A criminal of pirate origin had deceived the masses, imprisoned the nobility, and risen to power as the nation's ruler. Yet, in the eyes of common people and across various industries, he still commanded immense respect. Even now, with William imprisoned, the populace, while largely unwilling to defy Marine authority, grumbled incessantly. Occasional disturbances erupted, while the kingdom's legitimate rulers lacked any authority within the city and had to rely on Marines for control.
The incident where a prison guard wrapped cloth around William's leg restraints had been reported by Smoker to his superiors. Since then, Strawberry and the other Vice Admirals had grown increasingly distrustful of locals, fearing they might attempt something during William's imprisonment. This distrust led them to agree to King Norton I and the local nobles' request for assistance.
During this period, key facilities such as the city's ports and gates were guarded by Marines from Headquarters. Any anomalies would be immediately detected and suppressed by Garp and his colleagues.
The original plan had been to maintain this arrangement until William's execution. Afterward, officers and soldiers brought from Headquarters would gradually be reassigned to local Marine bases for a smooth transition. However, the current chaos forced them to abandon this cautious approach. They couldn't simultaneously distribute their forces across the East Blue and help local rulers maintain tight control over this city.
"I really don't know what the nobles of this kingdom were doing to become so utterly useless," Vice Admiral Dalmatian exclaimed, slamming his fist on the table in frustration. The force of the blow splintered a chunk off the solid wooden surface. "Even now, they're still hosting banquets every day. Don't they realize they've completely lost control of their own country?"
Garp chuckled, but the other Vice Admirals remained silent. They were soldiers, not politicians, and dealing with such matters fell beyond their purview.
In truth, Dalmatian's harsh assessment of the Navia Kingdom's nobles wasn't entirely accurate.
Even if these nobles had been oblivious before, their three years under William's "bloody suppression" had taught them to take the kingdom's affairs more seriously—especially matters of military authority.
Indeed, banquets continued to be held in the noble district, but unlike before, the attendees now included not only traditional aristocrats but also numerous military officers in full uniform.
Under William's rule, noble influence within the military had been purged like necrotic tissue. The officers now appearing at these banquets were mid- to high-ranking leaders who had risen during William's reign but hadn't been trusted enough to join the Royal Guard.
Now, with the Royal Guard's core members either evacuated by William or imprisoned by the Marines, these second- and third-tier military leaders and their forces had become pivotal figures in the city.
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