After hearing the final analysis from the Warrior God of Environment, Marcus Mars, the Five Elders all revealed expressions of sudden realization.
The hidden tentacles of the World Government that reached into every corner of the world were always being severed by a ghost-like Marine unit.
And the man they had never paid much attention to—Michael—turned out to be the leader of this mysterious unit.
Once they arrived at this conclusion, everyone felt it was unbelievable.
But this was also the most reasonable explanation.
Placed within the chain of clues, everything instantly came together.
"So that means, the ones constantly eliminating human traffickers and those regional 'Justice' Marines… were also them?"
Topman Warcury, the Warrior God of Justice, drew in a sharp breath.
That was, after all, a major source of the World Government's economy.
Being repeatedly destroyed and eventually nearly wiped out had dealt no small blow to the Government.
"Who exactly is this Michael? Why does he harbor such deep malice toward the World Government? Isn't he a Marine?"
"I would think, rather than worrying about what this Marine might do, it's more concerning what his actions signify… Don't forget, Sengoku is currently the de facto Supreme Commander of the Marines, and Michael is Sengoku's adopted son!"
The Five Elders instantly fell silent.
Everyone instinctively shut their mouths, because they all realized something…
Michael's actions… could they have Sengoku's tacit approval, perhaps even his direct orders?
And if so…
Did that mean Sengoku, and possibly the Marines as a whole, no longer stood on the same side as the World Government?
"This matter… is troublesome."
"Regardless of whether Sengoku truly harbors such intentions, we must tread carefully…" Shepherd Ju Peter, sighed. "Right now, we must immediately send people to approach those few who may become Admirals in the future…"
"If necessary, we should bring forward the promotions of the Fleet Admiral and the three Admirals."
"Agreed."
"Agreed."
"I agree as well."
"Unanimous… then let us begin planning."
"This time, we cannot afford to fail again… If we can't even deal with such a small character, how will Imu-sama view us?"
Everyone sighed.
In truth, the moment this matter touched Sengoku and the Marines as a whole, it had already ceased to be a small problem.
It was, in fact, the greatest trouble at present.
But what could the rotting brains of the Five Elders come up with?
Nothing more than letting new Admirals take their positions, dispersing Sengoku's influence, and once more plunging the Marines into a multi-faction struggle—so they could better keep the leash on this ferocious hound.
Did they really think that by pulling tightly on the leash they could maintain control?
"For now, we shouldn't be thinking of eliminating Michael…"
"Send someone to keep an eye on him."
"Who?"
"CP0 is no longer suitable to make an appearance…"
"Wait, I recall that the Donquixote family had a child who was erased from the records by the people of the Holy Land, correct?"
"To be precise, there were two: Donquixote Doflamingo and Donquixote Rosinante. Rosinante is his younger brother—he was only recently found."
"Hmm… recently found, meaning he hasn't yet been too tainted by the underworld, correct?"
...
After leading the SWORD Secret Special Force to bring the Shandians and the Golden City of Shandora back to Alabasta, Michael immediately set about resettling them.
First were the Shandians. Their chief clearly understood why Michael wanted to move the Golden City, so he made no request to live in Shandora. Instead, he led his people to build a village outside the nearest Alabastan city to settle.
But under Michael's insistence, they still "had to" bring with them their symbol…
The "Light of Shandora."
Now it stood tall in the center of the new Cloud Hidden Village.
The Shandians felt no discomfort in their new home—in fact, they were quite excited.
Because of their origins, though they had lived on Skypiea, they always held a deep reverence and faith for the "land."
Now, to live upon the desert sands was far better than the unchanging island clouds.
Not to mention, in Alabasta not only did scholars teach their children, but the Marines also assigned them duties, spreading knowledge of the use of Dials and Clouds.
Compared to their former hidden life in the forests, this was paradise.
And Michael instantly became, in the eyes of the Shandians, the third figure they revered—after the great warrior Kalgara and Noland!
Chief? What was that compared to him?
After settling the Shandians, it was time to clear out the Golden City.
Michael had first handed this task to Crocodile.
After all, for Crocodile, weathering stone into sand was child's play.
But while doing so, Crocodile stumbled upon a Poneglyph.
Michael then remembered—
Oh right, this broken place really did have one of those.
But to Michael, who already knew the general information, the Poneglyph was fairly useless.
So after having it cleaned, he packed it up and sent it to the Sabaody Archipelago.
Little Robin, as Vice Captain under Momousagi, had worked hard.
Surely she would like this gift he prepared for her?
As for the giant serpent that had lived in the Golden City all along, Lord of the Sky, Nola…
Now it obediently coiled within the city, acting as a guard dog.
Don't be fooled by the fact it was a snake—its intelligence was extremely high. After Michael's repeated training (beating), it had thoroughly mastered the duties of receiving and sending guests.
All of these matters took Michael over a week to resolve.
And when it was done, as he once more pushed open the gates of the Alabasta branch, he saw someone who absolutely should not have been there.
Dressed in standard Marine uniform, even his hair shaved down to a crew cut!
Around him, members of the SWORD Secret Special Force all wore expressions like they wanted to laugh but didn't dare.
And because no one knew what was happening, they didn't even dare to approach him.
This awkward atmosphere was finally broken by Michael.
"Uh, so… why are you here right now?"
"Rosinante?"
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