Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
At the very top of Pangaea Castle, within the Chamber of Authority, the Five Elders sat on their sofas, their gazes fixed on the live broadcast screen not far away.
Even through the feed, they seemed able to feel the overwhelming pressure radiating from the Marine formations.
Saint Nusjuro frowned slightly.
"Ortoren's momentum in the New World has truly taken shape… No wonder he dared to initiate a decisive battle with Whitebeard without requesting support from Headquarters."
"Have you all read the report that Aramaki submitted?" Saint Saturn asked in a low voice.
"I've read it," Saint Warcury replied first, then continued, "but things may not develop the way he expects. Ortoren does exercise extremely strong control over the New World Marines, but as a Governor Admiral, that isn't necessarily improper. It doesn't automatically mean he harbors dangerous ambitions, does it?"
"Warcury, have you gone senile?" Saint Mars shot him a glance. "Whether Ortoren has ulterior motives or not, once his power has expanded to this extent, shouldn't we be applying restraints and strengthening our control over him?"
"Trust is one thing, measures are another," Saint Peter said firmly. "That much should be self-evident. After this war, we must reinforce our arrangements in that regard. We cannot allow Ortoren to continue growing unchecked. Otherwise, if something truly goes wrong in the future, it would become a serious disaster."
The Five Elders were far from simple figures. Even though, for various reasons, they had not detected anything overtly problematic about Ortoren himself, his influence had already reached a point where it could not be ignored.
Regardless of his loyalty, regardless of how much they trusted him, necessary restraints and counterbalances could not be absent.
Otherwise, if Ortoren ever decided to make a bold move of his own, the resulting chaos would be catastrophic.
Saint Warcury, though jabbed by the remark, showed no embarrassment. After pondering for a moment, he nodded slowly.
"That is indeed how it should be… It seems I was a bit slow to grasp the situation."
After a brief pause, he continued,
"There is already precedent for rotating the Navy Admirals. After this battle, perhaps we should temporarily transfer Ortoren out of the New World?"
This was not an unreasonable suggestion. The Admirals did, in fact, have a rotation system. It had long been used to prevent Admirals from becoming too deeply entrenched and powerful within any single region.
In practice, it would mean reassigning Ortoren from the New World to Marine Headquarters, or perhaps to command the first half of the Grand Line.
Then Sakazuki or Kuzan would take over his duties in the New World.
After several years, another rotation would take place.
Through continuous reassignment, an Admiral's control and influence over local forces could be steadily diluted.
"That said," Saint Nusjuro said with a troubled expression, "moving Ortoren raises two issues. First… if Ortoren leaves the New World, how do we proceed with the ongoing efforts to placate the Big Mom Pirates and Totto Land? Second, who takes over the New World Marines? Kuzan, or Sakazuki?"
The other Elders frowned as well. It was a difficult problem.
Thanks to Ortoren, they had finally reached certain agreements and cooperative arrangements with the Big Mom Pirates. The plan to bring them into the fold as affiliated states was progressing steadily.
If Ortoren were pulled out of the New World at such a critical moment, who would handle the follow-up negotiations?
Sakazuki?
With Sakazuki's temperament, could he really sit down and negotiate cooperation with Charlotte Linlin?
If those two didn't immediately come to blows, it would already count as Sakazuki showing restraint.
Kuzan?
Kuzan represented the Navy's more dovish faction, many of whom harbored dissatisfaction with the World Government, with Garp being the most prominent example. And Kuzan himself had been personally trained by Garp.
Even during this most recent World Summit, one could faintly sense Kuzan's discontent with Mary Geoise.
Was someone like that truly suitable to be placed in charge of the New World?
After a short while, Saint Mars spoke again.
"We've really trapped ourselves in a strange loop. Think about it carefully. The matter of the Big Mom Pirates won't actually be affected much at all. Even if Ortoren is transferred out of the New World, that doesn't stop him from continuing to handle those affairs, does it? Just because he leaves the New World, does that mean he's no longer an Admiral? Does it mean he can no longer negotiate with the Big Mom Pirates?"
His words immediately jolted the other Five Elders awake.
That's right. Just because he wasn't physically stationed in the New World, did that mean negotiations were impossible?
He would still be an Admiral. He would merely be reassigned according to procedure. If a face-to-face meeting were truly necessary, he could simply travel on official business.
In theory, none of this should interfere with the work. And if it did interfere, then it would only signal one thing: Ortoren was deliberately using this as leverage to block their attempt to transfer him out of the New World.
Which would also mean that Ortoren truly had developed ambitions he shouldn't have, and was no longer worthy of their trust.
In that case, it would be even more unacceptable to let him continue serving as Governor Admiral of the New World.
"Well said. Then the first issue is no longer a concern. As for the second…" Saint Nusjuro asked again, "who should rotate with him?"
"After the Whitebeard Pirates are eliminated, the New World will inevitably need to be reorganized," Saint Saturn said, rubbing his temples lightly. "Sakazuki may be more suitable for that task, at least compared to Kuzan… but I'm worried he might go too far."
"What you're really worried about isn't him going too far," Saint Warcury said quietly, "but the implications behind that proclamation, isn't it?"
As soon as those words fell, the room sank into silence.
After a long pause, Saint Mars spoke.
"There's no need to dwell on that. A single proclamation doesn't represent much. They lack experience in this area, so minor mistakes are understandable. There's no need to make a fuss over it."
With Mars saying so, the other Five Elders nodded lightly, as though the matter had been set aside.
But if it truly wasn't worth worrying about… then why had it been brought up at all?
Leaving the proclamation aside, Saint Mars continued,
"If you're worried about Sakazuki being too extreme, then simply assign someone who can temper his temper to assist him. Borsalino has been staying on Punk Hazard for far too long. When the time comes, assign him to Sakazuki's side as support. Given his personality and his fairly good relationship with Sakazuki, he should play a key role."
After some thought, the other Five Elders found the proposal sound.
Borsalino was famously smooth and flexible. Pairing him with someone as rigid and forceful as Sakazuki would naturally balance things out. That way, the New World could see progress without things spiraling out of control, and without jeopardizing the ongoing efforts to bring the Big Mom Pirates into submission.
"Then it's settled," Saint Saturn said decisively. "Once this war ends, Ortoren will be reassigned to command Marine Headquarters. Sakazuki will rotate into the New World as Governor Admiral."
The remaining Five Elders had no intention of continuing the discussion. Their attention returned to the live broadcast.
…
At this moment, Ortoren was completely unaware that such decisions were being made. He had clearly underestimated just how decisive the Five Elders could be.
At the slightest hint of concern, they had already moved with firm measures.
Even if Ortoren did know, he probably wouldn't care in the slightest.
What, you think you can just transfer me because you say so? Did you even ask whether the troops under my command agree?
If I leave the New World today, the entire region will fall into chaos tomorrow. The day after that, the New World Marines would dare to talk about independence.
I give you face by calling you the Five Elders. Take that away, and you're nothing but five old geezers.
That said, if Ortoren hadn't secured the reserves of the Golden Country, and if he hadn't developed massive food supplies within the Calm Belt, he might still have chosen to lie low for a while longer.
But now?
Now he already had the confidence to turn his back on Mary Geoise.