Holy Land Mary Geoise.
World Government!
High-ranking Marine officials arrived one after another.
Their expressions were all very grim.
Being played by Kevin was one thing, but now they were saddled with the baseless accusation of being traitors. Everyone's gloomy faces looked like they could drip water.
Even Garp's expression was solemn; he wasn't fooling around.
In the quiet atmosphere.
A heavy feeling weighed on the hearts of the high-ranking Marine officials, making it hard to breathe.
He vaguely sensed the presence of many powerful individuals in the Holy Land, all locking him.
The Five Elders sat in a row.
They were flipping through documents in their hands.
As the quiet atmosphere stretched on, beads of cold sweat began to form on Sengoku's forehead, dripping one by one.
He kept his head deeply bowed.
After a long while.
"Hmph!" The Five Elders simultaneously let out a cold snort.
Sengoku was startled.
The Five Elders threw the documents in their hands at Sengoku's feet: "Fortunately, we didn't find any signs of your betrayal, otherwise…"
In the past few days.
The Five Elders had been reviewing all the record files of the Marine high-ranking officials, documenting all their actions within the Marines.
There were no suspicious points.
Only then did they feel relieved.
Sengoku let out a long sigh of relief.
He had passed the test.
"Sengoku, you useless fellow! Kevin was actually a member of the Navy New Recruit Camp before, a Marine! You actually expelled him, letting him become a criminal who invaded the Holy Land, and he even turned Vice Admiral Gyon against us! You useless fellow!"
The Five Elders mercilessly berated Sengoku.
Sengoku's head sank even lower.
Sakazuki and the others' expressions grew even uglier; the Marines were being trampled underfoot.
All dignity was lost.
"Now the World Government and the Marines have become the laughingstock of the entire sea. Tell us, what should we do?" The Five Elders stared at Sengoku unkindly. "It's all because you are too useless, completely worthless."
"The Marines will spare no effort and at all costs to encircle and annihilate Kevin," Sengoku declared, making a military pledge.
"How long will the capture plan take to succeed?"
Sengoku was speechless for a moment.
How long would it take to succeed?
He didn't know.
Kevin's traces were completely lost; where he was now, no one knew. In the vast ocean, finding and capturing him would be difficult! Extremely difficult!
"Are we going to continue like before, with the Marines acting like headless flies, only knowing how to wait for him to come to them, and then being played like monkeys? Continuing to be a laughingstock?" The Five Elders mocked the Marines.
For the past half-month.
There had been no progress at all.
Enies Lobby was also gone.
Sengoku's lips moved, but he was powerless to retort.
"I have a plan," Sakazuki stepped forward.
Everyone looked at Sakazuki.
"Sakazuki, what's your plan? Speak!"
"Lure him out," Sakazuki stated his plan: "Publicly execute slaves to lure Kevin to their rescue, then set up heavy troops."
Everyone quickly considered the success rate of Sakazuki's plan.
Aokiji frowned, displeased with such a plan: "For the past half-month, the slaves have long been hidden all over the sea, and their marks have been covered by tattoos. It's already very difficult to catch slaves."
"If there are none, then catch others to act as slaves."
Aokiji's expression of displeasure grew even stronger.
Garp frowned, looking at the extremist Sakazuki.
The Five Elders, however, were somewhat moved. As long as they could capture Kevin, they would be willing to sacrifice as many ordinary people as needed: "Sakazuki, how confident are you that it will succeed?"
"I don't know."
Sakazuki wasn't very confident.
Chief of Staff Tsuru said: "The plan has too many loopholes. A public execution—everyone will know it's a conspiracy. Why would Kevin come? He is a pirate. Why would a pirate be asked to enter a certain death trap for the sake of slaves, knowing full well the danger?
If he doesn't come, the reputation of the Marines and the World Government will suffer huge losses again. If he does come, how will the world view this matter? Pirate Kevin comes to liberate slaves, regardless of life and death, while the Marine World Government is despicable and shameless. Where is justice?"
The Five Elders were convinced.
The success rate was not high.
But Sakazuki's suggestion gave the Five Elders some ideas.
"Attracting him to expose himself is a good method. As long as we lure him out, dealing with him will be simple." The Five Elders looked at Sengoku: "Kevin used to be a Marine. What are his weaknesses? What are his hobbies?"
"Weaknesses?" Sengoku pondered.
He had investigated everything about Kevin.
His previous weakness was his poor talent, but now that was no longer a weakness; he had become a monster.
Hobbies?
The only person he cared about was Gyon, who had already betrayed them to follow him. His homeland was also destroyed. He had no weaknesses.
"Pirates are nothing more than fame, fortune, and power. There must be something that can make him expose himself." The Five Elders didn't believe there was anyone in this world without weaknesses: "Gold and silver treasures should be useless to him."
The Five Elders lowered their heads, looking at all of Kevin's intelligence.
Suddenly, they found a suspicious point.
"He is not a Devil Fruit user. In your investigation, Gyon has been diligently completing tasks and increasing her merits these past few years, all to exchange for a good Devil Fruit for him at Marine Headquarters."
Devil Fruit, the secret treasure of the sea.
It's also treasure.
"How about we use a Devil Fruit to lure him out?" The Five Elders looked at Sengoku and the others.
Could this plan succeed?
Sengoku lowered his head in thought, then nodded, "The success rate is very high, but with Kevin's current display of combat power, he probably won't be interested in ordinary Devil Fruits."
"How many Devil Fruits are there within the Navy?"
Sengoku replied, "Sixteen, but Kevin probably wouldn't be interested in any of them. He's only eighteen, and his current performance is even stronger than Gyon's. For him to value an ability enough to actively expose himself, it would have to be an ability on the level of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit."