"Those bastards!"
"Morgans actually dared to publish this! Does he really think we can't do anything to him?!" Saturn Saint of the Five Elders roared in fury.
"According to CP's intelligence, the Dream Exploration Team leaked this information to Morgans. Some of the photos in the article even show members of the team." Saint Peter said grimly.
"It's time we taught this lawless Dream Team a lesson," Saint Warcury added, casting a glance at Saint Mars.
"I have no objections," Saint Mars replied indifferently.
Compared to the dignity of the Celestial Dragons, whatever little honor the Dream Team had brought to their family meant nothing.
So now, he too was ready to abandon them.
"This matter involves that person. We must inform him," Saint Peter said in a serious tone.
"Then we'll decide how to deal with the Dream Exploration Team after speaking with Saint Garling," Saint Nusjuro's raspy voice echoed.
The other four elders slowly nodded.
~~~~~~
Marine Headquarters.
After reading the newspaper that morning, Sengoku felt a headache coming on.
"The Five Elders must know about this by now. The World Government will definitely punish the Dream Exploration Team. Even though the goal was achieved, why do I still feel like something's off..." Sengoku muttered to himself, rubbing his forehead.
"Uh..."
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I think what Vice Admiral Garp said yesterday might have some truth to it. Could it be that we really pushed them too hard?" Brannew couldn't help but speak up.
"Sigh~~~"
"Of course I know that. But the only way for the Marines to rebuild is to break things down first. Sometimes, drastic measures are necessary." As he spoke, Sengoku took a document from his drawer and handed it to Brannew. "Give this order to Vice Admiral Tsuru—she'll know what to do."
"Yes, sir!"
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku!" Brannew saluted, took the document, and left.
Sengoku clenched his fist and slammed it onto his desk, his expression serious.
"I have to take back control of the Marines!"
Meanwhile, in the office of the Marine Chief Strategist...
Vice Admiral Tsuru was handling routine tasks, with Gion assisting her. Neither of them seemed to care much about the events in the morning's newspaper.
*Knock, knock, knock~~~*
"Come in!"
Brannew walked in, approached the desk, and handed the document to Vice Admiral Tsuru.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, this is from Fleet Admiral Sengoku. He said you'll know what to do once you read it."
Tsuru frowned as she took the document and read through it. After finishing, she let out a sigh.
"That Sengoku... always scheming." She shook her head. "Go back and tell him—I got it."
"Understood, Vice Admiral Tsuru." Brannew saluted and quickly left.
"Sis Tsuru, what task did Fleet Admiral Sengoku give you this time?" Gion asked curiously.
"He wants to expose all the World Government's operatives hidden within the Marines," Tsuru said, speechless. "And he's pinning the blame on the Dream Exploration Team."
"..."
"Sengoku is really doing this? Isn't he afraid of completely breaking ties with the Dream Exploration Team?" Gion was shocked.
"..."
"He's betting on Ryuen's kindness," Tsuru said softly after a pause.
"So what do we need to do?" Gion frowned, still curious.
"We need to be ready to make arrests. I'm sure tomorrow's newspaper will be filled with reports of corrupt Marines."
"With the whole world watching, the World Government won't be able to protect these people. They care too much about their image. Once that happens, Sengoku will have the perfect excuse to deal with them," Tsuru explained.
"And the ones taking the fall will be the Dream Exploration Team..." Gion frowned. She had a good impression of that group.
"Sengoku has no choice if he wants to clean up the Marines. This is the best way for now. If we get rid of the corrupt officers, the Marines can truly change for the better." Tsuru agreed with Sengoku's decision.
"I see..." Gion nodded and fell silent.
"Let's go. Garp needs to be involved in this too—he's the only one strong enough to suppress those people." Tsuru stood up, ready to find Garp.
Under Fleet Admiral Sengoku's plan, an unprecedented purge within the Marines was about to begin.
~~~~~~
Clarked Island, Henshuu Village.
The battleship Sengoku had prepared for Ryuen was already docked at the shore, waiting.
After hearing Ryuen's proposal, the villagers all chose to move to East Blue.
Whether they joined the orphanage as staff or found other places to live, anywhere in East Blue was better than staying in Paradise.
They were grateful to the Dream Exploration Team for arranging a Marine battleship to escort them.
Even though they still didn't trust the Marines, they trusted the Dream Exploration Team.
"Vice Admiral Jonathan, why are you personally here again? Is Sengoku so short on people that he had to send a Vice Admiral for such a simple task?" Ryuen smirked as he walked up to Jonathan, who had just stepped off the ship.
"Hohohoho~~~"
"I'm not just here for the escort mission—I have orders to deliver." Jonathan laughed.
"Sengoku still hasn't given up?" Ryuen raised an eyebrow.
"That, I don't know. Here, this is from Fleet Admiral Sengoku." Jonathan took out a note and handed it to Ryuen.
Ryuen took it suspiciously and opened it to read.
"The order has been delivered. I have my own matters to handle." Jonathan didn't wait for Ryuen's reaction and walked off with a few Marines toward the villagers of Flatboat Village.
"Hey!!!"
"That old man Sengoku really thinks he can just do whatever he wants, huh? Does he expect me to take the blame for them?" Ryuen read the note and let out a sarcastic laugh.
"What's wrong?"
"What's Sengoku up to this time?"
...
Seeing Ryuen's reaction, the rest of the Dream crew gathered around him curiously.
Ryuen handed them the note and said, "Sengoku wants to expose the corrupt Marine officers who are actually working for the World Government. He plans to use the current public opinion across the seas to weed out these parasites from the Marines.
As for the pressure from the World Government, he wants to dump it all on our Dream Exploration Team. Not a bad plan, huh?"
After Ryuen finished speaking, everyone's expression darkened.
"That sneaky old man! Ryuen, what should we do?" Nami asked angrily.
The others also turned to Ryuen, waiting for his answer.
"I need to think about this carefully. The Marines do have their own media channels, but we'll need Morgans to make this work." Ryuen rubbed his chin in thought.
"Nami, ask Lindgas if he still has any enemies in Mary Geoise." Ryuen's eyes suddenly lit up.
Nami: Hehe, I saw that~
---
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