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**Marine Headquarters Fortress, Fleet Admiral's Office**
"Report!"
"Come in..."
Receiving a response, Rowen stepped inside.
Glancing upwards, goodness gracious, it was packed! In Rowen's memory, the Fleet Admiral's office had never been this bustling before.
Marines adorned in Justice cloaks, along with various high-ranking officials, occupied seats on the left-hand side. Only Admirals and Vice Admirals could sit here, while more officers had to stand in the aisles behind, their expressions varied as they leaned against the walls.
Across from them were the iconic black suits of government officials, each exuding an aura of dignity, striving to maintain their facade as "the elite." Despite any Marine present having the strength to effortlessly defeat them all, they remained nonchalant.
Old acquaintances like Rob Lucci and Kalifa were present too, seated beside Sengoku at the head of the table. Without surprise, they represented Cipher Pol and, more importantly, the Celestial Dragons.
As Rowen walked in, the previously dozing individuals all turned their gaze towards him, eager to see what kind of monster the Marine Vice Admiral, who had effortlessly subdued Dragon, truly was.
At first glance, he seemed... young!
Incredibly young!
Compared to renowned Vice Admirals typically starting at 40 years old, Rowen, at a mere 26, was still considered "immature" even within the Rear Admiral ranks.
It was hard to believe that such a young man had already reached the pinnacle of the sea and achieved feats that even long-standing Admirals couldn't accomplish.
However, with a second glance, the officials noticed that their bodyguards behind them had all held their breath, each looking as if they were facing a formidable enemy, with cold sweat dripping down their foreheads.
Roar!
It was silent and unnoticed and only the target could hear the Dragon's roar echoing in their ears. Several weaker bodyguards groaned, their faces turning pale as they gasped for air.
Fortunately, no one fainted, or they would have been in serious trouble!
The combined presence of all these individuals did not make Rowen feel the slightest discomfort. With just a single glance, Rowen made them sense the threat of death.
The gap between them was just that huge!
"Monster!"
Rob Lucci was relieved that he was representing the Celestial Dragons and merely here to observe. Otherwise, he would have been one of those embarrassed individuals.
Previously, when they met, he could still sense the gap between himself and Rowen. But now, with Rowen standing before him, exuding an unyielding aura like a stubborn rock, there was simply no chance for him to peer into Rowen's psyche.
"Cough, cough, come over here and sit, Rowen."
Watching the group of officials' bodyguards trembling under Rowen's Haoshoku pressure, Sengoku chuckled, not bothering to glance at the officials whose faces had turned black, and warmly gestured for Rowen to come over.
'Alright, that's enough, what, do you wanna scare them to death?!'
Rowen decisively withdrew his pressure and moved to sit among the ranks of Marine officers.
With Aokiji absent, Rowen's position ranked fourth, preceded by Chief of Staff Tsuru, Admirals Akainu and Kizaru.
Momousagi sat beside him, her hand resting on her sword's hilt, her eyes closed as she tapped her fingers against the blade, emitting a rhythmic "tick-tock" sound.
This time, Rowen's achievements were particularly magnificent, something Momousagi wasn't quite content with.
Soon, the remaining attendees trickled into the room, filling the office to the brim. Sengoku finally stood up and began to speak.
"Alright, everyone's here, let's begin the meeting!"
As the crowd settled, they knew it was finally starting. Sengoku, without hesitation, began by outlining the results that everyone was well aware of.
He then proceeded to commend Akainu, Kizaru, and Momousagi, before offering some praise to the government, acknowledging their strong leadership, and steering the conversation back on track.
"At present, there have been as many as 700 rebellions sparked across the Four Seas, involving up to 200,000 individuals. So, the most important thing right nopw is how we deal with Dragon, feel free to speak your mind!"
Indeed!
This meeting's focus wasn't on rewards, but rather on discussing how to deal with Dragon. For most, Dragon wasn't a pirate; for many people in the sea, the Revolutionary Army was just an armed anti-government force that existed in newspaper headlines.
Simply put, with or without them, life went on in many places without much impact.
In terms of nature, he was more alarming to the government than even Roger, but in terms of influence, he was only a fraction of what Roger was.
Hence, how to handle such a person became a challenging issue for the higher-ups.
Usually, public executions served the purpose of intimidating potential troublemakers, sending a warning to others in the sea not to oppose the government. But the uniqueness of the Revolutionary Army lay in the fact that they weren't pirates; there was only one big player on their mountain.
To teach a lesson to others by punishing one requires an audience. But when there's no big player around, you might end up causing more trouble for yourself with useless stunts.
This had happened before!
The era of pirates ignited by Roger didn't subside until last year, the "Marine Era," making the Marines inherently wary of public executions.
Back then, public executions were necessary for the situation at hand, just like the one with Ace in the original story, but Revolutionary Army Leader Dragon didn't need such treatment.
So, within the government, there were two factions.
The faction favoring Marine, all in favor of normal execution, and they believed in going through the judicial process, convicting him, and then taking him out. This was the method used against Kaido in the past.
Yeah, but no one could kill Kaido.
Which was quite embarrassing!
(￣△￣)
While the other faction within the government believed that like the "Pirate King" Roger, a set time should be established for the public execution to serve as a deterrent.
They rallied under the government flag, with the primary goal of maintaining governmental authority, boldly stating that the Marines shouldn't fear any challenges.
Both sides had their reasons, and the Five Elder Stars couldn't come up with a resolution immediately, so they ordered Sengoku to gather opinions and come up with a practical and effective solution.
"Public execution of Dragon?" Rowen rubbed his chin as he thought. "I must say, it's a tempting idea. Once successful, unless the Revolutionary Army produces another figure like Dragon, they'll have no chance of resurgence after being crippled."
The value of a leader far outweighs their actual capabilities. The Revolutionary Army, becoming a significant threat to the government, relied three parts on the leaders of the Four Seas and three parts on the unified will of the soldiers, with Dragon taking up the remaining four parts!
Without Dragon, taking down the Revolutionary Army and ordinary rebels would be a piece of cake.
But!
"So far, interrogation of Dragon has yielded almost nothing; we don't know what backup plans he might have."
Tsuru, the strategist, glanced at him and said, "I'd like to ask, if we end up triggering another revolution like we did with the execution of Roger, can you handle the responsibility?"
Marine wasn't unwilling to use harsh methods against Dragon; it's just that Dragon simply couldn't withstand intense interrogation.
The current dilemma lies precisely here.
Without information, nobody dares to act independently.
"Tsuru San is overthinking it..."
In the government camp, an elderly man with a Mediterranean appearance, resting his chin on the back of his hand, shook his head and said, "Roger was able to ignite the Pirate Era because there were naturally a large number of pirates. As the Pirate King, he garnered widespread attention, which caused an era of turmoil."
"What does Dragon have?"
"Is the identity of the Revolutionary Army Leader more well-known than that of the Pirate King? Or does the Revolutionary Army have more members compared to pirates?"
At these words, the government camp erupted into a clamor, with many voices chiming in agreement.
"Exactly, the Revolutionary Army is only a thorn in the government's side, not a threat to the common people. Its influence is quite limited!"
"That's right, if we're worried about him causing trouble, why not just sew his mouth shut during the execution!"
"You're a real genius, aren't you!" Rowen glanced around the office at the official who suggested sewing Dragon's mouth shut, shedding a tear for their lack of intelligence.
Sewing the prisoner's mouth shut during a public execution?
Wouldn't that just admit that they're afraid of Dragon?
Where would the government's dignity go then?
Dragon would love for them to do that!
The office immediately turned into a marketplace of ideas, with everyone arguing their points vehemently, unable to convince one another.
"Cough, cough, Rowen, as the one who captured Dragon, do you agree with a public execution?"
Sengoku had to step in to maintain order and tagged the most significant contributor, Rowen, to speak. At his words, the others quieted down, eager to hear Rowen's opinion.
In the eyes of the government officials, Rowen was surely going to support their cause.
Because by doing so, he could elevate his own reputation to its peak, becoming the second Marine Hero in the style of Garp.
(End of this chapter)