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Byakuya pretended to be aggrieved and said,
"Of course it has nothing to do with me, but Fleet Admiral Sengoku, the fact that you even suspect me is truly heartbreaking."
"It wounds my sincere heart that fights for the Marines. Fleet Admiral Sengoku, you must compensate me for this."
Sengoku replied, "Haven't I already promoted you to Marine Vice Admiral?"
Byakuya retorted, "That promotion was because of my past accomplishments."
"It has nothing to do with this compensation. You can't lump them together."
"Oh? Fine then, I'll cancel your promotion to Marine Vice Admiral."
"As compensation, I'll promote you directly to Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters. Now, are you satisfied?"
What the heck? Byakuya was stunned. How could someone be so shameless?
If Sengoku had used this kind of shamelessness with the World Government, the Shichibukai system might have been abolished long ago.
Seeing Byakuya's furious expression, Sengoku calmly asked, "What, not satisfied with the compensation?"
Grinding his teeth, Byakuya responded, "Satisfied? I'm extremely satisfied! Thank you, Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"
Taking the Vice Admiral uniform and medal from Marine Headquarters, Byakuya stormed out of the meeting room.
As Sengoku watched Byakuya leave and slam the door behind him, he noticed a flash of doubt in his eyes.
Clearly, Byakuya's words hadn't completely dispelled Sengoku's suspicions. But soon after, a faint smile appeared on his face.
Whatever. Whether Byakuya is connected to the 'Night' organization or not, Byakuya made a good point earlier.
The 'Night' organization has yet to target the Marines, so as Fleet Admiral, he is not directly concerned about them.
If the World Government asks, he can say he cannot do anything about it, and they cannot do anything to him either.
As Byakuya left the meeting room, his angry expression quickly returned to normal. He silently breathed a sigh of relief.
Sengoku truly deserved his reputation as a strategist, connecting seemingly unrelated events back to him.
If it weren't for Byakuya's quick thinking, he might have really exposed himself.
However, he knew that his words alone weren't enough to remove Sengoku's suspicions completely.
To fully clear his name, Byakuya decided he needed to do something significant under the guise of the 'Night' organization—something that would give everyone a clear impression of 'Night.'
Ideally, he would confront 'Night' in front of everyone so no one would link him to the organization.
But such a plan needed careful execution. If things went wrong, it would turn into a joke.
However, this trip wasn't in vain.
Looking at the Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral uniform and medal in his hands, Byakuya checked the system information.
"[Congratulations to the host for becoming Vice Admiral, earning 10,000 World Energy Points.]"
"[World Energy: 38,500]"
"[Fusion Rate 40%—41%, requires 3,100 World Energy Points.]"
Based on this pattern, his current World Energy was enough to increase his Fusion Rate to 50%.
This would allow him to draw another ability and half road in fully unlocking the Saitama Limiter.
However, there was still a long way to go to reach 100% Fusion Rate. For Byakuya, improving wasn't urgent right now.
With his current strength, he could handle most situations, so there was no need to rush.
Meanwhile, as certain individuals spread the news, it gradually became known across the seas that Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Byakuya had proposed abolishing the Shichibukai system during a high-level Marine meeting.
Most of the member nations supported this, hoping the World Government would abolish the Shichibukai system.
However, the World Government was not pleased and immediately ordered Sengoku to deal strictly with Vice Admiral Byakuya, expressing that they no longer wished to hear such proposals from high-ranking Marine officers.
To restore confidence among the member nations, the World Government tried to prove that the Shichibukai could coexist peacefully with member nations.
They cited Doflamingo and the Kingdom of Dressrosa as examples. Dressrosa, a tropical island with a holiday vibe, was not well-known on the seas.
However, under Doflamingo's effective governance, it became known as the "Land of Love, Passion, and Toys."
The entire world recognized Dressrosa's name, and all the citizens deeply revered Doflamingo, calling him a wise ruler.
When Byakuya saw the World Government using this example, he almost burst out laughing.
Of all the people they could have chosen, they had to pick Doflamingo.
Yes, Dressrosa looked great on the surface, thanks to Doflamingo leading the Donquixote Family there.
But in reality, the methods Doflamingo used in the shadows were even more ruthless than Crocodile's.
Doflamingo hid things well; almost no one outside the Donquixote Family knew the truth about Dressrosa.
If Doflamingo's secrets were ever exposed, the World Government's reputation would be in shambles.
Suddenly, Byakuya had an idea—something that could completely clear his name and earn him a massive amount of World Energy.
However, the World Government's example had indeed convinced many of the member nations that not all Shichibukai were harmful.
As a result, the movement to abolish the Shichibukai system gradually died down.
In the Kingdom of Dressrosa, Doflamingo looked at the golden Den Den Mushi in front of him, his hand hovering over it.
His expression was serious as if he was struggling with whether to make the call.
After hesitating for a moment, Doflamingo made up his mind and picked up the Den Den Mushi, dialing the number.
After a short while, an elderly voice, filled with arrogance, came from the other end of the line, clearly not interested in conversing with someone like Doflamingo.
"Speak, what is it this time?"
"I need someone dead."
"Who?"
Doflamingo's eyes gleamed with a murderous intent as he said, "Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral, Byakuya."
If Byakuya's killing of Trebol had sparked Doflamingo's desire to kill him, then Byakuya's proposal to abolish the Shichibukai system was the final straw.
It cemented Doflamingo's determination to kill Byakuya. This wasn't just for Trebol but also for his plans. Byakuya had to die.
The voice on the other end of the line grew tense.
"Are you joking? You want us to execute a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral without cause? Have you considered the repercussions? We can't do that!"
Hearing the refusal, Doflamingo grew anxious.
"Aren't the Marines just a dog under your control? You're only killing one of their Vice Admirals. Do you think they'll rebel?"
The voice on the other end paused before explaining, "You don't understand. If it were any other Vice Admiral, maybe we could, but not Byakuya."
"Why not?"
"According to reliable information, Byakuya's mentor is former Admiral Zephyr, now the Marine Chief Instructor, and they share a father-son bond.
"Additionally, he's a distant nephew of Fleet Admiral Sengoku and has a close relationship with Admiral Aokiji. If we take action against him, it would cause chaos within the Marines."
Doflamingo fell silent. He hadn't realized Byakuya had such deep connections.
Seeing that the other party was adamant, Doflamingo hesitated and then said, "Then I'll change my request..."
The person on the other end sighed in relief, glad that Doflamingo was willing to compromise.
"As long as it's not another impossible demand, I can agree to it. But you need to understand, this is your last chance."
"If I fulfill your request, and you later try to use the secret treasure to blackmail us again, it'll only lead to your quicker demise."
"It won't benefit you at all."
Doflamingo replied in a grave tone, "I understand..."
Because of his knowledge of the Celestial Dragons' secret treasure, Doflamingo had struck a deal with them.
As long as they granted him three requests, he would take the secret to his grave.
Since establishing the Donquixote Family and becoming a pirate, he has used this privilege only twice.
The first time was when he learned about the formation of the Shichibukai.
He and his crew stole the Heavenly Tribute from a member nation and used it to blackmail the World Government, forcing them to make him one of the Shichibukai.
Simultaneously, he called the Celestial Dragons to demand this as well.
Thanks to the Celestial Dragons' influence, the World Government agreed to Doflamingo's request.
If it had been an ordinary pirate stealing the Heavenly Tribute, the World Government would have sent the Marines to eliminate them long ago; they wouldn't have negotiated.
Ironically, the second time was thanks to Byakuya. Doflamingo was falsely accused of kidnapping a Celestial Dragon and conspiring with the Beast Pirates, which resulted in the loss of two of his top executives.
Despite Doflamingo's numerous attempts to clear his name, the Celestial Dragons deemed the evidence against him "irrefutable," leaving him no choice but to use his second request to avoid further pursuit.
This was his third and final request. Originally, Doflamingo had planned to use this last chance to save his life if his plans failed.
But now, he realized that if he didn't use it to deal with Byakuya, he might not even get the chance when Byakuya eventually came after him.
After considering a contingency plan he'd set up years ago, Doflamingo decided that now was the best time to implement it.
"I want you to transfer Marine Vice Admiral Byakuya to the G5 Marine Base in the New World. That's my only condition."
"If you can't agree to this, then there's nothing more to discuss, and I'll keep this final request."
This time, Doflamingo's tone was firm, as if he would hang up immediately if the answer were no.
The person on the other end pondered for a moment. Transferring a Marine Vice Admiral to a different post wasn't a difficult task.
However, from Doflamingo's words, it was easy to infer that he had something planned at G5 that could potentially kill Byakuya.
But this didn't concern the caller. Even if Byakuya ended up dead at G5, it would be seen as an internal Marine issue related to Doflamingo and not linked to him.
"Fine, I agree to your request," the voice finally said. "But remember, this is your last chance."
"If there's a next time, you'll find yourself in the Celestial Dragons' slave market. I think you understand what that entails."
With that, the call ended. Doflamingo stared at the exhausted Golden Den Den Mushi for a long time before smashing it into a pulp with his fist.
With a vicious expression, he muttered, "Once I kill Byakuya, my plan can proceed smoothly. Then, we'll see who ends up as a slave."
He couldn't help but admire the efficiency of the Celestial Dragons.
Instead of contacting Fleet Admiral Sengoku, they went through the Five Elders, who in turn reached out to Commander-in-Chief Kong, instructing him to order Sengoku to carry out the directive.
When Sengoku received the order, he was baffled. Normally, personnel transfers within the Marines were his decision, and Kong rarely interfered.
But this time, it was a complete surprise, especially since it involved Byakuya, someone Sengoku had been keeping an eye on.
This only deepened his suspicions.
Despite his confusion, orders from above had to be followed, so Sengoku called Byakuya.
"Byakuya, pack your things. You're being reassigned to the G5 Marine Base in the New World as the base commander."
"G5 Base?" Byakuya recalled a vague impression of the G5 Base and asked curiously, "I'm doing just fine at the Sabaody Archipelago. Why do I have to be transferred to G5?"
This was the same question that puzzled Sengoku.
However, when he asked Kong, the only response he got was to follow orders, and then the call was abruptly ended.
Feeling a bit awkward, Sengoku replied, "I'm not entirely sure myself."
Byakuya's curiosity only grew. "You're the Fleet Admiral, and you don't even know your own orders?"
"It's not my order. It's from above. I asked, but they didn't give me an explanation."
"Tsk, tsk, look at you as Fleet Admiral. You can't even get a straight answer when you ask a question."
Hearing Byakuya's disdainful tone, several veins popped out on Sengoku's forehead as he roared, "Stop with the nonsense and just follow the order!"
Although Byakuya didn't fully understand why he was being transferred, he realized it might not be a bad thing.
After all, moving to the New World would bring him closer to the Four Emperors and bring him nearer to his next target—Doflamingo.
However, he felt a pang of regret about leaving the Sabaody Archipelago, which he had managed to organize so well that it was now generating billions of Berries in extra income each month.
Abandoning it now would be a real waste.
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