Hahahaha, it seems that Wood, that little brat, was born to be a pirate rather than a Marine.
Or maybe he's just smart, knowing that Marine Headquarters is a big cesspool. To survive as a Marine, you have to keep a low profile, or you'll end up being backstabbed sooner or later.
But being a pirate is different. Out on the vast sea, if you don't make a name for yourself, when will you ever rise to the top? Pirates don't care about sucking up to superiors."
Garp, as usual, showed a complete lack of concern for what Sengoku was saying, even admiring Wood's approach.
If it weren't for his own fame on the seas being too great, essentially tying him to the Marines with no possibility of defection, Garp might have even considered applying to become a pirate undercover himself.
Any Marine with a sense of justice is bound to see things they can't stand from time to time, but as a Marine, their hands are often tied.
But Wood is different now. His true identity is still that of a Marine, but his current cover is that of a pirate.
As a pirate, no matter how outrageous your actions, it's all just part of being a pirate. They live for themselves, after all.
Even if Wood does things that the Marines would never allow, he can always use the excuse that it was necessary for his cover. As long as Sengoku is sure that Wood hasn't truly defected, he'll have no choice but to clean up after him. That kind of treatment is pretty sweet.
Though Garp's words were true, Sengoku couldn't help but feel irritated at how bluntly the old man pointed out the flaws in the Marines. It was like a slap in the face to the Marine Admiral himself.
To avoid getting too worked up by Garp, Sengoku chose to ignore the old man and turned his attention to Vice Admiral Tsuru.
"I've just contacted Wood using a secure Den Den Mushi. Although the World Government hasn't shared the details of this so-called secret mission with us at Marine Headquarters,
according to Wood, it's likely related to the ancient weapon, 'Pluton,' whose blueprints were made on Water 7 centuries ago!"
At Sengoku and Garp's level, they were naturally aware of "Pluton," the legendary ancient weapon said to have the power to destroy an island with a single shot.
However, they hadn't expected that the ancient weapon actually existed and that its blueprints were on Water 7.
Sengoku was quite pleased that Wood had obtained such valuable intelligence in such a short time.
If Wood had only caused trouble without showing any value, Sengoku would have had to consider making the pirate supernova disappear for a while.
"According to Wood's report, the Pluton blueprints are not only on Water 7, but they're also likely in the possession of someone in Tom's Workshop.
That's why the officer from Enies Lobby, Spandam, chose to frame the people of Tom's Workshop.
Tom's Workshop only has five members; we can rule out the two kids and the frog, leaving the blueprint with either Tom the Fishman or Kokoro the Mermaid.
But it's more likely to be with Tom, given that he's the world-renowned master shipwright."
As Marine Headquarters' second strategist, Vice Admiral Tsuru only needed a glance at the information to deduce the situation and conclude that the blueprints were likely with Tom.
Sengoku nodded in agreement with Tsuru's analysis, then turned to look at Gion.
Normally, Gion wouldn't be qualified to participate in such a high-level meeting, but because of her deep understanding of Wood and her status as one of the few younger Marine leaders who used her brain, Sengoku had made an exception to include her.
"That CP9 officer, Spandam, is a scumbag. To achieve his goal, he's willing to sacrifice so many innocent people in Water 7 to frame them.
Enies Lobby is supposed to be a place for judging criminals, yet someone like him is in charge? What is the World Government thinking?"
Hearing Gion's indignant words, Sengoku chose to ignore her concerns, turning instead to continue discussing with Tsuru.
While Gion was indeed excellent, she was still too young. Even if the World Government was aware of what kind of person Spandam was, they wouldn't care.
If the World Government deemed something necessary, they wouldn't hesitate to issue a Buster Call to destroy an island. A few hundred innocent lives wouldn't matter to them.
Didn't Garp, the hero of the Marines, already seem unfazed by such things?
Gion's anger only showed how young and naive she still was, not yet understanding the true nature of the World Government.
Though four people were participating in the meeting, only Sengoku and Tsuru did most of the discussing, with Garp pretending to be a fool and Gion being too young and straightforward.
Soon, they reached a conclusion.
They couldn't refuse the World Government's orders, so they had to send powerful Marines to capture Wood as requested.
Of course, the Marines would merely be following the World Government's orders to pursue the traitor Wood, but whether they actually succeeded in capturing him was another matter.
After all, the CP agents must have known that Wood's strength wasn't as simple as it seemed; otherwise, they wouldn't have asked the Marines for help.
As for the so-called "secret mission," since the World Government didn't want to share any details, the Marines would simply do their best to comply. If they failed, it wouldn't be their fault.
In simple terms, they had to go after Wood, even if just to put on a show for others.
But whether they would catch him, Sengoku couldn't guarantee, given that Wood was no pushover.
As for the Pluton blueprints, Sengoku and Tsuru's plan was to steal them if possible. Even if they couldn't obtain them, they couldn't let the World Government get their hands on them.
Frankly, the World Government was already powerful enough. The Marines were already at their beck and call; if they got their hands on the Pluton blueprints, those Celestial Dragons would become even more unbearable.
Sengoku and Tsuru, as traditional Marines, wanted the Marines to grow stronger, but they didn't want the World Government to gain more power.
The World Government, after all, was just the lackeys of the Celestial Dragons, who were mostly scum. If they gained more power, the world would be doomed.
The ancient weapon Pluton was a powerful force. If they could control it, perhaps one day the Marines could break free from the World Government's control.
As for whether the World Government would suspect the Marines afterward, Sengoku wasn't worried at all.
After all, they were just following orders as enforcers, unaware of any secret missions, let alone the Pluton blueprints.
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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 275+ at pat_reon.com/Betek.