Don't worry. With Mary Geoise's current strength, there's no way they can hold off the attack. I still have plenty of faith in Boros…"
Kizaru's voice on the other end sounded a little strange, but Steel Bone Kong didn't think much of it. After all, this was the critical moment in preparing to overthrow the World Government. Even he was tense, let alone Kizaru.
"I already have the conscription plan in hand. This time, the Five Elders plan to personally command the battle, and I've been assigned as a legion commander in the Holy Land Guard Corps…"
Steel Bone Kong spoke with a dark expression.
Everyone knew that his role as Commander-in-Chief of the three forces was largely an empty title, but in his expectations, the Five Elders would at least give him command of the army.
Unexpectedly, he was fobbed off with the position of legion commander of the Holy Land Guard Corps—a unit cobbled together from miscellaneous rabble.
And besides the slave army, which would undoubtedly be thrown into the frontlines first, the Holy Land Guard Corps was also destined to be sacrificed as cannon fodder the moment war broke out!
In a sense, Steel Bone Kong's real power and position as Commander-in-Chief was even lower than that of the current Army Admiral. At least the admiral's army didn't have to be the first to die.
To be fair, the Five Elders hadn't deliberately targeted him. It was just that in Mary Geoise right now, he was the only one left capable of commanding troops with enough strength.
Since the God Knights couldn't be dispatched lightly, and though the option of the Five Elders going to the battlefield themselves existed, the danger of an accident was far too great. A mishap could mean disaster equal to the fall of the Holy Land itself.
If Steel Bone Kong were still utterly loyal to the Five Elders, this arrangement wouldn't even be questionable—he might even praise their wisdom.
After all, having him lead the Guard Corps would at least bring out a little more strength from those cobbled-together soldiers, buying the Five Elders more time.
But for Steel Bone Kong, who had unconsciously already developed disloyalty, this arrogant decision was exactly what gave him both an excuse for betrayal and the resolve to go through with it!
"The Holy Land Guard Corps? I remember that unit was disbanded years ago. And a legion commander? That's an Army rank, isn't it? Equivalent to… a Headquarters Vice Admiral?"
Kizaru was a little surprised—he hadn't expected the Gorosei to still try pulling something like this at a time like now.
Perhaps when they appointed Kong to command the Holy Land's Guard Legion, their intention was simply to make use of his combat strength and commanding ability.
But such an arrangement was still disheartening. The high-and-mighty Gorosei never cared about the thoughts of those beneath them. Even Akainu, the current Fleet Admiral, held no real face in front of the Gorosei.
Still, their actions had unintentionally done Kizaru a favor.
At the very least, it would now be much easier for him to win Kong over.
Where he would've needed to use the leverage of Pure Gold to coerce him before, now Kizaru didn't even have to say a word—Kong was probably already itching to turn on the Gorosei himself.
"The Gorosei are preparing to conscript a hundred thousand troops and even arm slaves to resist the pirates. Out of that number, about thirty-five thousand are army troops, the rest mostly from allied nations and Mary Geoise's guards. Along with personnel from the World Government headquarters and the CP organizations, sixty thousand in total will be assigned to the Holy Land's Guard Legion…"
Kong reported the Gorosei's countermeasures without hesitation. After discovering that even as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces he wasn't allowed to command the army, Kong's disappointment in the Gorosei had reached its peak.
"Pretty quick response… but that number of troops is nowhere near enough. What about high-level combat power? Don't tell me those old guys expect you to handle Boros and two Yonko by yourself?"
Kizaru suddenly hissed, and before Kong could notice anything unusual, he quickly diverted the conversation.
Reiju, who had been kneeling at Kizaru's side, raised her head, covering her slightly puffed lips with her hand. She gave Kizaru a sultry glance before hurriedly running into the bathroom.
Nami, sitting on the couch reading documents, gave the shameless pair a look of pure exasperation.
When Reiju first came here, she'd been a shy, naive "little" girl. Yet in such a short time, she had already gotten this wild. Nami couldn't help but feel as though she'd accidentally let a wolf into the house.
"The Divine Army and the Holy Knights should both take part, and if nothing goes wrong, the Seraphim and CP0 as well. Are you certain that Boros won't be a problem?"
Kong had no idea what Kizaru was doing on the other side of the line. Still serious, he continued warning him.
Right now, the Gorosei hadn't yet pieced together the full picture of what was happening, because the World Government's attention was entirely focused on the incoming Dark Matter Pirates.
But after the war, if Boros failed to inflict heavy damage on the World Government, once the Gorosei had time to reflect, they would inevitably trace things back to the one pulling strings from behind.
And when that happened, Kong, who had secretly intercepted intel to help Kizaru, would almost certainly be dragged out as well.
After experiencing firsthand the miraculous effects of Pure Gold, Kong was now one of the people in this world least willing to die.
But the moment he imagined the Gorosei's fury if his betrayal was exposed, a chill ran uncontrollably down his spine.
"The Divine Army and the Holy Knights, huh? Sounds like the Gorosei are really going all in—bringing out even their trump cards. I wonder if they'll act personally this time… I'll have to prepare a little 'surprise' for them myself."
Kizaru's lips curved upward slightly. Even after all these years since he'd transmigrated, climbing step by step from the bottom ranks of the Navy to the position of Fleet Admiral, he still knew next to nothing about the Gorosei's true trump cards and the hidden depths of the World Government.
It wasn't for lack of trying to probe them. The Gorosei were simply that good at concealing themselves—even the Rocks Pirates back in the day hadn't managed to force them to reveal their hand.
But now that Boros was involved, Kizaru refused to believe they could keep hiding forever.
Besides, it wasn't like he himself had no cards to play.
Even if he and the Navy's higher-ups couldn't personally step in—for the sake of appearances and political fallout—Kizaru still had plenty of forces in his hand he could use to "teach" the Gorosei a lesson.
"Deploy every bit of spare combat power against the Gorosei! This is no time for carelessness!"
Steelbone Kong gave a serious reminder.
If possible, he would rather personally lead the attack on Mary Geoise.
After all, only once the Five Elders and even the World Government collapsed could he guarantee keeping the Pure Gold in his possession.
But if he did that, most likely all of the Five Elders' hatred would be locked onto him alone. For someone like Steelbone Kong, who had always harbored deep fear toward the World Government, he didn't dare go that far.
"Don't worry, our future is bright, our path lies among the stars and the seas! The mere Five Elders and the World Government are nothing before us!"
Kizaru comforted him kindly.
But cautious by nature, Steelbone Kong still insisted on sending over the conscription plan for the Holy Land's Guardian Corps.
Once the defensive deployment was completed, without accident he would also send Mary Geoise's defense map to Kizaru at the first opportunity. If the Five Elders ever found out about such a diligent turncoat, they'd probably be furious enough that not even Pure Gold could save him.
"Is it really alright for us to know this kind of top-secret information?"
Sitting on the sofa, Nami couldn't help sighing. If she had known earlier that what Kizaru was planning was something as monumental as overthrowing the World Government, she would never have teamed up with Reiju to "corner" him not long ago.
What infuriated her most was that little minx Reiju, who got all wet just hearing about it—and even agreed to do that sort of thing for Kizaru.
That left only her, stuck in fear, flipping through Kizaru's plans again and again, trying to spot possible flaws in his strategy—yet terrified of actually finding any.
Because if she did, it would mean Kizaru's plan wasn't flawless, and others might also notice the same vulnerabilities.
"We're already this far… Besides, weren't the ones insisting on knowing me and Reiju?"
Kizaru, adjusting his zipper and belt lazily, spoke to the visibly worried Nami.
He had completely forgotten that not long ago, he had sworn not to drag Nami and the others into this.
"If I had known it was this kind of thing, how could I have forced you to tell me?!"
Nami's delicate face fell at his words. Though Kizaru had never lost before, if his opponent was the World Government itself, even Nami—who had followed him since childhood—didn't have much confidence.
If, in the end, his plan failed because of her meddling, she had no idea how she could ever make up for such a mistake.
"If you're really feeling guilty… why not consider learning from Reiju?"
Kizaru raised a brow. Don't be fooled by Nami's love of short skirts, hot pants, and tank tops when she wasn't in uniform—she might look hot-blooded and open, but when it came to the bedroom, she was an extreme conservative.
Unless Kizaru himself took the initiative, there was no way she'd be proactive like Nojiko—or even try some new positions.
"In your dreams!"
Nami shot him a disdainful glare. No matter his looks, personality, or strength, Kizaru was every girl's dream prince.
But this "prince" had his head filled with nothing but dirty thoughts, wanting to mess around whenever he was free, leaving her speechless every time.
"Is there anything I or my father can help with, Kizaru?"
Just then, Reiju emerged from the bathroom. Her beautiful face still carried a suspicious blush, and her gaze toward Kizaru was practically dripping with desire.
When Kizaru looked her way, Reiju even stuck out her pink tongue and sensually licked her lips, full of unspoken suggestion.
For Reiju, who had grown up under her father's suffocating authority, defying authority was an irresistible thrill.
Though Kizaru was far stronger than Judge, compared to the World Government, he was still just a "weak" newly promoted Fleet Admiral.
So when Reiju learned that Kizaru intended to overthrow the World Government, instead of feeling nervous like Nami, she became almost unnaturally excited.
"For now, no. All you need to do is stay quietly by my side."
After soothing Reiju and Nami, Kizaru opened up the dimensional chat group interface that he hadn't checked in quite some time.
The members were as lively as ever, but given the different flow of time across worlds, what had been a month or so for Kizaru might have been only a few days for the others.
°°°
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