Sengoku felt incredibly anxious. Those combined scumbags were already extremely troublesome. Even in a head-on confrontation, if the World Government didn't provide support, the outcome with just the Marines alone would be uncertain.
However, those bastards chose a more shameless, unreasonable fighting style: stalling. They wanted to slowly drag down the Marines until they collapsed. And the Marines had no way to stop them. To make matters worse, the affiliated nations were also growing restless.
Sengoku felt helpless. They couldn't even find the enemy; what could they do?
"We need a victory, Sengoku," the Mars, said indifferently. "A victory grand enough to boost morale and inspire confidence, to quiet the affiliated nations first."
"Victory?" Sengoku felt somewhat bewildered. "Those guys probably have no intention of directly clashing with us. The war can't even begin, so how can we talk about victory?"
"If you can't find the enemy, you can't win?" The Gorosei merely glanced at him dismissively. "Sengoku, as a soldier, no one is more qualified than you. Garp is too self-indulgent, and Zephyr lost his drive early on. Only you are a soldier the government can always trust."
"However, dealing with problems solely from a soldier's perspective is insufficient. You will eventually succeed Kong as the new Fleet Admiral, Sengoku. You must learn to view the overall situation from a higher perspective."
"For example, now, what you should be considering is not how to defeat those guys and achieve victory, but how to make the whole world believe that we have achieved a crucial victory."
Sengoku's eyes widened instantly, his expression becoming somewhat strange. Win without even touching the enemy's shadow?
"Saint Mars, do you mean... we fabricate a victory?"
"We say we won, we provide evidence that we won, and the vast majority of the world's media will agree that we won," Mars stated. "How can it be called fabrication? Haven't we just achieved a great victory?"
Sengoku was instantly speechless. It can be done like this? Is this the difference between a politician and a soldier like him?
However, Saint Mars's idea was not without reason. The affiliated nations were indeed in urgent need of a great victory to boost morale. Otherwise, if the kings were swayed by the fear brought by the Pirate Alliance, the government's actions would be greatly restricted. Even the World Government couldn't openly defy the will of numerous affiliated nations.
Was this a benevolent lie?
"But, Saint Mars," Sengoku said with some concern, "What if Roa and his allies, enraged, retaliate against the affiliated nations again?"
"I said, that is a necessary sacrifice." The Gorosei's face was cold. "Sengoku, which do you think poses a greater threat to the world: sacrificing a few affiliated nations, or letting those monsters successfully occupy the New World?"
"..." Sengoku had no words. Finally, he nodded hesitantly. "Yes, I understand."
So, the Marines began to act, preparing to artificially create a "great" victory.
Of course, such a plan also drew some objections from the upper echelons of the Marines. At the Marine strategic meeting convened by Sengoku, Hero Garp, after listening to Sengoku's plan, immediately burst out laughing.
"Wahahahaha! Are we going to deceive the whole world now?"
"How pathetic," Vice Admiral Tsuru said, her arms crossed, also sighing. "Unable to deal with the enemy, have we fallen to the point where we need to use such methods to maintain the government's prestige?"
Zephyr was even more blunt in his sarcasm. "Instead of wasting energy on this, why not spend more time searching for the enemy's whereabouts? What's the point of such superficial work? Can it even deceive ourselves?"
It wasn't just them; other high-ranking Marine officers gathered there generally had strong objections to this plan. Didn't this just mean that the Marines were useless, unable to provide a sense of security to the populace, and could only rely on deception? As Vice Admiral Tsuru said, it was simply too pathetic.
Among these Marine officers, the loudest one was a guy who didn't even have a rank yet. Kuzan, exceptionally allowed to participate in this meeting due to his considerable strength, was very indignant. "Admiral Sengoku, since when do the Marines have to rely on lies to protect justice?!"
Beside him, Borsalino quickly pulled him aside. Vice Admiral Garp and Teacher Zephyr dared to question because of their status and seniority, but what right did a little punk like him have to spout such nonsense?
Sakazuki merely stood with his arms crossed, saying nothing.
"There's no better way," Sengoku sighed, not minding their doubts, only saying helplessly, "We can't let the panic spread further."
"Many affiliated nations are now pressuring the government. They feel that battling those bastards for a New World that holds little value is simply not worth it. They want the government to abandon the New World! Abandon those affiliated nations in the New World!"
"If we can't restore their confidence, this operation might fall through very quickly."
"..." Hearing this, the officers present finally showed serious expressions. At the end of the day, the foundation of the World Government's rule was the affiliated nations scattered across the world! The united will of the affiliated nations was, theoretically, the highest power in the world.
"So, this is the only way?" Kuzan scratched the back of his head, feeling as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his fervent passion. The very first operation already damaged the image of the Marines in his mind. Is this how they have to uphold justice?
But no matter what, regardless of what the officers thought, this plan, codenamed "Peacekeeper," officially began to be implemented. With the Marines as the main force and CP as support, an unjustified war aimed at deceiving the entire world was thus launched.
Two days later, news of the Marine Grand Fleet achieving a significant victory instantly spread throughout the world. Almost all mainstream media outlets reported this great victory immediately.
The news stated that the Marine fleet successfully ambushed pirates returning from the North Blue, and a fierce battle ensued in a certain sea area of the New World. Although the pirates were incredibly powerful, fortunately, all the Marines fought bravely, ultimately severely damaging the pirates' grand fleet. It was only regrettable that at a critical moment, Shiki the Golden Lion used his abilities to escape miserably with many pirate captains.
Pictures provided proof. Each newspaper featured slightly blurred images of Marine generals bravely fighting against the evil pirates. Among them were Hero Garp, who sent "Golden Lion" flying with a single punch; Sengoku, who made "Roa" vomit blood with a slap; and Zephyr, who delivered a flying kick to the head of a giant Azure Dragon. At the end of the news, the writer declared in an impassioned tone that the enemy was not as terrifying as imagined! The government and Marines would never let them run wild again! They would definitely eliminate all these villains before they could cause greater destruction!
Thus, the whole world erupted again.
"I knew it! If the Marines could defeat the Rocks Pirates once, of course, they can defeat them a second time!"
"Yeah! Back then, Vice Admiral Garp alone managed to win. This time, almost the entire high command of the Marines has come out, so it's even easier to win!"
"At the end of the day, they're just a bunch of scoundrels holed up in the New World! Bullying ordinary countries might be fine, but if they truly make enemies of the Marines, they can only be routed!"
An atmosphere of jubilation instantly spread across the seas, especially among the affiliated nations, where it was like a holiday. Some countries even began several days of celebratory activities.
But no one noticed that amidst this revelry, there were some overly aggressive voices.
"Since that's the case, don't give them any more breathing room! If we let them continue to grow, who knows what kind of chaos they'll cause!"
"Exactly! Even if there are some sacrifices, it doesn't matter! As long as those guys can be dealt with, everything is worth it!"
"We can't be blackmailed by them anymore. Even if it costs a few affiliated nations, we must eliminate them. Otherwise, if we miss this opportunity, it might cost us dozens of times more to deal with them in the future!"
In this atmosphere, opposing the Marines from pressing their advantage seemed to have become politically incorrect.
However, there were also dissenting voices.
"Wait, am I the only one who thinks these photos look a bit off?"
"Yeah, the Azure Dragon that Kaido transformed into doesn't look real!"
"Roa's face isn't as handsome as in the wanted posters! I've carefully collected every single wanted poster of that divinely blessed handsome youth! There's no way I could be mistaken!"
Unfortunately, such voices were almost instantly drowned out by the clamor, and no one paid them any attention.
But, some insightful individuals seemed to hold similar attitudes.
"Pops! It seems Roa and his crew were severely hit by the Marines!" Marco came, excitedly waving a newspaper.
Whitebeard, who had been frowning with worry for the past few days, had his eyes light up instantly upon hearing this. However, after taking the newspaper and examining it carefully, he frowned again.
"No! This is fake news!"
"How can that be?" Marco looked bewildered. "The newspaper has already spread throughout the world; how could it be fake?"
"Use your brain, Marco!" Whitebeard said coldly. "Given Roa's bastardly nature, if the Marines truly found them, the high-ranking officers might survive, but how could the fleet remain intact?"
Marco instantly felt that Pops made a lot of sense. With Roa's petty nature, even if he couldn't deal with Garp, Sengoku, and the others, he definitely wouldn't let ordinary Marines off the hook before escaping. He was just that vicious and cruel.
"So that means..." Marco opened his mouth, somewhat incredulous. "The government is—lying?"
"The government has actually been pushed to this extent?"
In a deserted island in the North Blue, Dragon, who had just gathered all his scattered forces and was preparing to establish a base there, sighed.
"When I first heard about this from Zephyr-sensei, I found it hard to believe." That's the World Government! The World Government, which exists as the ultimate hypothetical enemy of their Revolutionary Army! Indeed, compared to the pirate alliance Roa formed, the Revolutionary Army's strength is simply too weak.
"Roa and his crew will probably be enraged now," Trafalgar remarked with a sigh. "I wonder how they'll retaliate." A few days ago, when that country in the North Blue was attacked, they were quite scared. And with Roa's vengeful nature, being so fooled would definitely lead to a fierce counterattack. If they were caught in the crossfire, they would truly be like stray dogs, completely defenseless against the two major powers.
Dragon also looked melancholic. "While weakening the government and Marine's prestige is a great thing for us, even so, I still hope the pirates will cause less harm to other countries."
While everyone around the world was discussing, some cheering, some frowning with worry, in a certain sky in the North Blue.
"Hey, hey, hey! I don't remember being beaten by Sengoku again!" Roa flipped through the newspaper, looking annoyed. "Fake News! This is clearly a blatant violation of my right to reputation! I can sue them?!"
"They won without even clashing? Then they really did win!" Roa truly hadn't expected the government to pull off such a ridiculous stunt. Even Brother San doesn't win as much as you guys. This news piece was truly the epitome of the "Art of Winning"!
"Kyahahaha!" Shiki laughed loudly, his laughter full of mockery. "Doesn't it feel like a cornered stray dog barking a few times at the enemy and then thinking it's won a great victory?"
"But since the stray dogs have already barked at us, shouldn't we give them a good kick?" Wang Zhi's lips curved upwards, his face full of playfulness.
"Hahaha! How about we go deal with a few more affiliated nations?" Silver Axe suggested. "Let's use this opportunity to expose their ridiculous lie!"
"Good idea!" Charlotte Linlin's scarlet tongue licked her even redder lips. "Let the World Government understand what kind of consequences await those who try to fool us!"
Then.
"Affiliated nations?" Roa put down the newspaper, a brilliant smile on his face. "Why would the World Government care about mere affiliated nations?"
Originally, couldn't we all just play along a bit? If you guys obediently give us the New World, we'll also behave ourselves and stop causing trouble, which is good for everyone.
But since you insist on causing trouble, then we'll just have to get serious.
"You brat, you're trying to say that mere affiliated nations aren't enough to vent your anger, aren't you?" Kaido said with interest. "So, what do you have in mind?"
"Most of the Marines' combat power has already been deployed, which means their rear is empty!" Roa raised his index and middle fingers of his right hand. "Two choices: Marineford, or Mary Geoise ."
Everyone was stunned.
"Roa, are you serious?" Wang Zhi suddenly felt his mouth dry. Can he really be this crazy? Marine Headquarters and the center of the World Government—are these really choices a human can offer?
"Seriously speaking, I recommend Marineford." Roa said earnestly. "Mary Geoise has the Gorosei and the God's Knights, it's not that easy to destroy." And Imu.
"Compared to that, Marineford only has Fleet Admiral Kong!"
This serious?
But, he really is serious! This kid is definitely serious!
Wang Zhi opened his mouth but didn't know what to say for a moment. Silver Axe and Captain John also looked at each other. Even Charlotte Linlin and Redfield's expressions were somewhat bewildered.
Only Kaido and Shiki burst out laughing simultaneously.
"Uororororo! I knew you wouldn't disappoint me, brat!"
"Kyahahaha! Then what are we waiting for? Let's go! Our target: Marine Headquarters!!"