Fleet Admiral Kong knew that Admiral Sengoku was a clever man. There was no way he didn't understand the deeper implications of this mission, but since he had agreed, it ant he had tacitly accepted them.
"The world's already chaotic enough, and now these scholars want to stir things up..." Garp muttered after finishing the docunts in his hand. He then asked, "So, no suspects at all?"
"Ohara and Alabasta," Fleet Admiral Kong replied calmly.
Admiral Sengoku nodded. "They're my first suspects as well. After all, forming such a professional, highly capable, and steadfast scholarly group would be impossible without the support of a large and well-established organization."
"Exactly," Zephyr-sensei agreed with a nod.
Ortoren didn't speak, but the speculation from these high-ranking figures was only natural. Ohara was considered the Holy Land of scholars, a stronghold for historians, renowned throughout the cultural world with imnse influence.
As for Alabasta, back before attending the Officer Training Camp, Ortoren would have found it odd to suspect a country like that. But after graduating with the highest marks in cultural studies, he gained a much deeper understanding of the world.
Take Alabasta, for instance. Known as "the oldest country of mankind," it was once regarded by scholars as the cradle of human civilization. With its long history, vast academic system, and thousands of years without a single break in civilization, it certainly had the capability to form such a scholarly force.
Besides Ohara and Alabasta, there might be other organizations in the world capable of this, but none seed as suspicious.
After a brief pause, Zephyr-sensei continued, "But both Ohara and Alabasta are very special. Without conclusive evidence, we can't act against them rashly... especially not Alabasta."
Alabasta's ruling class was the Nefertari family. Though nominally one of the World Governnt's affiliated royal houses, in truth, no one dared to treat them as just another royal family.
The World Governnt had stood for over 800 years, during which mber nations had changed countless tis. Every year so were expelled, and others joined, yet Alabasta had never once faced such issues.
The reason lay in the Nefertari lineage. They were descendants of the Twenty Kings, which theoretically gave them the sa "Celestial Dragon" status, though they had chosen not to migrate to Mary Geoise.
Over the centuries, Mary Geoise and Alabasta had certainly clashed in various ways. Ortoren had even heard that the Nefertari royals had openly criticized the World Governnt more than once at the Reverie, calling for the abolition of the Heavenly Tribute system.
Of course, no one ever backed them.
Even so, when it was raised by the Nefertari themselves, the Mary Geoise side would grit their teeth and tolerate it. Historical ties made it impossible to simply cut ties with Alabasta. Doing so would, to so extent, undermine the very foundation of the Governnt's legitimacy.
But if an outsider tried to join in? The World Governnt would crush them without hesitation!
You don't want to pay the Heavenly Tribute? Then next year, you'll be forced to kneel and pay—and Mary Geoise still won't accept it. They might even throw a party for the Celestial Dragons right in your country, and the next three years' "school trips" would be scheduled at your expense.
It was precisely because of these tangled historical ties and political realities that Alabasta remained untouchable. Everyone had to show them respect.
On top of that, Alabasta possessed overwhelming military power. It was a first-rate military state, and its capital, Alubarna, maintained a standing army of six hundred thousand.
Six hundred thousand! Many small nations didn't even have that many people, let alone troops.
Maintaining such a force required a flourishing economy and a vast population base. For now, Alabasta had both. Which ant that if anyone made a move against Alabasta, the consequences would be dire.
That would affect millions, perhaps even tens of millions of people. There was no way the Marines could casually attack Alabasta.
The World Governnt, too, had no choice but to tolerate Alabasta—the arrogant relatives who constantly went against them.
To think even darker—back in the original story, the reason Crocodile was able to wreak havoc in Alabasta and nearly wipe out the Nefertari clan was because he was a Shichibukai. Are we really supposed to believe he had no collusion with the World Governnt?
Leaving Alabasta aside, let's look at Ohara. Its history was just as long, regarded as a benchmark in the cultural world and a holy land for archaeologists, with enormous influence on public opinion.
For many years, however, Ohara maintained a decent relationship with the World Governnt. Whenever the Governnt needed positive publicity, Ohara would cooperate.
Unlike Alabasta, Ohara didn't have overwhelming strength, but in cultural matters, even the smallest ripple could spiral out of control. Criticism would co flooding in from all sides, and any mishap could deal serious damage to the Governnt's prestige and reputation.
That was why, without solid evidence, making a move on Ohara was nearly impossible.
Listening to Zephyr-sensei, Chief Staff Officer Tsuru sighed. "If they didn't have so backing, how would these scholars dare to act like this?"
Fleet Admiral Kong said, "In any case, investigate from these two directions first. CP has made no progress, and if there really is a problem, it falls on them. We'll just do our part."
From his tone, it was clear Kong didn't think highly of CP. Ortoren glanced at the other high-ranking officers. Their expressions were calm, even tinged with disdain.
It was obvious the Marines and CP didn't get along—at least at the top.
And that was only natural. If the Governnt's strongest intelligence arm and its strongest military force were as close as family, the ones unable to sit still would be the Five Elders themselves.
The two organizations were ant to balance each other—locked in conflict but never breaking apart—because that tension best served the nobles of Mary Geoise.
Back in the original tale, Ortoren had felt sympathy and regret for Ohara. To him, the scholars were simply chasing the truth of history, trying to carry the voices of the past into the future.
Letting humanity learn what had truly happened—it was sothing bright, sothing noble.
Even now, knowing their intentions, Ortoren didn't deny that their spirit shone, that it held a kind of greatness.
But listening to these Marine leaders discuss, he finally understood why Sengoku had been so ruthless in Ohara's case.
Did he not know who Sakazuki was? Of course he knew. Did it really take soone like Sakazuki to deal with a bunch of scholars? Were there no other Vice Admirals free at Headquarters?
There were. Sengoku chose Sakazuki anyway.
Because from the start, the so-called evacuation ship ant nothing. Sengoku's intent was to wipe them out completely.
Now Ortoren could see the reasoning. The scholars' pursuit might have been noble, but the risks were just as great. If they accidentally revealed the existence of the Ancient Weapons, it could spell disaster for the entire world.
The Marines had to follow process and gather proof, and the World Governnt too, despite suspecting Ohara and Alabasta, was constrained by politics to wait for evidence before acting.
But pirates and ambitious n didn't care about evidence. If the scholars had kept their work quiet, unnoticed, maybe it would have been fine. But now it had blown up so big the Governnt couldn't cover it anymore. If so ambitious figure, ignoring proof, went after Ohara out of suspicion and happened to uncover an Ancient Weapon—who would take responsibility then?
In the end, both sides bore their share of responsibility. Both had their own positions.
When it finally erupted into catastrophe, no one could be blad. If you don't have the strength for it but still insist on taking it on, then when you suffer for it, that's on you. Wear pants that fit your ass.
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