Holy Land—Mariejois, in the office of the Five Elders, Cudius and Sengoku stood before the cil.

  "Sengoku, you'd better give us a reasonable expnation!" Nusjuro barked furiously.

  Cudius spoke softly, "Allow me to expin."

  "Expin? Haven't I given you enough ces already? How do you think you became a fleet admiral in the first pce?" Nusjuro snapped, oblivious to who had actually spoken.

  Sengoku, who had been quietly refleg on his mistakes, looked stunned. I didn't say anything, he thought, his heart heavy.

  Notig Sengoku's gaze full of silent frustration, Cudius smiled awkwardly and cleared his throat. "Ahem. Sir, this matter isn't Sengoku's fault. It's mine. her Doffy nor I realized Rosirue iions. We failed to see through him. If there's bme to be assighen punish me." Cudius stepped forward and spoke with a solemn tone.

  Sengoku stared at Cudius's back, a surge of emotion welling up inside him. As expected, my greatest supporter is Cudius. To step forward at such a moment, it's truly toug.

  Nusjuro's expression shifted as he regarded Cudius. He khat Cudius wasn't aware of Rosinante's full missio he himself uood the truth: Rosinante had been a Marihey had pnted close to Dofmingo.

  And now? This "undercent" had switched sides arayed them, leaving the Five Elders with a mess they couldn't even publicly address.

  "Cudius…" Nusjuro murmured before shaking his head. "You're not to bme for this."

  Sengoku, desperate to keep this issue from esg, feared it could strain the already fragile retionship between Marine Headquarters and Cudius. Even though he was heartbroken—after all, he had treated Rosinante as his own son—Sengoku swallowed his grief and stepped forward.

  "This is my responsibility. It's a failing on the part of Marine Headquarters," Sengoku said sincerely.

  Hearing this, Nusjuro hesitated before finally sighing. "Sengoku, Marine must take atability for this. When you return, prepare a thh report and submit it. Aime I see you… you'd better still be worthy of that title of fleet admiral!"

  There was no way around it. The matter of the Ope-Ope Fruit had already been cluded. The oute couldn't be undone.

  Furthermore, Marine Headquarters was still crucial. The New World was in chaos, and the Five Elders khey would need Marine's power to stabilize it.

  As much as he was furious, Nusjuro had to let the matter slide.

  "Yes!" Sengoku replied without hesitation.

  After dealing with Sengoku, Nusjuro turo Cudius. "Regarding the Seven Warlords of the Sea, proceed as you see fit."

  Cudius smiled faintly. "sidering the ret i with the Big Mom Pirates, Enel's strength is already well-established. He has immeential and is indeed worthy of being one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."

  "Your judgment hasn't disappointed us," Nusjuro said with a nod. "The Seven Warlords of the Sea system has already proven its value. Finalize the roster as soon as possible. Ohe lineup is plete, we'll resume our push into the New World. Whether it's Kaido or Whitebeard, they must be eliminated!"

  Cudius frowned slightly. The urgenplete the Seven Warlords of the Sea didn't align with his pns. It wasn't as if there was a ck of didates—the seas were full of qualified individuals. But the issue was that many of them weren't trustworthy.

  In Cudius's long-term vision, it would take another seven ht years to fully establish the Seven Warlords of the Sea. By then, even someone like Ace would be mature enough to fit into the structure.

  But now the Five Elders seemed impatient, perhaps emboldened by the success of eliminating Charlotte Linlin. Did they really believe Kaido and Whitebeard could be taken down just as easily?

  "If we rush to plete the Seven Warlords of the Sea now, it'll weaken the system's iy," Cudius remarked after a moment of thought.

  Nusjuro nodded slightly. Currently, the Seven Warlords sisted of Dofmingo, Crocodile, Mihawk, Bartholomew Kuma, and now Ehat made five in total.

  Among them, Mihawk and Kuma couldn't be fully trusted. The remaining three—Dofmingo, Crocodile, and Enel—were directly aligned with Cudius, either as CP-X operatives or through other es. Even Dofmingo, despite his notorious reputation, was retively reliable within their framework.

  If two more outsiders were added, the cohesion of the group would certainly diminish. Managing the Seven Warlords of the Sea might bee far more plicated than it currently was.

  "That's true. But Cudius, the Seven Warlords aren't meant to be perma. There will always be ges—new recruits, repts. What matters is their immediate value. Do you uand?" Nusjuro said in a measured tone.

  Cudius remained silent. It was clear the Five Elders were determio finalize the Seven Warlords quickly. They had clearly experiehe bes of this system and wao see it fully operational.

  "Once you've cultivated suitable didates, we repce the less reliable ones. But for now, we need suffit deterrence," Nusjuro tinued.

  Finally, Cudius nodded. "Uood. I'll begin sing for suitable didates as soon as I return."

  "Good. Work hard," Nusjuro said with satisfa.

  With that, the discussion ended. Realizing there was nothing more to discuss, Cudius and Sengoku left the office.

  As they walked out of the Wover headquarters, Sengoku said, "Thank you for stepping up back there."

  "It was nothing," Cudius replied lightly.

  Seeing Sengoku's heavy mood, Cudius refrained from saying much else. The two walked in silehrough the streets of Mariejois.

  After a while, Cudius broke the silence. "A lot of things are moving forward. The Calm Belt initiative should also be put into a. I've entrusted Tesoro with the preparations, and arras have already been made on Amazon Lily. As long as Marine is ready, you begin whenever you see fit."

  Sengoku managed a faint smile. "Marine is always ready. Once I return, we'll send personnel into the Calm Belt immediately."

  "Who will oversee it?" Cudius asked.

  "The stific division will be led by Kizaru. Naturally, he'll be in charge. However, as he's still an admiral, we've assigned Captain Nezumi as the field executor," Sengoku expined.

  After a few more words on the subject, Cudius brought up another matter. "By the way, on Minion Isnd, I found a promising young talent. I had inally inteo train him for CP-X, but he seems to have his heart set on joining Marine. Perhaps you, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, could help me groom him?"

  Sengoku raised an eyebrow. It was clear Cudius wao peohin Marine. But Sengoku didn't mind.

  Marine was a massive anization with a plex internal hierarchy. For someone of Cudius's status to hahe matter so openly and straightforwardly, it was more than acceptable.

  Besides, Sengoku khere would likely be many occasions iure where Marine would need Cudius's support. Having someone loyal to Cudius within Marine could only be their colboration and mutual trust.

  Nodding, Sengoku said, "If His Highness Cudius sees potential in him, he must be an excellent prospect. Marine always weles talented individuals. Leave it to me—I'll make sure he gets the proper training."

  "His name is Drake. Once I've finished arranging things, I'll have him sent to Marine Headquarters," Cudius said with a smile.