Marineford, Navy Headquarters Building.
In the office of the Fleet Admiral, a plaque hung on the wall, with two large characters "JUSTICE" written in brush-pen regular script. In front of these two characters, there were no modifiers or annotations. When others asked Sephiroth why he didn't explain his justice, he only said:
"Why does justice need explanation?"
Sephiroth leaned back in his office chair, carefully reading a planning document in his hand. It detailed the plan for incorporating a large number of robots into the Marine combat and logistics units, personally compiled by Kuro after several months of research within the Marine.
Through the joint cooperation of Umbrella Corporation and Vegapunk, the manufacturing costs of lunar robots and war robots were finally significantly reduced, establishing the basic conditions for mass production and use. Therefore, Sephiroth was preparing to add a large number of robots to the Marine to enhance the overall combat power of the army.
Click-!
The office door was opened from the outside corridor without being knocked, then closed again and locked from the inside. In the entire Marine Headquarters, only Ain, Gion, Tina, and Domino dared to enter his office without knocking.
"Here is today's newspaper, and the documents you must approve." Ain walked to Sephiroth's side and placed a newspaper and a stack of documents on the desk.
Hearing this, Sephiroth immediately picked up the newspaper and began to read its contents. "Shocking! Fleet Admiral Sephiroth actually pulled Reverse Mountain out of the Red Line. How powerful is he? Who in the world can compare with him..." Reading through the entire report, it was not difficult to find that the content was almost entirely using various flowery words to lavishly praise him...
Huh!? It was all the plain truth. Sephiroth was very satisfied with this. He believed that Morgans had the professional integrity of a journalist, being truthful. As for the insignificant detail that he had placed a butcher knife against the other party's neck, asked Morgans whether to submit or die, and obtained his life card, well, there was no need to mention it...
"Seventy-five kingdoms overthrown by the Revolutionary Army and establishing new regimes have recently begun to jointly petition to apply for membership in the World Government..." Ain's gaze fell upon the content of the newspaper. She frowned and pondered:
"What exactly is the Revolutionary Army planning? Are they trying to occupy the World Government like a magpie building a nest in a dove's?"
Hearing this, Sephiroth's lips curved slightly upward. He chuckled and said:
"Always think about things in a positive light. Perhaps the Revolutionary Army simply doesn't want unnecessary war...?"
The reason the Revolutionary Army allowed those countries to reapply to join the World Government was because Dragon did not want to enter into a full-scale war with Sephiroth.
Two years ago, when he went to the Revolutionary Army headquarters on Baltigo Island, he had discussed the issue of the stance of those countries and the World Government. The butt determines the head. Previously, Sephiroth was a schemer, so he would do everything possible to make the situation chaotic, to fish in troubled waters and achieve his goals. However...
Now that Sephiroth sits in the position of Fleet Admiral, as a high-ranking member of the current World Government, his stance and thoughts have naturally changed accordingly. Therefore, what he needs now is a complete World Government with extremely strong control over its territories. Things in the world rarely go as planned.
With the shift in position, former helpers have become troubles, so he now needs to find a way to resolve them. Therefore, when Sephiroth visited Dragon back then, he had discussed it carefully with the latter. If he could not stand on the same side as the World Government, then the two sides would only be able to meet on the battlefield in the future...
Incidentally, Sephiroth also told Dragon that he possessed three ancient weapons. No other meaning! He just wanted Dragon to calm down, think carefully, and then make a decision.
Finally, after struggling for a while, Dragon re-contacted Sephiroth and made a request to him:
For those countries rejoining the World Government, Sephiroth needed to continue preserving their democratic parliamentary system, and there should be no more feudal monarchical autocracy.
He needed to ensure that the people of those countries could live stable lives with abundant food and clothing. In addition, to prove Sephiroth's sincerity, Dragon required the current World Government to make changes in its system, revise its laws, and no longer use cruel methods to exploit the people under its rule. It should let them live happy lives.
In response, Sephiroth agreed to all of this, setting a two-year period for Dragon to personally witness the process of the World Government's systemic reform and see if he could fulfill part of his promises. If not, Dragon could invalidate the previous proposal, and those countries could choose not to join the World Government.
Therefore, after two years of observation and intelligence gathering, Dragon personally witnessed that the people under the World Government's rule were indeed living better lives than before. Only then did he allow those countries to submit applications to join the World Government.
It was only natural that the lives of the people under the World Government's rule would improve...
After all, after the World Government abolished the heavy tax of "tenryuubito tribute", the Marine's military expenses were solely contracted by the Umbrella Corporation. Therefore, the taxes people now had to pay were simply outrageously low compared to before! With spare money in hand, the standard of living naturally rose.
While not necessarily becoming rich and noble, the basic needs of eating and staying warm were certainly met. Not having to endure hunger and starvation was already a very fortunate thing in this world full of war and turmoil!
After chatting for a few sentences, Ain suddenly slapped her forehead, as if she had remembered something very important. She frowned and said:
"Oh right! The intelligence department just received news that the Pirates seem to be preparing to hold a Pirate Expo, and we also received some uncertain information saying that the prize for this event is related to Roger's treasure..."
"Pirate Expo!?" Hearing this, Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.
The Pirate Expo is a special celebration for Pirates, held suddenly every few years. At that time, many Pirates will participate, engaging in various black market transactions and special competitions. The Pirates who attended this celebration in previous years were basically some less famous or rookie Pirates who had just debuted.
Great Pirates like the Four Emperors would not bother to get involved... Sephiroth pondered for a moment before speaking again:
"Something this interesting can't be dull! Have the intelligence department act quickly. Tell them to subtly spread the information about the Pirate Expo, attracting the attention of as many Pirates as possible."
"Furthermore... we need to add some hot news. Whoever wins this competition will gain Roger's One Piece—countless treasures, and weapons powerful enough to destroy the world." Sephiroth's voice carried the weight of a coming storm. "With that power, they could rule the seas and claim the title of Pirate King."
Ain's eyes widened. "You can't be serious. Are you trying to start a war?"
"Precisely."
She swallowed hard. "Then... should the Marines begin mobilizing forces immediately?"
"Just assemble ten or twenty thousand troops." Sephiroth's tone was deceptively calm. "Not enough to overwhelm, but sufficient to show we're not taking this lightly."
Ain studied his face. "What's your real game here? Why stir up chaos like this?"
Sephiroth's lips curved into a knowing smile.
"Fishing for big fish..."