In the world of pirates, if you want to recruit a large number of people at once—and even include a certain number of elite units—there are only two places that meet those conditions.
One is the great underwater prison, Impel Down. The people inside have all been carefully selected by the Marines. Ordinary small-time pirates don't even qualify to stay there.
Someone like Buggy, with a bounty of over ten million in the East Blue, could only stay on the first underground level.
The sixth underground level holds pirates with bounties over a hundred million. Jinbe was once imprisoned there—every single one of them is a ruthless figure.
Shichibukai Jinbe, Shichibukai Crocodile, Whitebeard's Division Commander Ace… various movie bosses, the World Destroyer, the Golden Lion, Douglas Bullet, and the game-exclusive Patrick Redfield.
Later on, Blackbeard also took a liking to the excellent human resources inside the great pirate prison and went straight to the lowest level to hold a boss direct hire.
The very top batch of people were taken away by Blackbeard… Although, aside from Shiryu, the others' performances later on were somewhat clownish, it doesn't change the fact that they truly possessed elite backbone-level strength.
If Blackbeard picked out a few elite backbones—
Then "Clown Emperor" Buggy swept up the pirates from the upper levels who were full of "overthinking hype" mentality, and with that large but not top-tier crowd, founded the Buggy's Delivery.
You could say that Impel Down has a large number of pirates and high overall quality. The only concern is that pirates are never particularly high in loyalty.
Aside from the great underwater prison, the other place where you could hold a boss direct hire is the Holy Land Mary Geoise atop the Red Line.
"Thanks" to the Celestial Dragons' long-standing need for countless slaves, Mary Geoise has accumulated a great number of them.
That place is also a grinding hell. If someone can survive several years in Mary Geoise, they can already be considered an elite unit… because anyone who wasn't elite is already dead.
The number of Celestial Dragons atop the Red Line remains roughly within a constant range. Yet slaves are continually sent up there—simply because the rate of slave attrition is far too severe.
These Celestial Dragons come up with endless ways to torment their slaves. You can see that clearly from some of Doflamingo's actions when he was a child.
Anyone who can endure several years in such a hellish place is absolutely ruthless.
Furthermore, Mary Geoise is the place in this world with the greatest variety of races.
Big Mom's Totto Land lacks two races—the Giants and the Lunarians. The Red Line likely lacks only one, or perhaps none at all.
When it comes to collecting slave races, they are undeniably professional.
Although Mary Geoise doesn't have as many famous figures as Impel Down, it still has some—Fisher Tiger, the Pirate Empress and her two sisters, and the Golden Emperor Tesoro.
"Maybe I should consider holding a boss direct hire."
Vane would not remain a pirate drifting at sea forever. Whenever he had time to think, he would consider his future layout.
The first half of the Grand Line and the Four Seas are territories of the Marines and the World Government. Wanting to find a stable place to develop there is nothing but a fantasy. Even the Shichibukai can only build their forces in the shadows.
If Vane dared to plant his flag in the first half of the Grand Line today, the Marines might arrive to kill him the next moment.
The only way out is the second half of the Grand Line—the New World—later carved up by the Yonko and other great pirates.
The Marines and World Government hold far less influence there, and all kinds of forces compete savagely.
If he wants territory, he must go to the New World. And if he wants large territory, he must have enough manpower.
With the number of people currently under Vane, it would already be impressive to manage a single large island. Trying to carve out a kingdom with just one island wouldn't be enough.
Territory can be seized once his combat power increases. But governance requires trusted subordinates of his own.
Expanding personnel is unavoidable. Rather than recruiting slowly, it would be better to hold a "boss" direct hire.
His fingers lightly tapped the box. After a brief silence, he uttered two words—"Mary Geoise."
Unfortunately… Mary Geoise is full of leaks like a sieve.
Fisher Tiger had been there. Lafitte had been there. The Revolutionary Army later went there as well—even Sabo broke into Pangaea Castle.
No matter how powerful the God's Knights, the Five Elders, and Imu are, they remain inside Pangaea Castle.
The world sees the Celestial Dragons as lofty and supreme, but their true power center lies within Pangaea Castle.
As for what happens outside Pangaea Castle, those true rulers don't concern themselves too much. Those great figures might not even regard the Celestial Dragons—who often appear mentally deficient—as their equals.
Otherwise, it's hard to explain how Fisher Tiger managed to free countless slaves, set Mary Geoise ablaze, and still retreat unscathed all by himself.
If even one of the Five Elders or the God's Knights had truly cared, Tiger would never have escaped intact.
Although Impel Down is weaker than Mary Geoise in raw strength, it is heavily guarded and backed by Marine reinforcements at any time. In practice, it may actually be harder to infiltrate than Mary Geoise.
As long as one doesn't recklessly attack Pangaea Castle, the God's Knights and the Five Elders rarely mobilize. Compared to the tightly secured Impel Down, Mary Geoise has gone too long without suffering an attack.
A life like paradise has made most Celestial Dragons incapable of even imagining that someone would dare invade Mary Geoise.
"The people in Mary Geoise crave salvation more. And many of them aren't pirates—they'll be easier to win over."
"Years of comfortable living have numbed them to the core."
"And Mary Geoise doesn't only have slaves…"
Those Celestial Dragons are incredibly rich. They lack neither money nor… Devil Fruits.
They don't often eat Devil Fruits themselves, but they possess many—quite a few of them high-grade goods.
Years ago at the God Valley incident, the Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Zoan: Azure Dragon; the Paw-Paw Fruit; the Horm-Horm Fruit… These outstanding, even god-tier fruits were used as prizes—until pirates crashed the party head-on.
The more Vane thought about it, the more tempted he became. He almost wanted to sneak up to Mary Geoise right now and sweep up all the slaves—and any Devil Fruits that might exist—into Meowth's stomach.
"Before Tiger climbs up to Mary Geoise, those completely unguarded Celestial Dragons won't even imagine…"
After Tiger's ascent, the Celestial Dragons realized they weren't absolutely safe and certainly strengthened their defenses.
"I remember Tiger climbed up in the year 1507. There's still time."
There was at least more than a year left. He refused to believe he couldn't reach the Sabaody Archipelago by then.
At this moment, Vane made up his mind to ascend the Red Line and become the world's strongest bandit and thief.
If discovered, he'd be a bandit. If not, he'd be a thief.
When Tiger caused chaos, the Five Elders and the God's Knights didn't show themselves—but Vane wouldn't dare assume they wouldn't jump out if he went up there.
If he could stay low-key, he would. There's no shame in being sneaky. Getting rich is what truly matters.