Gojiro quickly assured Rowen while Rowen glanced at him but remained silent.
There was no need to doubt such a statement. It was indeed true.
Capone Bege sold weapons to hostile forces in Kano Country because the Capone Family was enticed by the country's wealth.
With the assistance of the Happo Navy, Kano Country was unmatched in the West Blue, forcing Bege to resort to this strategy to establish trade relations with Kano Country.
Furthermore, Rowen was well aware that if nothing unexpected happened, Capone Bege, the current "Godfather" of the Capone Family, would soon control the entire underground arms trade in the West Blue.
Then, he would lose interest in land-based wars, establish the Firetank Pirates, rise to become one of the Eleven Supernovas, become the son-in-law of the Yonko Big Mom, and even show signs of gradually becoming more reputable.
"Capone Bege…"
Slowly stroking his chin, a smirk formed on Rowen's lips.
"He's quite an interesting guy."
Beside him, Gojiro couldn't help but shiver, feeling a chill in his heart from Rowen's smile.
After the banquet, Rowen, accompanied by the guards, arrived at the location where the Marine soldiers were stationed. Henry hadn't slept for most of the night, waiting at the campsite for Rowen's return. When he saw Rowen, he stood up and saluted.
"Vice Admiral Rowen!"
"Hmm, have a seat…"
Rowen pulled out a chair and sat down confidently, lighting a cigar.
"How did the task I assigned you to go?"
"We've investigated thoroughly. The Capone Family has connections with at least seven branches. Here are the files…"
Henry quickly responded, skillfully retrieving the items Rowen wanted from his pocket. Then, as Rowen perused the files, he spoke softly.
"Also… the Fleet Admiral didn't agree to your request. He suggested that Kano Country handle it as their statement of loyalty."
Rowen paused his reading for a moment, lifting his head with a somewhat speechless expression.
"Tsk! That old fox isn't leaving me any chances, huh!"
…
Sengoku didn't break his promise. Even though Dressrosa ended up in such a chaotic state, he ruthlessly confiscated the wealth left behind by the Donquixote Family. The problem of insufficient funds for the G-10 Marine Branch's reconstruction was properly resolved.
However!
Rowen's secret plan to blackmail Doflamingo had failed…
That was a whopping 10 Billion Berries!!
Apart from the branch's reconstruction, all the other benefits were supposed to go into Rowen's own pockets.
But in the end… it was all gone!
Rowen suddenly found himself inexplicably penniless.
The Red Coral sitting in the storage room of the Qilin began to panic.
"You should go rob Capone Bege! He's worth more than me…"
What?
Robbery?
Can Marine's actions be called robbery?!
Now that they had finally arrived in the West Blue and had a target in sight, with the advantage of timing, location, and people, Rowen had vowed not to let them go… After receiving the orders, Henry racked his brains to present a compelling case to Sengoku, highlighting the threat posed by the Capone Family in the West Blue.
Sengoku also felt it necessary to eliminate this threat to the people of the West Blue and expressed his approval of the proposal.
But in the end, the mission didn't fall on Rowen's shoulders, and he lost the biggest advantage, leaving him frustrated to the point of spitting blood!
There was nothing he could do. After all, he was the Fleet Admiral.
Instantly losing interest in reading the files, Rowen waved his hand and said to Henry, "Anything else?"
"Yes! The person you wanted us to investigate, Eustass Kid. We couldn't find any information on him in the Headquarters' bounty listings. We don't know where he is at the moment…"
Cold sweat dripped down Henry's forehead. He had failed to accomplish both tasks assigned to him by the senior official. Without the ability to get things done in the bureaucracy, even if he tried to please his superiors, he would end up in trouble.
However, to Henry's surprise, Rowen nodded without showing any dissatisfaction on his face.
Kid was one of the Supernovas that set sail around 1520. By 1522, if you randomly asked someone, two out of three would have heard of the name "Straw Hat Pirates." And at least One out of Five would be able to name Eustass Kid.
But in 1520?
It was normal not to find someone's identity in the West Blue when all they knew was the name.
Rowen had already anticipated this.
"Alright, you can go now… Tomorrow, we'll officially sign the Shichibukai treaty with Don Sai. Keep a close eye on them and don't let anything go wrong. By the way… there might be some rats sneaking in during this period, so be careful."
Rats?
Henry's eyes brightened!
This was his chance to shine!
Bringing his feet together, standing at attention, he saluted. "Understood!"
…
The next day, with numerous enthusiastic media and news reporters as witnesses, Sai officially accepted the invitation and became the Sixth Oka Shichibukai, filling the vacant Shichibukai position.
The World Government urgently needed a new Shichibukai to stabilize public opinion, so everything went smoothly. Almost the next morning, the news spread throughout the world via news birds!
Everyone who was anyone in the Sea got this news!
The people were surprised as many of them realized that reality didn't match their expectations.
Instead of maintaining the status quo after losing two Shichibukai, the Marines were still inviting new ones, indicating their confidence in the Shichibukai system.
For a while, there were varying degrees of unrest all over the world.
Pirates, who had become active due to Rayleigh's appearance, set their sights on the last Shichibukai seat and started recruiting and preparing to surrender to the Marines.
While the Shichibukai system was widely criticized by pirates as being Marine lapdogs, like rats that everyone despised, ambitious pirates weren't so naive. They naturally aspired to become Shichibukai.
These ambitious individuals could see that becoming a Shichibukai would only bring benefits to the development of their power. Just the "Legitimate plundering rights" alone would make many previously hesitant actions perfectly legitimate. Getting rich and thriving was no longer a dream!
The benefits were substantial!
However, what these individuals didn't know was that the Marines had already decided on the final candidate. Their display of strength would not bring them a letter of surrender from Marines, but rather a saturated explosion of Sea.
…
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