"Yes, it's truly unethical. It feels wrong to use it—it's dangerous."
Sengoku nodded in agreement. "Yes, we Marines are champions of justice. How could we use such a weapon?"
"Right, Marines can't use it, but pirates can," Claudius said with an evil grin.
Sengoku wasn't a fool; he immediately understood Claudius's meaning. The first thing to rule out was selling this poison gas to random pirates, that was impossible. However, if the poison gas was handed to a pirate group aligned with them, like the Seven Warlords of the Sea…
"Your Highness, are you referring to the Seven Warlords of the Sea?" Sengoku asked softly.
"Yes, the Seven Warlords of the Sea," Claudius replied with a smirk. "Think about it: if this weapon were to be used by one of the Warlords to deal with Kaido or Whitebeard, wouldn't it be quite effective?"
Sengoku fell silent for a moment. The thought of a weapon like that being used to strike at Whitebeard's ship sounded tempting, he might even wake up laughing from his dreams. But the reality of pulling off such a plan was far less likely.
"Even leaving aside its practicality, if someone from the Seven Warlords of the Sea uses this weapon, it won't reflect well on the reputation of the World Government," Sengoku said after careful thought.
"That's simple to resolve," Claudius replied with a wicked smile. "Whoever uses it, we deal with them afterward."
Sengoku froze for a moment before muttering, "Your Highness, you're truly ruthless…"
"I don't hold pirates in high regard," Claudius said nonchalantly.
Before Sengoku could reply, Claudius continued, "Of course, the timing isn't right for now, but we can let Caesar continue to develop and manufacture this weapon.
Moria already has a personal grudge against Kaido. If, one day, the opportunity presents itself and we launch an offensive against Kaido, and Moria happens to have this weapon in his possession, do you think he'd hesitate to use it?"
"Of course, he would use it. Moria isn't exactly a paragon of morals," Sengoku replied without hesitation.
"Exactly. And once he uses it, it can harm Kaido and simultaneously give us the perfect excuse to clean Moria up. Then, we'll have an open slot in the Seven Warlords of the Sea, accomplishing several goals at once," Claudius said slyly.
Sengoku was momentarily stunned. Your Highness, does Moria have some personal grudge against you? Why would you go out of your way to set him up like this?
But upon further thought, Sengoku realized it wasn't a bad plan. After all, the burden of blame would fall on Moria, not Marine. Why should they object?
"It does make sense," Sengoku murmured thoughtfully.
Claudius chuckled. "I think Caesar has potential. Why don't you let me train him for a few years? Once I've reformed him, I'll return him to Marine Headquarters. Keeping him locked away in Impel Down feels like a waste of his talents."
Sengoku immediately understood that Claudius saw more value in Caesar than just this plan. But it wasn't Sengoku's place to question him, Claudius had been a consistent ally to Marine, and there was no reason to dig deeper into his motives. Still, Sengoku had to make one thing clear.
"Your Highness, the verdict has already been handed down. Caesar has been sentenced to eight years in Impel Down. If you want to take him, that's fine, but…" Sengoku trailed off, hinting at what he needed to hear.
Claudius, familiar with these unspoken rules, smiled and said, "Don't worry, he won't be free. I'll have him locked up and focused on research. On the surface, it'll look like he's serving his sentence in Impel Down. I'll make sure he doesn't show his face publicly."
Seeing that Claudius was handling this properly, Sengoku nodded. "Very well, Your Highness. Send someone to Impel Down to fetch him, and I'll inform the relevant authorities."
Although both Marine Headquarters and Impel Down were part of the World Government's system, Impel Down was administratively subordinate to Marine Headquarters. The director of Impel Down even needed Marine approval to assume the role.
So, with Sengoku's word, Impel Down would have no choice but to comply.
Once the topic of Caesar was resolved, Claudius changed the subject. "Alright, let's put that matter aside. I actually have something else to discuss with you."
Sengoku nodded. "Your Highness, please go ahead."
"You've heard about the developments in the Calm Belt, haven't you?" Claudius asked.
"Yes. It's said that a rich iron ore deposit was discovered on an island near Amazon Lily. After such a long survey, we've finally found something of value.
Fifteen warships have already been dispatched, and eventually, twenty warships will be stationed there to oversee operations," Sengoku replied enthusiastically.
Although Punk Hazard had resulted in significant scientific equipment losses, the potential in the Calm Belt made up for it. In time, those losses could easily be recovered.
Claudius nodded. "Twenty warships will suffice for now. But Sengoku, our development in the Calm Belt won't stop with just one island. This first site will accommodate 30,000 Fish-Man workers, which is only about a fifth of the labor force we brought from Fish-Man Island.
In other words, our initial plan involves five such islands for operations. With continued development and investment, there may be even more in the future. Eventually, even the workforce of Fish-Man Island won't be enough."
Claudius wasn't exaggerating. Fish-Man Island's population was barely 150,000, even with annual growth. It couldn't keep up with the scale of development Claudius envisioned. Additional labor would have to come from elsewhere.
The first group Claudius had in mind were the workers from the Tequila Wolf bridge, a place where slaves had toiled for centuries. With the right approach, these workers could transition from building bridges to working in the Calm Belt. Claudius envisioned offering them proper employment conditions, with fair pay, weekends off, and benefits.
But the bridge project was a World Government undertaking, and Claudius couldn't simply order it to stop. A suitable justification would be needed to reallocate the workforce.
For the time being, Claudius planned to use his personal authority to discreetly take some slaves from the project, while ensuring he didn't draw too much attention.
Another potential labor source was the giants. Marine had maintained strong ties with the giants, and several Vice Admirals were of giant heritage. However, not all giants wanted to join Marine. Claudius believed hiring them as laborers for mining and other heavy work would be a good alternative.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Claudius said. "If we calculate for five mining islands, with each requiring twenty warships, that's 100 Marine warships in total. Sengoku, can Marine manage that?"
One hundred warships would be enough to launch a major campaign in the New World. Staffing them would require hundreds of thousands of Marines. Could Marine bear such a burden?
But before Claudius could elaborate further, Sengoku confidently replied, "What's there to consider? As long as the benefits are proportional, Marine can handle it. Not just one hundred warships, if needed, we can provide two hundred. Don't worry."
Claudius, who had been gearing up to deliver an impassioned speech about why Marine should support the Calm Belt sea train project, suddenly found himself at a loss for words.
After considering Marine's global presence and extensive resources, he begrudgingly admitted, "I'm sorry. I underestimated you, Marine…"
***
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