"The Special Administrative Regions have currently confirmed three locations: the South Sea Special Region, the Paradise Special Region, and the New World Special Region."
"The South Sea Special Region will be located at the former site of the Lanka Kingdom, which has now been renamed the Jaygar Region."
"The Paradise Special Region will be built on the former desert lands of Arabasta. The kingdom of Arabasta has provided the funding and land for its construction, and it has now been officially completed."
"The New World Special Region will be located at the former Land of Wano, which has been renamed the New World Special Region, and will also serve as the Marine's new headquarters in the New World."
"As for the remaining three Special Regions in the East, West, and North Seas, if any of you have ideas, you may propose them."
Rosse's calm voice echoed through the vast conference hall.
No one objected to these three chosen locations.
One was the ancestral land of the Jaygarcia family, one was Arabasta, a nation with the potential to ascend into Celestial Dragon ranks. And the last was the Marine's New World Headquarters.
Even those who knew nothing about politics could tell: maybe these weren't the most perfect sites, but there was nothing to criticize about them either.
"Honorable Saint Rosse, may I ask, are the other allied nations qualified to offer land for the Special Regions?", The King of the Kano Country in the West Blue, Ramen, spoke somewhat nervously, his eyes fixed on Rosse.
This World Conference was entirely different from the previous ones.
In past conferences, at most only the Five Elders from the World Government would attend, and even they would mostly just sit and listen to the allied nations' issues.
The concerns raised by the allied nations were usually compiled by that year's rotating chairman of the conference.
By standard rotation, it was actually the Kano Country's turn this year, and since that kingdom was located in the West Blue, Ramen could only bite the bullet and speak under everyone's watchful gaze.
After all, who in the seas didn't know that Rosse was the ultimate ruthless man?
Wherever he went, no country was left in peace. Either a princess would ascend the throne, or the entire nation would be destroyed. Ramen was genuinely afraid the Kano Country would meet the same fate.
"Of course it's possible," Rosse nodded slightly, "but it's best that the Special Regions be established on lands without disputes. When the World Government makes rulings involving allied nations, we will maintain absolute neutrality."
This was a question he had already anticipated, but he didn't want to get tangled up with these allied nations.
The allied nation system was outdated. Far too many royal families and nobles, which only weakened productivity.
To the World Government, these monarchs and aristocrats were both supporters and obstacles.
When stability was needed, they were useful.
But once stability was achieved, their existence would only restrict the World Government's control over the world.
"I understand," Ramen quickly grasped the hidden meaning behind Rosse's words and hurried to show his support, "Honorable Saint Rosse, I recommend the island of Ohara in the West Blue. It lies in the central region of the West Blue, and in every respect, it's well-suited to serve as the West Blue Special Region."
"Ohara, huh…", Rosse thought for a brief moment, then turned to the forty-one kings representing the West Blue's allied nations.
"It is indeed a good choice. Do any of the other West Blue nations object?"
"No!"
"We obey your will, Saint Rosse!"
"I have no objections!"
"..."
The kings of the West Blue all voiced their support, not one hesitated.
Ohara wasn't on any of their territories anyway. If the World Government wanted to build something, so be it.
With the cooperation of all the allied nations, the locations for the East and North Sea Special Regions were quickly decided as well.
In the East Blue, Loguetown was chosen as the Special Region. It was the area closest to Reverse Mountain and known as the final stop of the East Blue.
It had long been under naval administration, not part of any allied nation, yet not an illegal zone either. As the execution site of the Pirate King Gol D. Roger, it was more than qualified to bear the title of Special Region.
As for the North Blue, Suya Island was selected. Located at the center of the North Blue, it had once been a lawless zone, but after Doflamingo founded the Donquixote Kingdom, it was rapidly transformed into the North Blue's largest trade hub.
"Now that the five Special Regions have been confirmed, next I'll explain the various positions and powers within each."
At those words, all the kings of the allied nations immediately perked up.
The locations didn't matter, what mattered was power.
The World Government wouldn't create Special Regions for no reason. Clearly, this was the part where the real intent would be revealed.
"In the future, the World Government will establish a more complete political framework. The headquarters will remain in the Holy Land, with six subordinate Special Regions. Each region, except the New World Special Region, will oversee fifty allied nations," Rosse said.
"Honorable Saint Rosse," spoke King Burger of the Kingdom of Ballywood in the West Blue, "Currently the sea with the most allied nations is the East Blue, with only forty-five. The fewest is Paradise, with just twenty-one. Does this mean that in the future, at least seventy new allied nations will join the World Government?"
Burger was a young, gentlemanly king, this was his first World Conference since ascending the throne, and unlike the others, he wasn't yet weighed down by formality.
"Correct," Rosse replied with a smile, "Within the next ten years, seventy new allied nations will be selected to join the World Government. The remaining illegal zones will gradually be abolished under the Marine's leadership and incorporated into the territories of the allied nations. But that's a topic for another session."
With the power Rosse now held, conquering all the allied nations outright wouldn't be difficult. But after conquering them, then what?
He didn't yet have enough people to manage all those territories. Reorganizing them would only consume more time and energy.
So rather than destroying the system now, it was better to give the allied nations a share of the profits. Once he had trained enough capable people, he could simply abolish them all at once.
Temporary profits didn't matter to Rosse.
Whether territory or Berries, none of it would vanish just because he gave a little now.
Even if it ended up in the hands of those royal families, when the time came to dissolve the allied nations, everything would return to him anyway.
On the other hand, if chaos broke out and caused large-scale population deaths, it would be impossible to replenish manpower in a short time.
A healthy young laborer took at least fifteen years to grow, and besides, the dead didn't even give him any experience points. That kind of waste was intolerable.
Rosse's reasoning completely crushed the lingering ambitions of those allied nations who had been plotting small schemes.
More allied nations might mean smaller shares of World Government benefits for each existing one. If the overall pie stayed the same.
But that assumption didn't hold, since most of the new additions would come from the poor, undeveloped illegal zones.
The wealthy countries had already joined long ago. The remaining territories, while not destitute, were basically no better than backwater regions in the eyes of the allied nations.
Now things were different, Rosse had openly stated that these zones would be integrated under the existing allied nations.
That was as good as saying their land and population would double in the future, without shedding a drop of blood. All they had to do was wait to take over.
With profits that great, there was truly no reason to object.
Rather than worry about that, they were far more curious about the World Government's new structure.
The incident in the Holy Land had wiped out nearly all the world's nobles. Ninety-nine percent of the high-level government positions were now empty, filled only by temporary appointees.
If the World Government hadn't gone mad and wiped out every family that dared harbor the slightest disloyalty, the allied nations would've long since stopped acknowledging its authority given how paralyzed its administration was now.