"And so, I'll be going on a business trip for a little while."
I've borrowed Mogwa Castle's conference room for this emergency meeting, gathering all the current executives.
I thought there'd be more of an uproar, but surprisingly, the executive staff and even the royal guard members are staying calm.
"I'm leaving Daz in command during my absence. Naturally. Daz, you understand our primary strategic objective in the West Blue at this stage, don't you?"
"Yeah."
Daz remains completely unfazed even in this emergency situation. That's just like him.
Well, I can't say what's going on inside his head, but from my perspective, he looks genuinely composed, which is truly reassuring.
This way, he should be able to keep the soldiers' unrest to a minimum.
"Increase production capacity with grain as the cornerstone, and drive hunger away from as many islands as possible. Or at least keep it at bay."
"Exactly."
Military strength is important, but what we need to develop most right now is production capacity.
We're already facing the prospect of widespread political instability.
I want to secure enough production capacity to survive, at the very least.
"Mihawk, the most crucial task is developing your former Cannet Kingdom."
"Ah, I've already prepared sufficient food, seedlings, and materials for the transport ships. There should be no issues for the initial phase."
"Good. For military strength, you'll have Chris and the royal guard, plus elite forces. Don't let the civilians suffer any more casualties."
"Understood, Kuro."
"Hancock, defend the seas between Mopchi and Mogwa while coordinating with the Navy. However..."
"The situation is fluid, so don't let your guard down, something like that?"
"Exactly. Always consider the worst-case scenario. Sorry, I was supposed to handle the internal affairs and diplomacy on your end myself."
"Think nothing of it. Being appointed as Admiral means such things happen. I can't promise results, but I'll do my best not to make any blunders. We have Amis and Tesoro with us, after all."
"Thank you, Hancock."
Mihawk is also fired up and ready to go, which is excellent.
The development speed might accelerate faster than I expected.
I hope we can increase grain yields even a little...
Hancock has become increasingly reliable since she started commanding fleets.
"Daz, you handle Mopchi's administration and defense. The development plans I've been considering are in the safe... but I haven't thought through the priorities. I haven't carefully considered whether the proposals are feasible or executable either. I repeat, they're just drafts."
Water and sewage system construction, reservoir and new farmland development, road infrastructure planning drafts, reviews of the island's transportation system, shipyard establishment prep work including ship maintenance dock construction, and so on...
Honestly, it's all just fantasy-level scribbles, like a high schooler's daydreams about running a café, but this seems like a good opportunity to release them.
"Consult with the royal guard members and Tesoro, and if there's anything useful, feel free to use it. Do whatever you want."
"Roger that. What about the islands near Mopchi that were in the original plan?"
Ah, places like Purina and Canagan... the islands around Mopchi that were our initial conquest targets.
I want to focus our efforts on developing Mopchi and Cannet as much as possible, but there will probably be damage, and it would be troublesome if they turn into bandits.
"If you have the capacity, you may bring them under our influence. I leave the decision entirely to you."
"Roger."
"Tesoro, please serve as an advisor to Daz and Her Highness while handling our finances. We have some savings from our activities so far, but when considering reconstruction and beyond, we can never have enough money."
"Understood, Governor."
Good, Tesoro is fitting in well with us.
Since he's not an original named character like Daz or Perona, and doesn't have special abilities, I was a bit worried, but when it comes to making money, he's quite trustworthy.
Not only is he quick-thinking, but he also has a deep understanding of fieldwork.
"Fish-man group, prioritize self-defense above all else. In the worst case, you can flee without contacting us."
"As expected, we'll be targeted?"
"Unfortunately, fish-men are still easily converted to money. The West Blue is a sea of mafias. Even ordinary people can find those connections easily, and in this emergency, they'll jump at anything that can become money or food."
"Hmm, understood... but Kuro, you've taken care of us. At least let us help with collecting and processing some supplies."
"Sorry, Hack. That would be a great help."
Hack is honestly an indispensable presence for us too.
It's not just the royal guard, but the general forces have been literally strengthened thanks to Hack's instruction.
Mihawk? That guy doesn't think about complicated things. He just blows everything away.
Once again, I'm constantly amazed by the royal guard's guts for being able to keep up with him.
"Now then... and so."
Rayleigh, his face hidden by his hood, just smiles slightly.
Well, there's nothing particular to say about him.
He just does whatever he wants while improving Mihawk's swordsmanship.
The problem is...
Grrrrrrrr...
"Can someone pry Robin off me? She's clinging to me."
"Impossible, Captain."
"Hey, Vice Governor, aren't you giving up too quickly?"
"I'd prefer you call it quick decision-making."
"Horohorohoro! Just take Robin with you already. If it's you, Kuro, you should be able to escape even in the worst case, right?"
"Don't be unreasonable. Hey, Robin. At least release your ability, would you? This feels like I'm being devoured by a spider or something..."
"I don't wanna!"
"Come on, somehow..."
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇
Sniff...
"Sorry for deciding this on my own. But it was a chance."
In the end, none of my subordinates helped me.
Damn, what heartless subordinates they are.
Aren't they all way too soft on Robin?
If Robin ever staged a coup, they'd probably join her with great enthusiasm.
Especially Perona.
Everyone has gone out to prepare for departure or work, so it's just Robin and me here now.
"From here on, we absolutely have to deal with the World Government."
At least she's switched from using her ability to bind my arms like rope to just clinging to me normally.
"This incident made it crystal clear. The Navy and us have something similar at our core... what should I call it, culture perhaps. That's why dialogue is still possible."
Well, to be precise, having the trigger of Amis and the others' incident was extremely significant...
If there hadn't been a rift with the government, it would have been hopeless, really.
"Here, I need to understand what lies at the World Government's core, or if not understand, at least feel it firsthand."
I also want to set up several strategies while I'm at it.
I can't let slip a chance to peek into the heart of a potential enemy while relatively safe conditions are guaranteed.
Yeah... it should be relatively safe.
At least until some kind of resolution is reached in the talks.
Even if I have to use the card of breaking the 'Black Cat' and Navy agreement, the safety of the West Blue should be secured based on our reputation so far and the world situation.
Thanks to Daz, Hancock, and the others' achievements, plus depending on their activities without me, that safety might increase even further.
If they carelessly kill me, the remaining 'Black Cat' members would become a clear anti-government force.
The government would want to avoid such a situation.
(However... just in case, I should probably establish connections with the Revolutionary Army too.)
"Does Captain want to drive all pirates out of the West Blue?"
"I can't achieve zero, but yeah, I think it would be good if things calmed down a bit more."
From a purely calculating standpoint, having obvious enemies like raiders is convenient.
It is convenient, but... if there are too many, it'll affect our development plans.
"Robin, you understand my goal, don't you?"
"The establishment of a second governing force capable of coexisting as a competitor to the World Government."
"Yeah. I explained that before."
I gave Daz and the others some explanation before we conquered Mopchi.
Though Perona was boldly napping through it. Well, can't blame her.
"As long as we're pursued as pirates, we have two possible paths. Hide and live in secret, or make ourselves untouchable."
"Yeah."
"For us, the former was difficult. Once we got involved in Amis and the others' incident, being chased by troublesome people was guaranteed. Unless we expanded our influence, we'd have no choice but to be swallowed up by the Navy or the mafia."
Really, if it weren't for that pirate alliance incident, we'd probably still be focusing on developing our base and defense while attacking the mafia.
Letting up would have led to disaster.
"Fortunately, we successfully expanded our influence. As a single pirate crew's military strength, we're probably among the top in the West Blue."
Even without Mihawk, there's probably nobody who can surpass our royal guard.
Really, attacking the pirate alliance's base made me realize this thoroughly. They had nothing going for them except numbers.
The only enemy commander that caught my attention was, according to Mihawk, about upper-middle level among our regular crew members.
"Precisely because we became such a force, contact with the government was inevitable, sooner or later."
"Captain... will you really be able to come back?"
"Of course. Since I know who I'm dealing with, I have better odds than when we went to the district headquarters."
When we went to the district headquarters, if we'd approached the district headquarters personnel instead of Sengoku and the others, it could have been dangerous.
This time, since I can see who I'm talking to, unforeseen circumstances are less likely.
"Rather, I'm going there to create connections with the government and buy time to gain a more advantageous position. What matters, Robin, is how much you and Mihawk can make that island beneficial for us."
There are some things I'm keeping from Robin, but this is also something I genuinely think.
If we can use that huge island and the combined labor force including the former Navy personnel to let the refugees focus properly on production and economic activities, it would become an achievement that makes the Navy and government hesitate to interfere.
I need to demonstrate how the 'Black Cat,' an organization outside government jurisdiction, benefits everyone simply by existing.
"Mihawk is first-class at clearing land, but he leaves things like town planning, road layout, and such planning entirely to Chris and Amelia from the royal guard. That'll probably work out somehow, but I want you to take on that commanding role."
Honestly, if you're going to be an executive of the 'Black Cat' pirates, I'd like you to gain some experience with governance planning.
"If you all properly reconstruct the island and word reaches the Navy and then the government, I can operate more advantageously too. Can I count on you?"
The Nico Robin I know as a character, compared to my companion who's a bit more tearful and like an ordinary girl, wipes away her tears and nods.
Yeah, but don't wipe them with my jacket.
"Captain."
"Yeah."
"I'll do my best."
"You will..."
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇
"Fuffuffu. I see, so you'll gather forces while staying hidden."
"Yeah, it'll just be full of treasure-hunting wannabes for a while anyway. There's no point establishing territory in a place like that, it would just be annoying."
North Blue, a certain port town called Spider Miles.
In the tavern of an island that serves as a pirate crew's base, three men have gathered.
"Still, 'Silent Step' Kuro. Interesting... to think he'd discover our base with just that much information."
"Sorry about that, Festival Man. You were planning to launch some big fireworks, weren't you?"
"Hehehe, don't worry about it, 'Golden Lion.' I was the one who gave the go signal after all. If anything, I should be the one apologizing."
When one of the three men, a middle-aged man with a distinctive afro, says this, the youngest man with sunglasses shakes his head.
"We may have failed, but there wasn't any major loss. Rather, being able to experience that such failures can happen was invaluable. Besides..."
The young man pours alcohol into the empty glass beside the afro-haired man.
"The objective was achieved. The New World is going to become completely chaotic from now on. Precisely because Kuro read our intentions, the Navy has also begun deploying forces from Paradise to the New World."
"Jihahahaha, wannabes or not, pirates are pirates. The Grand Line will be burning everywhere with swelling pirates."
"Did it serve as good camouflage? Golden Lion Shiki."
"Yeah, thanks to that, I'm having no trouble gathering personnel."
"Fuffuffu, that's excellent then. It means none of the three of us here suffered losses."
The man about the same age as the afro-haired one, with a ship's wheel stuck in his head, eats the food laid out on the table while looking at a dirty map of some island spread before them.
"Well, having the island I was planning to retrieve later taken over is a bit of a setback... but I've already picked up some islands. I'll take my time solidifying my foothold for a while."
"Good news. If I could help someone like you, who's planning to pick a fight with the whole world, that's the best thing for me."
"Jihaha... you're pretty clever yourself though. What was it, Doflamingo?"
The Golden Lion pays no mind to food scraps and oil splattering on the map as he bites into meat, swallows it, then addresses the young man.
"Causing large-scale pirate riots and many Navy personnel. Anyone might think of that much, but afterward, taking advantage of the Navy's desire to replenish soldiers and slipping many pawns into the Navy ranks, that's something else."
"Fuffuffu, well, they're all still in training at various branches. It'll take several years before I can use them as spies, but... as groundwork, it's plenty sufficient."
"You got that right! hahahaha!!"
The three pirates laugh loudly and gulp down more alcohol.
"So, Mister Doflamingo. Will you accept our proposal?"
"Yeah, no problem. I heard an interesting story from Buena Festa too. It's just right for buying time until the main event... though that's still quite a ways off."
"For now, we gather basic military strength... and next, we move to obtain authority."
"The 'Black Cat' pirates are troublesome for the government. So they'll definitely want forces to counter them. Forces other than the Navy."
"I still have things to do in this sea for a while longer, but..."
"The goal is the Seven Warlords. First, that is..."
"Fuffuffu... I'll make full use of them."
***
10 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!
https://patreon.com/Well_being