"You should be aware of the major investigation Smoker is conducting into the Marine discipline across the Four Seas right now."
Dragon nodded; the scale of this matter was vast, and it had purged many corrupt Marines.
"After this purge, the Marines' control over the Four Seas is severely lacking, so they are preparing for a massive local recruitment drive."
"As long as recruits have the strength and a clean background, they can take office locally. I will cover the annual expenses, and I'd like to call it the New Navy."
"This branch of the Marines will only be responsible to me. With Vice Admiral Garp and Teacher Zephyr backing me up, there won't be any issues."
"I hope the Revolutionary Army can join in to help my New Navy maintain order in the Four Seas while secretly building up your strength. This way, the Revolutionary Army's situation will be much better than it is now."
Dragon listened to Hera's suggestion, thought it over carefully, and asked a question:
"What will these people do once they join you, and who will have the power of command?"
Hearing Dragon's proactive inquiry, Hera knew he was interested. "Rest assured, their main role will be to help residents fend off pirate incursions, focusing primarily on defense. I will only provide a general direction; the rest is up to you."
"Besides, they're your people, aren't they? Of course you'll be the one commanding them. Even if you asked me to lead them, would they even listen to me?"
Dragon nodded. He trusted his people, and after careful consideration, he realized it was indeed highly feasible.
"I will consider your suggestion. As you said, this is a major move for the Revolutionary Army, and I need to go back and discuss it with the others."
Hera nodded, knowing such a big matter couldn't be rushed. "I will announce the establishment of the New Navy directly in Loguetown. Your people can just sign up at various locations."
Then, watching Dragon as he was about to leave, Hera said, "You should know that we are the same, just choosing different paths. When our strength is weak, we should lie low and accumulate power, waiting for them to show a weakness."
Dragon didn't look back, only asking, "What if they never show a weakness?"
Hera smiled, understanding Dragon's concern. Her calm voice was filled with confidence: "There will be, because I am here."
Haki surged from Hera's body. In this young girl, Dragon saw the qualities of a king. A rare smile touched the corners of his mouth before he transformed into a gust of wind and departed.
Seeing Dragon leave, Genzo came over and asked, "How did the talk go? I felt a sense of joy in that wind."
Hera said, "It went well. I could tell Dragon was interested; he's just going back to discuss it with the others."
With her goal achieved, Hera and the others set sail after a day's stay, heading for their next destination. Smoker was waiting for Hera in Loguetown.
Smoker had been waiting for a long time. Looking at the transformed argo, he couldn't help but think about how his simple curiosity before had led to him being assigned to a position that offended many people.
After a year of traveling and training, Smoker had witnessed the corruption of some Marines, which infuriated his sense of justice. His aggressive style had offended many, but everything was smoothed over in Garp's name.
When they couldn't act openly, they resorted to secret ambushes. After Smoker's whereabouts were leaked to pirates, he endured many tough battles over the year, and his strength had improved significantly.
Seeing Smoker from a distance, Hera greeted him, "Yo, Smoker! You look like you've been living quite a full life."
Smoker smiled bitterly. "My little ancestor, you're not here to find me more work, are you? Thanks to you, I'm already busy beyond belief."
Hera patted his shoulder and said, "Don't mind that. I'm here to help you now. Also, congratulations, you're getting a promotion."
Then, Hera took out an appointment letter from Headquarters. "Look, it says here that you're to be the Vice Minister of the New Navy in the Four Seas."
Smoker took the letter, curious about the New Navy mentioned on it. "What department is this? How many people are in it? I've never heard of it."
Hera pointed to herself and then to Smoker. "The New Navy is right here in front of you."
Smoker was confused by Hera's actions and looked at the appointment letter again. "Minister, Vice Minister... so where are the others?"
Hera spread her hands and shrugged.
Seeing this, a bad premonition welled up in Smoker's heart. He pointed to himself and Hera. "Just the two of us?"
Hera nodded somewhat sheepishly. "Well, it's the founding team. Don't worry, I believe in you. With your wisdom and ability, you'll surely make it big and strong."
Smoker pointed at himself. "Me? Then what are you going to do?"
Hera said, "Exactly. I have more important things to do. Don't worry, I have complete trust in you. I'm sure the New Navy will thrive under your leadership."
Smoker's vision went dark, and he felt a surge of blood pressure, causing him to faint on the spot.
Seeing the unconscious Smoker, Hera remarked emotionally, "Look how excited the kid is. At Headquarters, he'd never find a leader who trusts their subordinates as much as I do. He fainted out of sheer gratitude."
Tashigi stood by, hesitating to speak. She felt that Smoker hadn't fainted from excitement, but looking at the touched expression on Hera's face, she couldn't bring herself to say it.
Watching Smoker being carried away by his subordinates, Hera beckoned Tashigi and asked, "Where's your warehouse? Take me there to have a look."
Tashigi nodded and led Hera to the warehouse, asking as they walked, "Why are we going to the warehouse?"
Hera said, "To leave some funds for you, of course. How can you recruit people without money? Even heroes need to eat. Don't worry, we have plenty of funding."
Upon arriving at the warehouse, gold began to pour out from the City of Devouring Time. Hera only stopped when it had filled nearly half the warehouse.
Then, Hera handed over her Proposal to Tashigi and patted the stunned girl on the shoulder. "This should be enough; I won't give you any more. Just give this to Smoker when he wakes up."
Tashigi gripped the Proposal and asked, "What about you? Aren't you going to give it to him personally?"
Hera shook her head. "No, no. I have other things to do. I'll just check some records and then leave. By the way, have you ever seen the Germa Kingdom while you were in the Four Seas?"
Tashigi nodded. "I have. It's that mobile kingdom in the North Blue, right? We have records of its most recent location here."
After getting the location information, Hera nodded and reiterated, "While in the East Blue, if you feel the clouds look wrong, remember to alert me immediately. If you see a small island in the sky, remember to run away as fast as you can."
Tashigi nodded. This was the second time Hera had warned about the clouds, and Tashigi took note of it.
Hera was also looking forward to the Golden Lion's appearance. Her strength was nearing a bottleneck, and she desperately needed a hearty battle to test her true power.
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