The next day, the World Economic Journal was published once again.
The headlines were, once again, absolutely shocking.
[Over 300 arrested within the World Government, including numerous high-ranking officials.]
[Sean Campbell, the only son of the Campbell family and the youngest Commodore in the Marine, is to receive 30 billion Belly in compensation.]
[The Five Elders have issued a public apology, stating that supervision will be strengthened to ensure such an incident never happens again.]
[The World Government's unusual reaction is due to...]
[Sean Campbell enters the top ten of the East Blue's richest list; Fleet Admiral Sengoku is practically drooling.]
After reading today's edition, everyone was stunned. The World Government's response was beyond anyone's expectations. People everywhere were shouting that it was impossible—completely impossible!
And yet, this seemingly impossible scenario had actually happened.
Even Sean was a bit bewildered. This was a far cry from the result he had anticipated.
"Commodore, news from Headquarters. Six officers are scheduled to report to the 16th Branch in one month. All of them are field-grade officers!"
"What?"
That old man Sengoku was assigning him six field-grade officers? No matter how you looked at it, this was abnormal.
In the East Blue, with the exception of a few rare branches, most usually only had a single Commander or Captain serving as the Branch Chief. Even Loguetown, a Second-Class Branch, only had one Captain, one Commander, and two Lieutenant Commanders.
Sean's own setup was already an over-specification with a Commodore and a Captain. For Sengoku to send six more field-grade officers was simply unheard of.
More importantly, why did it feel like Lucci was slightly excited while reporting this?
"Lucci, did Headquarters provide the files for these six?"
"They've been faxed over!" Lucci replied, handing over a folder.
It had just arrived via Den Den Mushi fax. One had to admit, Den Den Mushi were truly miraculous things.
The moment Sean looked at the files, he was dumbfounded.
'Do they think I haven't read the original story?'
These were Marine officers? They were clearly CP9 agents!
He looked at the six names:
Commander Kaku!
Commander Jabra!
Lieutenant Commander Kalifa!
Lieutenant Commander Kumadori!
Lieutenant Commander Fukuro!
Lieutenant Commander Blueno!
'Now I know why you sounded so excited, Lucci...'
"Lucci, are you sure these are Marine officers?"
"Yes, Commodore. Because they were implicated in the Spandine incident, they are no longer employed by CP9. However, the World Government didn't want to waste such combat power, so they were transferred into the Marine."
"Meaning, these people were your former colleagues?"
"Yes, Commodore. I can vouch for their strength; they are all superhuman level."
Well, things were getting stranger by the minute. What on earth was the World Government planning? None of this sounded like the Five Elders' usual style.
"Commodore, there is one more thing."
"What is it?"
"Previously, you ordered a squad of Marines to search the entirety of Lava Island."
"Right, that's correct. Any findings?"
"Yes. Word just came in that they found a very hidden cave. Inside that cave is a secret room made of steel. Although they are still cataloging the assets, preliminary estimates suggest the treasure in the room is no less than ten billion Belly."
Good grief, Don Krieg really did have a massive hoard. No wonder he could maintain a grand fleet of fifty ships and support thousands of pirates in the original story.
If we call it ten billion, and the World Government is compensating him with thirty billion, plus the ships and assets he seized from the Black Cat Pirates and Don Krieg's crew... did he now have over forty billion Belly?
For his initial development, that was more than enough.
Sean pulled out a Den Den Mushi and dialed immediately.
'Purupurupuru...'
"This is Sengoku!"
"Old man Sengoku, it's me!"
"Sean! I've heard about what you did in the East Blue. Not bad!"
"That's not important. What's important is that I need to request some things from Headquarters."
"Oh? Like what?"
"I want various equipment of the same specification as the Elite Training Camp, three medium warships, one large warship, and 500 sets of the Marine's latest standard-issue gear."
"You brat! You want to build a training camp at the 16th Branch? And you want four warships—including a large one? Do you have any idea how much that costs?!"
Sengoku was instantly infuriated. This kid clearly didn't understand the value of a cent.
A large warship alone cost 200 million Belly for the hull, not including the cannons, ammunition, and other fittings. By the time it was fully equipped, it would easily push toward 300 million. Even Marine Headquarters only had a few dozen of those; the bulk of the Marine's fleet strength was built around medium warships.
And Sean had asked for three of those as well. While not as expensive as a large warship, a fully equipped medium warship still cost over a hundred million Belly.
Not to mention the equipment matching the Elite Training Camp. Adding everything up, it wouldn't be settled for less than three billion Belly.
However, Sean's answer to Sengoku consisted of only three words, and those three words completely silenced the Fleet Admiral.
"I have money!!!"
Only then did Sengoku remember that Sean was genuinely wealthy. In fact, he might even have more liquid reserves than Marine Headquarters.
Thirty billion Belly!
Spending three billion to play around... actually didn't seem that exaggerated for him.
"Also, old man Sengoku, I plan to put another two billion Belly into reconstructing the 16th Branch."
"Since I'm supporting the Marine this much, don't you think it's a bit inappropriate for the 16th Branch to remain a Third-Class Branch?"
"I think Second-Class Branch is more fitting. What do you say, old man?"
A comprehensive training camp, one Commodore, one Captain, two Commanders, and four Lieutenant Commanders, supported by one large warship and four medium warships... not to mention spending two billion to rebuild the base—it would practically become a small fortress.
Sean's claim that a Third-Class designation was no longer appropriate actually made sense.
'Wait! I haven't agreed to any of this yet!!!'
Sengoku suddenly snapped back to his senses, realizing he had almost been talked into a corner by Sean.
"Old man Sengoku, you have to look at the long term. I can't stay at the 16th Branch forever, right?"
"In the future, even if I leave the East Blue for the Grand Line or even the New World, the 16th Branch isn't exactly something you can just pack up and move. In the end, everything I build here will belong to you, right?"
"What do you mean 'belong to me'? It belongs to the Marines!!"
"Fine, fine, it's the Marines'! So you see, no matter how extravagant I get, I'm still contributing to the Marines in the end, aren't I?"
That... actually sounded reasonable.
After all, Sengoku hadn't intended to keep Sean in the East Blue for long—two years at most.
Although Sean's pitch had piqued his interest, Sengoku couldn't simply agree on the spot. If he did, where would that leave his dignity as Fleet Admiral?
"I can't give you an answer immediately. I'll need to discuss this internally first."
"That's fair, but please hurry. I might lose my enthusiasm in a few days and decide I don't want to do it anymore."
"You little brat... just you wait!!"
After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Sean was in high spirits. He wasn't worried about Sengoku refusing; from any perspective, this arrangement was beneficial for the Marines.
Moreover, the revamped 16th Branch would serve as the perfect place to cultivate his own inner circle before he moved on to a bigger stage.
'''
Three days later.
With everything on Lava Island settled, the remaining few hundred pirates that the prison ship couldn't accommodate were handed over to other branches. The warship set sail once again.
"Lucci, based on our current position, we should be pretty close to Foosha Village, right?"
"Yes, less than a day's sail away."
"Good. Next stop: Foosha Village. We're going to kidnap a few people and bring them back to the 16th Branch!"
"Kid... kidnap people?"
Lucci was momentarily stunned.