"When did you CP0 become Tesoro's dogs?!!!"
Sakazuki crushed the cigar in his hand. The grim expression beneath his Marine cap was exposed as he glared viciously at Rob Lucci across from him.
"This is not for Tesoro, but for the mission—for the balance between Saint Austin and the World Government, and for the underground-world interests they have established together.
"After the Doflamingo incident, that system has already suffered a severe blow."
Lucci slowly removed the mask from his face. Even before the coldest Fleet Admiral, his expression did not change.
"The World Government needs Tesoro's money to maintain its basic operations and the Celestial Gold of the Celestial Dragons."
"You wouldn't want the Marines' budget to fall short either..."
"..."
Sakazuki fell silent. Billowing magma rose from his clenched fist, reducing the crushed cigar to ashes.
Bastard...
Though he was furious about this, Sakazuki had no choice but to admit that there was nothing he could do.
As Fleet Admiral and one of the World Government's senior figures, he naturally knew some things about the underground world.
After Austin took control of the underground world, he had once held a meeting on the Sabaody Archipelago, and the Marines had been responsible for maintaining order at the time.
To put it bluntly, they had been there to guard the venue.
After that meeting, order in the underground businesses improved greatly, and the World Government benefited as well. The Celestial Dragons had Celestial Gold to squander, while the World Government had money for governance and operations.
Austin's direct subordinates, Doflamingo and Tesoro, had also seen the enormous profits in this system.
That was why they had used business to tie themselves to the World Government, to a certain extent.
This was also why the World Government chose to provide a degree