The Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
The Top Floor of Panger Castle: the Power Chamber.
The Five Elders and the others were sitting on the sofa in the office, each with a document in hand, constantly flipping through it.
As they read, their expressions grew increasingly gloomy and unnatural, filling the entire office with a repressive atmosphere.
"When Ortolan first arrived in the New World to serve as the commander of the G-5 Marine Base Commander, G-5 was destroyed. Including G-1, the entire New World had less than 40,000 naval Marines. In less than ten years, last year, when he became the governor of the New World Living Dead and declared war on the Whitebeard Pirates, the number of Marines personnel under his command reached 270,720. And this is only what has been investigated so far. After the war, his forces not only did not suffer any losses, but on the contrary, according to our secret investigation at the beginning of this year, the number of Marines personnel in the New World had reached 300,000!" Saint Saturn looked at the report, his tone somber, his face cold as he whispered.
The Five Elders were utterly astonished by the numbers and the report. How did this guy develop so much?!
Especially when compared to the Marine Headquarters' expenditure on Marines spending New World, it becomes even more incomprehensible.
Ortolan commands 300,000 Marines, but in reality, the Marine Headquarters has only supported a total of 100,000 personnel at Marine Base such as G-1, G-12, G7, and G-3 over the years!
The remaining 200,000 troops are mostly supported by Ortolan itself, with a small portion belonging to the troops stationed by various countries within Ortolan's territory, with the local countries bearing the military expenses.
Moreover, of the 300,000- Marines in the entire New World, the Marine Headquarters has only equipped the New World with 70 warships over the years. These warships have all fallen into the hands of Marine Base such as G-1, and are distributed according to the troop distribution of each base.
In other words, of the 200,000 Marines remaining under Ortolan's command, almost none of them had taken a single warship from the Marine Headquarters!
However... this document lists the serial numbers of all Marine warship that have appeared in the New World in the past two years. Apart from the seventy warships that are normally supplied to the headquarters, there are still two hundred and seventy Marines warships that have been exposed in the document!
Is this even reasonable?
How did Ortolan manage to support a fully equipped and elite army of 200,000 men, as well as at least 270 warships that appeared out of nowhere?
Where did he get so much money?!
Previously, the Five Elders suspected that Totto Land Totto Land was providing a continuous stream of economic support to Ortolan. Now it seems impossible; Totto Land cannot afford to support Ortolan like this!
"Under Dressrosa's leadership, the New World Sea Police Force, which has only been developing for less than three years, has fifty combat members... Hmm?" Saint Nashuro was stunned when he read this.
In less than three years, Sea Police Force of 500,000 has been developed? Although judging from the time frame, this is certainly a force with insufficient combat strength, the number is still frightening!
Previously, they wouldn't have taken the Sea Police Force seriously, considering it just a joke. But after Ortolan showed his fangs, everything he did was bound to be more than that. Therefore, the Five Elders could no longer treat the Sea Police Force as a joke.
Because of this, when Saint Nashoulang saw this number, everyone was shocked!
Where did this person come from?!
How did you appear out of nowhere?!
After a brief pause, he continued reading, a look of realization dawning on his eyes. He then said, "Five hundred thousand, of which thirty percent are recruited from the New World, and the remaining seventy percent are from the North Blue. The coast guard force is primarily composed of North Blue people... North Blue..."
As if realizing something, Saint Nashuro asked, "In the past ten years, has the economy of the North Blue been growing steadily, exceeding four and a half times the level of ten years ago? Has the number of North Blue Affiliated Nation also increased by ten in the past ten years? And has no North Blue country gone bankrupt due to the Celestial Gold Degree in the past ten years?!"
Because Saint Nashuro was the God of Finance, he was aware of the economic boom in North Blue and could readily recall the data. However, he hadn't paid much attention to the situation before. Some research reports indicated that North Blue 'North Blue rapid economic development was mainly due to the dramatic changes in the previously chaotic social environment. This led Saint Nashuro to believe that North Blue's economic growth was due to a stable social environment, which unleashed previously pent-up productivity. He predicted that the situation would likely return to normal within fifteen years.
But now it seems that taking Doflamingo into consideration is not so simple!
It is possible that Doflamingo bribed the economic research team in Mary Geoise to investigate the North Blue's economy, so that his understanding of the North Blue's economic development has been wrong for the past ten years or so!
This is indeed possible, because this is not the first time such a thing has happened. The bureaucratic and aristocratic systems within the World Government overlap significantly. Even the Five Elders cannot arbitrarily target them, because these people constitute the power structure of the entire World Government. Consequently, they are not heavily monitored, and internal corruption is rampant.
It's entirely possible that Doflamingo, with all his money and position, could bribe all those responsible for overseeing the development of the North Blue economy.
Furthermore, thinking about it more deeply, these bureaucrats responsible for overseeing the economy of the North Blue are actually from the noble classes of the various North Blue countries. Let alone being bribed, they might actually be in cahoots with Doflamingo!
They had already pledged allegiance to Doflamingo because of the enormous profits from the North Blue. Furthermore, considering Doflamingo's backer, as everyone knows, it was Marine Admiral Ortolan.
With the vast economic power of the North Blue as a guarantee, it's not so hard to understand why Ortolan can support so many elite New World Marines and build so many warships!
Thinking of this, Saint Nashuro expression, "Perhaps we have already lost control of the North Blue. Without realizing it... all these things we've seen in the North Blue and the New World are what Ortolan wanted us to see! We are blind to the true situation here!"
In fact, Saint Nashuro's guess was correct. Currently, the economy of the North Blue is highly intertwined with that of the New World, and the entire New World market is firmly controlled by Ortolan. If Ortolan were to close the New World market today, the economies of all the countries in the North Blue would suffer a heavy blow. Of course, this would also be a great loss to Ortolan, so he would never do such a thing.
But this also proves that the North Blue's elite class, under Doflamingo's infiltration, has already fully sided with the New World. If the Five Elders want to stop the North Blue's trade with the New World, it's like cutting flesh off the North Blue's major noble families, bleeding them dry, and taking their lives!
The nobles of the North Blue will not compromise with them, especially since the military forces of the North Blue have basically sided with the New World.
That's right. From these G-5 Marines, there are two main directions for them to go: one is the Marines headquarters, but there are only so many positions in the Marines headquarters, and even if Ortolan has a wide network of connections, he can't possibly monopolize that position.
The vast majority of the remaining G-5 officers have been assigned to various Marine Base in the North Blue.
Therefore, although Ortolan is the governor and admiral of the New World Marine Admiral, in reality, with a single order, the entire North Blue Marines can launch a purge of the World Government power and change its flag within three days!
From military and economic perspectives, the North Blue and the New World are highly intertwined, essentially achieving a unified whole.
It is precisely because the noble class of the North Blue realized that the military power of the North Blue had long fallen into the hands of that big shot in the New World that they were able to deceive the World Government so recklessly and to side with the New World and with Ortolan without any scruples!
Those who were unwilling to submit to the ruling class of Ortolan had already been thoroughly purged by Ortolan, Doflamingo, and the local nobles in the past ten years.
So on the surface, these territories in the North Blue are safe and sound, paying money to the World Government as required and obeying its arrangements. They do whatever the World Government says, appearing to be loyal territorial waters to the World Government.
But in reality, North Blue has long been Ortolan North Blue!
Among the officers at the major Marine Base in the North Blue, most are from the New World Marines. The two major leaders of the Underworld, the Donquixote Family and Germa 66, have long since surrendered. Nobles from various countries are raking in the profits with Ortolan. People from all countries, whether in handicrafts, manufacturing, or agriculture, have basically enjoyed the economic dividends of the past decade.
How could these people possibly be loyal to the World Government?
These people have long been loyal to Admiral Ben!