Ian Novoa

Sabaody Archipelago.

Compared to the long period of collapse and chaos, a new order has been re-established in just a few months.

This is all because of one man, Ian Novoya, the newly arrived Commodore, who is now the de facto ruler of the Sabaody Archipelago.

Whether openly or covertly, none dared to offend Ian Novoya. Those who had offended him had either been destroyed or suppressed, and the remaining forces dared not cross Novoya's brow.

After order was restored, the Sabaody Archipelago began to prosper again, a situation that pleased the World Government, and no one in the Navy could do better than Novoya.

After all, stability and order are what they need. Even though Novoya has taken actions that touch a nerve with the Navy but are legal, they tacitly accept them and pretend not to see them.

Even if it's a complaint, it's not a big deal for Novoya. First, he hasn't committed any major mistakes, and second, he's already established a relationship with the World Government.

Novoya focused on his daily training and developing his Devil Fruit abilities. After things stabilized in the Sabaody Archipelago, he didn't take action very often, unless chaos broke out somewhere or some arrogant pirate caused trouble.

Since joining the Navy, in order to avoid being exposed, Novoya has not contacted the Night Pirates, nor has the Night Pirates contacted him.

There are definitely people in the Navy keeping a close eye on Novoya. Perhaps they don't suspect that Novoya was planted by another force, but they just need to monitor Novoya behavior to see if he goes too far.

Although Novoya's behavior was very measured and open, there was no guarantee that Novoya wouldn't lose control and go too far, and that he could be stopped in time once discovered.

It's important to know that Novoya is currently one of the wealthiest naval officers, with assets exceeding 100 million, and the most accurate intelligence suggests it's over 210 million.

This is the wealth that Novoya amassed in just a few months.

As the saying goes, "One who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and one who stays near ink gets stained black." Naturally, a group of his confidants gathered around Novoya, influenced by his style of doing things and his personal charisma.

Following Novoya, life is much better than in the navy. There's extra money, and if you don't squander it easily, you can save up a small fortune.

Of course, it is also necessary to cultivate one's own elite troops. Novoya was aware of this, and he did not leniency towards his subordinates, showing no mercy during training.

Novoya knew that he was a spy planted in the Navy by the Night Pirates, and he didn't actually have much intelligence about the Navy's internal affairs; most of it could probably be obtained by the Night Pirates.

Aside from crucial intelligence at critical moments, he would only have access to it once he truly became a high-ranking officer in the Marine Headquarters.

As a nail, it is essential to be strong on its own, and at the same time, it also needs an army, that is, a Marine Branch.

What if, during wartime, a Marine Branch suddenly rebelled and launched a surprise attack from behind? Or what if it destroyed a naval logistics base?

After all, the Navy has now become self-sufficient. Apart from lacking a source of funding and needing to rely on the World Government's military budget, the Navy has opened up a large amount of farmland and grown a lot of food, which has yielded harvests in the past two years.

In the future, the development of naval food bases will be further expanded.

After all, compared to ordinary people, the navy has a great advantage in planting, and is more efficient. It is very easy for them to spare a group of people every once in a while.

Treating this as part of the training program can ultimately lead to a sense of accomplishment and, in turn, enhance the cohesion of the navy.

The results are already evident, and the Navy will certainly invest even more.

The Navy is undergoing internal reforms and changes, Novoya can even foresee the potential future impact of these changes. It is foreseeable that the Navy is restoring its strength and becoming stronger.

From his perspective, although the Night Pirates didn't contact him, he didn't take the initiative to contact Night Pirates either. After all, before joining the Navy, he had a Den Night Pirates (Den Den Mushi) to contact the Dark Night Pirates, and he also knew the location of the Night Pirates' spies in the first half of the Grand Line.

Novoya also recorded what he saw, the changes in the navy, and his own speculations about the future in great detail, although it may not have much practical use.

He will wait for the right opportunity to send out the intelligence. As for when that opportunity will be, it will be when the Navy returns to the New World.

After all, the naval forces in the New World are nothing to fear compared to pirates, with their highest combat strength consisting of only one Marine Vice Admiral.

Two or three years is not enough time for the navy to recover its strength, but Novoya could feel the thriving and positive atmosphere within the navy, and the overall atmosphere was excellent.

He never expected the Navy to recover in such a short time. He joined the Navy before its lowest point, a fact that Novoya could clearly understand, and had experienced firsthand.

With the concerted efforts of the naval leadership and the entire navy, the navy was able to emerge from its slump. After all, the predicament the navy faced at the time was extremely severe, and the military funding provided by the World Government alone was far from sufficient.

However, losing the four seas also reduced some of the navy's consumption.

Even after emerging from the trough, it took two years. Now, the navy has only recently recovered, and despite efforts, it has only mastered about 30% of the first half of the Grand Line.

The most important forces are concentrated on protecting the Affiliated Nation and the waters surrounding Affiliated Nation.

After the end of the Golden Sea Battle, the importance of the Affiliated Nation increased significantly compared to the past. Apart from the four sea Affiliated Nation that had broken away from the World Government, the Affiliated Nation in the first half of the Grand Line also became more assertive.

Their voice at Reverie has been greatly enhanced.

This was clearly evident at the Reverie that just ended.

However, with the gradual recovery of naval power, the Navy will intensify its efforts to combat pirates in the coming days.

This was all predictable; it was intelligence Novoya obtained from within the Navy, and many outsiders also made similar speculations based on the changing situation and the recovery of naval power.

In fact, the navy has kept a low profile for the past two or three years, focusing on rebuilding its strength in addition to protecting Affiliated Nation.

The slow recovery of the navy's strength is partly due to the World Government. The World Government receives far less Heavenly Gold each year, and with its own financial and economic pressures, it is short of money, so how can it focus its energy on the navy?

Except for the first year, the navy's budget was reduced significantly in the following two years because the navy had seen its own food production efforts yielding results.

The Red Line remains in chaos, with no peace or respite. Unrestrained bloodsucking is causing the population to dwindle and the wealth gained to decrease even in areas still under their control.

Secretly, the Revolutionary Army was also pushing for fierce resistance. Even though the World Government launched a strong crackdown, many people could not endure the brutal rule and left to join the rebels, sparking one rebellion after another.

This places a significant strain on the World Government's finances, even exceeding the amount allocated to the navy.

Large numbers of Red Line inhabitants began to flood into the four seas. The power of man is boundless, and his potential is limitless. The principle that man can conquer nature was revealed and stimulated under pressure.

On the Red Line, there are four "sky ladders" that connect the four seas from top to bottom.

What a magnificent sight it was, with people constantly ascending the heavenly ladder to reach all corners of the world.

This is a road soaked in sweat, and it has come at the cost of countless lives.

It is estimated that the inhabitants of the Red Line suffered more than four million casualties in the creation of this "ladder to heaven," which can be considered a safe passage, and the actual death toll is likely much higher.

Perhaps their actions moved the world, and many folk organizations from all over the world, and even the kingdom's army, spontaneously helped them. In just two years, they built these four ladders from hell to heaven.

Many strong individuals joined the ranks, such as the "Blind Swordsman" Yixiao, who shone brightly in the Kendo Tournament. It was thanks to the help of these strong individuals that these ladders were able to be created in such a short time.

Perhaps the four seas are not paradise in the true sense, but for those who came down from the Red Line, they were no different from paradise.

The Red Line is too chaotic, filled with war and disorder. Even if there are resources, they are controlled by a small number of people, or are being prepared for rebellion.

How many people starved to death? Under such circumstances, even the Revolutionary Army could not protect everyone.

In just over three years, more than 50 million people have died—the legendary paradise—from those who died in battle to those who starved. This is a terrifying number.

The evil of human nature is on full display on the Red Line, which is gradually turning into hell.

The hard red soil is unsuitable for cultivation, and without the abundant resources of the sea, it is difficult to survive.

This is why more and more people are fleeing the Red Line. The Red Line is gradually becoming a battleground between the Revolutionary Army and the World Government, and ultimately, it will become a battlefield between the World Government and the Revolutionary Army.

Because of Dragon's intervention in the Golden Sea Battle, coupled with the World Government's period of decline after the Golden Sea Battle, the Revolutionary Army took this opportunity to intensify the chaos on the Red Line, causing trouble for the World Government.

On the Red Line, the Revolutionary Army is no longer hiding in the shadows. By providing military supplies, resources, and even high-end combat power, they are rebelling against the World Government and gradually moving to the forefront.

Many residents who descended the ladder to heaven wept with joy.

The construction of the Heavenly Ladder was undoubtedly an epic moment, worthy of being recorded in history.

The financial burden far exceeds the amount of Heavenly Gold acquired, and some treasures even need to be sold initially to replenish the treasury.

Meanwhile, the Celestial Dragons continued to maintain the most luxurious lifestyles, enjoying vast amounts of wealth.

Due to the chaos at sea, the World Government has restricted the Celestial Dragons from leaving the Holy Land.

The Celestial Dragons also need to make a living, and their greatest pastime is slavery. With the number of slaves greatly reduced and their resources depleted, the Celestial Dragons urgently need high-quality and large-scale slaves.

The Celestial Dragons cannot live without slaves.

Even though the World Government has encountered some problems, it still wields enormous influence, and the Celestial Dragons remain the Celestial Dragons —this has not changed, and they still hold the highest power.

Although the slave trade suffered some blows, it still had a huge market, and the enormous profits attracted countless slave traders.

Many pirates also worked as slave traders.

The Celestial Dragons, a group with a long history, still maintain a slave culture and are keen on keeping slaves of various races, including humans. As part of this slave culture, slaves kept by the Celestial Dragons are branded with a mark called the "Celestial Dragon Hoof" as proof of their status as "inferior humans."

Regardless of your race, your original status—whether you were a criminal, a merchant, or even a prince—once you were branded by the Celestial Dragons, you would all have only one identity: a slave.

Slaves are the spiritual sustenance of the Celestial Dragons. It is conceivable that although the Celestial Dragons are suppressed by the World Government, a large number of slaves are sent to the Holy Land through various channels.

The Celestial Dragons, on the other hand, desire high-quality slaves of various races.

During this period, Celestial Dragons, who are rarely seen, arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago one after another.

Due to the stability and order of the Sabaody Archipelago, the World Government has relaxed restrictions on the "descending to the mortal realm" of the Celestial Dragons.

The Celestial Dragons, who had been suppressing their desires for so long, each brought plenty of Beli, intending to purchase a large number of slaves in the Sabaody Archipelago to replenish their "stockpile".

This naturally caused quite a bit of trouble, turning the Sabaody Archipelago into chaos, but it was all eventually suppressed and nothing really went wrong.

This was naturally due to the role Novoya played in it, and the reason why the Celestial Dragons were able to come to the Sabaody Archipelago was because Novoya had governed the Sabaody Archipelago very well.

This is why Novoya was chosen by the World Government, and even got in touch with the Celestial Dragons. After all, the Celestial Dragons knew a lot about Celestial Dragons before they went to the Sabaody Archipelago. Over time, Novoya's name came to their ears, and he even became somewhat famous among Celestial Dragons.

Large numbers of slaves were transported to the Sabaody Archipelago and then bought by the Celestial Dragons. The slave traders made a fortune, and the Celestial Dragons' strong purchasing power also elevated the slave trade in the first half of the Grand Line.

Meanwhile, the slave trade across the world began to be suppressed, as the establishment of a new order naturally squeezed out some of the rules of the old order.

"How disgusting!" Novoya thought to himself as he greeted the Celestial Dragons with a smile.

They watched as the Celestial Dragons' troops departed, the World Government's agents protected them, and a large number of slaves locked in cages, wearing slave collars.

There were too many slaves to fit on one ship; two ships were needed.

One can imagine how quickly the Celestial Dragons' slaves were being consumed.

While receiving and protecting the Celestial Dragons, he could also glean some information from them. It was perfectly normal for the Celestial Dragons to kill several slaves a day, sometimes even dozens or hundreds.

Beneath his calm exterior, Novoya harbored a burning rage. He had never forgotten that he too had once been a slave, and if he had been unlucky, he might have ended up in the hands of Celestial Dragons.

"Go back!" Novoya gave the order as the Celestial Dragons' ship disappeared from sight.