Midway through Marineford Era 1505.
The World Government's collection of Heavenly Gold had begun across the world.
The biggest difference from previous years was that in the past, the ones in charge of collecting Heavenly Gold had been agents from Cipher Pol, the World Government's intelligence organization.
But starting this year, the Marines had become the main force responsible for collecting Heavenly Gold.
For reasons unknown, Cipher Pol agents had been reassigned as inspectors overseeing the Marines' missions in the collection of Heavenly Gold. The ones directly dealing with the nations and their people were now Marines from the various branches.
Collecting Heavenly Gold had never been a simple matter. For nations able to pay the full amount, the Marines and Cipher Pol agents would leave once they had taken the Heavenly Gold. But if a nation could not pay in full, the Marines and Cipher Pol would turn into ravenous wolves that devoured everything.
In previous years, this period had always been the most chaotic time in the world. Nations unable to produce the Heavenly Gold either became chickens slaughtered to scare the monkeys, or simply threw caution to the wind and became forces resisting the World Government.
Originally, such matters would not have affected the Marines' normal operations at all. The task of collecting Heavenly Gold and punishing affiliated nations that could not pay had been handled by Cipher Pol agents. In previous years, the Marines had only needed to escort them.
Most people who attacked Heavenly Gold transport ships were pirates, so escort missions naturally fell within the Marines' "scope of business."
But with this year's changes to the mission, the unprepared Marine Headquarters was suddenly left overwhelmed.
Collecting Heavenly Gold was an extremely hate-inducing task, and now the Marines had begun to face that hatred directly.