Sengoku put the remaining half piece of Senbei into his mouth, chewed it twice, and swallowed it.
"But if Calamity doesn't intervene, he will get bigger and bigger. He's just doing trade now, but what about the future? All members of the Heavenly Army in his hand can fly, and no Blue Sea army has the ability to fight it at high altitude. If he attacks on a whim one day, we won't even have room to fight back."
Sora was silent for a while.
"So we can't move. If we move, we will force him to take action. The fact that he is not moving now means that his goal is not to fight. He is building a country, not to destroy World Government. As long as he does not take the initiative to attack World Government's facilities, rob Heavenly Tribute, and does not expand Blue Sea's territory, we will treat him as if he does not exist."
Sengoku put Den Den Mushi's microphone back on the body. Den Den Mushi's eyes blinked, closed, and retracted into the casing.
He leaned back in his chair and stared at the lamp on the table for a long time. The wick was burning quietly in the glass cover, and there was a light blue halo around the edge of the flame.
He stretched out his hand and lowered the wick. The light dimmed, and the shadows in the office spread out from the corners, swallowing up the documents piled on the table and the charts hanging on the wall bit by bit.
The attitude of World Government's senior management towards the Heavenly Kingdom is roughly the same as that of Marine Headquarters, but with an added layer of deeper fear.
Five Elders discussed this issue in Room of Authority. The discussion didn't take long, but the conclusion was very clear - don't take the initiative to contact, don't take the initiative to provoke, don't take the initiative to admit.
Three "non-initiatives" were written on a piece of paper and sent by the CP0 commissioner to relevant departments in the Holy Land Mary Geoise as the highest principle for handling all matters related to the Heavenly Kingdom.
Garling was extremely dissatisfied with this. He slapped the table several times at God's Knights's internal meetings, saying that Annus was the protector of the Davy Clan and the host of Lunarians. He was a hidden danger to the world and would cause big problems sooner or later if it was not eliminated.
But Five Elders ignored him. It was not that they disagreed with his judgment, but that they had more important things to worry about.
Rocks's "Abyss" has already extended its tentacles into the interiors of several Affiliated Nations of New World. If we don't find a way to cut off those tentacles, World Government's prestige will begin to be shaken from the foundation.
The opinions of the islands of the Blue Sea towards the Heavenly Kingdom are far less complicated than those of World Government.
In the shipbuilding workshop of Water 7, craftsmen have begun to try to use Breath Dial and Heat Dial of Sky Island in the construction of ships.
A cargo ship with six Breath Dial embedded in the bottom of the ship can sail much faster than an ordinary sailing ship on windless seas. It no longer needs to wait for the wind to come.
A fishing boat equipped with Heat Dial in the cabin. The fish caught can be dried directly on the boat and can be dried without docking.
Dried fish can be made by hand, greatly extending the time for sea operations.
These technologies were initially only tried by a few brave ship owners. Later, when they saw that the results were really good, they spread them to other countries.
According to legend, in less than half a year, nearly half of the Water 7 shipbuilding orders required the installation of the Dial Energy system.
At the auction of Sabaody Archipelago, shellfish products from Sky Island occasionally appear.
The quality of those shells is generally not as good as those sold at the Heavenly Kingdom official trading station, but the price has increased several times. Because the supply is unstable, one is worth one.
Where there is demand, there is a market, and when there is a market, there are people who will take desperate risks.
Some brave pirates began to think of going directly to Sky Island to rob it, but before their ship could reach High West, they were intercepted by the patrols of Heaven's Gate riding Sky Shark.
As for what to do after interception, it depends on the situation.
Have a good attitude, confiscate the weapon, give a warning, and rush back to the Blue Sea.
Those with a bad attitude will be detained along with the person and boat, and imprisoned in Heavenly Prison below God's Island. They will be dealt with after the Heavenly Kingdom and the official organization of a certain island in the Blue Sea have established formal contact.
There were more and more pirates in Heavenly Prison, so God Guard, who managed Heavenly Prison, had to apply to Diumil to expand the prison cell.
On the basis of the original cells, two more floors were dug down. The walls of the two floors of cells were built with cloud boards and embedded with sea towers.
Stone powder to prevent those with abilities from escaping from prison.
In Gaya Island's tavern, when the sailors were drinking and bragging, the topic turned to the Heavenly Kingdom more and more frequently.
Some people said that he heard the old pirate teach Blue Sea Trade Practices in Angel Island's class. Some of the content the old pirate taught was wrong, but most of the content was very practical. He relied on that knowledge to save a lot of berthing fees at a certain port.
Someone said that he had seen a young man in dark gray robes at the Water 7 trading post. The young man didn't talk much, but he always got to the point every time he spoke, and the shipowners were all willing to do business with him.
No one knows that young man is Dragon, and no one knows that he is the son of Garp.
Dragon lived in Water 7's trading post for nearly half a year.
What he does every day is very monotonous - he gets up in the morning to count inventory, contacts visiting businessmen in the morning, handles accounts in the afternoon, and reports the day's transactions to Annus using Long-Distance Den Den Mushi in the evening.
Water 7's businessmen gradually became accustomed to his existence. Some asked him where he came from, some asked him what he did before, and some asked him why he stopped serving in the army.
But he didn't answer any of the questions about his past.
It's not that he doesn't want to answer, it's that he doesn't know how to answer. He can't tell anyone because he's in the killing game of Celestial Dragons
He saved a pair of babies, was rescued by a pirate, stayed on that pirate's ship for several months, finally returned to the navy and resigned, went to Land of Endless War to fight for three years, and now manages a trading post for that pirate in Water 7.
If he said these words, people listening would probably think he is crazy.
So he chose silence. Silence saves trouble, silence is safe, and silence will not cause trouble for himself and Annus.
The location of the trading post for Sabaody Archipelago is much more difficult than that for Water 7.
The land price of Sabaody Archipelago is so expensive that when Marcus heard the price quoted by the local agent for the first time, he almost threw away the Square-Headed Hammers in his hand.
The land on the archipelago is divided into districts. Numbers 1 to 29 are commercial areas and human trafficking markets, numbers 30 to 59 are playgrounds and sightseeing areas, and numbers 60 to 69 are garrison areas for navy and government personnel.
Dragon is interested in an old warehouse near the sea near No. 29. It is located at the junction of the business district and the amusement park, some distance from the naval garrison area, and not far from the main berth of the port.
The walls of the warehouse are made of Resin Bricks, a specialty product of Sabaody Archipelago, and the surface of the bricks has an amber-like luster.
When sunlight passes through the wall, it will cast a warm yellow soft halo indoors.
It took Dragon nearly two months to negotiate for this warehouse. The agent was a veteran who had been working in Sabaody Archipelago for more than 20 years. He was sharp-tongued and shady, and the price he quoted was nearly double the actual value.
Dragon was not in a hurry. He left after negotiating the price every time. He did not counter-offer or say he would not buy. He just said he would come back in a few days.
I went there five or six times, and each time the agent's quotation was lower. When the last quotation was made, Dragon took out a Energy-Storage Dial from his pocket and put it on the table, saying that it was worth half of the rent.
The agent picked up Energy-Storage Dial and looked at it several times, gritted his teeth and nodded.
On the day Sabaody Archipelago's trading post opened, there was a long queue at the door. There were pirates who had returned from New World, businessmen from all over the world, brokers who were doing intermediary business in Sabaody Archipelago, and a few men in black suits and sunglasses standing on the outside of the queue, with their hands in their pockets, looking here expressionlessly.
The men in black stood at the entrance of the trading post for a long time, neither queuing nor leaving, just standing there like a few wooden stakes nailed to the roadside.
Marcus squatted at the door of the warehouse, with two Square-Headed Hammerss placed at his feet. He squinted at the men in black, removed his hand from the hammer handle, took out a piece of Sky Fish, tore it in half, stuffed half of it into his mouth, and put the other half back in his pocket.
The man in black stood for about half an hour and then left. Dragon walked out of the warehouse and stood next to Marcus, watching the backs of the men in black disappear at the corner of the street.
"CP's people."
Marcus spit out the dried bones of Sky Fish from his mouth.
"I know. They've been here several times, and every time they stand at the door and watch for a while before leaving."
Dragon put his hand in his pocket and pressed his thumb on the casing of the Long-Distance Den Den Mushi sub-body. He could feel that the surface of the casing was slightly heated due to body temperature.
"They are collecting intelligence... I mean roughly. Soon they will go back and write a report, which will be sent to the headquarters of Cipher Pol, and the headquarters will then send it to Mary Geoise."
"Then what should we do?" Marcus stood up from the ground.
"Nothing needs to be done... Master Annus said that he will arrange everything properly."
Marcus grinned and turned Square-Headed Hammers around on his shoulder. The hammer head brushed the edge of the warehouse door frame, leaving a shallow scratch on the door frame.
"Okay. I'll listen to you."
After the opening of Sabaody Archipelago's trading station, the circulation speed of the Heavenly Kingdom's shell products in the Blue Sea was much faster than before.
The trading station of Water 7 is mainly for small and medium-sized merchant ships coming from the first half of Grand Line and from all over the world, while the trading station of Sabaody Archipelago is for large ships preparing to enter New World and the fleet returning from New World.
The owners of these large ships have much more money in their pockets than the captains of small and medium-sized commercial ships, and their demand for shellfish products is also much greater.
A Energy-Storage Dial sells for the same price at Water 7, but can be sold for nearly twice the price at Sabaody Archipelago, because the fleet returning from New World has a more urgent need for energy during the long voyage. Spend a little more money to buy a Energy-Storage Dial, and you can get it at Calm Belt.
It will last for a few more days.
The fleets returning from New World brought not only money to the trading station, but also news.
Dragon pieced together New World's latest power structure bit by bit from the mouths of these ship owners and sailors. Whitebeard's territory has expanded again, Kaido's Beasts Pirates has taken root in Wano Country. The terrain of Land of Samurai is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Although Kaido's power there is not expanding rapidly, every time a nail is pulled out, it becomes stronger.
Charlotte·Linlin's Totto Land is also taking shape. Her children are increasing, each with good combat power. The islands she conquered have been transformed into dessert-themed towns. The residents in the towns have changed from initial fear to habits, and from habits to an almost numb obedience.
Dragon used Long-Distance Den Den Mushi to send these messages one by one to Annus. After listening, Annus made no comment, just said "I understand" and then hung up.
Dragon didn't understand why Annus reacted so coldly to these news at first, but later figured it out, Annus is in the sky, and Heavenly Kingdom's territory is the sky, not the sea.
New World No matter how fierce those forces fight, they can't reach the sky.
Annus doesn't need to care about who occupies which island or who robs which route. He only needs to care about whether Heavenly Kingdom's people have food to eat, whether Heavenly Kingdom's behemoths can be sold, and whether Heavenly Kingdom's flag can be recognized in more ports.
The Heavenly Kingdom flag is indeed being recognized in more and more ports.
When the dock workers at Water 7 saw the flag with gold patterns on a white background, they knew that the ship without sails was carrying Breath Dial and Heat Dial. When unloading, they should handle it with care and do not drop it.
When Sabaody Archipelago merchants saw that flag, they knew that the goods sold in the old warehouse near the sea were genuine, the prices were fair, and they would not be shortchanged.
Gaya Island When the tavern owner saw that flag, he knew that the guests coming in came from the sky, had gold in their pockets, were generous with their money, and would not cause trouble even if they were drunk.
The name of the Heavenly Kingdom was engraved into the memory of Blue Sea people little by little.
In addition to visible goods, there are also invisible things that quietly flow during the fleet's journey back and forth.
Language and writing were the first to get mixed up.
Secondly, the church culture of Birka was brought to the Blue Sea in this wave of exchanges.
Birkan Godfather Tradition, which has been passed down from generation to generation, has aroused a lot of interest among the Blue Sea businessmen who are curious about Sky Island.
Someone asked, what are the rules for recognizing a godfather, what gifts need to be prepared, and whether the relationship between the godfather and the godson is considered a relative.
The old monks of Birka answered one by one in the slow and solemn tone they used when answering questions from believers in church. After answering, they would add, "This is just our Birkan habit. You Blue Sea people don't have to follow it."
But those businessmen still did it. Some recognized the old monk Birka as their godfather, and some entrusted their children in the Blue Sea to their Sky Island friends they met in Angel Island to be their godsons. As time went by, there was something deeper than business between Birka and Water 7.
Medical knowledge is also exchanged.
Skypiean has a large demand for the Blue Sea's medicines, because although the environment of Keratin Particles can produce a huge body size, it also causes some diseases that are extremely rare in the Blue Sea to frequently occur in Skypiean.
In addition to the common Quinine and Iodine Tincture, the medicine box Dragon purchased from Water 7 also contained several battlefield first aid manuals leaked from Marine Branch.
The cover of the manual has been wrinkled by seawater, but the illustrations on the inside pages are still clear, depicting the direction of human bones, the location of arteries, and the correct way to tie a tourniquet.
Several copies of these manuals were copied by Lilith and distributed to various Island Cloud medical clinics.
In exchange, Skypiean taught the doctors from the Blue Sea the medicinal knowledge of shellfish accumulated over generations.