A Plan to Screw Over Just One Person

After going to such great lengths to bring Vice Admiral Aokiji of Marine Headquarters here, they naturally had not invited him merely to watch.

Now that all the preparations were complete, how could they possibly settle for something so perfunctory?

"Vice Admiral Aokiji, although I do not expect you to take action this time, I would still like to trouble you with something. There are so many pirates in the city. Could you use your strength to simply destroy the city gate?" Nova asked.

"That's quite troublesome. It wouldn't be good if our Fleet Admiral found out," Aokiji said lazily.

"You misunderstand, Vice Admiral. I never said I wanted you to hurt anyone. I only want you to help destroy their gate. That should not be too difficult for you, right?" Nova said again.

"With the strength of you people, opening a city gate should not take much effort, should it?"

Aokiji was not stupid, but he could not figure out what exactly was going on. Still, he always felt that this little fellow in front of him was trying to set him up.

Seeing that Aokiji was still hesitating, Nova solemnly instructed Junhe beside him, "From this point on, spare no cost in taking Roa Royal City. When the time comes, leave none of the pirates alive. Kill them all."

"Your Majesty, those civilians..."

"War inevitably brings losses. Since Vice Admiral Aokiji is unwilling, we have no choice but to do this!" Nova said with a sorrowful expression.

"Fine, it's just a gate. I'll help you," Aokiji said helplessly as he listened to Nova and looked at his expression.

He had been eating and drinking well here these past few days. Besides, doing this would not violate anything Fleet Admiral Sengoku had told him before he came.

Destroying a gate was not the same as hurting people. It should not have any particular consequences.

The moment he heard Aokiji agree, a smile immediately bloomed across Nova's face.

He then gave Junhe a look that said, You know what to do. Junhe slowly began retreating backward.

Just as Aokiji was preparing to act, several people not far away were holding Den Den Mushi aimed directly at him.

There was a reason he had the potential to become an Admiral. Aokiji merely pressed one hand against the ground, and frost instantly began spreading toward the gate.

They were roughly a hundred meters from the gate, but that distance was no issue at all for someone about to become an Admiral.

In an instant, the entire gate of Roa Royal City was frozen solid. When the ice shattered, nothing remained that could stop the people of Tru Kingdom.

At the very moment the gate broke apart, more than a hundred members of the King's Guard using Geppo, along with many others moving at high speed, all rushed onto the city walls in an instant.

The civilians who had been held hostage were also rescued immediately.

As for the pirates, not a single one on the city walls survived.

Every scene was recorded by the Den Den Mushi.

This was Nova's plan. Early the next morning, News Coo began delivering reports about the day's events.

And it occupied the newspaper's front page.

The news titled, "South Blue's Roa Kingdom Occupied by Pirates, Marine Headquarters Admiral Candidate Joins Tru Kingdom in Rescue Operation," instantly aroused everyone's curiosity.

Most importantly, the moment when Aokiji used his power to break open Roa Royal City's gate was displayed across an entire photograph in the newspaper.

Whether it was the front-page headline, the content, or the photograph, everything proved the authenticity of the incident.

Especially the photograph of pirates holding civilians hostage, which made the event seem even more genuine.

The reason Nova had done this was to establish a justified basis for occupying Roa Kingdom.

First, pirates had seized Roa Kingdom. Their attack on Roa Kingdom had been solely to rescue the civilians there.

Aokiji's appearance and intervention further enhanced the credibility of the matter.

After all, an Admiral candidate from Marine Headquarters was the best possible proof.

Witnesses, evidence, and the facts of the event were all laid out before everyone. Even if Roa Kingdom had now become Tru Kingdom territory, no one in the outside world would dare voice opposition.

Even the World Government could not openly oppose this matter.

Nova wanted the entire world to know. Otherwise, Junhe could have led men directly into the capital of Roa Kingdom from the very beginning.

They had waited so long solely for this plan to come into play.

Nova had every reason to trust his judgment. No matter whom Marine Headquarters had sent, the final outcome would not have changed.

Even if it had been the notoriously difficult Akainu, what he did might have been a hundred times more complicated than Aokiji's actions—or perhaps even easier to talk through.

As a man who upheld absolute justice within the Marines, Akainu would never allow pirates to use such methods for blackmail.

Now that every objective had been achieved, Aokiji had no idea that he had been used by someone else.

"Lostar, take stock of how much Beli there is in the royal palace of Roa Kingdom. Use all of it for the people of Roa Kingdom afterward," Nova called directly to Lostar behind him as soon as he entered the city gate.

The key was that they had not even taken down the royal capital yet, and he was already calculating how to distribute the money afterward. Even Aokiji, who was usually so lazy, looked at Nova with contempt.

Lostar elegantly walked forward, adjusted his glasses with one hand, and said in a gentlemanly manner, "Rest assured, Your Majesty. I am more than willing to handle such matters."

"The royal capital is already ours for the taking. There should not be any more obstacles. As for the Devil Fruit users in Roa Royal City, Junhe, you are responsible for capturing every last one of them alive. I have great use for them later," Nova said to Junhe.

"Yes, Your Majesty..."

"What do you want those Devil Fruit users for?" Aokiji asked curiously.

"Of course, to execute them. They have cost me several soldiers. Naturally, they must pay the price they deserve," Nova said directly.

However, he did not reveal his true purpose. In this world, there were countless Devil Fruit users. Although no one knew where those Devil Fruits came from, Nova could now at least control the location where the Devil Fruit of a slain Devil Fruit user would reappear.

Ever since obtaining his Space Ability, Nova had been able to control a spatial barrier. Although the area was not particularly large, it was more than enough overall.

Aokiji looked at the little fellow beside him. At only sixteen, Nova had already devised such methods. It was truly unbelievable. Once Aokiji saw the newspaper, he would probably lose his mind.

After arriving in Roa Kingdom and witnessing the fighting methods of Tru Kingdom's army, what shocked Aokiji most was that these people trained almost entirely around the Marine Six Styles. Beyond that, their combat coordination was far stricter than that of the Marines.

A person who could develop such a broken-down country to this extent in just two or three years... Aokiji truly could not imagine what this little fellow would become once he grew up.

What intrigued him even more, and the main reason he had stayed by Nova's side, was his desire to understand exactly how Nova knew so much about Marine Headquarters and the New World.

The people of Roa Kingdom did not resist as much as expected. Especially the civilians within the royal city, some of whom even danced and celebrated Nova leading his troops to liberate them.

After all, in order to prepare thoroughly for this, he had spent a great deal of money printing Tru Kingdom leaflets so that every person could understand the benefits they would receive after becoming citizens of Tru Kingdom.

Although Roa Kingdom was not part of the World Government's allied nations, the World Government still paid close attention to the situation in South Blue in certain respects.

Once Tru Kingdom absorbed Roa Kingdom, it would become the largest country in all of South Blue in one stroke.

However, with Roa Kingdom in its current state, no one knew how long it would take for it to recover.

At the very least, turning it into what Tru Kingdom was now would likewise take nearly more than two years.

The main reason was that its population and land area were considerably larger than Tru Kingdom's.

"Mr. Aokiji, what do you think after seeing the soldiers of my Tru Kingdom today?"

Nova asked Aokiji as they walked.

Within this city of Roa Kingdom, the two of them walked as though they were in their own country, without the slightest sense of discord.

Aokiji was taken aback. He had not expected this little fellow to ask him such a question.

Indeed, he had come specifically to investigate Tru Kingdom's military. What he had discovered this time had already surprised him. The Marine Six Styles seemed to be used with greater proficiency here, and their training methods appeared more effective than those of the Marines.

After thinking for a moment, Aokiji leisurely said, "They're quite good. I hope you can maintain order in this region and ensure that pirates no longer appear in South Blue. That would be your greatest achievement."

"You can rest assured about that. At least within the territory under my jurisdiction, such things will not happen," Nova said.

"Oh dear, after encountering something this complicated, how should I report it when I return to Marine Headquarters?" Aokiji asked with a troubled expression.

"What would be wrong with simply telling the truth?" Nova asked curiously.

"Didn't you say it yourself before? Once you merge Roa Kingdom into Tru Kingdom, the World Government will definitely send people to observe you. The Cipher Pol you know about may also come to your country," Aokiji said.

"That is what you are worried about? There is no need to be so concerned. At least in our South Blue country, there is nothing worth the World Government's attention. At most, they will want us to join the World Government. Unless something unusual happens, joining is fine. It would not cause our country any losses anyway."

Nova spoke with a smile.

"I remember you weren't saying that two days ago. Who was it that said joining the World Government meant serving those Celestial Dragons and paying Celestial Gold, which could make their own country's people suffer even more?"

Aokiji closed one eye and glanced sideways at Nova with the other.

"Vice Admiral Aokiji, do you think the Celestial Dragons lack money? Their lives are undoubtedly the most privileged. At least when it comes to money, they definitely have nothing to worry about. When the time comes, giving them a couple of rare items will naturally replace the Celestial Gold," Nova said.

"I really look forward to seeing what you will become in the future, little fellow. I also look forward to seeing how far your country develops. But during that process, I hope you do not cross Marine Headquarters' bottom line. When that time comes, a single country will not be able to protect you," Aokiji said.

"I am not as bored as you think. Staying in this secluded corner is already enough to satisfy me. There is absolutely no need for me to clash with Marine Headquarters," Nova said with a smile.

"That would be for the best."

Aokiji now very much wanted to know what kind of strength this King of Tru possessed. Was he also a Devil Fruit user?

In the week since he had arrived, he had never seen Nova make a move. Nova had acted completely ordinary, and that was exactly what made Aokiji feel something was off.

Without realizing it, the two had followed behind the army all the way to the gates of Roa Kingdom's royal palace.

They had not encountered any resisting troops along the way, aside from some pirates causing trouble.

However, by the time they reached the palace, nearly all of those troublesome pirates had been captured, including the Devil Fruit users among them.

Yet this palace gave everyone a very bad feeling.

Anyone with Observation Haki could sense an extremely evil aura within the palace, as though it should not exist in this world at all.

"Do you feel it?" Nova asked Aokiji beside him with a solemn expression.

"Of course I do. I have a very bad feeling about this."

Aokiji put away his lazy demeanor and answered with the same solemnity.

"Junhe, have everyone withdraw immediately. Without my order, no one is to approach within five hundred meters of the royal palace. Put everyone on the highest alert. Stay completely focused."

Nova shouted tensely at Junhe, who stood not far away. Then he looked at Lostar and said in a low voice, "Lostar, arrange for the civilians in the city to evacuate. Do it as quickly as possible. You must handle this matter properly."