Pirates Who Committed Crimes

They held meetings all morning, while the people outside watched all morning as well. This time, every issue brought up for discussion involved the people's tangible interests.

Yet the meeting content that was actually broadcast was mostly insignificant. What truly needed greater communication were the matters that could not be aired.

Before this public meeting, many people had already begun researching a number of issues, most of them involving military and political matters, as well as discussions of problems that might arise or were already being faced in the future.

Most of these matters concerned theories on the current political situation throughout the Pirate World and military strengthening.

It had only been half a month or so since the Roa Kingdom merged into the Tru Kingdom, yet the military and political systems of both sides had already been fully integrated. As for how many people had cooperated in the process, that was unknown.

But one thing was certain now: Junhe had begun searching through the entire military for soldiers with strong physical abilities and suitable potential for training, having them all train according to the National Guard's methods.

In just a few years, the Tru Kingdom would likely be able to stand proudly above the entire South Blue.

Although they could already achieve that now, they were not in such a hurry. Building up their strength was the most crucial matter.

At present, the Tru Kingdom had roughly 500,000 soldiers, but there were not many who could truly meet the criteria for selection into the National Guard. Even so, ten thousand people would be more than enough.

In a single day of meetings, they had nearly finalized the future structure. The people had also genuinely felt their nation's prosperity, and they spared no effort in fully cooperating with the directives issued from above.

In the time that followed, the Tru Kingdom virtually entered an era of industrial production.

But during that period, there was another matter that needed to be dealt with.

It was the pirate Devil Fruit users they had encountered when the Tru Kingdom conquered the Roa Kingdom.

Three days after the meeting ended.

Nova met Junhe, the captain of the National Guard, alone in the royal palace hall. This meeting was to be kept absolutely confidential.

It was not the meeting itself that needed to be kept secret, but rather the content of their conversation. Not a single word could be allowed to leak out.

"Junhe, how are those pirate Devil Fruit users being handled?" Nova asked calmly as he stood beside Junhe.

"Your Majesty, they are all currently imprisoned in the Royal City prison. Each of them has been fitted with a suppression collar. This subordinate can guarantee that there will be absolutely no trouble," Junhe replied respectfully.

"Have you finished investigating their Devil Fruit abilities?" Nova asked again.

"They have all been identified, Your Majesty. Please review this document."

Junhe respectfully took a sheet of paper from his pocket. It was densely packed with information, covering nearly every captured pirate Devil Fruit user and the nature of their Devil Fruit abilities.

After reading for quite some time, Nova could not help sighing. "Seventeen Devil Fruit users! Where did the West Blue get so many of them?"

"Your Majesty, this subordinate has interrogated them about this matter. Several acquired theirs through auctions, while the rest obtained them through luck or by taking them from others," Junhe said.

"Tomorrow, secretly bring all of them to the hidden chamber behind the mountain. No unrelated person is to see the process!"

Nova's expression suddenly turned stern.

"Yes, Your Majesty..."

Though Junhe did not understand why, he did not ask. He could only follow Nova's orders.

As Nova looked at the Devil Fruit abilities of the seventeen people on the list, some were indeed rather useful, but most were virtually useless Devil Fruits.

The best among them was probably the Paramecia Rock-Rock Fruit.

Its ability could turn everything its user touched into stone. For the nation's future infrastructure, this would be almost critically important.

As for the other Devil Fruit abilities, few of them were worth Nova's attention.

But in terms of combat power, these Devil Fruits were not entirely worthless. Each had its own unique value.

For the Tru Kingdom—or for Nova—Devil Fruits within the country were not particularly scarce. They had already found six Devil Fruits in the former Roa King's Palace. Though their quality was not especially high, it was still quite impressive overall.

Nova's idea was simple: turn all these Devil Fruits into the nation's strength. Every Devil Fruit had its own unique value and could naturally be put to use.

More than a dozen Devil Fruits—even for a nation on the Grand Line, possessing so many at once was already quite extravagant, let alone in the Four Blues.

Nova looked over the list in his hand once more. If these things were converted into Beli, they could make the nation wealthy for quite some time.

But what they lacked now was not money, but strength for their plans for the future.

Early the next morning, Junhe led a group of guards and secretly transferred all seventeen pirate Devil Fruit users to the mountain behind the palace. No one would ever come to this place behind the royal palace. Though there were no guards, the only path there ran through the palace grounds.

Nova did not arrive until noon. Some of the pirates had already been scared out of their wits, no longer possessing their former swagger and arrogance.

This so-called hidden chamber behind the palace mountain was merely built inside a karst cave, and the area below was extremely spacious. Even ten thousand people could fit inside without issue.

When Nova arrived, Junhe and the others immediately bowed in salute. As for the restrained pirates, they could only become lambs awaiting slaughter.

They had no ability to resist and could only remain there obediently.

All seventeen of them were tied to ropes, with suppression collars around their necks. There was no possibility of escape.

None of them took the crimes they had committed against the Tru Kingdom seriously. Now, they only struggled to stay alive.

Nova nodded to Junhe and the others, then looked at the restrained pirates with a faintly mocking smile.