"Sorry, Shiki. For certain reasons, I can't personally take action right now."
"But don't worry. As long as I stay out of it, the World Government's Holy Knights can't leave Mary Geoise either. If the Holy Knights join the fight, I'll follow them in."
In Lind's office on Oran Island, Lind patiently explained the situation to Shiki over the Den Den Mushi.
"Also, although the Oran Empire's public personnel can't move, I can arrange for some powerful fighters to conceal their identities and support your operation."
"And the Oran Empire's Intelligence Department and the World Economy News Paper will both cooperate fully and provide the support you need."
Given Lind's usual approach, he would certainly find a way to get involved in the coming free-for-all. As long as it meant going against the World Government, he would definitely lend a hand.
At the same time, Lind also wanted to use the chaos to secretly bring more countries under his control, increasing his strength and resources.
He even planned to look for an opportunity to raid their home turf and see whether he could make a haul in Mary Geoise. Collecting devil fruits was becoming increasingly difficult for him.
Caesar still hadn't made any progress with artificial devil fruits, either. The best way to obtain more devil fruits remained finding a way to fleece those filthy-rich Celestial Dragons.
The massive haul of devil fruits Rocks had obtained during his invasion of Mary Geoise had left Lind envious for a long time.
But the Holy Knights and Imu were stationed in Mary Geoise. Luck and Kuld's Door-Door Fruit had both been crucial to the success of Rocks's operation.
If Lind wanted to follow Rocks's example with a similar operation, he would need some finesse and careful, long-term planning.
"Jihahahaha! Then let me