Time flies.
January 14, 1510 ( Sea Circle Calendar )
On the eve of the Reverie.
Kings of Affiliated Nation from all over the world, as well as high-ranking officers of the Marine Headquarters and the Shichibukai the Sea, were present at the six ports below Mary Geoise.
This naturally includes Rum VII (Joseph) from the Kingdom of Rum in the East Sea.
Meanwhile, on the same side of East Blue Port, in Paradise Port.
The newly appointed Kuzan Fleet Admiral Sengoku, the newly promoted Admiral Aokiji Kuranosuke, and the Chief of Staff Tsuru represent the Navy here.
Accompanying them were the Shichibukai who had gathered at Marineford beforehand.
However, at this time, there were only four Shichibukai: Crocodile, Gecko Moria, Heavenly Yaksha Doflamingo, Huazha, King of Lizards.
The person the Navy sent to guide (monitor) these Shichibukai was none other than Kuzan.
In the hotel that had been prepared in advance.
Gecko Moria was drinking soda and munching on a large chicken leg.
Crocodile silently puffed on his cigar.
Doflamingo swirled his wine glass, leaned back in his seat, and watched Kuzan not far away with great interest.
Huazha was cutting a medium-rare steak with a knife and fork.
Suddenly, Doflamingo asked with a smile, " Admiral, is that Noah the Liberator really that powerful?"
The surrounding air suddenly turned cold.
Kuzan glanced at Doflamingo: "You can't withstand one of his punches."
"F-F-... Of course I know, after all, even the Fleet Admiral couldn't withstand one of his punches." Doflamingo replied with a cold laugh.
Snap... The wine glass in his hand froze instantly.
Doflamingo knew Kuzan was angry, so he turned to Moria opposite him and asked, " Moria, you also participated in the battle, what do you think of the Liberator Organization's strength?"
"Glug... glug..." Moria took a big gulp of cola, then replied maliciously, "I don't know about the others, but that Kuro the Vampire is really strong. It took Onigumo and me working together to barely manage a draw."
"Hoo..." Crocodile remained silent, continuing to smoke his cigar.
Huazha looked somewhat regretful. " Kuro the Vampire? What a waste of this fruit."
"Fou... Huazha, interested in cooperating?" Doflamingo looked at the Lizard King in front of him who liked to collect Zoan Devil Fruit.
"If you can provide Zoan Devil Fruit, I can agree."
"No problem, I have the channels."
Kuzan did not react to their conversation.
After all, the Shichibukai are forces directly under the World Government and have many privileges. Even if they were discussing murder and arson here, he could only pretend he didn't hear it.
However, Kuzan didn't have high expectations for the strength of the four Shichibukai in front of him.
Judging from strength...
Gecko Moria is roughly at the level of Elite Vice Admiral.
Crocodile, thanks to his Sand-Sand Fruit, should be stronger than Elite Vice Admiral, but not Admiral Candidate.
Doflamingo and Crocodile are probably about the same strength.
Huazha is most likely only at the Elite Vice Admiral level.
The Shichibukai that truly Kuzan were Mihawk, who was killed by Robin, and Doria the Terror Weapon who betrayed the Shichibukai.
Unfortunately, one of those two guys died, and the other betrayed them.
Of course, Kuzan's feelings about killing Robin Mihawk were incredibly complex. Back then, his momentary leniency allowed a Devil Child of an Admiral- level rank to become an enemy of the Navy. It was truly a cruel twist of fate.
A peaceful yet oppressive day quietly passed.
When the first rays of sunlight of the next day shone on Mary Geoise.
In the hall of the Reverie, the kings of the various Affiliated Nation took their seats in turn.
The other four Shichibukai, along with the Navy's high-ranking officers, took their seats in a small room on one side of the hall, ready to listen to the proceedings of this Reverie.
The person in charge of presiding over the meeting was Saint Mars, one of the Five Elders, and representatives from more than a dozen Celestial Dragons families were also seated behind Saint Mars.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this meeting is being held because the World Government is facing an unprecedented enemy..."
As Saint Mars spoke, staff distributed intelligence brochures about the Liberator Organization and the Kingdom of Dawn to the king and attendees present, while Den Den Mushi) projection appeared behind them.
"A group of madmen calling themselves the Liberator Organization and the Kingdom of Dawn are attempting to overthrow the world and exterminate all nobles and merchants..."
The kings present all wore expressions of unease, anger, anxiety, and hostility.
Even Cobra, known as a wise ruler, and Neptune, the king of the Ryugu Kingdom, who did not get along well with humans, looked rather grim.
This is reality, and it's only human nature.
Cobra and Neptune might not be too hostile towards the Revolutionary Army whose ideal was to bring a good king to the throne, since both considered themselves to be among the good kings.
When faced with the Liberator Organization who sought to eradicate the aristocratic system, the two immediately felt threatened, since they were both members of the royal family and naturally stood on the side of the aristocratic class.
Throughout history, it has often been the lower the social class, the easier it is for them to betray; and the higher the social class, the less likely they are to betray.
Because those who have nothing can gain opportunities for upward mobility through betrayal; while those who are wealthy and powerful find it difficult to profit by betraying their own class, and may instead suffer heavy losses, leading to their fall from grace.
Unless faced with an insurmountable predicament, these upper-class individuals will not relinquish their power and wealth.
Regarding Saint Mars's requests for World Military Draft, additional levies of exclusive Heavenly Tribute, recommendations of strong individuals from the common people, and the gathering of intelligence on the Kingdom of Dawn.
None of the kings objected, not even the small kingdoms that usually complained about being poor.
After all, these proposals are all for the purpose of maintaining rule, and military spending cannot be neglected, no matter how poor we are.
Joseph outwardly appeared to be cheering and encouraging, but inwardly he had gained a clearer understanding of these so-called nobles.
Even Cobra, who had previously chatted and interacted with him amicably, was essentially still driven by an aristocratic mentality.
Wapol, who had only recently taken office, went so far as to propose providing the World Government with 1,000 doctors to provide a legal basis for his envisioned 'doctor eradication plan'.
These kings generously donated funds to contribute to the World Government.
Saint Mars was very satisfied with the performance of these kings.
Meanwhile, Sengoku and Tsuru, who were in the small hall, breathed a slight sigh of relief upon seeing this situation. Although the pressure from the Liberator Organization was immense, at least for the foreseeable future, the Navy wouldn't need to worry too much about military spending.
As for the four Shichibukai, they all wore smiles on the surface, but each had their own ulterior motives.
For example, Crocodile is planning to accelerate the Utopia Plan in order to find the Ancient Weapon hidden in Alabasta as soon as possible.
Doflamingo also intends to restart his plan to steal the country.
Huazha has already reached an agreement with Doflamingo to establish a Zoan army.
Since his Kaido and the Beasts Pirates were already dead, Moria didn't have any particular thoughts about them. He continued his daily routine of collecting corpses, preparing to build Zombie Army.
With the adoption of all proposals, this emergency Reverie came to a successful conclusion.
The World Government, which was already prepared, immediately issued a notice to launch World Military Draft, openly recruiting strong individuals from the public, and even directly promising the position of Marine Admiral.
Although the Navy already has three newly Admiral — Kizaru, Akainu, and Aokiji — the World Government has made an exception this time and added two more Admiral positions to the Navy.