To survive peacefully in this world dominated by pirates and the World Government, it all comes down to the fundamental issue: strength. Ultimately, this world is ruled by strength.
Red Count, alone with his beast, is a great pirate on par with Golden Lion Whitebeard. This is a direct demonstration of his strength. Next, Vic's goal is to make the entire pirate crew stronger and more complete.
In truth, the group didn't have much to tell Vic, since they had no way of keeping up with the outside world after entering the Calm Belt.
Aside from the newspaper they had just seen, the rest of the conversation revolved around their training and life in the Calm Belt. After listening, Vic offered them some encouragement, then took out a Den Den Mushi and made a call.
"Class! It's me!"
" Vic! You've finally shown up!"
"Afraid something will happen to me? Don't you know my capabilities? You're an intelligence expert, have you received any intelligence on this?"
Besides, if the World Government really had the ability to kill me, they would definitely publicize it extensively. With such a deterrent, no one would dare to touch the Celestial Dragons in the future.
Ban's voice was a little excited and trembling. He had been calling Vic ever since the Big News Morgans broke, but no one had answered.
Rebecca and the others heard the Den Den Mushi ringing, but since Vic was unconscious, they didn't answer the phone rashly. This world has Den Den Mushi location technology, and several of Vic's Den Den Den Mushi were ringing frequently, including one that was contacting Gion.
Ban had also heard the rumors circulating outside. He didn't quite believe them, but he hadn't heard from Vic for a long time, and he was indeed a little worried. However, hearing Vic's voice now finally put his mind at ease!
Vic called Ban partly to find out what was happening outside, and partly to ask him to do something.
Vic wasn't worried that Vic would betray him because he lost his naval status and position. Vic's financial support for Ban had nothing to do with the navy, and Ban, a professional intelligence officer, knew how powerful Vic was. He wouldn't dare to betray Vic, nor would he have any reason to do so. Therefore, Vic wasn't worried about these things at all.
"What's the situation outside now? Give me a brief overview of the important points."
"The situation is a bit complicated..."
Ban gave a brief overview of the situation outside. The Reverie was being held as scheduled, but of course, some desperate criminals took advantage of the chaos to kidnap members of the royal family attending the conference. The navy was in a real bind, with fires needing to be put out everywhere.
The key issue is that they also have to follow the World Government's orders to send a large number of people to find Vic and his crew. Pirates and bounty hunters have become active, and manpower in many places cannot be easily mobilized. Red-Hair is also causing trouble in the New World, so the Navy has no choice but to send high-end combat forces to keep an eye on them.
Anyway, because of the Vic incident, a series of events never stopped, causing Sengoku to get blisters on his lips, and his old friend Garp to go back to take care of his grandson and quit.
Kizaru has been dispatched, Aokiji has gone to the New World to keep an eye on Red-Hair, Akainu is guarding the exit of the New World and cannot be easily moved, Zephyr has stopped interfering in worldly affairs except for teaching new recruits, and Tsuru is keeping an eye on that little brat in the North Blue.
Sengoku was already overwhelmed with problems, and there was also a white-haired Smoker by his side who kept asking about the truth of the Vic incident, giving him a headache. He knew that being the Fleet Admiral was not easy, but he was already so worried before he even became the admiral. He suspected that it wouldn't be long before he had a full head of white hair.
"Okay! I understand. Now I have two tasks for you to handle."
"Please tell me! I will do my utmost to make it happen!"
"First, I need you to mobilize your intelligence agents to help me collect metal, just ordinary stuff, around two thousand tons. Gather it on a deserted island, then contact me. Let me know if you run out of money."
"Second, find a giant lanternfish. It's said that fish likes shiny things, especially gold. Tell me immediately if you find any trace of it."
"Okay, I'll give the order right away. I'll let you know when everything is ready! Is there anything else you need?"
"Keep an eye on the Navy and World Government personnel who are chasing me, as well as some of the World Government's established bases. I hope to know where they are when I need to find them. Okay! That's all."
After stating his demands, Vic hung up the phone. Taking a beating passively was not in Vic's nature. He was no longer an ordinary pirate; he had an intelligence agency working for him. When the time was right, he wouldn't mind killing a few more Celestial Dragons!
Even if he were a pirate now, Vic would want to be a pirate with eyes and ears, rather than someone who acts and adventures blindly. Although it would mean less fun, knowing that a sword hangs over one's head, how much energy would one have left to experience these things?
" Vic! What do you need so much metal for? Are you going to forge a flying sword for me? But I don't need that much!"
Rebecca thought Vic wanted so much metal to help her forge a flying sword. Although she wasn't worried about the weight, the Golden Lion could fly over many islands, and its weight was definitely more than 2,000 tons.
However, flying swords are all individual entities, which is completely different from controlling several islands. With a large number of them, it is a great test of consciousness and mental strength, similar to mentally solving a calculus problem that is not easy.
"Of course not! I'm planning to build a pirate ship out of metal. I'm not satisfied with this ship. I won't have to worry about the navy's bombardment anymore, nor will I have to worry about the ship breaking down during battle. It'll be a one-time solution."
Vic had long wanted to build a ship out of metal. The destroyers and aircraft carriers of his past life were so Haki, and since he was Devil Fruit User the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, energy was not an issue for him.
As if it were ordained by fate, he had previously planned to build a warship of his own using metal, but things are unpredictable, and the warship was about to become a pirate ship.
"Ah! A pirate ship made entirely of metal?"
Rebecca was surprised. The most common ships in this world are wooden sailboats. Sailboats rely entirely on the sea breeze for power, and they stop working when they reach the Calm Belt. So, a heavy ship is no good, especially a pirate ship, which would be unable to escape.
Because of the nature of their propulsion systems, there are very few all-metal ships; apart from Russia's submarines, there are almost no other metal ships.
Metal ships require powerful propulsion; Vic's lightning and Ace's flames could work, but they also need to be combined with advanced technology.
It's not that people in this world can't build metal ships; it's that the power source limits the development of the shipbuilding industry. Even Franky had to use the unorthodox method of Coca-Cola as an energy source to propel the Thousand Sunny into flight.
It's just that it consumes too much energy and doesn't last long, so it can only be used in emergencies. Rebecca and the others had no idea about the relationship between lightning and the ship.
"You'll understand once you've made it; you wouldn't understand even if I explained it now!"
Vic didn't explain in detail about converting lightning into power. Vic's lightning ability didn't require starting with boiling water or using an engine; he could directly use lightning to drive the motor and propeller.