thefictionvixens Chapter 136 Choosing a Stronghold
Chapter 136 Choosing a Stronghold
Tom's only possible concern about Kaido's rule over Water 7 is that Kaido might veto his plan to build a sea train.
Therefore, after the first meeting of shipyard owners, he took the initiative to find the hotel where Kaido and the others were staying and explained his sea train plan to Kaido.
“If Captain Kaido can agree to my plan, I am willing to join the Beast Shipbuilding Company.”
“If Captain Kaido doesn’t agree, I’m afraid my Tom Shipbuilding Company will have no choice but to relocate.”
At this point, Tom let out a long sigh.
His plan to build a sea train was originally intended to save Water Seven.
As a result, the Beasts Pirates and Kaido have suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
While it could indeed resolve the crisis in Water Seven immediately, it wasn't exactly good news for his sea train project.
"Uro ro ro..."
After listening to Tom's story, Kaido smiled calmly.
“Mr. Tom, the sea train project is a very great project! I will not stop it from going ahead, you can go ahead and do it with confidence.”
"In fact, my Beasts Pirates will even provide substantial financial support for your plans!"
"Of course, as a price, once the Sea Train project is successful, all data and copyrights will belong to Beast Shipbuilding Company."
"Including you, without my permission, you have no right to resign from the Beast Shipbuilding Company or disclose information related to the Sea Train project to others."
"Mr. Tom, please consider this carefully."
Upon hearing this, Tom fell into deep thought.
Kaido's meaning was clear: if they wanted to stay in Water 7 to complete the Sea Train plan, they had to sign a contract of servitude.
The advantage is that you can get full support from the Beasts Pirates, so you don't have to worry about the funds and can devote yourself to the plan.
The downside is the loss of personal freedom, a lifetime of work for the Beasts Shipbuilding Company, and the inability to share any related information with others without Kaido's permission.
The advantages and disadvantages are almost evenly split.
Besides that, Tom actually had another concern.
That is—the design and construction blueprints for Pluto, one of the three ancient weapons!
The blueprint is now in Tom's hands.
He wasn't entirely sure if Kaido knew about the blueprints, so he couldn't quite grasp Kaido's ultimate purpose in making him sign the contract of servitude.
After much deliberation, Tom finally decided to take the gamble.
His original intention in designing the sea train was to free the people of Water Seven from the troubles of pirates.
Once the train is built, it will be responsible for transporting all supplies, which will greatly reduce the risk of pirate raids.
With sufficient shipbuilding materials and the superb skills of the island's shipwrights, restoring Water Seven's economy is only a matter of time.
As for Kaido...
In Tom's mind, pirates were always just a temporary option.
Even the mighty Rocks Pirates were destroyed, so how long can Kaido remain arrogant on the high seas?
Being under Kaido's protection now is indeed very convenient for them.
But what happens after Kaido falls? Will Water 7 return to its former state of devastation?!
Considering all this, even at the risk that Kaido might obtain the Pluton blueprints, Tom wanted to leave something behind for Water 7.
And so.
When the second shipyard owners' meeting was held, and Tom clearly stated his willingness to merge into Beast Shipbuilding Company, the opinions of all shipyards in Water Seven were finally settled.
On the third day, the mayor led a group of shipyard owners to Kaido and presented their opinions to him.
Kaido didn't hesitate at all, handing over 30 billion Berries to everyone on the spot.
It has to be said that buying an entire island for 30 billion is definitely a bargain.
But what can you do when Water Seven is really not fetching a good price these days?
Apart from Tom's shipbuilding company, which made a decent profit by building ships from scrap metal, all the other shipbuilding companies were in debt.
These 30 billion pegories are enough for them to pay off all their debts, and they'll even have a little left over, which is quite good.
Of course, the main reason why the mayor and his men were willing to sell to Kaido at such a low price was because they would no longer need to pay the Heavenly Gold.
Without this heavy burden, if they only pay taxes normally, their income surplus can increase significantly, so let them sell it off cheaply.
Survival is the most important thing.
After spending two days completing all the formalities.
Kaido left Sunny and 1000 Beast Pirates behind to be responsible for the establishment of the Beast Shipbuilding Company, maintaining security on the island, and escorting the shipbuilding company when it purchased timber, among other tasks.
"Captain Kaido, isn't Water 7 your base?"
Sunny looked at Kaido with a puzzled expression. He really thought that Kaido was going to use Water 7 as a base in the first half of the Grand Line.
"Uro ro ro..."
Kaido chuckled and explained, "As you said, this island is indeed too small. It's fine as a commercial city, but if you want to garrison a large number of troops..."
Kaido shook his head.
"Moreover, this island is hit by super tsunamis every year."
"Even if I move the island from elsewhere and develop it, I will still have to bear the risk of it being destroyed by tsunamis every year."
"Although I have the ability to freeze tsunamis, I get annoyed after doing it too many times."
"Therefore, it would be better to treat it as a purely commercial city, as our main source of income in the first half of the Grand Line."
"As for the garrison's stronghold, I already have a target!"
Kaido opened the map and pointed to an island that wasn't too far from Water 7.
"City of the Queen of Spring!!"
"With a total area of about 3 square kilometers, it is a rare large island with abundant resources. It is even possible to establish a small kingdom on the island."
"A large portion of the raw materials used in the shipbuilding of Water Seven come from this City of the Spring Queen!"
"and……"
Kaido drew lines on the map with his finger.
It connects the City of Seven Waters, the City of Spring Queens, the Food City, and the Carnival City into one.
"Once Tom's sea train plan succeeds, we can connect the four islands in a line, with the City of Spring Queen in the center providing support."
"No matter which of the other three islands is attacked, reinforcements can be dispatched immediately."
"The supplies from the other three islands can also be continuously transported to the Spring Queen's City via the sea train, supporting our pirate crew to gradually grow and expand."
"Therefore, whether from a resource perspective or a geographical perspective, the Spring Queen's Castle is a more suitable base for us in the first half of the Grand Line than Water Seven!!"
After listening to Kaido's explanation, Sunny nodded in deep agreement.
The Queen's City in Springtime has a clear advantage over Water Seven.
After successfully persuading Sonny, the Beast Fleet set sail again.
This time, however, they were not heading towards the Sabaody Archipelago, the midpoint of the Grand Line, but rather in the opposite direction, towards the Spring Queen's Castle.
Marineford, Naval Headquarters.
Kaido and his crew stayed on Skypiea for over a month, and Sengoku's intelligence and information were cut off for the same period.
Now that the Beasts Fleet has reappeared in Water 7, the spy who has been hiding in the Beasts Pirates has finally found an opportunity to report everything that has happened during this time.
"Sky Island...Golden City...Buy Water Seven...City of the Queen of Spring..."
After reading the relevant intelligence, Sengoku frowned deeply.
"This is really troublesome..."
Sky Island and Golden City are not important to him; they are located at an altitude of 10000 meters, beyond the reach of the Navy.
Moreover, the journey to the Sky Island via normal means of ascending to the sky is actually quite long.
As for Kaido buying Water 7, that's a minor matter.
The current Water Seven is not yet the Navy's shipyard during Luffy's era, so the impoverished Water Seven has always been a dispensable existence for the Navy.
The highlight is the Queen's City in Spring!
Zefa's wife and children live in seclusion in the City of the Spring Queen!
In addition, thanks to Zephyr's leadership, many naval officers' families also moved to the City of Spring Queen.
Because of its pleasant climate and the presence of the Navy's G7 branch, the island is the second safest place for the families of naval officers and their families, after the Navy Headquarters.
"No! We can't let Kaido take over Spring Queen's Castle!!"
"At the very least, we have to get all the family members out!"
With this in mind, Sengoku picked up the Den Den Mushi on the table and began ordering the mobilization of his forces.
At the same time, he did not choose to inform Zephyr and the relevant naval officers about this news.
The reason is simple: to avoid suspicion!
After all, it concerns their families.
As the saying goes, concern leads to confusion.
If we inform them and let them handle the matter, there's a high chance they'll act irrationally.
To ensure he remained clear-headed and avoided making hasty decisions during the operation, Sengoku decided to personally lead the team.
However, by sheer coincidence, just as he was preparing everything and getting ready to depart from the Navy Headquarters, a messenger from the Holy Land of Mary Geoise disrupted Sengoku's entire plan.
"Reporting to the Warring States General!"
"The Holy Land has issued an order! It requires you to escort the Huo Minggu family to the non-member state of the North Sea."
This sudden and strange order left Sengoku completely stunned.
"What did you say?!"
The messenger then repeated the order.
Sengoku's face darkened, and he cursed inwardly, "What kind of joke is this Celestial Dragon making?!"
"The Navy is at a critical moment in its operations, why is it suddenly acting so strangely?!"
but……
No matter how much you curse someone in your heart, a higher-ranking official can crush you.
Especially the position of general.
Don't underestimate the position of general; in many ways, it carries more power than that of lieutenant general.
However, since admirals need to directly serve the Celestial Dragons and are the highest combat force of the Marine Headquarters and a symbol of naval strategic deterrence, they cannot run around like vice admirals.
Therefore, Sengoku had to temporarily halt his journey to the City of the Spring Queen.
Sengoku picked up the Den Den Mushi on his desk, intending to contact Zephyr directly.
In urgent situations, it's more important to prioritize getting the family members out than to avoid any appearance of impropriety.
But on second thought, Kaido seems unaware of the existence of the Navy families, and his target is most likely not the Navy families.
"Is it possible to get the families off the island first by racing against time?"
With that in mind, Sengoku dialed the Den Den Mushi directly to the Navy's G7 branch located in the Spring Queen's Castle.
The news that Kaido was about to attack the Spring Queen's Castle was relayed to the branch vice admiral.
At the same time, orders were issued to ensure the safe transfer of the families before Kaido arrived.
After receiving the order, the lieutenant general of the G7 branch patted his chest repeatedly to show his guarantee of completing the mission!
After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Sengoku turned to the messenger.
"What exactly is going on with Huo Minggu Sheng? Why did he choose this time to go to Beihai?!"
The messenger replied confidently and loudly, "I am merely a messenger and know nothing of the details!"
Upon hearing this, Zhan Guo's face darkened.
He secretly blamed himself: "I was so angry that I lost my temper and actually asked the messenger about the Celestial Dragons..."
As for the specifics of this matter, we have to go back to a few days ago.
Mary Geoise.
Don Quixote Homingo, the contemporary head of the Don Quixote family.
As one of the few Celestial Dragons who developed a normal worldview, he believed that Celestial Dragons and ordinary people are essentially the same kind of human beings.
Therefore, there is no need to maliciously oppress ordinary people at the bottom of society.
"We are all human beings, wouldn't it be better to live together peacefully?"
However, his naive idea was not accepted by his fellow Celestial Dragons.
In order to promote his own ideas and prove that he was right, Homingo decided to use practice to convince all the Celestial Dragons.
"Just you all see! Only peace can quell the world's resentment towards the Celestial Dragons!!"
Therefore, Huo Minggu began preparations for relocating from the Holy Land to the lower realm.
Just then, this matter caused a great uproar in the Holy Land.
Karin, the leader of the Knights of God, took the initiative to visit him.
"Huo Minggu, are you really determined to go to the lower realm?"
"I've made up my mind!"
Huo Minggu asked excitedly, "Saint Garin, are you willing to support my proposal?"
Garin shook his head, then nodded.
"I do not support your claim of peaceful coexistence with ordinary people, but I do agree that we Celestial Dragons and humans from the lower realms are essentially the same."
Even so, I am very grateful for your support!
Huo Minggu was overwhelmed with emotion. Finally! Finally, someone could understand his thoughts!
Even though I only understand half of it, this is already a very good start!
Seeing that Huo Minggu was already possessed, Jialin decided not to continue entangled with him.
"I've come here mainly to offer you some advice."
"If you really decide to go down to the mortal realm and live among ordinary people, I suggest you choose the Dragon Kingdom in the West Blue as your settlement, where the Celestial Dragons are treated more kindly."
Upon hearing this, Huo Minggu nodded repeatedly.
"Thank you for the suggestion, Garin! I will definitely consider it carefully!"
However, after Garin left.
Without hesitation, Huo Minggu chose a non-affiliated kingdom in the North Sea as his settlement after descending to the lower realm.
"Since the goal is to prove my beliefs, I must choose an environment without any special privileges!"