On the southeastern edge of the Fish-Man District, near the port town of Coral Hill—
Though the sunlight from the Sunlight Tree Eve still shone brightly, the area was swept by a chilly breeze and coated in frost. Around twenty humans, their bodies covered in ice and trembling from the cold, were huddled together and being hurried toward a distant warship under Marine guard.
These pirates had already heard that there would be hot water available on the warship. So even if it meant heading for a prison cell, they couldn't wait to get aboard.
As for resistance or struggling—those thoughts had long since vanished.
Elsewhere, Kuzan was speaking with three mermaids—technically, two young mermaid women and a small mermaid girl.
"Mister Human, thank you so much for saving us! But, um... you made everything so cold! Are these crystal-looking things really ice?"
The black-haired girl, who looked to be about four or five years old, spoke with trembling teeth, but her tone was full of excitement. As she spoke, she squeezed herself into the generous bosom of her older sister, trying to find a bit more warmth.
"Ararara... Is this your first time seeing ice?" Kuzan gave her a bright smile. "By the way, I'm Kuzan. What's your name?"
Just moments earlier, he had rescued the three mermaids from a group of pirates. The righteous act had lifted his spirits—he could feel the fire of justice warming him from the inside.
"I'm Shyarly!"
"These are my big sisters, Emily and Yvone! Aren't they pretty? Hey, Mister Human—how about going out with one of them?"
The little girl was lively and bold, beating her sisters to the introduction. She looked up at Kuzan with a mischievous grin.
"Sh-Shyarly-chan, don't say things like that!" The mermaid holding Sharly blushed furiously, sneaking glances at Kuzan's appearance.
Tall, muscular, powerful—and apparently a high-ranking officer in the Marines. He also seemed cheerful and gentle...
"Vice Admiral Aokiji!"
Just then, a Marine ran over and called out urgently, "Sir, the construction team at Mermaid Cove has been attacked by a group of fish-man rioters!"
"Hm?" Kuzan raised an eyebrow, turned toward the Marine, and asked, "Anyone hurt? How many fish-men? I thought Major Hodgson was in charge over there."
"Thirteen workers injured—ten with minor wounds, three unconscious with serious injuries. Two excavators were destroyed. The attackers were eight fish-men, reportedly part of Arlong's gang. Major Hodgson has already subdued them."
The Marine, out of breath from the long explanation, paused before continuing.
"Major Hodgson also reported that the Left Minister of Ryugu Kingdom has arrived with a group and requested that Arlong's gang be handed over to the Neptune Army for detention. He's asking you to handle the situation personally."
Kuzan nodded, motioning for the Marine to return to his unit. He then turned to say goodbye to the three mermaids.
But before he could speak, the little Shyarly, still nestled in her sister's chest, nervously asked, "Big Brother Kuzan, can I come with you and see?"
"Why?" Kuzan looked at her curiously.
"Well… Arlong might be my older brother. But I heard from others that our parents abandoned him at the orphanage in Fish-Man District a long time ago. I—I just want to see what he looks like." Shyarly spoke softly.
Hearing this, Kuzan thought for a moment and replied, "Alright, but let's be clear—you can't interfere no matter how we choose to handle him."
"Okay, okay!" Shyarly nodded quickly. She was just curious about the brother she had never met. As for emotional attachment—there was none.
"Alright then. Let's go."
About twenty minutes later, the warship arrived at Mermaid Cove and docked beside the World Government vessel. Kuzan disembarked with a large Marine unit—and the three mermaids in tow.
"Vice Admiral Aokiji!"
Major Hodgson had been waiting for quite some time. Standing beside him were the Left Minister, Jinbe, Aladine, and several warriors of the Neptune Army.
Kuzan scanned the scene with a calm gaze. The most eye-catching sight was Arlong's gang, tightly bound by reinforced steel cables. Even now, their faces still showed shock—they clearly couldn't believe that human Marines could be this strong.
"Vice Admiral Aokiji, I truly apologize for this vicious incident. This was a serious failure on the part of Fish-Man Island. I've already sent for doctors and will do everything we can to treat the injured workers," said the Left Minister as he stepped forward, showing no intention of brushing aside responsibility. He was clearly remorseful. In hindsight, he thought, they should have assigned some Neptune Army guards to the project.
At the time, they had assumed that the presence of Marines would be more than enough. Besides, most local fish-men were known for being fairly gentle by nature. They had neglected to account for the lawless territory of Fish-Man District—and the presence of Arlong's gang.
Then again, it made sense. How could high-ranking nobles and officials of a kingdom be expected to keep track of a few bottom-tier thugs?
"Well then, thank you. As for this incident, there's no need to blame yourself. In the end, the fault lies with my subordinates for failing to anticipate this. As for how to deal with Arlong and his gang..."
Kuzan fell silent, thinking it over. Everyone present waited quietly for his decision.
Meanwhile, Shyarly was curiously eyeing the pale-faced Arlong. She couldn't help but pout and mutter to herself, So that's him? He's not cool at all!
She was clearly disappointed. Even if he was her biological brother, she had still hoped he'd at least look a little impressive. But instead, all she saw was a thug who caused trouble. No wonder her parents had abandoned him.
"Alright. I'll make the decision—Arlong's gang will be handed over to the Neptune Army," Kuzan finally said.
The Left Minister's face lit up with relief and gratitude—only for Kuzan to continue: "But just this once. If there's ever another case where fish-men maliciously attack Marines or World Government personnel, we'll send them directly to Enies Lobby for trial. I hope you can convey that to King Neptune."
The Left Minister was one of the few on Fish-Man Island deeply familiar with the World Government. The moment he heard the name Enies Lobby, he understood.
Impel Down!
The thought made him shudder. That place—he had heard the rumors—was a hell on Earth.
"Y-Yes, absolutely. I'll inform His Majesty right away and do everything in my power to prevent such incidents from happening again. From now on, the Neptune Army will also take part in security measures. Please rest assured, Vice Admiral Aokiji!"
Kuzan, seeing the Left Minister's earnest attitude, was satisfied. He gave an order to Major Hodgson: "Turn Arlong's gang over to the Neptune Army."
"Yes, Vice Admiral Aokiji!" the major replied without hesitation and went off personally to handle the handover.
Kuzan's eyes now turned to Jinbe and Aladine. With a faint smile, he asked, "These two… they're the important fish-men that Fleet Admiral Kong specifically mentioned, right?"
He had already read the relevant files before coming here, and he was fully supportive of forming a fish-man unit. Their speed and strength underwater were undeniably remarkable—though he himself had little interest in Fish-Man Karate.
"Yes. I'm Jinbe. I look forward to working with you, Vice Admiral Aokiji," Jinbe replied steadily, his tone composed and respectful. His calm demeanor left a strong first impression on Kuzan.
"I'm Aladine. I'm very interested in human swordsmanship. May I ask—who is the strongest swordsman in Marine Headquarters?" Aladine asked curiously.
"Swordsmanship?" Kuzan blinked, thinking for a moment.
Let's see… Sakazuki used to practice swordsmanship for a while, but he stopped eventually. As for now... it's probably Borsalino?
Other than that, he couldn't say for sure who the strongest swordsman in the Marines was. He occasionally liked using a sword himself, but—
It was an odd thing. Official Marine training emphasized swordsmanship even from the rank of basic seamen, yet no prominent swordmasters ever really appeared in later events. Borsalino and Tsuru seemed competent, but were never truly highlighted as master swordsmen. In fact, most top-tier swordsmen came from outside the Marines entirely.
...
Within the month, Imu was reading the annual report just delivered by the Five Elders, formally titled 'World Government Sea Circle Calendar 1497 Work Report'.
To be honest, his predecessor wouldn't have bothered reading such things at all. To the previous Imu, the World Government and the Celestial Dragons were nothing more than tools for controlling the entire planet.
He had firmly believed that with his own strength and the 'national treasure' in his possession, he alone could suppress the entire sea.
But this new Imu was not the same. As a transmigrator, he was acutely aware of the importance of tools. Personal strength mattered, yes—but improving the tools one wielded was not contradictory to that, was it?
That's what this report was for: to first understand the specifics of the tools in his hands.
The report was extensive—Imu counted, and it spanned more than fifty or sixty pages. Even so, he forced himself to go through it page by page with patience.
The entire process took more than three hours. Not only did he have to read, but he also had to think, and at times go back and reread certain sections.
Frankly, it was tedious—but thanks to his prior work experience in his past life, it wasn't particularly difficult. Besides, he kept reminding himself: this was all part of his power, his industry. That thought alone gave him plenty of motivation.
"Whew—"
At last, Imu finished the final page of the report. As he placed it on the tea table, he exhaled a long breath.
It wasn't that his body was tired—his strength made this kind of workload trivial. It was the sheer volume of information that was mentally exhausting.
As previously mentioned, his predecessor had never read any of this before, so most of the report's content was entirely new to him. On top of that, the scale of the World Government far surpassed any small company he had managed in his past life.
All in all, he now had a clear understanding of the key areas he cared most about—and that gave him a more concrete grasp of what the World Government truly was.
First was the financial situation: last year's total revenue reached 784.3 billion Berries. The main source of income came from the 'Heavenly Tribute' paid by the member nations, with some secondary sources making up around 300 billion Berries combined.
Currently, there are 170 nations affiliated with the World Government. According to the regulations, each country is required to pay 3 billion Berries annually.
That means, including the secondary income sources, the annual revenue should be around 810 billion Berries!
Yet only 784.3 billion Berries were received.
This meant that some countries either underpaid or outright failed to deliver their Heavenly Tribute, leading to a shortfall of nearly 26 billion Berries.
According to standard practice in previous years, the World Government would reprimand the underpaying nations and demand they make up the shortfall the following year. As for those that failed to pay anything, they were given a one-year grace period.
If a country still didn't pay the following year, the army would be dispatched to seize all of its citizens—including royalty and nobility—and deport them to Tequila Wolf in the East Blue, known as the Nation of Laborers or the Bridge Nation, where they would spend the rest of their lives building a massive bridge.
As for the underpaying nations—if they didn't make up the deficit in the second year, their royal families would be replaced!
"This won't do. Things can't go on like this."
Imu leaned back into the soft couch, deep in thought. To him, this issue was just as important as the slave trade.
An annual tribute of 3 billion Berries wasn't much for wealthy nations like Arabasta, Fish-Man Island, Dressrosa, or the Goa Kingdom. Even Drum Kingdom could pay in full thanks to its reputation as a medical powerhouse. But for smaller, poorer nations like the Sorbet Kingdom, the pressure was overwhelming—potentially even fatal.
Now let's look at the expenses.
Last year, the Navy's military budget alone approached 100 billion Berries. Everything from salaries, welfare, and rations, to firearms, cannons, warships, and bounty payments—all came from that budget.
There wasn't a fixed amount—sometimes it would be less, sometimes more—depending entirely on the situation at sea.
As for the army, it required a steady annual budget of 70 billion Berries.
In addition, CIPHER POL, which handled intelligence operations across all seas, all member nations, and even non-member nations, required 100 billion Berries annually—an indication of just how large its scale was.
Then there were the salaries, meals, and maintenance costs for Impel Down, totaling nearly 80 billion Berries.
Lastly, there were the World Government clerks and the Judiciary Island staff, which together required less than 50 billion Berries.
This clearly showed just how little value the previous Imu and the Five Elders placed on administrative and legal personnel.
Altogether, the actual expenditures amounted to roughly 600 billion Berries. So what about the remaining 1800 billion Berries' worth of wealth?
It was all stored in Mary Geoise's treasury—for the Celestial Dragons to squander and indulge in as they pleased!
"The Heavenly Tribute far exceeds what's actually needed…" Imu muttered to himself.
If the goal was simply to maintain the Celestial Dragons' standard of living, where would they even need that much wealth? Two hundred billion Berries a year should be more than enough to afford the most luxurious things imaginable.
"Cut it down—we must reduce the amount of Heavenly Tribute. Ideally, it should be collected flexibly and proportionally based on each country's circumstances!"
However, Imu also knew this wasn't something that could be rushed. The World Summit was about to convene, and if he tried to bring all of this up at once, chaos would surely follow.
"First, have CIPHER POL investigate which member nations are suffering because of excessive Heavenly Tribute. Then find out whether their entire countries truly can't bear the burden—or whether it's the royal families offloading the pressure onto their people!"
"For those nations that genuinely cannot endure it, we can lower the tribute amount accordingly. First, make sure they can at least survive."
Imu had already made up his mind about the next World Summit's agenda.
He then picked up another report. This one contained details on the Three Military Forces—namely, the Navy, the Army, and the Holy Guard.
The Army was responsible for guarding the World Government's key facilities as well as the entirety of the Red Line. According to current World Government law, civilians were forbidden from entering the Red Line without authorization—but that didn't stop some people from trying, so they had to be cleared out.
The Holy Guard, as the name implied, was primarily tasked with guarding Mary Geoise. Whenever a Celestial Dragon wanted to 'descend to the mortal world' for some fun, guards were assigned to accompany them.
For now, Imu wasn't concerned with either of these two forces. Maybe in the future, they would require more attention.
The Navy.
According to the report, the Navy currently had a total force of about 500,000. Of that, Marine Headquarters and all the G-Branches along the Grand Line made up around 50,000. The remaining 450,000 were distributed among the Four Blues—but not evenly.
Member nations already had their own armies, so the Navy's job was mainly to maintain order at sea—meaning there wasn't a high demand for personnel.
What they needed most were warships!
As of now, the Navy possessed 70 massive war behemoth-class battleships used for Buster Call operations, 1,000 mid-sized Marine Headquarters–class warships—50 of which were stationed at Headquarters, with the remaining 950 spread across various G-Branches—and more than 4,000 smaller warships stationed at about 200 branch bases throughout the Four Blues.
Again—it wasn't an even distribution. Naturally, the G-Branches in the 'New World' needed more warships, since they were up against the most brutal and powerful pirate forces.
"No wonder the Five Elders have always tried to suppress the Navy's growth—whether in terms of military power or authority, it's honestly a bit too much," Imu murmured thoughtfully.
"At this stage, I absolutely can't touch the Navy—but in the future, I'll need to find a way to balance things."