"The Seven Warlords of the Sea? There are quite a few vacancies there. Do you think he's suitable for the position?"
Pitt straightened his tie; of the five people present, he was the only one standing.
The Seven Warlords of the Sea, a system proposed by the World Government after Roger sacrificed his life to usher in the Great Pirate Era.
Ultimately, the purpose of this system is only one thing – checks and balances.
In a sense, the five old guys in this office would get along very well with the old fogies of Ionia.
Although the Five Elders didn't care about the appearance of pirates, the pirate wave triggered by Roger was somewhat unexpected, and the entire Grand Line was in a state of turmoil at this time.
The system of the Seven Warlords of the Sea was thus established.
"He's not a pirate, is this position suitable for him?"
"It doesn't matter. Identity is not important. The king of a non-member state does not have legitimate rights. According to our plan, the status of a non-member state is even lower than that of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
This invention is powerful enough to intimidate most pirates, and the Seven Warlords of the Sea are directly under the World Government. Under special circumstances, they need to accept the World Government's military conscription. If they were member states, they could not do this.
This way, we can better control this power, and that's enough.
Satan explained his reasons, stating that the correctness of the procedures was the core of the world government's operation.
Results can be wrong, but processes must comply with regulations.
Whether the Seven Warlords of the Sea are pirates or not is not important, as long as they have enough military power to deter pirates, that's enough.
If Oran were already the king of a constituent state, Satan would not have made this suggestion.
However, Piltover is a non-member state and has no legal rights whatsoever.
Realistically speaking, even if the navy were to seize the area, or if a nearby member state were to declare war on Piltover, there would be no legal issues whatsoever.
This country was able to stabilize under these circumstances entirely thanks to Oran.
Therefore, Satan's idea was not to directly order Oran to hand over the technology, but to make this person's power work for the World Government.
Satan, who also made some achievements in research, knew very well that the people who developed the technology were more important than the technology itself.
Since Oran has acted relatively "friendly" towards the World Government, we can try some special approaches.
"Do you have any other opinions? This is one of the options. As for the specifics, let's talk about it when we call him over."
"No, I agree."
"I second that."
Pitt and Vochuli agreed with Satan's opinion one after another. Seeing this, Maz and Nassuro did not say anything else, which can be regarded as tacitly agreeing with Satan's view.
A special order was then sent by Satan to the warship carrying out the Buster Call.
Barrett couldn't hold out for long against the combined forces of Garp and Sengoku and was eventually defeated.
Lyriana's deliberate punch hit the bullseye. Although she hadn't figured out how Armament Haki caused internal damage, the punch still had powerful penetrating force after the fusion of her heroic spirit and Haki.
Barrett was already serious about the fight against Lyriana and Shiki, and then he was bombarded by the Buster Call for a long time. Even the Golden Lion at his peak would have been defeated by the combined attack of Garp and Sengoku, let alone the current Barrett.
"Hmm, looking at it this way, this guy really does look like Shiki."
After the battle, Garp tapped Shiki on the shoulder, then looked the cold, lifeless robot up and down, appearing quite curious.
If it were Zeff instead of Garp here, he would be even more interested.
"You're only just realizing that now? And have you completely forgotten Borsalino's previous report?!"
"Haha, now that you mention it, I'm right. It seems I'm really getting old; even my hearing is failing."
If Garp had an attribute chart, his verbal resistance against Sengoku would definitely be maxed out.
"You rascal... Never mind, Dr. Siddirell, I have a question. How much are you planning to sell this for?"
Sengoku pushed Garp aside; he really had no interest in arguing with Garp.
He had just finished dealing with Barrett's problem and hadn't even sent the battle report back when he received intelligence from other branches.
In the New World, Charlotte Linlin and Wang Zhi clashed violently, engaging in a fierce battle in the waters of the New World and incidentally destroying a naval surveillance ship.
The effort to recover Roger's bloodline is still ongoing.
The Self-Defense Forces frequently stage large-scale demonstrations, and recently some conflicts have even broken out. The member states have demanded that the Navy arrest all of these people as soon as possible. He, the only current admiral, is under high pressure every day.
Oran took this out, clearly intending to sell it.
It can't be that it's been sitting in the warehouse for too long and you just want to take it out for some fresh air.
This is a combat unit that can hold its own against Barrett for a while; there are only a handful of people on this ocean who can match Barrett's strength.
Furthermore, robots won't cause trouble or steal rice crackers. If the navy could mass-produce this weapon...
As long as each branch is equipped with one, there's no need to worry about the stability of the first half of the Grand Line. The Navy can then gather its remaining forces in the New World to eliminate the remaining pirates.
By then, the sea should be at peace.
This is the prevailing mindset of most naval personnel: pirates are the ones who disrupt the order of the seas. But they have never thought carefully about why so many pirates exist in the first place.
"Well, the details are here. Mr. Zhan Guo, you can take a look for yourself."
Oran pulled a scroll from his pocket, then released it with a flick of his wrist. A long list of prices unfolded in front of Sengoku, rolling all the way to Borsalino before stopping.
"Dr. Siddirell, you really came prepared."
They even prepared a price list. If they told Sengoku that Oran had no premeditation, Sengoku wouldn't believe them.
But it's not a big deal if this happens a few more times, after all, they really did capture a powerful pirate.
The reason for making the report look like this is simple: to make it appear expensive.
After all, some things only make customers feel they are getting a good deal if they are sold at a high price.
After reviewing the various expenses above, Zhan Guo quickly turned his attention to the total price below.
The price made him nervous. Although he had expected the item to be expensive, he hadn't expected it to be this expensive.
The Navy can afford it, after all, it is an organization that spans the Grand Line and the four seas, with hundreds of naval branches serving as transit points for the Navy in various places, and maintaining these institutions is also a huge expense.
Even a single member state cannot compare to a navy in this respect.
After deducting the necessary personnel expenses each year, the remaining funds are enough for the navy to buy one ship, but at the cost of not being able to upgrade equipment for that year, and not being able to build a new one if the warship breaks down.
It would be great if he joined the Navy.
This reflects the true sentiment within the Warring States period: selling only at cost price would be significantly more cost-effective.
"Your Majesty Siddiel, I have come to deliver a message from the Five Elders. They request that you come to Mary Geoise, as they have something to discuss with you in person."
Before Sengoku could say anything, a World Government agent walked over.
Although Sengoku was a naval admiral, the navy and intelligence agencies were two separate systems with no direct relationship of control over each other.
With the orders of the Five Elders, this agent had the confidence to interrupt Sengoku's conversation.
Sengoku didn't say anything more, and it was reasonable for the World Government to receive the news.
It's clearly unrealistic for the Navy to have its own budget to equip itself with this weapon, so it's normal for the World Government to handle the negotiations.
The navy is ultimately a violent organ under the World Government, and this equipment will eventually be incorporated into the navy's ranks.
From then on, the fleets carrying out the Buster Call began to split up. Sengoku led his men to continue the mission, while Lyriana and her group returned to Firefly Island with Brugras's warship.
Garp led the team to escort Barrett to Impel Down, while Grimr and Borsalino led Oran and the World Government back to Mary Geoise.
After a period of sailing, the warship arrived at Red Harbor below Mary Geoise. As the bubble elevator rose, Oran once again arrived at Mary Geoise.
"Your Majesty Siddiel, please."
In the reception room of Mary Geoise, the official who was receiving Oran respectfully poured a cup of tea.
In terms of address, the Navy prefers to call Oran "Doctor," due to his prosthetic technology.
The World Government, on the other hand, prefers to use the title "Your Majesty," as they believe that royal power is the most important thing.
This official had also worked in the reception area for some time, and Oran was one of the very few people he knew who could be summoned by the Five Elders several times, so in his opinion, Oran was a person with "a bright future".
As someone in charge of reception, pleasing these distinguished guests is the most basic principle.
"Please wait a moment, the Five Elders will be here shortly."
As soon as he finished speaking, Nassou and Satan emerged from the room behind him. One was in charge of finances, and the other was in charge of scientific defense, making them a perfect match to discuss the next steps with Oran.
"Saint Nasshoulang, Saint Satan."
The official bowed and then left.
The word "Saint" is an exclusive honorific title for male Celestial Dragons. When using "Saint" in a title, there is no need to add "Master" or "Your Excellency" to it, otherwise it would be an grammatically incorrect sentence.
"Sidil, let's skip the unnecessary stuff. I believe you're a smart man. You used that weapon in the operation to capture Barrett to achieve your own goals."
Now I can tell you definitively that world governments are very interested in this technology, so what is its cost?
"Satan Saint, you are also a researcher, so you should know a lot of things. I won't waste any more time. The details are all here."
Oran placed the report on the table and then waited. Satan quickly browsed through the project list Oran had provided, and from the data, he didn't sense any problems.
"This cost is not low. Even the navy's warships are just a drop in the ocean compared to it."
Nasujiro glanced at the prices on the back, and even he, as the Five Elders in charge of finances, sensed the exorbitant price tag.
"But it's worth every penny. You can't defeat a monster like Barrett with just warships, and there's also the time cost."
To create such a weapon, recording, nurturing, and refining all require the accumulation of time.
I started working on it a long time ago, but it's only finally finished today.
"Vegapunk also mentioned this, and there are records of it in MADS's research log. As a researcher, I congratulate you on achieving this goal."
After putting down the paper, Satan's tone remained unchanged. The so-called record was a foreshadowing that Oran had laid years ago, only now that it was being used.
If the dream doesn't reach the Project universe, it could be some special Hextech creation. In short, it's just some drafts. What the finished product looks like is up to Oran.
"Whether in terms of time or cost, this type of machine is not feasible for mass production."
"So, you should be able to reduce the strength and cost of the Siddiil to make it a mass-producible weapon, right?"
The person who said this was Nasujiro, who was considering the matter more from an economic perspective.
Robots of this strength are for high-level play; one is enough. Not every pirate needs this kind of weapon.
Having one that's good enough is enough; even a world government can't ignore costs.
"It takes time and money. If I have enough time, I will try to deliver suitable results within five years."
In research, it is not uncommon to use years as a time limit, and Satan did not think there was anything wrong with it. He was a researcher himself, and he had encountered projects that took decades to complete without any results.
"I believe in your skills; after all, you've made a new breakthrough in the field of mechanical soldiers. But Shiki can't."
What does this mean?
"Your mechanical soldier is modeled after Shiki the Golden Lion, right? He's a notorious pirate with a bounty of over four billion."
"If the Navy and the World Government were to use these man-made mechanical soldiers, what would become of our dignity?"
This is the issue that Satan cares about: as a navy that bears the burden of justice, it cannot use robots that look like pirates.
"In that case, I have a suggestion. Do you two think that the naval hero Garp would be a suitable model?"
Garp, the naval hero nominated by the World Government, is a very suitable candidate, both in terms of his status and his deterrent effect on pirates.
"Garp? That's a good choice. His identity is indeed suitable for this matter."
"Hmm, naval heroes can also have a greater deterrent effect on pirates, so what kind of help do you need?"
"I need Lieutenant General Karp to cooperate with my research for a period of time. Also, if we change the sample, a lot of data will have to be collected from scratch, which means I need more time."
These words are purely Oran's way of fooling people. He made the thing. The birth of Project Shiki means that the technology is mature. The only thing that takes time is that this thing can only be made by Oran himself, and the labor cost is a bit high.
If the combat parameters are not problematic, it won't take that many years at all, but if we don't conduct research for a few more years, funding will become an issue.
This reason also seems quite reasonable in Satan's case.
"I call this plan the pacifist one. What do you two think?"
Pacifists, originally created to modify bears.
Now that Kuma is one of their own, Oran certainly wouldn't let him go through such a thing. Of course, he also wouldn't modify Garp; he's just using a name.
After all, pursuing peace is far more important than researching weapons.
"A good name. Funding for the project is not a problem. We'll also get the Navy to cooperate with your research with Garp. Now, the next issue is your identity."
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