Satan considered it a minor matter to simply ask Karp to cooperate with the research.
Borsalino is working with Vegapunk on research, and the results will be used by the Navy. Although Garp is not usually easy to command, Satan doesn't think Garp will cause trouble in this matter.
After all, this concerns the development of the entire navy.
"Sidil, you are the king of a non-member state, and the World Government cannot allow a non-member state to do this."
Our original idea was to make your country a member state, but this year's world conference has ended, and this matter will not be resolved until the next conference four years from now.
It's still a matter of procedural correctness; deciding which countries to include is as simple as a single statement from the Five Elders.
However, according to procedure, this matter must be discussed at the World Conference, even if the Five Elders can directly decide the outcome.
The world government cares a lot about this; Enies Lobby is a prime example.
Even though they are all guilty, they still have to go through the process, and this is no exception for important matters like member states.
"The World Government has recently implemented a new policy, and although your situation is special, it is very suitable for it."
The acceptance of Oran's place as a Shichibukai was also a matter of procedural correctness.
Legally, the World Government cannot directly conscript the kingdoms under the command of its member states. Those under the command of the World Government are either the navy or special forces directly under the World Government.
When Oran first broke away from MADS when the World Government was trying to incorporate them, he clearly expressed his thoughts by breaking away.
Similarly, although Oran had a lot of cooperation with the Navy, he had no intention of directly joining the Navy, as he valued independence very much.
That said, the World Government also doesn't want Oran to become directly subordinate to the Navy, as that would make many things inconvenient.
The Navy is part of the World Government, but it also has a strong degree of independence. The World Government doesn't care about this independence, but it won't allow it to expand at will.
"One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?"
"That's right, you were also at Roger's execution, weren't you?"
That guy's words ushered in an era of chaos, and now the power of pirates has expanded to an unprecedented level.
Many people who went to sea became pirates, turning into a source of instability.
Among them are powerful pirate crews and individuals, whose emergence poses a challenge to the current order.
Satan didn't mind explaining the existence of this system to Oran in detail.
"Although the navy has a large force, it is responsible for the entire sea. However, in the face of the endless stream of pirates, the navy's force is relatively limited."
Therefore, in order to counterbalance the increasingly powerful pirate forces, after careful consideration, we decided to utilize the strength of a portion of the population.
The existence of pirate groups, who possess catastrophic destructive power and are even comparable to that of a nation, poses a significant deterrent to ordinary pirates.
By authorizing the World Government, they can use their power to combat and deter other pirates.
Now you should understand the significance of this system, right?
As he spoke, Satan handed a list to Oran, which contained the names of another pirate.
Crocodile, bounty 81 million Berries.
Crocodile, a Logia-type Sand-Sand Fruit user, is currently the only Shichibukai. After all, the system has just been established, and the personnel are still being selected.
Ironically, the reason he was chosen to be a Shichibukai was because he had fought Bullet to a draw.
Judging from the current situation, Barrett has become a candidate for the Seven Warlords of the Sea by chance.
Rather than viewing the Seven Warlords of the Sea as a system, it's more accurate to describe it as a platform for exchanging interests proposed by the World Government. It also carries special political significance and even serves as a policy to promote racial peace.
For example, in the original timeline, in order to promote harmonious relations between fish-men and humans, the World Government invited Jinbe to become a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and released a group of fish-man pirates.
"Legal pirates?"
"That's the general rule, but the details are different. Accepting a position as a Shichibukai will not affect your country's status as a member state four years later."
Furthermore, the special privileges of the Seven Warlords of the Sea are very advantageous to you, the Gray King of the Underworld.
The World Government itself is involved in the affairs of the underworld, so they are well aware of Oran's role in it.
However, for world governments, this is also a trivial matter.
"The Seven Warlords of the Sea possess the legal right to plunder, a right that even ordinary member states do not have. For someone like you who is connected to both pirates and the underworld, this right is just right."
We will not interfere with your operations under normal circumstances. You can do whatever you want, as long as you accept our call at critical moments. Only if you accept this condition will we allow you to possess this dangerous weapon.
If you choose to accept, your status as a Shichibukai will take effect immediately, while your status as a member state will take effect four years later.
We will clarify this for you in the announcement, and declare to the sea that you are not a pirate.
If you refuse, then we'll have to start all over again.
The business in the underworld is a gray business, and even if member states are involved, they cannot do it openly. However, the status of the Seven Warlords of the Sea is different.
This is equivalent to having an administrator account added to a group of people. After accepting this system, if someone offends Oran in the underworld, they can only suffer in silence.
After Satan finished stating his conditions, he waited for Oran's reply. Sometimes, these people are quite lenient; as long as it doesn't involve Nika, everything is negotiable.
"I've already said that research takes time, so when will this research funding arrive?"
"Immediately, but we need to check the research progress every now and then. The World Government needs to know exactly where the money is going."
You can't keep researching indefinitely; you have to show us some progress eventually.
The funding issue was still being handled by Nasujiro, who had no doubts about the massive amount of data required for the research.
Although it seems expensive, this is in comparison to daily expenses. A world government with the entire world as its foundation can still afford this amount of money.
"Another problem is that research is very expensive and requires a lot of effort; it's not something that comes easily."
"You have to pay the 'heavenly gold' fee; it's a procedural matter that no one can avoid."
However, that portion of the funding can be transferred to you as additional research grants; the rest is up to you.
We can do without a world government, but those below us cannot refuse to pay.
As long as funding isn't an issue, it's not a big problem for Oran. With the money he gets, he can go ahead with his research. As for what the World Government wants, he can just make do with whatever he can when the deadline is approaching.
As for the issue of mass production...
Judging from the bear's modifications, that thing is basically a block of iron that can take hits plus a laser cannon launcher; to put it bluntly, it's a humanoid self-propelled turret.
There's no need to study that kind of thing. If it were really needed, Oran could whip up some automatic target-finding artillery in no time. His respectable teacher, Heimerdinger, is an expert in this area.
But it's unnecessary. Doing it this way is not a legitimate way to swindle funding. Although military sales are profitable, they are far less so than the bottomless pit that is scientific research.
Besides, this thing is made for the enemy. Although it's easy to leave a hidden door in terms of access control, it's for the World Government, so we can just make do with what we have.
"I have no objection."
"Very good, then the agreement is reached. The newspapers will announce this in a while."
Oran did not linger there for long and left soon after the agreement was reached.
"Are all these studies going to be handed over to him?"
"There's no need. Let him handle the prototype. Once the finished product technology is available, let Punk Hazard handle it."
Even though Oran is currently behaving in a friendly manner, the World Government has no intention of handing everything over to him, and Vegapunk will also need to shoulder some of the responsibilities.
"Although it was very expensive and took a long time to manufacture, that thing did look quite good. This doctor is truly skilled. I remember he also had a project on the ancient giants, right?"
Shortly after Oran left, Nasujuro seemed to remember something, such as the ancient giant race that the World Government had been longing for.
"That mech modified by Oz of the Kingdom of Yun has many similarities to that ancient robot from back then. If we could master that..."
"This is not a problem with Sidiriel. Judging from Sidiriel's current performance, he is indeed more skilled in mechanical matters. There should no longer be any pure-blooded ancient giants in this world."
Little Oars was nowhere near being an Ancient Giant compared to his ancestors.
This project got stuck at the first step: getting material for an ancient giant.
Oran dared to make a promise of success because he understood Caesar.
Oran knew very well that Caesar did not have the ability to develop this technology, but Caesar would continue to deceive the World Government for the sake of his own position.
As long as Caesar remains unexposed, this project will continue to drag on. But if Caesar is exposed, what does that have to do with Oran?
Unbeknownst to Caesar of Punk Hazard, Oran, in pursuing his own interests, inadvertently shifted the pressure onto him.
After leaving Mary Geoise, Oran did not return to Firefly Island, but instead went to the Marine Headquarters first.
At this time, a new guest arrived at Level 6 of Impel Down.
"Shut up, all of you! You bunch of trash!"
Magellan, then deputy warden, personally escorted Barrett to the prison and used the power of the Venom-Venom Fruit to intimidate the surrounding prisoners.
"Isn't this the battle maniac from Roger's ship? What, you got sent here too?"
Magellan's abilities can intimidate most pirates, but they are ineffective against a few, such as the Golden Lion, who is being held in special custody.
He not only ignored the threats, but even made fun of Barrett.
"Heh, aren't you the same, old man? You deserve a lot of credit for getting us here."
"???"
Note: The exact year in which the Seven Warlords system was proposed is unknown.
However, it was designed to balance the seas, and it is clearly a system established after the Great Pirate Era began.
Crocodile's Vivre Card and SBS clearly state that he became a Shichibukai after Roger's death.
Unless Oda himself establishes the setting in his original work, please don't use other people's interpretations to refute this.
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