The celebration for the vault's completion lasted a full day and night.
Ain made a rare exception and approved an A-rank banquet at Dock No. 3, Sea King barbecue in unlimited supply, and unlimited G5 special brew a non-alcoholic energy drink.
As for Nami, she "disappeared" during the celebration.
Ain wasn't worried at all.
Through the vault's surveillance system, installed at Nami's strong insistence, featuring 720-degree, zero-blind-spot monitoring of her "treasures", Ain could clearly see that the financial consultant was curled up halfway up the mountain of gold coins, hugging the largest gold bar she could find, drooling in her sleep.
She had even started talking in her dreams:
"Hehe… Renzo… you're actually pretty nice… so many Berries… all mine… hehe…"
Ain turned off the monitor.
If she kept watching, she might end up sealing Nami away as strategic material.
3:00 AM, Rear Admiral's Office
Ain finished her twelfth cup of extra-strong coffee.
She was wide awake.
After the celebration came deeper anxiety.
The vault was built.
The money was secure.
And then?
Her office floor was covered with G5 defense blueprints, New World navigation charts, and a fifty-year draft financial expenditure projection for the branch.
She looked at the astronomical amount of gold, then at G5's equally astronomical expenses.
Admiral Renzo's philosophy of "efficiency" was built on high investment.
The soldiers' massive bonuses, the G5 Research Institute's insatiable appetite for funding, the staggering cost of maintaining G5's vast fleet and defense systems…
The gold looked like a lot, but if it only flowed out and never in, it was just dead money.
Dead money buried underground, attracting wolves, CP0, or even other Yonko.
"No."
Ain removed her glasses and rubbed her aching brow.
"Admiral Renzo's philosophy is 'efficiency' and 'control.'"
"Burying gold underground is the lowest and most foolish use of it."
Renzo's "laziness" relied on total control and automation.
He needed a system that would automatically solve problems and automatically generate profit.
Her gaze fell on the New World sea chart.
G5 was positioned at the crossroads of several major routes, Yonko territory ahead, Government lines behind, neutral islands to either side.
Natural danger concealed opportunity.
She circled several islands.
Each had once served as pirate supply stops.
Each possessed potential resources and labor.
A grand vision began to take shape.
[Establish a Special Economic Development Zone directly controlled by G5.]
[Turn G5 into the most stable military-administrative anchor in the New World.]
"If the World Government's supply efficiency is low, we build our own system."
"If external forces are unreliable, we create our own dependency structure."
Her fingers flew across the keyboard.
A top-secret document, encrypted at S-Max level, second only to Renzo himself, was created.
[Strategic Proposal for Establishing the "G5 Special Economic Zone" (G5-SEZ)]
Drafted by: Ain
Supreme Reviewer: Admiral Renzo
[Project Overview]
[Transform "dead gold" into "flowing capital."
Turn "expenditure" into "investment."
Convert G5 from a pure military consumption fortress into an integrated military-industrial-commercial super-base.
Ain's eyes grew brighter as her thoughts sharpened.
Phase One, Two Core Pillars1. "Lighthouse", New World Secure Shipping & Logistics Hub
Concept: Use G5's fleet and intelligence network to establish several "G5-certified safe routes" across the New World.
Profit Model: Any merchant vessel or kingdom ship, excluding pirates and revolutionaries, may fly the "G5 Protection Flag" upon paying a "G5 Security Tax," receiving naval escort through dangerous waters.
Strategic Value: Massive tax revenue
Control over New World logistics arteries
G5 becomes the maritime "lighthouse" of the New World, everyone follows G5's rule.
2. "Forge", New World Heavy Industry Manufacturing Center
Concept: Integrate the G5 Research Institute's scientific strength with the Pangolin Engineering Battalion's construction capability.
Profit Model: Provide paid technical services to allied kingdoms and neutral forces, including:
Large vessel repair and modification.
Sale of non-weapon-grade special alloys.
G5 "high-efficiency" infrastructure construction services
Strategic Value: Research funding becomes self-sustaining
G5 technical standards become industry standards in the New World]
The more Ain wrote, the more excited she became.
If implemented, G5 would no longer be a mere branch of Marine Headquarters.
It would become a nation within a nation.
An empire absolutely controlled by Admiral Renzo, towering above countless kingdoms.
It was outrageous.
It was rebellious.
It was… perfectly aligned with Renzo's aesthetic of efficiency.
[Risk Assessment & Countermeasures
Risk 1: Opposition from Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
Countermeasure: "All for Justice."
Revenue will prioritize G5 military expansion to fight pirates more efficiently. Implication: G5 becomes financially independent and may even share profits. Sengoku has little reason to object.
Risk 2: Suspicion from the Five Elders.
Countermeasure: Strict secrecy. Only Renzo and Ain know the true scope. Publicly framed as "G5 logistics expansion."
Risk 3: Interference from other Yonko.
Countermeasure: Admiral Renzo.
The ultimate solution.]
Dawn approached.
Ain finished the fifty-page strategic draft.
She encrypted it and sent it to the one mailbox that "must never be disturbed", Admiral Renzo's vacation-only inbox.
She knew he probably wouldn't read it.
He might simply reply, "Too long. Didn't read. You handle it."
And that would be the highest form of authorization she could receive.
Ain leaned back, gazing at the sea beyond her window.
The port lights still flickered.
The newly built underground vault lay beneath like a sleeping beast.
And she was preparing its battlefield.
"Rear Admiral, you still haven't rested?"
A staff officer's voice came from outside.
"Still organizing a few proposals," Ain replied calmly.
The officer hesitated.
"Consultant Nami is snoring in the gold pile again."
Ain paused, then smiled faintly.
"She sleeps well."
"Yes, Rear Admiral," the officer chuckled.
"That's the most expensive 'bed' in G5."
Ain closed the file and stood, moving to the window.
Her gaze was calm and sharp as a blade.
"Let her sleep. Starting tomorrow, we expand G5's influence another two hundred nautical miles."
"Yes, ma'am!"
The sea breeze brushed her hair.
Under the night sky, G5 stood like a silent steel fortress.
The weight of the vault, the wind over the sea, the ambition of men, all converged in one direction.
A new blueprint.
A future belonging to G5.