"Honestly, as pirates—even as Warlords—we're not exactly accustomed to coming to Mary Geoise." Perospero extended his long tongue, surveying the palace's lavish decor.
"The Celestial Dragons are truly something. Even this remote palace is no less extravagant than Mama's chambers."
"You'll get used to it." Michael chuckled nearby. "They are the Celestial Dragons, after all—rulers of the entire world. It's only natural they'd be wealthy."
"Enough about the Celestial Dragons, Vice Admiral Michael." Katakuri cut short the idle chatter between Michael and Perospero.
"What's the purpose of this so-called 'Warlord Summit'?"
"Nothing major, really. Mostly just checking in on your recent activities." Michael glanced at the six Warlords before taking the seat at the head of the table.
"There is one other matter—regarding the seventh Warlord position... Do any of you have recommendations?"
Warlord recommendations?
The six exchanged glances.
Though they barely knew each other—some meeting for the first time—they instinctively studied each other's expressions.
In each other's eyes, they all saw the same four words.
'Are you joking?'
The appointment of Warlords was Michael's job, wasn't it? Those who had been chosen had at least some self-awareness.
"Judging by your expressions, it seems you don't quite believe I'm genuinely asking for your recommendations?" Michael chuckled as he observed everyone's hesitant expressions.
"Not bad—at least you have some self-awareness to recognize that certain things, even when spoken from my lips, represent boundaries you should never cross."
The exact number of Warlords was irrelevant.
What mattered was that Michael could confirm these individuals currently harbored no rebellious intentions.
"Enough joking. This Warlord meeting primarily concerns your designated operational territories moving forward," Michael stated seriously.
"Once these zones are established, you must cultivate strong relationships with each nation within them. Ideally, you'll build reputations as 'heroes' within your assigned regions... Ensure that when problems arise, you become their first recourse—not the World Government or Marines."
"Operational territories?" As the most senior Warlord present, Chin Jao immediately grasped the implications.
"You want us to gradually weaken—or even sever—the ties between the World Government and the nations along the Grand Line?"
"Precisely. This task falls to you," Michael shrugged. "After all, we're the righteous Marines. Naturally, we'll maintain plausible deniability during this process."
By disrupting connections between the World Government and its traditionally allied nations, they could further clip the government's Wings.
More importantly... Michael's designated territories were all ruled by corrupt Celestial Dragons.
This setup would allow the Revolutionary Army to effortlessly liberate these already fragmented and isolated nations when they launched their Grand Line campaign.
"I see... So your ambitions extend far beyond Marine authority, Michael."
Doflamingo studied Michael with growing interest.
Though he couldn't decipher the man's exact plans, he sensed potential personal gain.
After all, he'd been the first coerced into Michael's orbit.
His existing secret alliance with Kaido didn't preclude current cooperation—they hadn't rebelled yet!
Mutual profit was always welcome, especially for someone as shameless as Doflamingo.
Yet...
He failed to notice the guarded scrutiny in Michael's gaze.
As the shadow financier behind Cross Guild, Michael could access intelligence on Doflamingo with minimal effort.
Rosinante had volunteered to resume undercover surveillance, but Michael vetoed the idea—such talent was wasted monitoring Doflamingo.
They hardly relied solely on Rosinante for intelligence.
Unexpectedly, after sending Rosinante back to the Marines as a mole, Doflamingo had thrown caution to the wind—forging plans with Kaido and seizing the Pleasure District as the Donquixote Family's new stronghold.
All these new developments were truly beyond Michael's expectations.
This... made Michael incredibly happy.
He never imagined that Doflamingo's unintentional actions to stir up the New World would actually make it easier for him to advance his revolutionary work.
'Could it be that I've misjudged Doflamingo? Is he actually my most loyal subordinate?'
But Michael only muttered this to himself—there was no way he'd take it seriously.
After all, this was Doflamingo—pure evil, a born scoundrel and villain.
...
"I hereby declare the commencement of the Reverie in the year 1512 of the Sea Calendar!"
"Let's cut to the chase and proceed directly to the first agenda item!"
Saint Nusjuro, one of the Five Elders, sat at the center of the elongated conference table and announced the first topic.
"The first agenda item concerns the Celestial Tribute payments from the various member nations of the World Government..." Saint Nasujuro paused briefly before continuing.
"Starting next year, we will increase the collection of the Celestial Tribute... As you all know, we are currently in the so-called Great Pirate Era. Both the Marines and the CP intelligence agencies have significantly expanded their forces to prepare for the challenges ahead."
"To better protect the world from the threats of evil forces, the World Government has decided to raise the Celestial Tribute to ensure sufficient military funding for the Marines and the CP agents."
Saint Nusjuro's speech was concise and pragmatic in content.
But no matter how pragmatic... it didn't stop the kings of various nations from seeing through his true intent...
Money.
A lot of money.
"Saint Nusjuro, our contributions to the World Government and the Celestial Dragons are voluntary and gladly given."
To everyone's surprise, the first to speak after Saint Nusjuro was King Neptune of the Ryugu Kingdom, the Sea God Neptune.
Though all nations had tacitly accepted the Ryugu Kingdom's reinstatement as a member of the World Government...
Wasn't that supposed to be one of the topics of this Reverie?
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