The military town of G-7 was now very prosperous, with various buildings standing throughout. Backed by tens of thousands of Marines, it was extremely safe.
Most of the people living in the military town were families of Marine personnel, so they naturally had a strong sense of belonging to the Marines.
When the warship entered the port, many merchant ships and fishing boats made way for it.
Standing on the deck with a cigar in his mouth, Finn looked at the military fortress with numerous artillery batteries in the distance and felt somewhat satisfied.
Even though he'd resigned as the commander of G-7 Base, G-7's current strength stemmed from him.
Every time he came here, he felt a sense of familiarity.
In contrast, he couldn't remember his so-called hometown in the North Blue at all. It had completely disappeared from his memory.
After the warship stopped, Finn walked down calmly and saw Gion and Saul waiting for him there.
At this time, Saul's military rank had been restored to Rear Admiral.
Away from the many disputes of Headquarters, G-7 was, in fact, more pure, without so many messy complications. All it needed to do was cover up the operations of the Calm Belt Plan.
Therefore, the atmosphere of justice here was also quite strong.
Of course, Saul didn't care at all about the hundreds of thousands of pirate prisoners in the Calm Belt behind him.
However, what Finn didn't know was that over the past two years, Saul and Robin had also become good friends, which had brought the story back to something resembling its origin.
But that tragic separation would probably never happen again.
Finn guessed Robin wouldn't learn Saul's strange laugh either.
When Gion saw Finn, her eyes lit up with joy and a smile appeared on her face. She walked over quickly. Saul was also very tactful and didn't approach to disturb them.
However, when Gion came over, Finn didn't even greet her properly. Instead, he asked, "Where's Doberman?"
Gion's expression froze, and she said unhappily, "In the Calm Belt."
"Really? Get ready. I'm planning to transfer that guy to Headquarters for development," Finn said, nodding.
Although Gion knew Finn was discussing serious matters, she still said with some displeasure, "It's been so long since we last met, and the first thing you do when you see me is talk about another man?"
Finn was stunned for a moment, then asked with a smile, "Oh? Is our beautiful Marine lady jealous?"
"I'm beginning to doubt my judgment. Why would I fall for a guy like you?" Gion complained, but she quickly adjusted her mindset. After all, she wasn't the kind of woman who liked to fuss over trivial matters.
"Why are you suddenly transferring Doberman back to Headquarters? He's doing a great job at G-7. I always thought he was very suitable for the supervisory role. The prisoners are all afraid of him," Gion asked.
Finn flicked the ash from his cigar. "It's almost time for him to be promoted to Vice Admiral. Naturally, he should return to Headquarters to gain two more years of experience. Then..."
Finn paused, and Gion's eyes lit up with understanding, a smile and joy appearing on her face. "It seems you're planning to have him take over G-7 as well?"
"Of course. That's what I planned from the beginning," Finn said, glancing at Saul in the distance. He continued, "After Doberman's done, I'll have Saul reinstated as Vice Admiral and take over G-7. Let him work for a few more years, and he'll be completely branded as one of mine. When he returns to Headquarters, I'll find a way to make him commander of the Giant Squad again. By then, my influence at Headquarters will be even greater."
Gion nodded. She had nothing to say about Finn's plan. She was more concerned about other things.
"That means after working for another two years, I can return to Headquarters, right?" Gion asked with a smile.
"Well, I'll have something to arrange for you when the time comes," Finn replied.
During the previous conference in Mary Geoise, Finn had of course often communicated with Fleet Admiral Kong, Admiral Sengoku, and Instructor Zephyr.
They were the real power figures in the Marines, and their thoughts and ideas would affect the entire organization.
The scope of their conversation had also focused on the New World.
According to Admiral Sengoku, he planned to rebuild a Marine base in the New World to enhance the Marines' influence there.
This base was tentatively named G-5. In fact, G-5 had been established long ago and was a Marine base with a long history.
But well before Finn had come to Marineford from the North Blue to take up his post, G-5 had actually been destroyed by the pirates of the New World.
This time was a restart plan.
The specific details would be arranged by Admiral Sengoku himself after he returned. It was estimated that it would take another year and a half from planning and preparation to implementation.
Finn had no idea what the reconstruction of G-5 would look like this time.
But he recalled that in the original story, G-5 was known as the Marines' garbage dump, and problem children from Marines all over the world would gather there. Their violent and wild nature had perfectly integrated into the environment of the New World. Walking in the New World as Marines, what they did was more like the actions of violent and brutal pirates.
It was just that the targets of their violence happened to be other pirates.
In G-5, lynching was rampant, and resisting Headquarters' orders and slaughtering pirates without trial were commonplace.
But interestingly, even though G-5 had various problems, and even though Headquarters had cut off their military funding, leaving them to fend for themselves in the New World and rely on captured spoils to maintain their organization, this had also given G-5 great autonomy.
In that environment, G-5 had been the most powerful and influential organization among the Marines' few bases in the New World at that time.
This was outrageous and fully demonstrated how chaotic the environment in the New World was.
Although Finn was now a Marine Admiral, his main responsibilities were still in the first half of the Grand Line and the Four Blues.
But he knew very well that the future focus of the Marines would definitely shift to the New World again.
Therefore, he also needed to have a direct combat force there.
He'd set his sights on G-5 and planned to arrange for Gion to serve as the commander of G-5.
He believed that with Gion's strength and ability, she could definitely lead G-5 to perform even better than in the original story.
However, Gion hadn't yet realized that even if she returned to Headquarters, she wouldn't be able to stay with Finn for long before this ruthless man arranged for her to work in the New World.
At this moment, Gion was still a little excited. Once she returned to Marineford, she'd be able to spend every day with Finn. How wonderful!
"Let's go. It's not good to stay at the port all the time," Finn said with a smile.
Then he walked inside. Gion imagined a bright future in her heart and followed Finn happily.
"Saul, have you gained weight again?" Finn teased, looking at Saul's tall and strong figure.
"Dereshishishi, maybe. It's pretty easy at G-7. There aren't so many complicated tasks and trivial matters. I eat well and sleep well, so naturally I've gotten much stronger," Saul said with his characteristic laugh.
"I originally wanted to give you a vacation. Kuzan has been asking about you a lot and wanted to go out with you. But it seems you're not very stressed, so forget it," Finn said jokingly, waving his hand.
"Kuzan? I haven't seen that guy in a long time. How is he now?" Saul asked with a smile, not particularly concerned about whether he got a vacation or not.
"He's doing quite well. Compared to me, Sakazuki, and Borsalino, he's the least stressed. He's been quite relaxed all day, and lately he's been studying philosophy," Finn said with a smile.
"Philosophy?" Saul was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Is that guy alright? Did someone damage his brain during a mission?"
"Don't worry. Admiral Sengoku will deal with him when he returns. He won't be able to relax for long," Finn said with a laugh.
Saul also laughed when he heard this. At Headquarters, there were only two people who could make Kuzan completely obey and push him to work harder.
One was Admiral Sengoku, and the other was Vice Admiral Garp.
But under normal circumstances, Garp wouldn't care about these things at all. On the contrary, he might even "slack off" alongside Kuzan.
So it was Admiral Sengoku who kept pushing Kuzan forward.
Finn and Saul chatted in the front. Hina, who hadn't been able to disembark immediately and had been arranging follow-up matters, also caught up. Now she was walking behind Finn and Saul, whispering with Gion, though no one knew what they were talking about.
However, judging from the laughter of the two beauties, one older and one younger, coming from behind occasionally, it seemed they were getting along very happily.
As soon as he entered the building of G-7 Base, Finn saw a little girl walking toward the door with a book titled "Command Is Also an Art" in her arms.
"Command Is Also an Art" was a Marine military textbook that discussed some basic command techniques in Marine battles. Of course, this book was widely circulated within the Marines and wasn't something that needed to be kept secret.
However, the only people who would read these books were ambitious Marine officers, since command was a power only officers possessed.
Finn was stunned for a moment, then recognized that this little girl was Nico Robin, whom he'd rescued from O'Hara.
Compared to back then, there were some changes. First of all, since she hadn't been treated harshly but had been taken care of by Gion and Saul, Robin's standard of living at G-7 was very good, far better than when she'd been ostracized at O'Hara.
Therefore, she'd grown up very healthily and looked quite energetic, though her personality was still somewhat quiet.
At the same time, because she'd had so many experiences in her childhood, she also appeared a little precocious.
When Finn saw Robin, Robin also saw Finn, whom she hadn't seen in a long time. There was a hint of surprise and fear in her eyes. However, she quickly calmed down, stepped out of the corridor, and leaned against the wall. "Good afternoon, Mr. Finn."
Finn nodded first, then squatted down and reached out to ruffle Robin's long dark hair. Robin's eyes were a little evasive, as if she was afraid Finn would hurt her.
"Don't be afraid. I don't intend to hurt you," Finn said softly.
Robin nodded. "I know. If you, Mr. Finn, had intended to harm me, I wouldn't be alive today. Even the life I have now at G-7 is due to your kindness."
It had to be said, Robin was very intelligent.
She knew that Gion and the others had been kind to her at first because she was under Finn's protection. Now, of course, they'd developed genuine feelings for each other.
After a brief pause, Robin continued, "But... but I'm still afraid."
After all, Robin had witnessed Finn's destruction of O'Hara with her own eyes.
Finn sighed but didn't explain anything. Instead, he asked, "I heard from Gion that you want to join the Marines."
Robin's expression became a little nervous, and she asked hesitantly, "Is... is that not allowed?"
Finn smiled at her expression, reached out and pinched her chubby cheeks gently, and said softly, "The Marines are open to all those with a sense of justice. Even I have no reason to stop a child from joining the Marines. If you have such ambitions, I look forward to seeing you become an outstanding Marine, or even a Marine Admiral in the future."
Finn's encouragement seemed to have given her courage. Robin couldn't help but ask, "By then, can I rescue my mother?"
Finn wasn't surprised at all. He nodded seriously. "Yes."
Hearing this recognition and assurance from a Marine Admiral, Robin's eyes lit up with hope, and she said earnestly, "Then I will definitely work hard for it!"
At that moment, she suddenly realized that Finn didn't seem so frightening after all.
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