Bang! Sengoku slammed his palm heavily onto the desk in front of him, glaring at Sephiroth and roaring angrily:
"What kind of joke is this?!" Hearing this, Sephiroth shook his head and emphasized again:
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I already said. I'm not joking. Name your price! How much money do you want to hand over the Marine to me?" Compared to Sengoku's fury, Kong was much calmer.
He gently tapped the desk twice with his right index finger and spoke with a somewhat meaningful tone:
"Sephiroth, the Marine is not a commodity; it's not something you can just buy because you want to..." "Oh, alright! I was a bit too blunt just now. Let's use a more affected... cough!... a more subtle way of saying it. Currently, the World Government has suffered an unprecedented blow.
Holy Land Mary Geoise has been bombed into dust by an unknown terrorist attack, and the World Government's central administrative organ has been completely destroyed as a result... The Marine urgently needs a large sum of money to deal with post-war matters, but you simply can't come up with it and don't know who to ask for money, thus falling into a predicament of insufficient funds, right?"
The reason why the World Government can control the million-strong army of the Marine, in the final analysis, is because of... money! Yes, the reality is that simple reason. As the largest violent organization in the world, the Marine needs an astronomical figure of over a hundred billion Berries just for monthly salaries, not just a few billion or tens of billions.
Such terrifying military expenses are simply unaffordable for ordinary countries. A million Marine soldiers, this number seems large, but spread across the world, it's actually just so-so. After all, even the Alabasta Kingdom has a standing force of six hundred thousand.
However, the Marine is a global organization that can select elite talents from all over the world, and even recruit them using various deceptive, coercive, or enticing methods after taking a liking to someone.
Therefore, the combat power of the Alabasta Kingdom's six hundred thousand standing troops is a joke in front of the Marine; the Marine can easily crush and mold them just by sending out a few top powerhouses!
Of course, the Alabasta Kingdom only has a gap in mid-level and top-tier combat power; in terms of basic combat power, if both sides rely purely on firearms, the Marine would still have to pay an extremely heavy price to wipe out the Alabasta army, and it's not impossible for them to suffer a setback. Sengoku pushed up his glasses.
His tone was somewhat unfriendly:
"Sephiroth, Commander-in-Chief Kong and I are very clear about how vast the power behind you is. However, although the Marine is very short on money right now, it hasn't fallen to the point of becoming a commodity to be acquired by you..." "Oh!? Sengoku, do you really know how vast my power truly is? If you really knew, you wouldn't say such a thing!"
Sephiroth casually grabbed a chair in the room, crossed his legs, and sat down, intertwining his fingers on his lap, his tone full of playfulness. Seeing his cynical attitude, Sengoku's expression became even more displeased:
"We all know that the Umbrella Corporation is the force you secretly established seventeen years ago.
After so many years of development, its scale and wealth are indeed astonishing. This makes me have to say, I admire you. Honestly, at your age, given seventeen years, I absolutely could not achieve what you have. However, that is not a sufficient reason for you to take control of the Marine. The justice that the Marine carries on its back will absolutely not..." "Hahaha-!
The Marine carries... justice!? Hahaha-! Wait a moment, let me laugh for a bit, the joke you told is too funny... Hahaha-!" As if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, Sephiroth immediately burst into laughter, his laughter filled with mockery and disdain.
Sephiroth finally stopped laughing when he noticed golden light emanating from Sengoku's body. The Fleet Admiral was clearly preparing to enter his Great Buddha form, rolling up his sleeves with every intention of throwing hands. With a smirk, Sephiroth reached into his pocket and tossed a stack of photos onto the desk. "You three, did you know? I've always been curious about a particular battle."
"That battle took place thirty-six years ago at a place called God Valley." He leaned back casually. "An island that used to be in West Blue but vanished from every map. Out of curiosity, I dug through the Marine archives using my position, but found almost nothing. It was as if the battle had never happened..."
"Fortunately," he continued, a sly grin spreading across his face, "a few years ago, I acquired an exceptional intelligence operative. With her help, the Umbrella Corporation's network pieced together the truth about God Valley. A truth that exposes the ugly faces of the World Government and the Marine!"
Kong, Sengoku, and Tsuru immediately reached for the photos scattered across the desk. The images were brutal—blood-soaked scenes of violence that made their stomachs churn. The photos documented a dehumanizing massacre, a chilling spectacle that sent shivers down their spines.
In the photos, figures clad in spacesuit-like outfits acted as armed killers, while their victims were unarmed civilians and enslaved individuals. It was a sickening competition of slaughter. "This is...!?" Sengoku's eyes widened, his voice trembling with shock.
Among the photos, Sengoku recognized familiar faces: Saint Rosward, Saint Charloss, Saint Pulming. They looked much younger, but their expressions were twisted with madness. Tsuru stared at the photos in silence, her trembling hands betraying her inner turmoil. Kong, however, remained composed, his face unreadable.
He sighed, set the photos down, and looked up at Sephiroth, who lounged with an air of indifference. "How did you get these photos...?" Kong asked, his voice steady.
Sephiroth chuckled and shrugged. "During the God Valley battle, thanks to a kind soul, several survivors escaped that hellish island. Even though the World Government and the Marine tried to erase them, some evidence remained. These photos are part of that evidence."
"If you don't want people to know, don't do it in the first place," he said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "A Marine that helps the Celestial Dragons slaughter civilians from non-affiliated nations dares to call itself just? I'm curious—is 'justice' just another word for 'evil'? And let's not forget the Ohara incident twenty years ago..."
"Kong, Sengoku, you've both been Fleet Admirals. You know better than anyone how many dirty jobs the Marine has done for the World Government. So let's be honest—'justice' is just a pretty word the Marine uses to lie to itself. At your core, you're nothing more than a mercenary organization, selling your services to the highest bidder!"
"You'll kneel and call daddy for money! Therefore, going back to the previous topic, I'm not joking—name your price! The Marine... I'm buying it!"