The Marines acted with remarkable speed. After approving Smoker's proposal, they immediately began checking for vulnerabilities and filling gaps in the plan.
Simultaneously, in the New World, Smoker took action the moment he received approval from Marine Headquarters.
The man was genuinely generous. He transferred five billion berries in cash to the World Government in one go.
Cash was always the most effective and efficient currency.
Five billion in liquid assets often held more practical value than ten billion berries in fixed holdings.
Mary Geoise was already desperately short on funds. Thanks to Finn's involvement, what was originally just Fisher Tiger burning down portions of the Holy Land had escalated. Dragon had brought his people along to help with the arson.
Mary Geoise had been reduced to rubble, causing the World Government far greater losses than in the original timeline.
The Five Elders were all strapped for cash.
The five billion berries in liquid funds genuinely gave them breathing room.
It wasn't that the World Government, despite its massive size, couldn't support Mary Geoise's reconstruction.
Rather, even with the World Government's enormous resources, rebuilding Mary Geoise created extremely tight cash flow. What if something went wrong with the funding chain? What if the chain broke entirely?
That would have catastrophic consequences.
Therefore, in response to Smoker, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, coming to their rescue at such a critical moment, the Five Elders gave him extremely high praise.
At the same time, they felt the Seven Warlords of the Sea system was proving excellent and highly practical.
After all, up to this point, the Seven Warlords had remained under Marine control. Apart from Crocodile causing some minor disturbances, they hadn't produced any major adverse effects. The World Government hadn't yet realized the potential threat the Warlords posed.
Smoker's political donation proved remarkably effective. The World Government also felt it necessary to support an agent who could represent their interests in the new round of power struggles about to erupt in the New World.
Subsequently, a comprehensive analysis of Smoker was quickly conducted through the CP agencies and the Marine Intelligence Department.
Needless to say, the person in charge on the CP side was none other than Queen Stussy. The Marine side didn't require much thought either, since Smoker himself was a Marine.
Therefore, the analyses provided by both parties carried a subtle, coordinated quality.
The result was that after the Five Elders received Smoker's profile and opened it, they discovered this man possessed tremendous business acumen. He'd be valuable whether as a pirate or as a Marine.
The reason he'd participated in the New World chaos was because his goods had been seized by the Big Mom Pirates.
This made the World Government even more eager to establish deeper relations with him.
At the same time, according to the analysis, Smoker's personal strength truly wasn't sufficient to support a top-tier pirate organization in the New World alone. He was weaker than Charlotte Linlin, Kaido, Whitebeard, and others.
But this was actually beneficial for the World Government.
Because if Smoker couldn't maintain his position independently, he'd need backing. Judging from the five hundred billion berries he'd offered, the backer he was seeking was the World Government itself.
Therefore, supporting Smoker to become a top-tier pirate and dispatching Marine forces to support him indirectly would greatly benefit the World Government.
Once Smoker established his foothold, if he wanted to maintain the status quo, wouldn't he have to continue "contributing" to the World Government?
There was no need for anything complicated. Just keep sending money.
At the same time, Smoker's relative weakness made him easier for the World Government to control.
Therefore, after making these assessments, the World Government immediately decided to support Smoker's proposal. The Five Elders even personally contacted Fleet Admiral Kong and righteously issued a political directive regarding the Marines and Seven Warlords cooperating in the New World conflict.
Yes, a political directive.
Fleet Admiral Kong was also a veteran actor. Obviously, the Marine senior leadership had already planned their arrangements and course of action.
He simply pretended to be unconvinced and ignorant, arguing with the Five Elders that if Smoker advanced further in the pirate hierarchy, he'd develop into an uncontrollable force. Combined with his identity as one of the Seven Warlords, he'd definitely cause endless problems.
But the Five Elders didn't care about such concerns. They were confident they could control Smoker. After discussing matters with Fleet Admiral Kong for a while, they brought up the Mary Geoise arson case and the promised Commander-in-Chief position.
In the end, Marine Headquarters was "forced" to accept this political directive under pressure from the World Government.
Afterward, the Five Elders saw Fleet Admiral Kong's sincerity. When he refused, his stance was firm. But once something became a fixed decision, he'd do his utmost to execute it properly.
This had happened with the Seven Warlords of the Sea system back then. It was the same with Smoker now.
Soon, the World Government received feedback from CP agencies reporting that Marine Headquarters had begun contacting Smoker and both sides were discussing joint operations.
It was no secret. Fleet Admiral Kong's little performance had tremendous effect.
His attitude and behavior made the Five Elders admire him greatly.
Such a person was an excellent subordinate, a trustworthy subordinate.
When you proposed unreasonable plans, he'd severely refute and reject them.
But when something became inevitable, he'd do his absolute best to minimize potential harm.
Wouldn't appointing such a person as Commander-in-Chief of the World Government's military forces be entirely appropriate?
After completing all these "procedures," Smoker went to meet Whitebeard personally.
Newgate had been under tremendous pressure recently. Kaido and Charlotte Linlin had basically reached their peak strength. In a one-on-one fight, Newgate feared no one. But if they united, he truly couldn't overcome them both.
Additionally, the Whitebeard Pirates were quite dissolute and lacked substantial financial reserves. Especially Newgate himself, who appeared to be a vicious pirate to the outside world.
But he secretly engaged in charity work, which was outrageous. He basically donated all the wealth he acquired to his hometown. Therefore, he'd always been financially strapped. Occasionally, when he went to a bar to drink, Marco and the others had to cover his tab. As a top-tier pirate, achieving this level of poverty was truly unique.
Therefore, the Whitebeard Pirates had been fighting the Big Mom and Kaido alliance until now while actually stretched quite thin. Basically, they were relying on Newgate's accumulated prestige over decades to maintain their position.
But Newgate himself didn't know how long that prestige would last.
Therefore, after Smoker made his move, Newgate had decisively pulled him into the fold.
Now that Smoker wanted to meet him, Newgate naturally wouldn't act arrogant or dismissive.
He received Smoker warmly and even held a banquet to welcome him.
At this point, at least in terms of prestige, Smoker had elevated himself to the same level as Whitebeard and the others.
After all, not just anyone could be invited to a banquet hosted by Newgate.
Newgate had no shortage of fighters, but what he lacked was money to wage war. Smoker happened to be a man with no shortage of funds, so both sides hit it off immediately.
Of course, Smoker didn't tell Whitebeard he was going to coordinate with the Marines.
That was part of the subsequent plan. After all, what he could truly rely on was the Marines, not Whitebeard.
The Whitebeard Pirates' official alliance with the Warlord White Hunter Smoker wasn't announced by either party.
Everyone was simply making preparations in secret. What circulated on the seas remained merely rumors.
With Smoker's official entry, the oppressive, gunpowder-laden atmosphere of the New World grew even heavier.
At the end of Sea Circle Calendar year 1511, the Sun Pirates were ambushed by Marine Headquarters Admiral Candidate Borsalino on Tama Island in the New World.
Fisher Tiger, one of the masterminds behind the arson attack on the World Government's Holy Land Mary Geoise, who'd colluded with the Revolutionary Army to start riots and set fires, was killed instantly by Borsalino in the ambush.
Led by Jinbe, the remnants of the Sun Pirates dove into the sea and fled. Three days later, the Sun Pirates publicly confirmed that their captain, Fisher Tiger, had been killed by the Marines.
But the details didn't matter. Fisher Tiger's death meant the Mary Geoise arson case had reached temporary closure. As for the other mastermind, Revolutionary Army leader Monkey D. Dragon, he wasn't as easy to deal with as Tiger.
Fleet Admiral Kong immediately took the relevant mission report to Mary Geoise and reported to the Five Elders in person.
At that moment, the Five Elders finally saw confirmation of Fisher Tiger's death—that bastard fish-man who made them grind their teeth in rage.
In the photograph, half of Tiger's head was blown away. Several laser wounds caused by Borsalino scarred his body. He'd died miserably.
In truth, the photograph was real, but the subject was fake. Borsalino was exactly as Finn described—meticulous. He'd secretly commissioned someone to create a realistic wax figure, then added special effects to produce such a brutal photograph.
Tiger himself hadn't died at all. He'd been beaten severely by Borsalino and critically injured, then "rescued" by Jinbe before being secretly imprisoned beneath King Neptune's palace at Fish-Man Island.
He'd likely never have another chance to venture outside for the rest of his life. After Jinbe and the Marines coordinated this operation, Tiger had already realized something was wrong with Jinbe. Either the man had simply wanted to seize power, or perhaps he was actually a Marine undercover agent.
Thinking back now, he'd truly been in a situation guaranteeing death. Since Jinbe had saved him after all, Tiger had no intention of causing trouble again.
He was exhausted physically and mentally. Eventually, he lived in seclusion in Ryugu Palace, becoming an anonymous prison guard.
He later wrote a book called "The Gatekeeper of Dragon Palace," which told stories Tiger and certain prisoners had to share.
As soon as Fisher Tiger's affairs reached conclusion, Mary Geoise immediately initiated the promotion proposal for Fleet Admiral Kong.
This matter had already been decided. The Five Elders all favored Kong. Other high-ranking World Government officials were unlikely to provoke this powerful Marine leader at such a time. No one would compete with him for the Commander-in-Chief position.
Therefore, a new transfer of power and shift in military authority within the Marines and World Government began.
At this time, in waters near the Red Line and Mary Geoise, Finn's warship sailed steadily.
Although the New World was the pirates' domain, the gateway waters remained firmly under Marine control.
Therefore, you rarely saw pirates sailing around here. At most, those groups were simply rushing to enter or exit the New World. They'd never dare cause trouble in these waters.
On deck, Finn reclined on a sun lounger with a cigar clamped between his teeth. Adopting similar relaxed postures were Queen Stussy and Monkey D. Dragon of the Revolutionary Army.
The entire ship was staffed by Finn's most trusted subordinates, so there was no concern about the meeting with Dragon being leaked.
"The New World's going to descend into chaos, isn't it?" Dragon asked casually while basking in the sun.
"Hahahaha, what you said is funny. When has the New World ever been truly peaceful?" Finn laughed.
"You know that's not what I'm asking." Dragon's voice dropped. "Is there a role I can play in this?"
"No." Finn's tone turned serious immediately.
Before Dragon could respond, Finn sat up, looked at Dragon with complete gravity, and said, "Don't mess around in the New World anymore. I'm warning you. Just focus on your Revolutionary Army. Pirate affairs aren't your concern."
"Hehehe... why so serious?" Dragon smiled nonchalantly, then nodded. "Fine. I won't interfere with this matter anymore."