Sea Circle Calendar year 1512, mid-year.
The war in the New World had not yet begun.
Doflamingo, a man who'd remained relatively silent for the past few years, had brought explosive news to the entire world not long ago.
In 1512, because Mary Geoise's reconstruction remained incomplete, the World Government hadn't held the World Conference that should have convened every four years.
After all, there wasn't sufficient space. They couldn't invite royal families from various nations to a construction site and hold meetings while eating dust, could they?
However, although this World Conference had been postponed and wouldn't occur, each nation still had to deliver every last berry of Heavenly Tribute it owed.
There was nothing unusual about this.
For the past several decades, even centuries, no one had dared touch Heavenly Tribute.
Therefore, Mary Geoise hadn't paid excessive attention to this annual routine.
And it was precisely in this situation of carelessness that catastrophic problems arose.
Doflamingo had been planning in the North Blue for an extended period. Finally, he seized the North Blue nations' Heavenly Tribute just as it was about to arrive at Mary Geoise.
More than seventy ships, all loaded with gold and cash.
Reportedly worth tens of trillions of berries.
Although it sounded terrifying, if you considered carefully, this represented the Heavenly Tribute jointly contributed by member states from the North Blue—one of the world's four major sea regions. Having tens of trillions in berries seemed reasonable.
After all, the North Blue accounted for nearly a quarter of all member nations. Judging from the Heavenly Tribute allocation, major nations had to pay at least one trillion berries annually. Smaller nations faced less pressure, but still had to start at hundreds of billions of berries.
The moment news of Doflamingo's theft broke, it immediately dominated front-page headlines of major news outlets worldwide.
Good heavens! The entire world erupted in uproar. The North Blue nations panicked especially, fearing the World Government would shift blame to them and demand they pay this Heavenly Tribute again.
Doflamingo was a clever bastard. He'd followed Finn's advice and personally paid out five billion berries to Mary Geoise.
At the same time, he'd formally informed the Five Elders that the Heavenly Tribute was merely temporarily detained. He had no intention of actually taking it. He only wanted a position among the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
If they granted him this position, he, Doflamingo, would return all the Heavenly Tribute without hesitation. These five billion berries would serve as his apology to the World Government.
Of course, if they didn't grant him the Warlord position, he'd sink this Heavenly Tribute into the sea to feed the fish. He wouldn't return a single berry to Mary Geoise.
Naturally, these secret transactions weren't publicized.
On Mary Geoise's side, the Five Elders were actively handling this crisis.
Red Line. At Mary Geoise's port, a warship hadn't even fully docked before the ship's ladder was impatiently lowered.
Then Marine Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Admiral Finn descended from the vessel.
Anyone could see Fleet Admiral Sengoku looked helpless, though not particularly angry.
He felt helpless because he'd only been Fleet Admiral for less than half a year, and the pirate Doflamingo had already committed such a massive crime. How could he not feel terrible?
The reason he wasn't furious was because Finn had already informed him in advance. He'd been mentally prepared and understood what Doflamingo was planning.
"At least wait until the ship stops before disembarking. You're in your forties and a Devil Fruit user. What if you get thrown off and fall into the sea..." Finn complained behind Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
But after saying this, he paused. "Wait. That's not right. If you drowned in the sea, wouldn't I immediately become the top candidate for the new Marine Fleet Admiral?"
Are you getting a little excited thinking about it?
Fleet Admiral Sengoku nearly vomited blood upon hearing Finn's shameless words. He turned around and spoke angrily. "Don't worry. I've already made a will. If I die, it'll immediately activate the emergency protocol and have Zephyr return to serve as Fleet Admiral temporarily. It has nothing to do with you, you bastard!"
"Damn, Fleet Admiral, that's going too far. Chief Instructor Zephyr is so elderly and suffers from asthma. How can you make him work so hard? You might as well change the will to name me... I'm young and strong. I'm not afraid of such hardship!" Finn patted his chest earnestly.
"Come on, forget it. I'm genuinely afraid that the moment I write such a will, you'll assassinate me." Fleet Admiral Sengoku complained.
Of course, both understood these were merely jokes.
It was impossible for Finn to actually murder Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
It was impossible for Fleet Admiral Sengoku to genuinely make a will naming Zephyr as Fleet Admiral. He didn't possess that authority. The Marines weren't a company he'd founded alone.
"Stop joking, you bastard. What you and Doflamingo have orchestrated this time is extraordinarily serious. The Five Elders are so anxious they demanded I come to Mary Geoise immediately. They specifically said to bring you along. Let me ask you first—you didn't leave any evidence or clues behind, right? Don't let the Five Elders discover anything, or you're dead!" Fleet Admiral Sengoku's voice dropped low.
"When Doflamingo was robbing the Heavenly Tribute, I was already having tea at Marineford. How could I possibly leave any trace? Don't worry. I think the Five Elders believe I'm resourceful and perhaps want to hear my opinion or something. What's more, as a Marine Admiral, isn't it normal for me to be summoned at a time like this? It's not like when I quarreled with them years ago." Finn's tone was calm, confident.
Regarding the Heavenly Tribute matter, he'd simply listened to Doflamingo's proposal and offered some "technical guidance" along the way. He'd had no plan or participation whatsoever.
How could it possibly be traced back to him?
It was even more impossible for the Five Elders to discover anything.
Unless Doflamingo betrayed him—but would he dare? Besides, there was no need.
He had no evidence to support accusations. Finn could sue him for defamation.
Moreover, if he offended Finn, he could forget about becoming one of the Seven Warlords. That would contradict his fundamental objective. Therefore, Finn didn't believe Doflamingo possessed the courage to throw him under the carriage.
After chatting and aligning their statements, Finn and Fleet Admiral Sengoku soon arrived at the Five Elders' office door.
After knocking, a response came from inside.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku pushed the door open and entered. Finn naturally followed.
The moment they entered, they saw the Five Elders seated together with grave expressions. Opposite them stood Queen Stussy.
There was no doubt—when such a massive incident occurred, the CP agencies would naturally be dispatched.
Her Majesty the Queen had become a favorite among the Five Elders in recent years.
After all, Stussy was not only obedient but also extraordinarily capable. The tasks assigned by the Five Elders were always completed flawlessly, with mutual cooperation from Finn, Smoker, Dragon, and others.
Additionally, her Pleasure Street possessed tremendous money-making capability. She'd invested in Smoker's "Amway Group," making her a renowned wealthy woman in the New World.
She'd provided substantial financial support to the World Government.
The Five Elders were desperately short on funds now. Stussy could continuously inject massive amounts of capital into Mary Geoise. They wouldn't favor Stussy—a CP executive with strong work capabilities who could also generate wealth—if not her, then who?
Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Finn nodded normally to Queen Stussy.
Nowadays, many surface-level relationships had become somewhat clearer. The Five Elders also understood that Stussy was among the few CP agency executives who maintained positive relations with the Marines. She'd indeed completed several difficult assignments with Marine assistance.
If this had been more than ten years ago, they'd certainly have been extremely wary of such things.
After all, CP personnel maintaining good relationships with the Marines meant the power balance strategy formulated by the Five Elders had been disrupted.
However, in recent years, the Five Elders had relaxed their control over such matters somewhat.
After all, the current situation wasn't favorable. If they still arranged for the Marines and CP agencies to compete with and hinder each other, wouldn't that be counterproductive?
It was because Queen Stussy had recognized this shift that she'd proactively made the relationship clearer.
To a certain extent, it was also performed for the Five Elders' benefit.
She wanted the Five Elders to understand that she, Stussy, followed their thinking closely. If they wanted her to oppose the Marines, she would make things difficult for them.
If they wanted her to ease relations with the Marines, she could immediately demonstrate an attitude of closeness.
Indeed, the Queen's maneuver had temporarily fooled the Five Elders, preventing them from overthinking matters.
What's more, according to normal logic, the CP agencies and Marines had been at odds for hundreds of years. No one would genuinely consider whether the two organizations might actually be in collusion.
Queen Stussy also smiled kindly at Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Finn as greeting.
The Five Elders then spoke. "Sengoku, Finn, you've arrived. Let's dispense with pleasantries and stop wasting words. This is urgent. Such a massive incident has occurred in the North Blue. That bastard Doflamingo dared touch Heavenly Tribute. How do you believe we should handle this?"
Before Fleet Admiral Sengoku could even respond, Finn slapped his chest. "Of course, such behavior cannot be tolerated. Mary Geoise and the Marines represent order and justice. How can we bow to bastard pirates? Otherwise, if we set this precedent, anyone will dare use Heavenly Tribute to negotiate with us. If it were up to me, I'd ignore Doflamingo completely. My lords, I'll return to Marineford with twenty warships. Give me three months, and I'll place Doflamingo's head before you. I guarantee he'll be killed without further incident! Set an example!"
The Five Elders looked stunned.
Are you, Finn, really this aggressive?
But then they reconsidered—it seemed this man had been called the "Violent Tiger of Marine Headquarters" in his early years. Reportedly, he'd beaten Kong?
However, the Five Elders clearly disagreed with Finn's words, yet it was difficult to refuse directly. After all, Finn's statement had positioned him squarely on the moral high ground. If the five of them now said they wanted to compromise, how embarrassing would that be?
The Five Elders would never doubt whether Finn could kill Doflamingo.
But Doflamingo was cunning enough that if he died, he'd probably drag the Heavenly Tribute down with him.
This was what they couldn't accept.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku observed Finn's acting performance and looked at the Five Elders. He realized the timing was nearly perfect—too much would be counterproductive. He grabbed Finn. "Not necessarily, not necessarily. Let's think about this further!"
"Fleet Admiral! You don't want to compromise with pirates, do you? You're the Marine Fleet Admiral!" Finn spoke with righteous indignation again.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku glared at Finn fiercely. "Aren't you done yet?"
The Five Elders also spoke at this moment. "Finn, we don't want to compromise with pirates like Doflamingo, but the Heavenly Tribute carries tremendous significance and the amount is genuinely massive. Are you certain you can recover the Heavenly Tribute while killing Doflamingo?"
Finn was silent momentarily, then, with an expression of determination, said in a deep voice, "I will—"
The Five Elders looked confused. Didn't you see we were giving you an out? Why are you still arguing?
Fleet Admiral Sengoku also looked mildly surprised. Didn't we just agree on this approach during the journey? Did you take the wrong medicine?
But what surprised Sengoku even more was that before Finn could even issue his military order, the Five Elders quickly interrupted him. "We believe in your capability, Finn, but we should consider this matter carefully. Doflamingo actually holds some special significance for us, so we cannot touch him for the time being..."
Finn's expression shifted several times, but he finally nodded with an unwilling look. "Very well. I will listen to the five lords."
Fleet Admiral Sengoku finally understood. What exceptional acting!
This bastard Finn had no intention of fighting to the death with Doflamingo. He was simply impressing the Five Elders like crazy here.
Thinking about it carefully, Finn had mentioned something about his "persona" among the Five Elders. He hadn't fully understood it then, but it should be this image, right?
Hating evil? Unable to tolerate any injustice?
No wonder. Fleet Admiral Sengoku considered it carefully and realized such a person wouldn't provoke suspicion from others.
Seeing that Finn, the vengeful Admiral, had yielded, the Five Elders didn't know why, but they felt relieved.
Then Saint Warcury spoke. "Here's what happened. There's an inside story you may not know. Doflamingo stole the Heavenly Tribute specifically to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea..."
Fleet Admiral Sengoku glanced at Finn and found the man looked genuinely shocked, as if hearing this for the first time. He nearly laughed aloud.
He also followed suit, pretending to be astonished. "There's such a thing?"
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