Without thinking things through completely, Dragon wouldn't make hasty decisions.
In the end, he didn't make the call.
By the time Finn received contact from Dragon, seven days had already passed.
On Smoker's flagship Smokey, Finn sat on a sofa in the main cabin.
This ship could be considered a little paradise for Finn and Hina. Although Finn couldn't be called a "smoker" in the same sense as Smoker himself, he was an old hand with cigars. And Hina had been smoking since her teenage years, a habit she'd never broken.
Smoker, as the Smoke-Smoke Fruit user, had few hobbies beyond collecting expensive cigars and tobacco.
This ship housed an impressive collection.
Some varieties couldn't be purchased with money alone. Even Finn rarely encountered them.
Of course, he usually stuck to cigars specially supplied by Marine Headquarters on weekdays. Those were also impossible to buy, reserved exclusively for high-ranking officers.
The fleet at Endres Island had assembled two days earlier, and the first wave of forces had already begun attacking Totland. The Whitebeard-Smoker alliance remained formidable. Led by Whitebeard Pirates division commanders and supplemented by Smoker's troops, they'd broken into Totland's waters quickly and initiated combat with the Big Mom-Kaido pirate alliance.
The frontline situation was fierce. Pirate ships of all sizes were rallying allies and joining the battlefield in massive numbers. From the very beginning, it had escalated into large-scale naval warfare involving tens of thousands of combatants.
This kind of battle could continue evolving. Hundreds, maybe thousands of ships exchanging cannon fire across the sea. Warships would be continuously replenished, sunk, and rotated for days on end.
In terms of actual combat power, naval battles of this scale posed no threat to truly top-tier masters like Finn, Newgate, Kaido, or Charlotte Linlin. Any one of them could destroy a conflict of this magnitude single-handedly.
When strength reached their level, conventional warfare lost much of its meaning.
So why fight such a large-scale war?
Because the warring parties were demonstrating their dominance to the New World and the entire world.
Not only are we individually exceptionally strong, we command powerful enough forces to suppress all opposition!
Without such large and powerful pirate fleets, how could so many member nations in the New World be convinced to pay protection fees?
Inside the cabin now, Finn pulled tobacco from an ornate box and began rolling it himself with special cigarette paper, complaining casually to the Den Den Mushi on the table.
"No way, Dragon. Do you know what the situation in the New World is like right now? With Endres Island as the frontline and Totland's waters as the war's focus, extending to territories of pirate forces in all directions, countless shells fly from barrels every moment. I don't know how many people are fighting bloody battles..." Finn said absently.
"It's not your turn to take action yet, is it?" Dragon's voice crackled through the receiver.
"What are you talking about? I'm in Totland's waters right now. I could be attacked by the Big Mom Pirates or Beast Pirates at any moment. I'm genuinely nervous..." Finn said without conviction, examining his tobacco roll.
Indeed, this ship was technically in Totland. Within the waters of Totto Land. But it was surrounded by allied warships. Called the frontline, but not actually at the frontline.
There was no need to advance to the true frontline yet. Finn was perfectly capable of holding back. As long as Kaido and Charlotte Linlin didn't emerge personally, he would never reveal the fact that Marines were involved!
Of course, he didn't know that on the actual front lines, an old scoundrel named Rayleigh had been earning money hand over fist these past few days. The Dark King rushed to wherever fighting was fiercest and settlement fees highest, somehow always managing to survive...
The old bastard had known for days that Finn and his people were involved in the war, but he hadn't told anyone.
"Are you interested in cooperation?" Dragon asked directly, not bothering with further pleasantries.
"What kind of cooperation? You keep talking about cooperation without mentioning the actual project. You don't want me to sell you old weapons retired by the Marines, do you? That's too dangerous. I don't want anything to do with you..." Finn compared the cigarette papers, found them uneven, adjusted them, and responded casually.
"Do you think I'm a junk collector?" Dragon said with irritation.
"Damn, you have money to buy first-hand goods?" Finn sounded genuinely surprised.
Dragon was silent for a while on the other end. Then he gritted his teeth. "No..."
That was correct. The weapons Dragon's people used were all second-hand goods from the black market, and many were indeed retired Marine equipment.
The Marines would never return items to the black market directly. Instead, they'd return them to Mary Geoise in exchange for new equipment. However, Mary Geoise was plagued by corruption and would soon sell these items that should have been destroyed on the black market.
Most of Dragon's supplies came from this source.
Doflamingo also dealt in both new weapons and second-hand equipment. He ran that business too.
"That's what I thought." Finn finally breathed a sigh of relief. You people are used to living in poverty. How could you suddenly become wealthy?
Unlike me, an Admiral...
So important to choose the right career path.
"It's because I have no money that I'm looking for you to cooperate. I know you're trying to make money everywhere, right? You've secretly taken a significant cut of the tribute Miss Stussy sends to the World Government annually, haven't you?" Dragon asked pointedly.
He'd known for a long time that Finn intended to create problems for the Marines' funding structure. But the Marine's constraints were so severe that no funding source could replace what Mary Geoise provided.
Therefore, Dragon had always doubted the Marines could truly break free from those shackles. But he also believed Finn must be doing his utmost to loosen them, making money secretly.
Queen Stussy's Pleasure Street had business partnerships with the Amway Group. Finn was probably involved there too.
Finn smiled when he heard this. Dragon was still too naive. He didn't realize that Finn hadn't just "taken a cut." The tribute Stussy sent to Mary Geoise was pocket change. Just enough to bribe and deceive the World Government.
The real massive share had always gone to the Marines.
Over the past few years, while the Marines amassed vast funds, Marineford had secretly constructed several enormous underground vaults. For what purpose? Storing money...
To put it simply, for years now, Marine Headquarters had been reaping huge profits from the Amway Group while simultaneously begging the Five Elders for money and military funding.
The resources within the Calm Belt, the shipbuilding industry and military infrastructure Smoker had built in the New World, had dramatically reduced Marine expenditures. No need to buy externally anymore. They could manufacture everything themselves.
From exporting raw materials to processing finished products. Whether arms or warships, they produced it all. After manufacturing, they'd pretend to sell it to the Marines and maintain appearances for Mary Geoise.
How much money did this save?
An astronomical amount.
The Marines' development strategy of "increasing revenue while reducing expenditure" had naturally been planned by Finn. According to current trends, even without Mary Geoise's military funding, the Marines could maintain approximately seventy percent of normal operational expenses.
But it wasn't enough. Definitely not enough. Not to mention it was only seventy percent. The key issue was that this applied under "normal circumstances." Once war erupted, expenses would skyrocket.
That's why Fleet Admiral Sengoku repeatedly warned Finn against impulsiveness.
He worried Finn might become arrogant, think he could operate independently, and start causing problems prematurely.
In Sengoku's opinion, the Marines needed at least five more years before they could truly operate independently.
Besides, they could continue extracting money from Mary Geoise for those five years. It would be wasteful not to...
Additionally, Sengoku had received Smoker's "Golden City Plan." According to the Fleet Admiral's cautious nature, he felt it would be safest to complete Golden City first, then reveal their hand.
Finn had no objection to this. He genuinely had no intention of becoming arrogant.
It was reasonable for Dragon to suspect Finn was secretly helping the Marines embezzle funds.
But there was no need for Finn to explain that he'd already prepared everything and Dragon's contribution would be redundant.
After thinking, Finn sighed. "Yes, making money is troublesome."
"Well, I have a major project," Dragon said with newfound confidence in his tone.
"How major?" Finn considered for a moment.
Judging from Dragon's status as a revolutionary leader, the major project he mentioned must be worth at least ten trillion berries, right?
Just as Finn was calculating this, Dragon said confidently, "It should be at least three to five trillion, right?"
Of course, the total value of the entire Goa Kingdom couldn't be just three to five trillion berries. But the vast majority consisted of fixed assets. Even if Dragon went crazy, he couldn't liquidate everything. He hadn't contacted Finn these past days because he'd been investigating Goa Kingdom's trade capacity.
His final conclusion: there should be a market worth three to five trillion berries. Once secured, it would provide steady streams of berry income.
Finn, the wealthy magnate, naturally didn't care about a mere three to five trillion berries. Smoker, as a public relations specialist, had given Mary Geoise seven billion berries cash and convinced them to let the Marines support his ascension to Emperor status.
Not to mention the channels and berries Finn personally controlled.
But Dragon was just a peasant revolutionary now. Three to five trillion was already an enormous sum.
After Finn's prolonged silence, Dragon said seriously, "Don't think this is small. Perhaps you're managing military expenditures now and are dazzled by the Marines' astronomical floating budgets..."
"No, I'm just a little surprised you found such a 'big' business opportunity," Finn said after a moment, his tone amused.
Dragon thought Finn was tempted and immediately pressed on. "So? Big enough, right? Not inferior to what we pulled off in Mary Geoise. That time was just a grab, but this is genuinely stable revenue. As long as the two of us join forces, I'll take seventy percent, you take thirty percent. Won't take long to consume it all. What do you think? Interested?"
"No, thank you." Finn replied and hung up the Den Den Mushi.
I earn hundreds of thousands of berries per second. Why should I do these dangerous operations with you, Dragon, for three to five trillion berries? The Mary Geoise arson case was purely an accident, okay?
"You're ruthless," Gion said with a smile from where she sat across from Finn.
Hina and Smoker both laughed. As insiders, they naturally knew Finn was genuinely confident and truly looked down on Dragon's business proposition.
But before Finn could respond, the Den Den Mushi rang again.
"What are you doing? I told you I'm not interested. I'm busy fighting!" Finn said as he lit his cigar.
"Stop hanging up on me! I'm a respectable leader, you know!" Dragon complained. Without waiting for Finn to speak, as if afraid he'd disconnect again, he rushed on. "There's something much bigger. This is just the beginning."
"What's bigger?" Finn frowned slightly.
He'd thought Dragon was planning to drag him into a robbery or something similar, but it seemed... not?
Or was he planning to commit crimes again?
"Are you eyeing Heavenly Tribute?" Finn asked after hesitation.
"Hmm?" Dragon was also stunned for a moment, then fell silent.
Right. Why couldn't he rob Heavenly Tribute?
Wait, no, no. Not appropriate at this stage. At least not yet.
Dragon collected his scattered thoughts. "No, I'm doing legitimate business."
"What kind of business?" Finn asked again.
Dragon pondered for a moment. "A country..."
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