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The surroundings were not cordoned off, so civilians could be seen standing in the distance, watching curiously with excitement, craning their necks on tiptoe to get a look.
It was clear these people did not know what was happening here, and their faces were filled with confusion and amazement.
"Is this a major Marine operation? Risky Red Island has never had so many Marines before! Are they here to welcome some important figure?"
"Who knows? I once saw Admiral Bullet of the Marines pass through and stop on the island for supplies, but it was nothing like this!"
"The warships in the harbour are packed full; there must be at least three or four thousand Marines."
"Look, isn't that Marine a Fish-Man?"
"Yes! What's so surprising about that? The ensign in town a while back was from the Tonta Tribe."
"Speaking of which, even though that officer was small, his strength was astonishing!"
The noisy chatter from the crowd continued to rise, creating a lively scene. The people of the island had never witnessed such a spectacle in their entire lives.
A short while later, a ship painted entirely in black slowly docked. Then, an old man wearing fine clothes and a crown, with a solemn expression, walked off the ship.
Beside him was a burly and robust guard, whose right hand never left the hilt of the sword at his waist.
"The Marines have already taken control of the entire port," the guard said in a low voice.
"This meeting is of great significance to the Lulusia Kingdom, but we are still unclear about the Marines' attitude. The Grand Prince has only had contact with the General-Emperor of Dressrosa."
The old king narrowed his eyes, his expression somewhat grim. "In their eyes, we likely did not leave a good impression at the World Conference either."
This sentence made the captain of the guard fall silent.
"Let's just hope we can find a path to survival for the people of the Lulusia Kingdom here with the Marines," the old king said with a sigh.
After returning from the World Government, he had initially been in a good mood.
The economic situation of the Lulusia Kingdom was already poor, and they had to levy high taxes to scrape together the Heavenly Tribute.
If they had been forced to support an army on top of that, it would have been a disaster for them, possibly even triggering civil unrest.
Though the domestic situation was already far from optimistic.
"According to the rumours, this Emperor of the Marines, Fleet Admiral Arashi, is a substantial and iron-fisted figure," the guard captain whispered.
"He even dared to cut off the head of Saint Saturn and capture members of the God's Knights!"
"Be quiet!" the king hissed.
"Let's go ashore. I hear we are not the only kingdom seeking help from the Marines." With that, the two of them walked down the gangplank.
A Marine flag officer below immediately walked over.
The man appeared to be middle-aged and had a smile on his face, looking quite ordinary.
However, from the faces of the surrounding Marines, the old king could see their respect for him.
"I am Vice Admiral Shinbu, and on behalf of the Marines, I welcome the Lulusia Kingdom!" Vice Admiral Shinbu said with a smile.
The old king immediately put on a smile and stepped forward quickly. "Vice Admiral Shinbu, it is an honour!"
Just then, he suddenly heard gasps of awe from the surrounding Marines.
"Heavens, is that Vice Admiral Shinbu? A legend of the Marines!"
"The comrade to whom Fleet Admiral Arashi can entrust his back! To think Vice Admiral Shinbu is leading us this time!"
The old king was startled and somewhat surprised to learn that this Vice Admiral before him had quite a reputation, even being called a legend by the younger Marines.
"Please follow the passage and rest in the reception hall!" Shinbu said with a cheerful smile, gesturing with his hand. "After you, there are still nineteen other kings!"
"Nineteen!?" The old king was instantly stunned. Including him, that meant a total of twenty kings were participating in this meeting! This was a conference encompassing twenty nations!
A Twenty-Nation Conference! If word of this got out, it would cause a huge storm and shockwave throughout the world.
What shocked the King of Lulusia even more was that he was not the only one with this idea.
In that case, the series of conditions he had prepared beforehand would need to be re-evaluated.
He glanced back slightly at his guard captain, whose face also showed a hint of gravity, clearly having thought of the same thing.
"Please!" Vice Admiral Shinbu said with a friendly smile. The two exchanged a look and could only follow him toward the island's interior, with their guards trailing behind.
Along both sides of the path stood solemn-faced Marines, and what surprised the two of them was the number of non-human races in the ranks.
"I had long heard that Big Mom's Totto Land had gathered a large number of different races," the King of the Lulusia Kingdom thought to himself.
"It seems now that the Marines have absorbed that vast nation." The two quickly arrived at the newly built palace in the centre of the island.
It was clear that the Marines had prepared in a hurry, because even someone like the King of Lulusia, who came from an economically poor country, frowned slightly at the state of the conference hall.
However, he quickly regained his composure. It was just a meeting, after all; it didn't need to be an overly luxurious or splendid place.
The two entered the reception hall, where the environment was quite pleasant.
A variety of foods, fruits, and drinks had been prepared, and to their surprise, they all tasted good.
Afterwards, the two waited patiently there while their guards were left outside.
"Perhaps we should properly reconsider the importance of this meeting!" the King of the Lulusia Kingdom said in a low voice.
The guard captain was taken aback, then nodded silently. A meeting involving twenty nations could not be ignored.
With so many countries united, coupled with the power of the Marines, they had the potential to influence the world.
As time slowly passed, the King of the Lulusia Kingdom soon saw other kings arriving one after another.
What surprised them even more was that the attitudes of these kings were extremely friendly, one might even say humble.
They witnessed one king even returning a salute to a Marine officer of colonel rank.
"That's ten of them! So there are kings from other countries coming!"
The King of Lulusia Kingdom was secretly amazed. The number of islands in this world was immense, so there were naturally even more countries, large and small.
After several generations, there were some that he was not familiar with.
Therefore, he just waited in silence, but as other kings and nobles arrived, the Lulusia king's expression grew increasingly solemn.
--Time passed--
When the fifteenth king arrived, a man who was three meters tall, wearing sunglasses, a yellow shirt, a white T-shirt, and a Justice coat on his back, suddenly strode through the doorway of the reception hall.
"So many have already arrived?" the man said with a cheerful laugh, his tone somewhat casual.
"It seems this old man was a step slower than all of you." All the Marines present instantly stood up straight and saluted the newcomer.
"Admiral Kizaru!"
Within the Marines, the five Admirals who managed the five major regions were referred to as "Admirals" to distinguish them from the newly appointed ones.
The outside world, however, called them the five "General-Emperors"!
"Kizaru! The governor of Dressrosa, one of the five General-Emperors!" The kings' faces instantly changed, and several of them even stood up subconsciously.
Seeing this, Kizaru was a bit surprised as well.
He waved his hand with a chuckle and said, "You are all respected rulers of your nations, there's no need for such politeness."
But how could the kings dare to be disrespectful? Although they all acknowledged his words, the respect and fear on their faces were visible.
As one of the five Grand Admirals of the Marines and a revered General-Emperor, the ruler of one of the five major regions, Kizaru's identity and status were in no way inferior to that of a nation's monarch.
His power and status were even higher than a king's! Under his command was the Science Unit, and the Marines' latest researched weapons, the Pacifistas, were in his hands.
Especially in the past year or so, the Marines had been frantically expanding their military, and the number of troops had now reached an unimaginable level.
"There's still some time before the meeting starts. Please wait patiently for a while!" Kizaru said again with a slight smile.
Then, he found a seat, sat down, and propped his legs up on the table. This casual and relaxed posture made the kings look at each other, but the surrounding Marines were used to it.
Time continued to pass. A short while later, all twenty kings had arrived.
The atmosphere in the reception hall was a bit strange; the kings did not speak, while Kizaru leaned back in his chair, sitting there with his eyes closed.
If you listened closely, you could even hear faint snores.
"Will this meeting be presided over by Admiral Kizaru?" someone asked a nearby colonel-ranked officer in a low voice.
"It seems not," the officer replied softly after a moment's pause. "The Admiral is also waiting." This answer stunned the kings.
Someone else was still coming? Then who could it be? It seemed that within the Marines, there was only one person with a higher identity and status than Kizaru!
At this thought, the faces of the kings all changed slightly.
If it were that person, then this meeting could lead to some things being decided directly!
The reception hall was silent; no one made another sound. After a little while, a woman with shoulder-length blue hair wearing a blue gauze dress stepped through the main door.
She had an extraordinary aura, carrying the air of royalty.
This allowed the kings to discern at a glance that this woman must have received a high-class education and noble upbringing since childhood.
"Everyone, please proceed to the conference room," the blue-haired woman said with a smile.
"Fleet Admiral Arashi is already waiting there!" Hearing this, the kings were all startled. It was that man!
"May I ask who you are, Your Excellency?" one king asked cautiously.
Just then, Kizaru suddenly stood up, looked at the woman, and looked surprised.
"Princess Vivi, why are you here too? I remember you were in charge of managing an island in that fellow Aokiji's Totto Land region, weren't you?"
Vivi smiled. "Uncle Arashi called and asked me to come help! He said that having me here would help this meeting with the kings go more smoothly. Because it seems he is not very familiar with the etiquette of nobles."
Kizaru looked astonished. "He's not exactly the type to follow etiquette."
As the two conversed, the hearts of the kings pounded violently. Indeed, this young woman had an extraordinary identity.
She was a minister of an island in the Totto Land kingdom and, more importantly, the niece of Fleet Admiral Arashi!
"Your Majesties, please follow me," Vivi said. "However, before the meeting begins, please do not be nervous. My uncle, Fleet Admiral Arashi, is a very gentle person!"
But looking at the expressions of the kings, she felt a little helpless. It was apparent they did not take her words seriously.
It was only normal, however. Who would believe that the most invincible man in the world would be a gentle and approachable person?
In people's imaginations, Arashi, the commander of the Marine Empire, ought to be a terrifying figure like the Emperors Kaido or Big Mom, or perhaps even more brutal and cold-blooded than them.
But Vivi knew very well just how affable and easy to talk to Arashi was.
She still remembered the scene from last year when, after countless hardships, she passed through Fish-Man Island and entered the New World to see her uncle.
The man was like a retired old fisherman who looked young on the outside. When he saw her, Uncle Arashi was incredibly surprised and happy.
After she explained the purpose of her visit, he thought about it for a moment before agreeing to her request, stating that since she was still young, she could only manage things at the grassroots level, and then arranged an island for her.
Yes, an island! In her uncle's eyes, managing an island was merely a grassroots position.
After arriving in Totto Land, Vivi's worldview was overturned entirely, and a whole new world appeared before her.
Different landscapes, numerous species, and the collision of all sorts of ideas. It was a spectacular world she had never seen before!
Afterwards, Marine Admiral Aokiji and her colleagues, who were various flag officers, even acted as her teachers, personally instructing her in her training.
Over this period, she had already become countless times stronger than she was in the past.
Pushing the memories from her mind, Vivi faced the twenty kings with a natural and composed demeanour.
She turned and led the way. Kizaru, meanwhile, chatted idly with her along the way.
The king, following behind, was even more astonished; it was hard to imagine that this Princess Vivi could actually talk and laugh so freely with one of the Marine's General-Emperors.
Soon, the group arrived at the conference room. The room was spacious, with a long table and exactly twenty chairs, no more, no less.
At the head of the table, a figure was already seated, looking down at a document. Sensing their arrival, the figure looked up. "Thank you for your trouble, Vivi."
"It's what I should do!" Vivi smiled, then stood quietly in a corner of the conference room, picked up a notebook, her expression serene and calm.
"Everyone, please be seated!" Arashi said, gesturing with his hand. The twenty kings, their faces serious and without a hint of a smile, quietly sat down in their respective seats.
The atmosphere was somewhat awkward, and for a moment, no one spoke. It was no joke; the person before them was the most invincible man in the world.
Although he looked like a normal human, his terrifying combat power was enough to make anyone afraid.
"I understand your requests," Arashi said, sweeping his gaze over them with a faint smile.
"The World Government used brutal means to destroy three islands. Those who do not obey it will be violently erased."
As he spoke, the kings at the long table all wore grim expressions and began to listen intently. This was precisely the reason they had come.
"In fact, before this inhumane event, the Marines in Wano Country also suffered an attack from this powerful weapon of the World Government!"
When he said this, shock appeared on the faces of all twenty kings. They all knew what the scene looked like after the three islands were erased.
The entire island would vanish without a trace, leaving behind a massive, bottomless abyss. It was truly hard to imagine how such a terrifying weapon could be stopped.
But the Marines had done it! How unbelievable was that! After the shock, expressions of excitement surged onto the faces of the twenty kings.
Since they were able to block it, that confirmed the Marines truly possessed the power to contend with the World Government. This newly risen power could naturally shelter them.
"What kind of weapon is it, exactly?" the old king of Lulusia murmured.
"It can instantly pierce through an island, blasting a giant abyss into the sea," Arashi said with a faint smile. "I have experienced it firsthand. Its power is indeed impressive!"
"That is to say, the Marines do possess a power that can contend with the World Government's mysterious weapon?" the king who had spoken asked again, as if feeling the previous statement was not specific enough.
"At the very least, we possess the power for an equal confrontation!" Arashi replied casually.
"You could say that. The World Government has no way to harm the islands we are on or cause the same degree of destruction as they did to those three nations!" This sentence made all twenty kings feel invigorated.
"There are rumours outside that the Marines unearthed the Ancient Weapon, Pluton, in Wano!" another king with a stern, square-jawed face spoke up.
Judging by his appearance, this king seemed very upright. "Is this matter true?"
"Pluton, you ask?" Arashi hesitated slightly, but then his voice became a little deeper.
"As of now, the Marines do indeed possess this weapon!" As soon as these words were spoken, the conference room fell into absolute silence.
On the faces of the twenty kings, a mixture of shock, fear, admiration, and disbelief could be seen. Pluton! That was Pluton! One of the three Ancient Weapons.
The legendary Pluton, which, if obtained, granted the power to control the entire world, capable of destroying an island with a single shot.
This meant that the Marines possessed a power that could provide an equal counter-measure against the World Government.
Likewise, they possessed the terrifying ability to destroy an island in an instant.
"So, it's true!" one king said, trembling. Then, as if having made some decision, he suddenly stood up.
"I am willing to hand over full control of my kingdom's territory to the Marines for administration. The condition is that the Marines can shelter our people!"
This sudden statement once again plunged the conference room into silence. Undoubtedly, these two simple sentences were stunning.
They represented that this king was willing to hand over his country to the Marines. In other words, from this day forward, it would become a part of this vast Marine Empire.
But then, the other kings seemed to react, standing up one after another.
"I am willing to hand over the position of king to Fleet Admiral Arashi! Please allow us to become part of the Marines!"
"Our entire nation is willing to become a part of your empire!"
"Me too!"
This sudden change left the King of Lulusia stunned, his expression changing rapidly.
In the blink of an eye, the atmosphere in the conference room became fervent, as king after king offered up their kingdoms, seeking to exchange them for a chance at protection from Arashi.
After a moment, the King of Lulusia sighed in his heart, also rising to his feet and bowing.
"The Lulusia Kingdom wishes to be taken over by the Marines," he declared.
"In exchange for the protection of our kingdom!" In the conference room, Arashi, Kizaru, and Vivi remained calm, seemingly unsurprised by this turn of events.
After a long pause, Arashi smiled faintly and spoke softly. "The Marines welcome all of you."
With a single meeting, the sphere of influence of the Marines expanded by another twenty nations.
Moreover, this was different from the alliance organisation of the World Government. All twenty nations were fully integrated into this nascent empire, which would lead to the rapid rise of a colossal maritime empire.
(T/N: Please give me some power stone, I hope it can at least reach top 100)
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