While Queen Sally gently massaged his shoulders, Victor Shaw carefully pored over a detailed map of the East Blue and flipped through the profiles of the surrounding kingdoms.
Accordion Kingdom... it has a town called Orange Town. That name sounds familiar...
Moonlight Kingdom... Syrup Village lies within its borders.
And in the Konomi Kingdom, there's Cocoyasi Village...
Victor's brows furrowed.
"So many tiny kingdoms in East Blue… this is a betrayal of the ideals of a unified empire."
His gaze darkened. With a sudden flash of steel, he stabbed a dagger straight into the map spread across the table.
Every small island cluster even mid-sized islands were operating as independent kingdoms.
This fragmentation was unacceptable.
Victor wanted to plant the flag of the Goa Kingdom across all the nearby territories, just as the Four Emperors had staked claims across the New World. His goal? To elevate the Goa Kingdom into a Goa Empire.
Vinsmoke Judge had once shaken the North Blue with his Four-Nation Slash Campaign, bringing entire kingdoms to their knees.
Victor, too, would launch his own Four-Nation Conquest a blitz that would make the name Goa Empire echo across East Blue… and eventually, around the entire world!
Of course, a greater empire meant more tribute to the Celestial Dragons.
It wasn't surprising, then, that King Beckley of the Sorbet Kingdom had once split his own kingdom in two abandoning the impoverished southern half to escape the burden of heavenly tribute.
"Damn it…"
Victor muttered to himself.
No matter. He'd treat the extra tribute as a temporary loan to the Celestial Dragons. He'd find a way to earn it back then take it back.
For now, the priority was to build up his strength and develop a formidable military force.
His thoughts drifted again to two powerful men who would one day become Marine Admirals.
With the right influence, perhaps Goa Kingdom could recruit them.
Given the kingdom's rising prestige… it just might be possible.
After all, Issho the man later known as Fujitora had originally served as the Royal Guard Captain of Cang Country, a fallen Grand Line kingdom.
And Aramaki, future Admiral Ryokugyu, had been a police officer from Taya Kingdom in the South Blue.
One day, Victor would personally buy Issho's freedom from the gambling dens of Twin Serpent Island in the West Blue.
If this kind-hearted warrior from a ruined nation still carried a sense of justice, maybe… just maybe… he'd agree to fight under Victor's banner.
"But first," Victor whispered, "I need to make a name for myself. And for the Goa Kingdom."
"I'll become East Blue's Judge of Justice. I'll be the King of Exile!"
Victor's eyes blazed as he stared at the East Blue sea chart. His vision was clear.
He would lead the royal fleet of Goa Kingdom across the East Blue patrolling every corner, raising flags, and preaching the cause of great unification.
The so-called Navy Branch captains the local tyrants relied on limited communication from Marineford, giving them free rein to collude with pirates and exploit innocent civilians.
If the Marines had become this corrupt… if their so-called "justice" had rotted through…
Then so be it
If Marineford couldn't manage its own Navy Branches, Victor Shaw would.
If the World Government couldn't control the chaos in its Allied Nations, Victor Shaw would.
And even if the seas already claimed by the Marines and the World Government were "under control," Victor Shaw would still step in and take responsibility.
This was the will of the Goa Empire, proclaimed by imperial decree!
Besides, it wasn't unprecedented for a king to set sail himself to fight pirates and lead armies into battle.
Over in Dressrosa, one such Allied Nation had a king who did exactly that:
Elizabello II, the mighty ruler known for unleashing the fearsome King's Punch.
…
Several days later, inside the royal court of Goa Kingdom
The announcement that their newly crowned king would soon set sail on an East Blue patrol with plans to subjugate neighboring kingdoms sent shockwaves through the chamber.
The gathered nobles and ministers looked stunned, eyes wide with disbelief.
After all, Goa Kingdom had long been known for its elegance, peace, and prosperity a shining jewel among the East Blue kingdoms.
Victor's bold declaration felt completely out of place in such a gentle and peace-loving region.
"North Blue has the Germa Kingdom," Victor proclaimed. "Don't you want to taste the glory of an empire?"
"Rest assured I won't hoard the empire's glory for myself!"
"The glory of the Goa Empire is the glory of the Victor Shaw family, yes but it will also be everyone's glory!"
His voice was calm, persuasive… almost hypnotic.
With that devilish charm, Victor's words stirred something in the hearts of the younger nobles and junior officials. Their eyes lit up with ambition.
Even some of the older, more traditional lords those who had clung to their ideals of peace found themselves tempted by the imperial vision he laid out.
From the Most Beautiful Kingdom in East Blue…
To the Strongest Empire in East Blue.
The very thought of it made hearts race.
If the Goa Empire expanded, their noble lands and ranks would grow alongside it. Their family names would echo louder, their children inheriting even grander titles.
But doubt still lingered in the minds of a few.
Could this young new king really lead Goa Kingdom to greatness?
Or was he just a dreamer, all words and no substance?
And what about Vice Admiral Garp?
Would he stand idly by and let his homeland the peaceful Goa Kingdom become a nation of war?
Those thoughts fueled a wave of resistance.
Several elder nobles and high-ranking officials who valued tradition and stability stood up at once, their faces grim.
"Goa Kingdom is the most beautiful and peaceful nation in the East Blue. We will not allow you to trample on its century-old heritage!"
"Do you truly want to turn our country into a nation of war?!"
"Once war begins, it is not so easily stopped!"
"Can we really trust this new king?!"
"He's nothing more than a Devil King who stole his throne!"
An elderly duke and a senior second-rank official pointed directly at Victor Shaw, seated on the royal throne, and boldly denounced him.
It was already outrageous enough that this so-called Devil King had slain Oterluk III and five hundred members of the Royal Guard.
And now he wanted to drag the Goa Kingdom into open war?
They would never allow it!
The entire court fell into a stunned silence.
Every noble and official turned to look at Victor, waiting to see how this new king would respond to such bold defiance.
Victor's expression turned cold.
"A pile of dried bones from a forgotten grave… and you dare to obstruct this empire's rise? You even dare to question my legitimacy?"
His gaze grew sharper, cutting through the silence like a blade.
Did these old fossils truly believe that Sally De Cannette, the queen with whom he shared his bed night after night, wasn't a rightful heir to the throne?
He was beyond insulted.
"This king is informing you not requesting your approval."
"You two have committed treason… and made me very unhappy."
"I hereby sentence you to exile by royal decree. You are now subjects of the King of Exile."
Victor remained expressionless as he lifted his left index finger and tapped gently against the armrest of his throne.
In that moment, a shimmering energy field enveloped the entire court a transparent temporal shield, summoned from his Time Domain.
Then, he raised his right hand
And snapped his fingers.
Snap!
In an instant, both the old duke and the second-rank official vanished into thin air, as though they had never existed.
Gasps echoed through the court.
The bizarre scene left the entire assembly frozen in place, too terrified to speak.
Even those who had stood near the vanished men collapsed to the ground in fright, fearing they might be next caught up by association.
What kind of monstrous Devil Fruit power was this?
King of Exile?
Had those two once-powerful officials truly been banished… to some unknown prison beyond space and time?
Victor leaned back, eyes calm.
"Well then. The noisy ones are gone."
"Now, let's continue. We'll map out this king's patrol route through East Blue… and list the kingdoms to be conquered."
His gaze swept across the room with undeniable authority, cold and commanding like a sovereign ruler of absolute power.
His tone left no room for doubt.
And yet, deep in his heart, Victor sighed.
These patchwork kingdoms of East Blue… they hardly seemed capable of rivaling the strength of a seasoned pirate crew.
As starting points for empire-building, they still felt pathetically weak.
The path Victor had chosen was undoubtedly a difficult one.
But even so, it was still better than starting from nothing better than going out to sea as just another wandering pirate with no name, no backing, and no plan.
Now that Victor had set the tone for his vision, the nobles and officials began rallying behind him.
They eagerly offered flattering words, advice, and proposals.
The younger generation of nobles in particular were fired up. They demanded the conquest of every nearby kingdom, dreaming of a powerful Goa Empire that would dominate the East Blue.
After several rounds of heated discussion and Victor's decisive approval the official East Blue patrol route and conquest plan were finalized.
But just as they were wrapping up, an official presented a worldwide Allied Nations navigation map, and Victor's eyes lit up in astonishment.
This changed everything.
It seemed that beyond the East Blue conquest, a Four Seas Patrol Campaign could also be put on the agenda.
"Damn it…"
Victor muttered to himself, his brow furrowing.
He realized now he'd been misled fooled by the Straw Hat Pirates' navigation route.
All that talk about having to cross Reverse Mountain to enter the Grand Line?
Utter nonsense.
Reverse Mountain was only the entrance for pirates of the Four Seas.
But on the opposite side of the Red Line, the sacred land of Mary Geoise also served as the central convergence point of the Four Seas.
Unlike the wild currents of Reverse Mountain, there were no reverse streams there.
In fact, safe and stable navigation routes had long been established in all four Calm Belt zones, with Sea Prism Stone–coated warships patrolling and guiding Allied Nations vessels.
That was the official, legitimate, safe route used by the World Government's Allied Nations to reach Mary Geoise for the World Conference.
There was no need at all for these kingdoms to risk passage through the dangerous Reverse Mountain or traverse the chaotic Grand Line's Paradise route.
…