No one at Navy Headquarters could say for sure whether Redfield was a fan or not, but if he really was, it would be bad if something happened to his idol, causing him to go on a crazy spree and have to go back to sea.
"It seems necessary. Let's pay more attention to this in the future."
Using a very small number of naval personnel to maintain security at the concert is more cost-effective than using most of the headquarters' elite forces to hunt down Redfield.
"In any case, this is good news. The fewer monsters there are in that era, the better, as it will save us a lot of energy."
Monitoring Redfield's movements is much more difficult than monitoring Whitebeard, whose movements are always accompanied by a massive fleet due to their different styles.
Although Whitebeard's destination is uncertain, the Navy's surveillance ships can provide some feedback before Whitebeard takes action.
"Sidil and Redfield must have reached some kind of agreement. Even if Redfield chooses to join, he doesn't seem like the type who can be easily commanded."
No matter how bizarre this may sound, it is now a fait accompli, and the Navy's strategy is to use this to gain more benefits.
But Redfield's personality was already deeply ingrained in people's minds, and they didn't think Redfield would be like an ordinary pirate, following orders from others.
The most profitable way to do this is naturally to spread the word and use Redfield's reputation to intimidate other pirates.
However, this approach also has certain drawbacks. If it forces Redfield, who was already planning to retire, to go to sea again, it would be bad for everyone.
After discussion, the Navy opted for a relatively stable approach: to gradually forget about the incident, just as they had done with Rayleigh and his associates.
As long as Redfield can stay in Oran and retire peacefully, they can pretend Redfield doesn't exist, and even push the concert to proceed.
Anyone who disrupts the concert is trying to disturb the peace of the ocean.
The Navy can be aware of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, but ultimately they must report it to the World Government.
After Sengoku and the others held a short meeting, the news was sent to Sora.
Sengoku is still in the reserve position of marshal. Even though Sora has begun to delegate authority, this kind of thing still has to be done by Sora.
"Redfield? I never expected him to make this choice in the end."
Kong and Redfield were old rivals, and they were even a little saddened to see the news, but they didn't say much. Instead, they reported the news to the Five Elders.
The world government is very satisfied with this.
"Very good. The turbulent sea has lost one unstable element. It was indeed the right decision to let him accept this position back then."
"Isn't his forces a bit too strong? If Redfield is really willing to fight for Siddiil, the country's deterrent power is already comparable to that of the Whitebeard Pirates."
Satan was very satisfied with the result, but Nassou, who was standing next to him, felt that something was wrong.
At its peak, the Whitebeard Pirates had 1,600 members in the main crew and around 50,000 members in the affiliated pirate crews. However, apart from Whitebeard himself, his sons were somewhat lacking.
If given more time, the Whitebeard Pirates could continue to grow, but Whitebeard himself would eventually succumb to the power of time.
Redfield's personal strength is beyond doubt. Project Shiki's abilities are considered inferior to Shiki himself, but still surpass those of the pirates' lieutenants.
With these two forces in place, top-tier combat power is basically not a problem.
As for grassroots combat capabilities, this is something that the Five Elders generally don't discuss.
Piltover is considered a large country in this sea area. Although it doesn't have as vast a territory as Alabasta, it can easily muster tens of thousands of troops.
Given Oran's technological capabilities, his rank-and-file soldiers would only be stronger, given the cost involved.
Oran's most elite troops, a single squad's equipment is worth more than the entire military budget of some small countries. If it were in a country the size of a town, selling them all might not even buy a single heavy mech.
"It doesn't matter. He's not a pirate; he's on our side. As long as he follows the rules, a little ambition is nothing. No matter how powerful he is, he can't be stronger than the entire Navy and the World Government."
It's much better for Redfield to join his ranks than to operate freely on the front lines.
Satan thought this was a good idea, and this statement was also agreed upon by the other five elders.
"That's true. The Navy doesn't plan to report on this extensively. What do you think?"
"There's really no need to make a big fuss about it. I originally thought Redfield was a reclusive guy, but now it seems his personality is also a bit unpredictable. Let's just stick to the usual rules."
"Speaking of which, the World Conference is about to be held, and according to the original promise, it's time to make him a member state."
The World Government sometimes considers the Navy's opinions. For example, they didn't specifically publicize this matter. However, just because the World Government doesn't intend to do so doesn't mean that others think the same way.
There is more than one newspaper in the world, and many countries have their own tabloids, but the one with the widest reach has always been Morgan's World Economic News.
The world government is quite nonchalant in this regard, and doesn't even have its own mouthpiece. Some news is simply disseminated to the world through Morgans' channels.
This period was too peaceful for Morgans.
Although the Great Pirate Era caused quite a stir, Shiki disappeared after escaping from prison, and Whitebeard, who was known as the man closest to becoming the Pirate King, never made a move.
Charlotte Linlin has been gaining momentum lately, and is now almost firmly in second place, except for Whitebeard, which makes it difficult for Morgans to find any newsworthy moments.
Both the Big Mom Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates maintained a degree of restraint, rarely engaging in large-scale conflicts. At most, they would only have minor skirmishes, and even conflicts at the executive level were rare.
As old comrades from the Rocks, they all knew each other's capabilities and were unwilling to lose manpower for no reason.
There are still many small-time pirates on the high seas; we can easily annex them first and then deal with other things.
With the news of Redfield joining Oran's team, he finally had the chance to start imagining things.
"President, what kind of editing do you plan to do with this report?"
"Let me think... Hmm, I've got it! Don't focus on Redfield, focus on the country! It's decided, this will be tomorrow's front page headline!"
"President Morgans, isn't this a bit too much?"
"Exaggeration? That's journalism for you. The uninformed public isn't curious about the truth, but rather whether this event can pique their interest. So just do it this way."
"yes!"
Inside the World Economic News Agency, a group of reporters were busy at work.
Big news is always uncertain, so their newspaper layout could be changed at any time. Ultimately, under Morgans' guidance, a new headline was born.
[The strongest nation - Piltover.]
Exaggeration was Morgans' favorite rhetorical device. As long as things were roughly the same, he would exaggerate them, such as the fifth emperor of the Straw Hat crew in the original timeline.
Meanwhile, the people on the high seas are very interested in the titles of strongest and number one in the world. Titles such as strongest creature, strongest man, and world's greatest swordsman have begun to appear one after another, and Morgans directly added this title to the country.
Prior to this, Elbaf was generally considered the world's leading superpower, which would generate controversy, and controversy was exactly what Morgans wanted.
We don't know what kind of charm this country has that could make the aloof Ryder join it, but with the strong support of this powerful figure, plus the existing war machine soldiers, this non-member country undoubtedly has the qualifications to reach the top of the world!
Whether the giants are stronger, or the Iron Giants, some tens of meters tall, are more formidable, is a secret unknown to most!
Morgans used a sensationalist headline, but the content itself wasn't too outrageous; he mainly praised Piltover.
He was also a member of the underworld, so he naturally knew Oran's status in the underworld, but he did not publicize it in the newspapers.
Although Morgans is known for his exaggerations, sometimes even revealing content that the World Government forbids to publish, he has his own set of rules for survival.
Over the years, he has at most danced on the edge of a knife, repeatedly leaping on the brink of death, but has never truly touched anyone's taboo.
For example, the Gray King of the Underworld—anyone who isn't a complete novice in this field knows something about the real situation.
But anyone who dares to break through Oran's defenses and publicly criticize him will be in trouble.
Morgans was certain that if he did that, Kate would soon be standing outside his window.
He remembered it clearly; his name was on the first page of that notebook!
Morgans believes that since he is not spreading rumors and is simply praising the other party, the consequences will be minimal.
In any case, Morgans did achieve his goal; after the newspaper was published, he successfully sparked a discussion about the matter at sea.
"The strongest. I don't think I've ever heard of this country before."
"It is a non-member country of the Grand Line. Their king is a world-renowned doctor who once won the Ibel Prize in Medicine."
This is a discussion among ordinary citizens of the constituent republics. Not everyone cares about national affairs. If you ask anyone on the street where the capital of a neighboring country is, they might not even know, let alone in a closed environment like the open sea.
However, this indirectly helped Oran a lot. Many members of the lawless lands and non-member states were attracted by the title of the strongest and mustered up the courage to embark on the journey to sea.
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