Finn immediately recognized that Mescas had misunderstood his intentions. He took the old Warden's arm and walked a few steps away, distancing them from nearby personnel before speaking quietly.
"Brother Mescas, it's not about that."
"Oh?" Mescas looked surprised. "Then what did you need, Vice Admiral?"
"Let me ask first about the current situation. Is Impel Down operating at full capacity with prisoners?" Finn inquired.
Mescas smiled and nodded. "Of course. Impel Down always maintains maximum occupancy."
"Really?" Finn's tone carried calculated curiosity. "But I see endless streams of pirate prisoners being escorted here. Must be hundreds every month, right? Can you accommodate them all?"
"More than hundreds. Sometimes thousands of prisoners arrive monthly." Mescas sighed with evident frustration. "As for accommodation, well... they don't all need to be kept, if you understand my meaning."
After a brief pause, he lowered his voice further. "Although Impel Down's mandate is imprisoning criminals, nobody really tracks anyone except high-value prisoners. The punishments here are severe. Some deaths are... expected. When population becomes excessive, we quietly arrange for certain prisoners to 'disappear.'"
Finn nodded with understanding. Impel Down operated at maximum capacity constantly, with steady pirate inflow. But since the facility couldn't expand indefinitely, periodic secret executions became necessary to maintain manageable numbers.
Completely logical, actually. Otherwise, the prison would have overflowed long ago. And thinking about Impel Down's notorious punishments, they were genuinely too brutal for ordinary people to survive. Eliminating some villains was only natural.
"Brother, you must have heard about Roger's execution, right?" Finn asked.
Mescas nodded with visible concern. "Of course. Looks like the seas are headed for serious turmoil..."
"Yes, definitely chaos. We're calling it the 'Great Pirate Era' now. Which means increasingly more pirates on the seas. Our Marines will face tremendous pressure. As for Impel Down..." Finn paused meaningfully. "Your monthly prisoner intake will probably increase exponentially."
"Exactly." Mescas grimaced. "I've been considering this problem recently. If trends continue, Impel Down will become completely overwhelmed."
"Oh? Brother, have you developed a solution?" Finn's eyes lit up with interest.
"No elegant solution, but I have a dirty one," Mescas said with a slight smile.
"Continue killing?" Finn guessed.
"We'll have to keep killing, certainly. But can't overdo it. I plan to bribe Enies Lobby judiciary, ask them to impose harsher sentences. Prefer death penalties over life imprisonment. If they hand down more death sentences, fewer prisoners arrive at Impel Down alive, and I'm more relaxed." Mescas chuckled at his own pragmatism.
As expected, people in charge of imprisonment develop ruthless mindsets.
Finn felt no sympathy for the criminals, so this didn't bother him morally. Though he suspected he'd just discovered why Enies Lobby's trial mechanism would become so corrupt twenty years hence, issuing death penalties at every turn. Probably this old man's influence spreading.
"Excellent idea," Finn agreed readily.
After a pause, he leaned closer conspiratorially. "Brother, I have a proposal too. If we work together, it'll be win-win for both of us."
Mescas stroked his beard, recognizing that the real discussion was beginning. "Vice Admiral, please elaborate."
"As you know, I've been transferred to G-7 as base commander. To be blunt, I came with Admiral Candidate title. Admiral Sengoku and Fleet Admiral Kong have already informed me..." Finn began weaving his fabrication smoothly. "As long as I perform well at G-7, I'll be promoted to full Admiral upon returning to Headquarters."
Complete fabrication, naturally. Sengoku and Kong had never given him such explicit assurances. But no problem deceiving Mescas about this. Could he really verify it? Even if he asked directly, even if it were true, Sengoku and Kong would never officially confirm.
Mescas obviously understood verification was impossible, but he harbored no doubts whatsoever. He could clearly see Vice Admiral Finn had a brilliant future. This assignment was almost certainly a test. Once he performed well, returning to become full Admiral with his Candidate status would be perfectly reasonable.
Must not offend him.
Exactly right. Finn was simply using the tiger's authority to intimidate the old man.
"Congratulations in advance, Vice Admiral Finn," Mescas said quickly.
"Ah, nothing's certain yet." Finn waved his hand with feigned indifference.
But the more dismissive he acted, the more Mescas believed it was truth.
After a brief pause, Finn continued. "To achieve results, I must develop G-7 substantially. But to be honest, I lack both money and personnel. That's why I came seeking your assistance..."
"Does the Vice Admiral need to borrow funds? That's easily arranged," Mescas offered immediately.
"No, no need. To be honest, I came to borrow people," Finn said with a slight grin.
"Borrow people?" Mescas looked momentarily confused, then his eyes widened with comprehension. He glanced around nervously before whispering, "Vice Admiral, are you looking to borrow... prisoners?"
"Exactly. I thought these villains imprisoned in Impel Down consume excessive resources while providing zero value. Soon, pirates will flood in at unprecedented rates. You won't be able to accommodate them all. Then you'll have to kill them anyway. Instead of that, why not lend them to me? I'll handle the disposal." Finn's tone was remarkably casual.
"Handle how?" Mescas asked carefully.
Could this Vice Admiral want to kill prisoners and claim credit? Isn't that excessively radical? Are Marine methods really so extreme?
"I'll request personnel from you, Brother, and bring those bastards back to G-7. Make use of their remaining energy through labor reform. They'll build my base and new city. Any future hard labor gets done by them. This way, I save money, and you can transfer all excess Impel Down prisoners to me for processing. Kill two birds with one stone." Finn's smile turned rather wicked.
His expression at this moment didn't resemble a righteous Marine at all. More like a slave trader.
Mescas stood completely dumbfounded. Is this even possible? Are you still speaking human language? You're simply demonic!
"Will they survive?" Mescas asked tentatively.
"Survive? How could they survive?" Finn spoke matter-of-factly. "Whether building new cities or bases, everything involves military secrets. Even ordinary civilians must be screened to prevent intelligence leaks. You think we'd let pirate criminals survive exposure to construction blueprints and defensive layouts? Impossible. They work until they die."
He leaned closer, voice dropping further. "Let me tell you a secret, Brother. After the new city and base expand, I plan to develop the Calm Belt. I'll send these bastards to mine there. Once ships depart, there's no population, no shipping routes. They can't escape even if they try. Extremely safe."
You're truly demonic, Mescas thought with something approaching awe. I thought secretly executing prisoners was cruel enough, but Vice Admiral Finn, you're far more excessive.
But the more brutal Finn proved to be, the less Mescas dared offend him. Offend someone this ruthless? He definitely won't let you off.
However, Mescas had dealt with maritime criminals his entire career. He understood that without ruthlessness, you couldn't maintain position. When dealing with evil gangs, kind words meant nothing. They simply ignored you. But whip them hard a few times? Suddenly very obedient.
All based on experience.
To be honest, if Vice Admiral Finn weren't so ruthless, Mescas wouldn't dare lend prisoners. After all, if groups escaped and caused maritime incidents, he'd bear responsibility. But since Finn demonstrated such brutality, Mescas felt considerably reassured. Those prisoners wouldn't dare attempt escape. And if they tried, Finn would genuinely kill them all without hesitation.
Finn was indeed ruthless about this matter. He'd already decided: divide prisoners into teams, assign them to work sections. If even one person dared escape, punish and execute the entire team. If a whole group attempted escape, kill them all and return to Impel Down for replacements.
Simultaneously, if someone reported escape attempts or caught escapees, reward them. Promote them to supervisor positions, perhaps.
Anyway, he'd be cruel and merciless. He had plenty of controlling tactics. Just implementing a few would suffice.
"Vice Admiral Finn, your idea has merit. We could indeed extract those bastards and utilize them. But isn't the risk excessive? It's not quite regulation-compliant," Mescas said hesitantly.
He'd been a prison warden his entire life but had never heard of Impel Down prisoners being removed for "labor reform."
Honestly, this matter occupied ambiguous territory. If covered properly, even achieving results, it might become future policy. After all, imprisoning these people wasted resources. If their surplus value could be extracted, Headquarters would probably be delighted. Vice Admiral Finn could definitely make this a pilot program.
But if someone took notice and created major incidents, or reported it to higher authorities, it genuinely violated regulations. Potentially a very serious crime.
"On the way here, I already reported this concept to Headquarters. Admiral Sengoku wanted me to try it first, but he also said if others inquire about this matter, he must pretend he's never heard of it. Simply put, he nominally supports the trial, but won't accept blame if anything goes wrong. He told me to weigh it myself. And I've weighed it." Finn lied smoothly.
You haven't weighed anything! Mescas roared internally.
But he felt somewhat reassured. At least he needn't worry about being reported. After all, Sengoku's intention was crystal clear, even if deniable.
Still worried about mistakes causing accidents, though.
While Mescas hesitated, Finn added, "I can't offer you benefits for the first batch, or even the first few batches. But don't worry. As long as this runs smoothly, it'll definitely be long-term work. So after the base is built and new city constructed, I'll pay you per person. Two thousand Berries per head."
"It's a deal!" Mescas agreed instantly.
Two thousand Berries per person seemed modest. Slaves didn't have such low prices. But Mescas thought it appropriate. After all, he wasn't genuinely a slave trader. As long as Finn would take them, he could provide thousands of prisoners monthly. In total, that meant two million Berries monthly income, higher than his actual salary.
Moreover, judging from current trends, there would definitely be increasingly more pirates. If Finn really succeeded with this initiative, a few thousand prisoners monthly wouldn't satisfy his appetite. Maybe tens of thousands eventually. How much money would that generate?
Good lord, you're a corrupt official. Why didn't you say so earlier? Why make me dance around the subject?
Finn looked at Mescas with mixed feelings, somewhat shocked by how quickly the man had accepted.
"My Lord Vice Admiral, in that case, I have a suggestion. We should select prisoners who aren't particularly capable, the weaker ones. To be honest, Impel Down has six floors. The lower you descend, the stronger prisoners become, but also fewer in number. I think we should extract people from the first and second floors only, right?" Mescas suggested pragmatically.
He genuinely worried that excessively powerful prisoners would prove difficult for Finn to suppress.
Finn nodded with satisfaction. "Well, that's fine. Safety first, after all."
Perfect. Everything was proceeding exactly as planned.