Ideals and reality are two very different things.
Unless you are the protagonist of destiny, an ideal detached from reality is nothing more than foolishness. Generally, those who speak only of ideals are the type who possess a profound lack of understanding regarding how the world actually works.
When your strength is insufficient, you must see reality for what it is. When your strength is sufficient, you can overturn that reality. Only then do you truly earn the right to speak of ideals. For when you stand above all others, you possess the power to turn those ideals into reality.
At that moment, and only then, does the ideal equal the reality.
Because of this, Sean didn't believe there was anything wrong with Akainu's actions at Ohara. On the contrary, if Aokiji had been the one in charge and allowed those people to escape, the consequences likely would have resulted in ten, a hundred, or even ten thousand times more civilian casualties.
Perhaps Aokiji would have gained a good reputation, while the subsequent, greater loss of life would have brought an even darker infamy upon the World Government. But wasn't that just another form of selfishness?
Those in power must be prepared to shoulder the burden of infamy. Even if they are cursed by the entire world, they must persevere in making the most correct choice. In this regard, Aokiji fell far short of Akainu.
'I hope she eventually figures that out,' Sean thought with a slight sigh as he walked out of his office.
'''
Ten days later.
Akainu arrived at the 16th Branch with over three hundred Marines.
As for how he arrived so quickly? The reason was simple... the man was so impatient that he had simply commandeered Gion's warship.
Consequently, two identical ironclad warships now sat in the harbor of the central island.
"Admiral Sakazuki!"
"Is this... my ironclad warship?" Akainu asked excitedly as he stepped off the gangplank and looked at the vessel nearby.
"Yes, Admiral Sakazuki. It is identical to Vice Admiral Gion's. Are you satisfied?"
"Satisfied? I'm more than satisfied!"
The more Akainu looked at it, the more he loved it. Although it was the same as Gion's, this one belonged to him, which naturally fueled his excitement. The metallic luster, the three massive triple-barreled main guns, and the secondary batteries lining the sides—it fulfilled every fantasy Akainu had for a warship.
From Sean's perspective, however... 'This is all it takes to satisfy you?'
To be honest, this was merely the equivalent of a cruiser from his previous life. When the time came for him to produce battlecruisers or even full-fledged battleships, he wondered just how shocked the Admiral would be.
"Admiral Sakazuki, do you need me to help train your men?"
"No need," Akainu waved him off. "Half of the three hundred men on my ship are Gion's people. On the way here, my men have spent ten days learning from them. Operating the ship shouldn't be an issue."
To save time and ensure he could command the ship as soon as possible, Akainu had his subordinates shadow Gion's crew every single day during the voyage.
"However, Sean, there is something I need to ask you."
"What is it?"
"These warships use cola as fuel. I heard from Gion that she tried to purchase cola in bulk, but stocks across the various islands are low—mostly just old inventory. Furthermore, the cola company—the owner, the employees, and the production equipment—have all vanished without a trace."
"Admiral Sakazuki, are you concerned about the future fuel supply?"
"Yes," Akainu nodded. A warship is useless if there is no fuel; it becomes nothing more than a giant lump of scrap metal.
"You needn't worry about that. Once these new warships are deployed in large numbers, the fact that they run on cola will eventually be discovered by other factions. If someone were to sabotage the cola supply then, they would effectively have the Marines by the throat."
Sean continued, "Therefore, that cola company didn't just vanish. I secretly acquired it and relocated it to the East Blue. I have also classified the cola formula and will no longer sell it externally. Even if pirates manage to steal one of our ironclads, without the specific cola, it's just a hunk of iron."
"As for the fuel supply, Headquarters can procure it directly from me. The price will even be cheaper than before, as this isn't about profit—it's for the exclusive use of the Marines."
Akainu's eyes lit up. So it was Sean's doing. Good; the boy was meticulous and had solved the problem before it even arose. At the same time, using cola as a limiting factor prevented the Marines from being turned against by their own technology should a ship fall into pirate hands.
"But buying the entire company, including all the employees and the owner... that must have cost you a fortune, right?" Akainu thought that Sean should at least make a profit; otherwise, it wouldn't make sense.
"It's alright. It's not entirely without profit, as I still have to pay employee wages and maintain the equipment. However, providing it at twenty percent cheaper than the old market price is no problem. As for the initial cost of buying the company, that doesn't matter. I don't lack for money at the moment."
Sean added with a look of righteous conviction, "Besides, contributing to the Marines is only natural!"
Akainu was deeply moved. 'What a fine comrade!'
However, he had no idea... the actual cost of the cola, even including maintenance and wages, would never exceed thirty percent of the supply price once the number of ironclads increased.
Yes, the "supply price" refers to the price Sean would charge the Marines. It was still an obscene profit.
Furthermore, Sean had already instructed the factory to produce a batch of low-sugar cola with a slightly modified formula. After a series of tests by Franky, it was discovered that this low-sugar version not only reduced the warship's range by 23% but also decreased the lifespan of the power system by 38%.
This further crippled the performance of the "export version" and shortened the overall life of the engine. The most important part? The production cost of this version was 17% lower. Essentially, it was a low-grade fuel.
Sean had his reasons for this. Unless the day came when he controlled the entire Marine force and could make it independent of the World Government, he would only provide the Marines with the export-grade warships and the inferior cola fuel. Only then would he equip them with the standard versions and genuine fuel.
Once the handover was complete, Akainu didn't linger. He departed quickly, unable to wait another moment to personally command his own ironclad warship.
After he left, Sean made his way to the branch's underground research laboratory.
"Retes, how is the progress on that project?"
"Vice Admiral, we have produced a batch of experimental shells, but we need ability users to test them before we can determine the final effects!"
"Devil Fruit users... how many do you need?"
"For a comprehensive test, we would need about ten people!"
"That's impossible; too many. What if it isn't a comprehensive test?"
"Then two should be enough, but that would only allow us to test a few basic parameters."
"I see... I'll find a way. If I can't, I'll just grab two for you to start the basic tests, and we can verify the rest in actual combat later."
"Yes, Vice Admiral!"
Retes nodded.
He understood exactly how difficult it was to find ten Devil Fruit users. Because the fate of any ability user used for these tests would, without fail, be death.
Naturally, they couldn't use their own people; otherwise, it wouldn't be such a hassle. Asking Sean to capture a couple of pirate ability users was one thing, but ten... that simply wasn't something that could be accomplished in the short term.
However, Retes had no idea that Sean was currently hatching a very wicked plan.
There was a certain place that housed a massive number of ability users. It would be a waste not to take advantage of it.
The only problem was that while he could have Blueno sneak in to do the dirty work, he didn't actually know which of the many prisoners were Devil Fruit users. He couldn't exactly have Blueno go inside and ask them one by one, could he?
He needed a better way.
'I've got it!'
Suddenly struck by an idea, Sean left the underground research facility and returned to his office. He immediately grabbed a Den Den Mushi.
'Brrr... Brrr... Brrr...'
"This is Sengoku!"
"Old man Sengoku, it's Sean!"
"You little brat! I was just looking for you to settle some scores. You're causing trouble everywhere, day after day!"
"Old man, I'm fine, aren't I?"
"Hmph. You just got lucky this time. If the other side really decided to pursue the matter, even I wouldn't be able to save you!"
"Alright, alright, old man. I'm calling you for something else this time!"
"Brat, what kind of scheme are you hatching now?"
Sengoku's eyes narrowed. Every time Sean reached out to him, it never signaled anything good. He immediately became vigilant.
"I want to go visit Impel Down. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Impel Down... what do you want there for?"
"There aren't many pirates left in the East Blue, and I'm getting bored. I've heard about Impel Down for a long time but have never been. I'm just curious and want to take a look; is that not allowed?"
"You... what are you really up to? I don't believe for a second that you're just going for a tour!"
"Fine. I want to find a few pirates and gather some intelligence. All the pirates I captured in the East Blue were sent there, weren't they? I recently found out that some of them might know Buggy's whereabouts, so I need to interrogate them."
"Buggy?..."
Sengoku searched his memory but couldn't recall much.
"Yes, a pirate from the East Blue. However, he escaped the East Blue and his current location is unknown. I've just learned that this guy, like Shanks, was an apprentice on the Roger Pirates."
"As for his identity, I think old man Garp would remember him—a pirate with a red nose."
"I didn't know about this before, so I didn't pay him much attention and didn't interrogate the captured pirates thoroughly. But now..."
"A big fish like that... old man, do you really think I could let him slip away?"
"After all, he escaped from the East Blue. If I don't personally bring him back, wouldn't that be a stain on my Marine career?"
Sean wove a web of half-truths and lies.
It was true that Buggy had escaped the East Blue and was currently missing. It was also true that Buggy had been an apprentice with the Roger Pirates. And it was true that any pirates Sean had captured in the East Blue who were still alive had been sent to Impel Down.
Only Sean's actual motive was a lie.
With this mixture of truth and fiction, even Sengoku didn't suspect him too much. After all, Sean was a Marine Supernova; while he frequently caused trouble, what kind of truly malicious intent could he possibly have?
Sengoku thought about it and decided it sounded reasonable enough, so he agreed.
"I agree to this. I'll let Magellan know, but don't you dare cause trouble in there. If something goes wrong over there, it will create a massive headache."
"Don't worry, old man. I'll only talk, not fight. Even if an interrogation is needed, I'll let the Impel Down staff handle it. How's that?"
"Hmph. I hope so!"
Clearly, Sengoku only trusted Sean's guarantee about thirty percent. However, with Magellan there, he believed Sean wouldn't be able to pull off anything too major.
After hanging up, Sengoku tried to reassure himself.
On the other end, a slight smirk played on Sean's lips.
"Success!"
'First, enter Impel Down and find an excuse to get all the prisoner records from Magellan.'
'Once I've confirmed the target ability users and the exact locations of their cells, I'll play along and complete this "sightseeing trip"!'
'Then, I'll just hand the list over to Blueno!'
Outside, it would indeed be nearly impossible to find ten Devil Fruit pirate users in a short time. But inside Impel Down... it was far too easy!
He wouldn't even need to go to the lower levels; the top one or two levels would likely be enough. Besides, the monsters in Level 6 couldn't be wasted lightly.
Those were the ones Sean planned to strip of their Devil Fruits after he eventually took control of the Marines; after all, many of them possessed incredibly powerful abilities.
Therefore, for this operation... he would specifically pick out some "trash" ability users.