One Piece: King of the World

Chapter 270: Gion—The Marines Have Plenty of Money!

New World – Whitebeard's Flagship, the Moby Dick

Marco and Teach had returned to the ship after their encounter with Shanks and Enel.

When the crew heard about their fight with the Red Hair Pirates and how they almost ended up clashing with the Warlord of the Sea, Thunder God Enel—they weren't surprised in the slightest.

Instead, they just laughed.

They mocked Marco and Teach for picking a fight and failing to secure the Dark-Dark Fruit in the process.

Even Whitebeard himself didn't seem to care much.

The Whitebeard Pirates were massive, with countless subordinates who got into fights every single day.

There was no way Whitebeard could oversee every little skirmish.

As long as things didn't escalate into an all-out war, he wasn't going to lose sleep over it.

"Ku-la-la-la-la! Teach, if you really want a Devil Fruit, I've got a few good ones right here!" Whitebeard laughed, glancing at Teach, who was still bandaged up from his injuries.

Teach forced a grin, waving his hand dismissively.

"Thanks, Pops, but no thanks. I've got my eyes only on the Dark-Dark Fruit! What am I supposed to do, eat one of those other fruits? Or should I just sell them off for charity? Zehahahaha!"

The atmosphere on the Moby Dick was relaxed. The Whitebeard Pirates treated each other like family, with Whitebeard himself as their father figure. Teach's remark about "charity" was obviously meant as a joke, and Whitebeard didn't take offense.

Instead, the old man grinned.

"Ku-la-la-la! So you still haven't given up, huh, Teach?"

Teach didn't even try to hide his ambition.

"Of course not!" he admitted openly.

"Enel isn't going to eat the Dark-Dark Fruit himself. Over the years, he's collected plenty of Devil Fruits, but none of his subordinates have eaten them. It looks like he just enjoys hoarding them.

So I'm going to pay him a visit in a few days... see if I can negotiate a deal for it."

Teach wasn't trying to steal from his own crew.

The Dark-Dark Fruit hadn't been something their crew had originally found, so there was no betrayal involved.

And at this point, he wasn't planning to kill any of his crewmates or flee from the Whitebeard Pirates, he figured he could still use their reputation to his advantage.

So, for now, he had no reason to expose his true ambitions.

Whitebeard didn't overthink it.

If Teach wanted to approach Enel peacefully, then fine. As long as there was no conflict, there was no real danger.

Pirates were free to go where they pleased, and Whitebeard wasn't the kind of captain to restrain his crew.

A few days later, after recovering from his injuries, Teach set off, leaving Whitebeard's territory without anyone stopping him.

No one thought twice about it.

No one had any suspicions.

"Yeah, yeah. But what's the real reason?"

He wasn't buying the official explanation. There had to be something else going on behind the scenes.

Gion hesitated for a moment, then decided not to hide it.

Marine Headquarters and Claudius had a strong relationship—there was no need to keep this from him.

"The truth is, Marine's military budget has been very generous these past few years. Sengoku wants to adjust our strategy, but he doesn't want to be too obvious about it.

So instead of making big, flashy moves, he's quietly fortifying key bases—strengthening them without drawing too much attention."

Claudius nodded, processing the information.

It made sense.

If Marine suddenly escalated too aggressively, the World Government would immediately take notice.

Sengoku was playing it smart, slowly building up existing bases rather than making drastic new moves.

"And," Gion continued, "within the next five years, Marine intends to shift its focus back to the New World.

That's why they need a pioneer, someone to lead the effort. And that's where I come in."

Claudius raised an eyebrow.

"A pioneer for what, exactly?"

Gion set her cup down and met his gaze.

"The Naval Headquarters Relocation Plan."

Claudius' expression shifted slightly.

Right now, Marineford the current headquarters was located in the first half of the Grand Line.

But as Marine's power continued to grow, Sengoku had realized that having HQ in the first half of the Grand Line was strategically inconvenient.

New World operations required constant back-and-forth travel, which was inefficient.

So, he wanted to move Marine Headquarters directly into the New World.

This was a major decision.

By relocating, Marine would cement its presence in the most dangerous region of the seas, taking the fight straight to the Four Emperors.

"In other words," Claudius mused, "this G-1 base is going to be the new center of Marine operations?"

"That's right," Gion confirmed. "My job is to fortify G-1—to build it up to a level where it can serve as the new Marine Headquarters before the relocation happens."

There was unmistakable pride in her voice.

Claudius smirked.

"Well, well. Looks like the Marines are finally getting ambitious."

Just then, the office door opened, and Claudius' butler, Nia, stepped inside.

"Your Highness," Nia said respectfully. "Enel has sent a gift."