Chapter 234: The Rise of Shiki and the Bright Papal Court
Just like the Army, the Marines also have many vacant positions.
The position of Fleet Admiral is concurrently held by the King of Kronos Kingdom, who will be Hades.
After Army Marshal Zoffy retires, the position of Army Marshal will also be concurrently held by Hades.
To be precise, there will be no separate Marshal positions; the Army Marshal and Fleet Admiral will merge into the Commander-in-Chief of All Forces.
And the King of Kronos Kingdom will hold absolute military authority.
The positions of Marine Admiral are also vacant.
Over the years, the Kingdom has also cultivated many talents.
However, most are mid-to-high-level generals.
Top Tier Combatants like Admirals, aside from Hades and Titan, have yet to emerge.
Top Tier Combatants are always rare.
Even Monsters with such potential are mostly outside this system.
The only one with strength approaching that of a Top Tier Combatant is a member of the Tartarus Family.
A cousin of Hades, Tartarus Keburi, is a Paramecia Type Steel Fruit Ability User.
He is currently thirty-four years old, exactly six years older than Hades.
If he continues to grow, he will certainly become a Top Tier Combatant.
Both the Army and the Marines need to develop step by step.
The current strength of Kronos Kingdom is much greater than before.
With its current strength alone, it doesn't need to worry about invasion from any external enemies.
The World Government is preoccupied with its own affairs; its enormous losses are simply irrecoverable, making it even less able to interfere with the current Kronos Kingdom.
Regardless of how the situation on the Great Sea changes, Kronos Kingdom remains unshaken, focusing on its own development.
Where you stand determines your perspective.
When he was with the Rocks Pirates, Hades considered issues from the perspective of Kronos Kingdom's interests.
Now that he has returned to Kronos Kingdom, his perspective has not changed.
However, as he learned more, Hades' considerations grew, and what he saw was also somewhat different.
How to strike at one's enemies while steadily developing oneself requires constant weakening.
On the current Great Sea, Shiki "The Golden Lion"'s almost unprecedented prestige and development speed are attracting attention.
And this situation is actually being secretly promoted by someone.
That's right, it's them, these Superpowers.
Following the demise of the Rocks Pirates, the several Superpowers who tasted the sweetness have already identified Shiki "The Golden Lion" as their next investment target.
However, in terms of ruling power over Pirates and the New World, the Flying Pirates are destined to be incomparable to the Rocks Pirates.
They see this very clearly.
In terms of personal strength, Shiki simply doesn't possess that kind of ruling power.
"Whitebeard" Edward Newgate, "Weather Queen" Charlotte Linlin, Byrnndi World "The Destroyer", John, Silver Axe, and Wang Zhi, the three Great Pirates, along with numerous Monsters.
As Monsters who were once on equal footing with Shiki, they will not be willing to submit to Shiki.
Moreover, Shiki alone does not have this ability.
There are too many Monsters.
Once two of them unite, it is not something a single Faction can resist.
Ultimately, through survival of the fittest, a situation where several hegemonies confront each other will definitely emerge on the Great Sea.
Superpowers like Kronos Kingdom can already foresee that such a situation will appear in the New World eventually.
In fact, the New World has been like this for hundreds of years.
Super Monsters like Rocks D.
Xebec were the exception.
Therefore, their requirement for the Flying Pirates is to promote the Flying Pirates' continuous growth, making them a unique existence in terms of overall Faction strength.
The tallest tree catches the wind; they want the Flying Pirates to become hostile to the World Government and become a thorn in the World Government's side.
This is to prevent the World Government's strength from recovering and to further weaken the World Government.
The Flying Pirates are one piece in the plan, and the Hunter Guild, which was planned early on, is another piece.
In Hades' anticipation, there is also the future Revolutionary Army.
Three-pronged approach, proceeding steadily.
Through years of cooperation, Kronos Kingdom, Hilton Kingdom, Eternal Kingdom, Landis Kingdom, and Great Xia Kingdom frequently cooperate on intelligence, jointly plan, and complement each other.
The secret connections among the five great Superpowers are becoming increasingly close.
This series of actions over the years was finally secretly detected by the Superpower in the South Blue, the Holy Light Empire.
The Church's Cardinal Investigation Department secretly contacted them, gradually forming a secret alliance of the six great Superpowers.
The name Cardinal Investigation Department sounds ordinary, but it is actually a terrifying Intelligence Agency.
This is because this Intelligence Organization has Intelligence Officers numbering in the tens of thousands to millions.
They are spread throughout the South Blue and various parts of the World.
All Intelligence Officers are believers of the Bright Church and are extremely loyal.
In terms of brainwashing, the Church always has some special skills.
Compared to the name Holy Light Empire, Superpowers like Kronos Kingdom prefer to call it the "Bright Papal Court".
This is a Church disguised as a Kingdom.
The Pope is the highest Ruler of this Kingdom.
The Bright Papal Court is also the Kingdom with the greatest influence in a certain Sea Area.
Churches have been built in many Kingdoms or Islands in the South Blue.
Under such immense influence, there are naturally Factions that intensely dislike the existence of the Bright Papal Court!
These Factions are supported by many Kingdoms, including the World Government.
In the Underworld of the South Blue, a Dark Council that rules the entire Underworld stands in opposition to the Bright Papal Court.
The confrontation between the two Factions has led to a certain degree of chaos in the South Blue.
Another reason is that the World Government's influence in the South Blue is the weakest among the Four Seas.
Of course, ancient Superpowers like Kronos Kingdom also know a secret.
The Bright Papal Court is very hostile to the Sun God "Nika".
The Bright God is nowhere to be found, but Nika truly exists, which would greatly affect the Church's ruling power.
Even if it is just a Devil Fruit, anyone who eats this Devil Fruit will be targeted by the Bright Papal Court.
Never underestimate the power of faith.
Devil Fruits are essentially born from the pursuit of people's inner desires.
That is faith.
Every time something is invented, a new Devil Fruit might be born.
Undoubtedly, the Bright Papal Court has mastered the power of faith.
There is a precious Devil Fruit that, according to ancient records, has never been out of the Bright Papal Court's control.
This means that even if it is reborn, that Devil Fruit will be reborn within the Bright Papal Court.
This special technology is unique to the Bright Papal Court.
Of course, it is also possible that only the Bright Papal Court can achieve this.
That precious Devil Fruit is inherently closely related to the faith of the Bright Papal Court.
(end of chapter)