Marine Era Year 1507
Sabaody Archipelago, Marine Commander-in-Chief's Office
"Three years!... Fortunately, not three years and three years!"
Sephiroth, dressed in a black suit with his long, silver hair casually draped over his shoulders, stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at a wall adorned with a plaque inscribed with Flexible Justice. His heart swelled with emotion. It had taken him three years, from Colonel to Brigadier General, to assume the position of Commander of the Sabaody Archipelago Marine Base!
Normally, a Headquarters Colonel promoted to Brigadier General, if they hadn't achieved significant feats and were merely rated excellent in every evaluation, would typically take four years for promotion. Of course, if you lacked background, power, or connections, then you'd just have to endure it slowly! If you stayed up until you were fifty or sixty and didn't make any major mistakes, you might just get promoted to Brigadier General!
Even Smoker, who was forcibly seized by the Gorosei for saving the Alabasta Kingdom, was only promoted from Colonel to Brigadier General, instead of directly to Vice Admiral. It was clear that every promotion after Colonel was extremely difficult!
When Sephiroth was able to graduate from military school and immediately be promoted to Colonel, it was because he saved Dressrosa and saved the Marine's face in a political sense. Otherwise, for the sole credit of annihilating pirates, he might only have earned the rank of Major!
Logically speaking, Sephiroth was stationed in the Sabaody Archipelago, which served as a gateway for pirates from all over the world heading to the New World. If he were to kill pirates to gain military achievements, with the cooperation of the Door-Door Fruit and the Bat-Bat Fruit, it would essentially be an easy task!
But.
If Sephiroth truly dared to activate his killing mode and touch upon the dark interests of others, he estimated that it wouldn't be long before he would be complained about and reported by countless "Ordinary Citizens," including accusations of brutal law enforcement, corruption, and bribery.... In short, all sorts of crimes, whether he committed them or not, would be placed on his head! The more he investigated the dark side of the World Government, the more disgusted he became with this decadent regime.
Sephiroth himself wasn't entirely clean, and the high-ranking officials he befriended were merely exchanges of interests. If you usually had money and everyone succeeded together, you could call each other brothers, but if something truly happened to him, those people would surely distance themselves as soon as possible. Don't expect any more help with a handful or something, it would be good if those people didn't add insult to injury!
At that time, his best outcome would be to be exiled to the Marine G-5 Branch and kept away from the Marine's power circle. If he was almost... He estimated that he was afraid of being sent to Impel Down! Therefore, when Sephiroth could gain meritorious service, it was limited to pirates who caused trouble.
But.
Since the nickname "Throat Cutter," with his mysterious killing technique and single blade, spread, besides the first year, there were also more disbelieving pirates who dared to commit suicide in the Sabaody Archipelago. In the second and third years, pirates who still dared to cause trouble became extremely rare, and he couldn't meet a single one for several months! As for those who dared to make trouble, they either felt strong enough to make a name for themselves in a fight, or they were foolish and utterly stunned.
However.
Waiting for the outcome of these people was a dead end!
Therefore, if Sephiroth could be promoted to Brigadier General so quickly without adequate merits each year, the exchange of interests with all parties was naturally indispensable. Just like Vice Admiral Kesha, when she was planning for the position of West Blue Vice Admiral, Sephiroth also exerted his power. In return, the other party also highly recommended him to the corrupt Marine higher-ups to take over the position of Commander of the Sabaody Archipelago Marine Base.
In the past three years, besides the still-hot weapons business, the Umbrella Corporation has also occupied a considerable share of the monopoly Dial products in many industries! It is worth mentioning that the Impact Dial, Laser Dial, Reject Dial... The types of Dials used for battle were not widely available! Even the Marines took the initiative to place orders. Besides equipping some soldiers with those Dials, they also wanted to use them to develop new weapons....
Taking this opportunity, Sephiroth also used the power of the corrupt Marine higher-ups to receive weapon orders from some Marine branches! However, the Marines had the most demand in the deal, which was the Jim Alloy made by him with his ability. Other weapon demands were relatively small.
Recently, Sephiroth successfully completed bloodline factor experiments on mice, creating genetically modified mice. After three considerations, he finally decided to abandon the next step of human experimentation.
"Humans only have one child a year. If I focus on genetically modified human research, it might take many years to succeed."
After all, the human growth cycle is too long, and the impact of genetic modification needs to be reflected, at least for ten or eight years. His original purpose in studying bloodline factors was just to create Devil Fruits! After borrowing from experiments on genetically modified mouse fetuses, his research on Devil Fruits also had a new entry point, so he didn't want to continue taking detours.
Directly creating a legion of capable people and increasing the overall combat power of your own forces. This temptation is truly too great! In addition, he could also make Jim directly fuse Devil Fruits and weapons.
On the other hand, Stella, assisted by Tesoro, also successfully "bought back" the throne of the Sardo Kingdom. More than a thousand fully armed combatants from the Umbrella Corporation, led by the two men, broke directly into the Sardo Kingdom's palace. The previous king, under the multiple-choice question of either being killed by a coup or surrendering the right to rule the country for five billion Berries, did not hesitate to choose the latter and left the Sardo Kingdom with his relatives.
After Stella, as the legitimate heir, became the Queen of the Sardo Kingdom, she gradually transformed the country into a major arms trading nation in the first half of the Grand Line, with weapons exported to the East Blue and South Blue. At Sephiroth's command, Stella chose to pay the Heavenly Tribute, making the Sardo Kingdom a member of the World Government, and thus gaining asylum from both the kingdom and its Marine. In addition, the Dressrosa Kingdom, on the other side of the Red Line, was responsible for the second half of the Grand Line, as well as arms trade in the North Blue and West Blue.
In this way, the Umbrella Corporation gradually got rid of the constraints and blood-sucking of the World Government's high-ranking officials, and no longer had to spend a lot of money to open up relationships. The reason why the Umbrella Corporation had this confidence was mainly because it had Sephiroth as a buffer core to resist some unwilling men.
In the past three years, Sephiroth's name "Throat Cutter" has circulated widely not only among pirate groups, but also in the Marine and the World Government. His prowess and talent are obvious to all, and he is still so young that sooner or later, in the eyes of others, he will have the opportunity to compete for the position of Admiral.
In this regard, Sephiroth only sneered at it, so he was not interested in becoming a Marine Admiral and serving the Tenryuubito every day! After the "Umbrella Corporation" situation gradually stabilized, he had already considered whether to cultivate a spokesperson for himself in the Marine! As the big boss of the Umbrella Corporation, he still had to punch in at work in the Marine.... It was hard to think about! Although, most of his working time, he used Bat clones to catch fish.
Sephiroth knew very well that he had been wandering between black and white, which was same as dancing on the tip of a knife. It was fine if nothing happened. Once something happened, he would definitely not be able to eat and walk around.
Compared to Sephiroth's complicated situation, the three Boa sisters' affairs were much simpler. After Hancock took over the title of Shichibukai, the Marine revoked the bounties offered on all members of the Kuja Pirates, making Xia Qi's ship and the others return to their ordinary identities.
Due to Hancock's great strength and charisma, as well as her contributions to Amazon Lily Island, two years prior she unexpectedly gained the support of most of Amazon Lily Kingdom's citizens, ascended the throne, and expelled the previous Empress from the country. Say "This is expulsion, but it's only in name". Actually Hancock just let the previous Empress, who had a similar disease, leave Amazon Lily Island to pursue her love.
However, Hancock considered that if she directly stated it clearly, she would agree to the Empress leaving Kuja Island, which would have a very bad impact on the female citizens. If there was one, there would be a second. The women on Kuja Island were full of curiosity about creatures like men! If Hancock directly allowed them to leave the country, then the Amazon Lily Kingdom would collapse in a very short time, and all her efforts would be in vain! Therefore, Hancock still implemented it. Only the strong could sail on pirate ships and see the laws of the outside world.
On the other hand, to strengthen the country as a whole and increase its population, Hancock, besides equipping her own pirate group and the island's protective army with the most advanced weapons from the Umbrella Corporation, also doubled the number of female orphans adopted by Kuja Island each year. As long as these girls were carefully raised for ten or eight years, they would become a group of quite reliable combat power in the future.
Knock-knock-knock!
A sudden knock on the door interrupted Sephiroth's thoughts, and he turned and sat in the chair behind his desk before speaking, "Come in!"
A Chief of Staff named Mike, in a white justice cloak, with a stack of documents in his hand, opened the office door and saluted him. "Brigadier General Sephiroth, I have the latest information on the enlisted soldiers!"
"Vice Admiral Mike, are there any more potential people in this new batch of recruits?"
"Yes, among the fifty-eight recruits we recruited this time, there is a man named Vergo, who is very excellent."
"Oh? Vergo."
Upon hearing this, Vice Admiral Mike immediately handed Sephiroth the documents in his hand, and the top one was clearly Vergo's information.
Age 26, height 247 cm, weight 145 kg, weightlifting 2826 kg, grip strength 2209 kg, 200 meters in 10 seconds.
Sephiroth muttered in his mind as he watched the conscript Vergo's physical parameters: This guy must also be hiding some of his strength! Otherwise, with just the numbers on paper, Vergo would not qualify to be the Donquixote family's supreme cadre, the first Corazon! By the way, Vergo 15 years later didn't even eat a Devil Fruit. With pure physical skills and domineering Haki power, he could defeat Smoker and Sanji. His strength should also be at the level of a Yonko Commander.... What a pity!... Vergo is a talented person who is loyal to Doflamingo, and I can't take him for my own use!
Vice Admiral Mike said with a regretful look, "Speaking of which, this Vergo is a pity!"
"He's 26 now, and in half a month, he'll be 27!"
"Judging from the data during Vergo's military recruitment physical examination, if he had joined our Marine a few years earlier, he would definitely be able to enroll in the Marine Headquarters to attend the military academy, and his future would be limitless!"
"Unfortunately, this military academy has already opened."
"Next year, he will be overage."
Sephiroth gently rubbed his chin and muttered to himself, "What a pity. Perhaps?"
Doflamingo chose this point in time to allow Vergo to join the Marine. He clearly calculated the time so that he would just miss the opportunity to enroll in the military academy.... With the paper strength shown by "Vergo," it would not be difficult to enter the military academy. As long as he performed meritorious service and gained the rank of Petty Officer, he can easily stand out from the Marine soldiers and become a military academy student, and thus be subject to a second background review. Although Vergo had Donquixote to help cover him, it was uncertain whether they could hide him from the Marine's investigation. However, there is a rule in the Marine Headquarters Military Academy that they do not accept Marine soldiers over the age of twenty-six to become military cadets. Because, after passing this age, the potential that his body can tap will be greatly reduced if he is not talented, and the cultivation value is not high. Therefore, in order for his body to have the highest potential and plasticity, Sephiroth began to use the Bat-Bat Fruit ability at the age of 17 to stop his body's aging. As long as he is willing, he can always stay 17! Of course, this is actually a form of helplessness! Because he has not experienced ultra-high-intensity battles in the past three years, his strength can be said to have increased slowly! Besides the fact that the Armament Haki power in his body has increased a lot, only Observation Haki that can touch the threshold of seeing the future can still be used! And that was still three years before he realized it during his many sword fights with Gion. No wonder people like Moria and Crocodile have become so strong after quitting the New World Hegemony stage. There is no pressure, they abuse the plates in the Bronze Bureau every day, one versus nine, and they are perfectly integrated into the ranks themselves!
Seeing Sephiroth as if thinking of something, Vice Admiral Mike immediately said hesitantly, "Brigadier General Sephiroth, do we need to focus on training this Vergo?"
"Like waiting until his recruitment training is over, and assigning him to a special mobile unit, or a maritime sailing unit."
Hearing this, Sephiroth raised the corner of his mouth slightly, revealing a wicked smile, "Hmm!? It is necessary to focus on taking care of him, indeed."
"Place him in the logistics department and assign him to be responsible for the cleanliness of the toilets in the base!"
"Ha!?"
Upon hearing this, Vice Admiral Mike's face suddenly showed a look of fright.
"What? Do you think there's something wrong with my arrangement?" Sephiroth narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone a little cold, and a faint murderous aura enveloped the school officer.
Gulp!
Vice Admiral Mike subconsciously swallowed his saliva. He was afraid of offending his direct boss, and he was transferred to Vergo to wash toilets. So, he quickly shook his head desperately and said, "No! No, I think it's appropriate for you to arrange it like this!"
"Nothing, just go out first!" Sephiroth waved his hand impatiently, signaling that the other party could leave.
"Sir!"
Vice Admiral Mike saluted in a standard manner before turning away from the office and closing the door without incident.
Vergo, you disguised Donquixote family man, still want to hang out under me? That's three years, three. Three more years! You can blend in with the cleaning captain at this base!
Sephiroth, while mentally arranging a bright future for Vergo, tossed the recruit's profile, which he had flipped through, onto the table. No one else besides Vergo had any cultivation value at all.
Uh-huh!
The Butcher's Blade at his waist suddenly came out of its sheath, and a red light flashed, cutting open a Spatial Door.
"Come with me!"
On the other side of the door was his underground laboratory on Island 50 of the Sabaody Archipelago. He casually opened the iron cage on the experimental bench and released the Blood Bat inside.
Squeak-squeak.
A large colony of Black Bats, separated from his body, entangled with the Blood Bat, forming a Bat Clone. This stepped through the Spatial Door and entered the Marine base office, taking Sephiroth's place in the boring daily routine, while his ontology was about staying in the lab and doing research.