If his guess was correct, that organization should be the most powerful one in the world.
Raleigh had deduced the truth, but he chose to remain silent.
Because, for now, no one could shake the foundation of that organization.
Whether it was the Marines, the pirates, or the yet-to-emerge Revolutionary Army, Raleigh suspected that none could truly overthrow that organization.
The most terrifying of the Ancient Weapons—Uranus.
It was likely under their control, which was why they cared neither about the pirates' rampages nor the Marines's concerns.
Because they held a trump card capable of cleansing the world, they feared nothing.
"Some things—seeing through them isn't the real skill; being able to change them is."
Raleigh didn't believe the Marines was full of fools.
If he could figure this out, others, even without knowing the full story, could probably piece together fragments of the truth.
For instance, Sabaody Archipelago was near the Marines Headquarters, yet over the years, pirate influence had only grown stronger there.
This was due to the covert assistance of the Celestial Dragons and the World Government, which prevented the Marines from eradicating the pirates in one fell swoop.
However, Raleigh refused to accept that the world could only change with the appearance of Joy Boy.
'As a transmigrator, how could I let the original plot dictate my actions? Celestial Dragons, just you wait. Once I finish slacking off and claim all the rewards, you're done for.'
Raleigh shook his head.
He currently lacked a foundation and wasn't yet in a position to act.
But with his transfer to the North Blue and Borsalino's assistance, he was confident he could quietly lay his plans in this chaotic era.
"Don't worry, there's no way we in the Marines would do such a thing. You are civilians under the Marines's protection as well, so rest assured."
Raleigh comforted the somewhat panicked merchants while shooting Gion a look, signaling her not to say too much.
"Thank you for your understanding, Marines sir."
However, Reverse Mountain was truly difficult to cross.
Raleigh had been on the giant snail's back for over half an hour.
Most of the time, the giant snail beneath them didn't climb straight up or down but followed pre-established routes.
From Raleigh's observations, every impassable area had been marked by someone.
The giant snails would navigate these sections with winding, arduous movements.
Meanwhile, the lift above them had long since left them far behind.
"Sir, how long does this journey across the Red Line take from start to finish?"
Raleigh asked a question; he was quite interested in this.
If he could leverage this, perhaps his plan to expand from the North Blue to the four seas could proceed.
"Marines sir, this route was discovered after decades of exploration. It's already the optimal path now."
"It would take about a week to traverse from beneath the Red Line in the East Blue to beneath the Red Line in the North Blue."
Raleigh nodded, unsurprised by this outcome.
After all, giant snails were still living creatures that needed to eat and rest, and they had to detour around particularly treacherous terrain.
A route that the Marine lift could cover in minutes might require two or three hours of detouring for the giant snails.
By comparison, the Marine lift's advantage was its speed—it could cross the Red Line in just about three days.
However, when it came to transport capacity and numbers, the Marine lift was far inferior to the giant snails.
The current Marine lift could transport no more than ten people at once, and that was without carrying any supplies.
Even operating at full capacity, the amount it could transport was minimal.
But the giant snails were different. Though slow, their transport capacity was astonishing.
Looking down at the hundreds of giant snails below, Raleigh made a mental calculation.
This merchant convoy could provide enough transport capacity for a thousand Marine soldiers along with ample weapons and equipment.
This would be a surprise force, suddenly crossing the Red Line when least expected and appearing anywhere across the four seas.
Of course, it would be even better if they could obtain Golden Lion's Float-Float Fruit.
That guy probably never considered any place in the world difficult to reach—with his ability to make objects float, he could just fly over from the sky.
Raleigh had coveted the Float-Float Fruit for a long time, but unfortunately, he still lacked the means to reliably obtain Devil Fruits.
Momonga's Mist-Mist Fruit was actually just a coincidence, as he had encountered Devil Fruit users in previous battles.
Even when he prepared a bunch of fruits in advance, no Devil Fruit appeared after the user's death.
This might be why the World Government hadn't systematically collected Devil Fruits—they still hadn't figured out the pattern of their appearance.
"Well, if we find Vegapunk in the future, we could consider asking him to work on this."
Raleigh was actually quite interested in many Devil Fruits.
Like Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Golden Lion's Float-Float Fruit, and other bug-like fruits such as the Invisibility Fruit and Teleportation Fruit.
"Alright, our curiosity is satisfied. Let's go, Gion."
Having gotten the answers he wanted, Raleigh took Bello Betty from Gion's arms.
Then, looking up at the gradually receding lift above, he said:
"We've already delayed too long. If we don't go now, we won't be able to catch up."
Gion nodded.
Though full of questions, she obediently followed Raleigh, walking on air.
After successfully catching up to the lift, Raleigh was about to flip down through the hatch when Gion stopped him.
"Raleigh, why won't you let me report to headquarters? You know perfectly well that reporting could block the pirates' return routes to the four seas."
Gion was still somewhat indignant, her pretty eyebrows furrowed in frustration.
After passing Bello Betty down through the skylight, Raleigh turned back and said helplessly to Gion.
"Gion, before we possess absolute power, knowing certain things isn't necessarily good."
"When you're strong enough, you'll naturally have the right to know the truth."
"Raleigh, stop treating me like a child, you bastard! I'm going to kill you!"
Gion was going crazy with frustration, but since she couldn't beat Raleigh in a fight, she had no choice but to give up.
"When you become as strong as Staff Officer Tsuru, I'll tell you."
Raleigh patted Gion's head as if soothing a child.
Lying back on the sun lounger, Raleigh began to entertain some other thoughts in his mind.
The more he learned about the truth of this world, the more he wanted to change it.
Thus, the North Blue would become his crucial base for rapidly growing stronger and nurturing his subordinates.
"Hehe, let my brother serve as admiral for a couple years, then I'll take over for another couple years. After that, I'll find a way to transfer Momonga here for a few years."
"In the future, no one outside my faction will be allowed to serve as North Blue Admiral!"
"North Blue, here I come!"