After hanging up the transponder snail, Yahn couldn't shake the uneasy feeling left by that conversation.
Wait a second… why did it feel like Dragon was working for him?
"No, no, no. Don't think nonsense!" Yahn shook his head vigorously, correcting his own thoughts.
Dragon was the leader of the Revolutionary Army. Yahn asking him for funds and manpower—wasn't that perfectly reasonable?
Besides, Yahn had been toiling away in the North Blue for six years, painstakingly saving up tens of billions in assets. He couldn't just blow it all at once, could he?
This wasn't just his dowry money, after all. Some of it would eventually be needed to support Fleet Admiral Sengoku in his retirement.
Yahn estimated that when Sengoku finally stepped down, it would likely coincide with the outbreak of open war between the Revolutionary Army and the World Government. If the Revolutionaries won, Sengoku's pension and retirement benefits would obviously be cut off—meaning Yahn would have to care for him.
And if the Revolutionaries lost, well… Yahn himself would probably be exposed, and he'd still need to leave behind money to support Sengoku in his old age.
As the saying goes: Of all virtues, filial piety comes first.
Yahn prided himself on being a dutiful "son," so naturally he had to plan for every contingency.
In fact, if he thought a little further—who could say for sure that after retirement, the outwardly serious Sengoku wouldn't secretly develop some questionable vices? Best to prepare more savings—just in case.
And beyond all that, Yahn firmly believed that with his talent and charm, he was bound to have many children in the future. No matter how poor or tired he became, he couldn't possibly let his kids go without milk money.
But perhaps the most pressing concern was his growing doubt about Dragon's abilities.
At Dragon's pace of recruiting, how many decades would it take to assemble a force strong enough to stand against the World Government?
After witnessing Robin awaken the power of the "Brujería," Yahn had begun placing far greater expectations on the "Zanpakutō." Rather than depending on unreliable Dragon, maybe he should use the blade to nurture new talents himself—personally forging a corps of elite warriors he could trust.
Of course, gathering Devil Fruits to empower them would cost a fortune.
Adding up the expenses, Yahn couldn't help but feel that despite his billions, he was still just a poor man. Every Berry had to be stretched, calculated, and saved.
He nodded solemnly to himself and muttered, "Exactly. Any organizational difficulties should be pushed onto Dragon to solve. My little private stash mustn't be touched lightly."
Confirming with his adjutant that no suspicious warships had approached during his absence, Yahn ordered his flagship to patrol the surrounding waters. Only after circling the area did they return to Navy Base 741 to continue his investigation into the corrupt base commander.
As expected, the commander was neck-deep in embezzlement. Much of the wealth he had hoarded came directly from the bribes of the Flevance royal family.
But when Yahn officially gave the order to arrest him, he discovered the man had already fled—after being spooked during their earlier meeting. In his panic, he hadn't even taken the treasures hidden in his mansion's secret vault.
"Well then. Taken from the people, returned to the people. This wealth squeezed from the citizens of Flevance will be put to good use for them."
Yahn sighed, then had Little Gold gather up the ill-gotten riches.
He quickly reorganized the base's defenses, instructed Navy HQ to issue a wanted order for the runaway commander, and pressed for a replacement to be assigned.
During this period, Yahn also slipped away several times to check on the Flevance refugees. After confirming that their settlement was gradually stabilizing, and leaving Karasu to oversee things, he finally returned to Navy Base 521.
---
By then, news of the destruction of the famous "White City" of Flevance had spread across the North Blue.
Though the newspapers downplayed the story, word of mouth ensured it was on everyone's lips.
World Government officials stationed in the region held press conferences, harshly condemning the three neighboring nations for their actions. They criticized the way those nations had "mishandled" the Amber Lead epidemic, demanding they provide humanitarian aid and compensation to the survivors.
But to both the World Government and Flevance's neighbors, every last Flevance citizen was already presumed dead. Their stern words were nothing more than empty posturing.
Soon after, the Government declared the ruins of Flevance a quarantine zone, forbidden to all entry under the pretext of "containing infection."
With that, the destruction of an entire allied kingdom was swept neatly under the rug. The matter faded, reduced to idle gossip across the North Blue, never spreading to other seas.
"Truly terrifying," Yahn murmured from the sofa in his office at Navy Base 521, skimming through reports of the various nations' reactions. "Flevance had ties with every country in the region thanks to its Amber Lead trade, yet under the Government's influence, not a single voice of protest remains."
"Isn't that only natural?" Robin, sitting gracefully across from him, replied without lifting her gaze from her book. One hand held the pages, the other idly twirled a strand of hair.
"The allied kingdoms wouldn't dare oppose the World Government, and the unaffiliated ones wouldn't risk offending it. Now that the Government has rebranded the fall of a nation as nothing more than a botched epidemic response, and with no victims left to speak up… who could challenge the narrative?"
"…True enough." Yahn nodded thoughtfully.
Then he asked, "Robin, there haven't been any unexpected issues with the Flevance survivors, have there?"
Robin, who had recently begun helping Yahn handle Revolutionary affairs, passed him a neatly organized file and answered calmly:
"Everything is proceeding smoothly. However, there's still no breakthrough in developing a cure for Amber Lead Syndrome. At present, medicine can only delay the deaths of the gravely afflicted."
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