Sakazuki came alone and boarded Finn's warship directly.
The so-called Sky Islands didn't actually exist only above Jaya Island.
They had branches all over the world.
The entire White Sea and White-White Sea converged at an altitude of ten thousand meters. It could be said that these two sea layers existed above most parts of the world.
So what Finn and Sakazuki planned was simple: take off directly from Mary Geoise, ascend to the White Sea first, then sail along the White Sea to find Kaido.
The first time is trial, the second time is routine. This wasn't Finn's first trip to a Sky Island. With his ability, the warship soon rose into the White Sea.
On the deck of the warship, Finn stretched leisurely, seeming to be in an excellent mood.
Finn really wasn't taking this fight with Kaido seriously.
Although Kaido seemed incredibly powerful, he probably wasn't at his peak yet. Judging by the strength of Charlotte Linlin, whom he'd fought before, Finn felt his own power might be similar to Kaido's current level.
Even if it came down to a one-on-one fight, there was nothing to fear.
Not to mention, he'd brought backup this time.
Sakazuki, Gion, and Garp. None of these three were pushovers, and any one of them could serve as Kaido's opponent.
Add Finn himself? Four against one. Wouldn't beating Kaido be easy?
So he truly didn't feel any pressure at all.
Nearby, Sakazuki walked over with a cigar in his mouth. He seemed to be in a complicated mood.
"What's wrong? You don't seem to be in a very good mood. Wasn't this outdoor activity your idea?" Finn teased with a smile.
Sakazuki paused. What kind of outdoor activity is this?
However, Sakazuki didn't bother addressing Finn's teasing. He sighed. "I originally thought I'd use Kaido as my capital to be promoted to Admiral, but with the three of you here, I suddenly realized this doesn't seem like much of an achievement. In this scenario, anyone else, even some useless Celestial Dragon, could take my place and still defeat Kaido... It feels a bit pointless suddenly."
Yes. If it had just been Finn, Sakazuki could at least have been one of the two protagonists of this operation.
As a result, the difficulty had been reduced to the extreme. Suddenly, it seemed boring.
Just like he'd said: if they really found Kaido, they could replace him with some random loser, and Garp, Finn, and Gion would probably still be able to beat the hell out of Kaido.
How could this be considered merit and capital?
But unfortunately, they'd all come to help, and it was difficult for Sakazuki to refuse. Doing so would seem too ungrateful. At the same time, it would mean putting personal interests above the Marines' interests. He couldn't do such a thing.
Therefore, his mood was very complicated.
"Hahahaha, don't be anxious. Even if you deal with Kaido this time, you'll still have to be sent out for two years before you can be promoted to Admiral. Speaking of which, Borsalino does have more advantages than you in this regard..." Finn said with a smile.
Sakazuki nodded. "That's true. Now that things have come to this, there's nothing to worry about."
That's right. Even if he defeated Kaido, Sakazuki could only be considered to have obtained a ticket to the next step. Next, he'd be sent out to serve as a base commander, like Finn had in the past, to prove he was more than just a fighter.
Only after completing this process could he be officially promoted to Admiral.
This was also the Marines' current standardized procedure. It was far from the future situation where Fujitora Issho could be directly parachuted in from civilian ronin status straight to Admiral rank.
Compared to Sakazuki, Borsalino had been stationed at Punk Hazard for several years. His experience in this area was indeed more mature.
"Where are you going?" Finn asked.
"Balloon Terminal. It's said that Kaido went there," Sakazuki said.
"No, I mean, after dealing with Kaido, which base are you planning to go to?" Finn clarified quickly.
Sakazuki finally understood and smiled. "I thought you were asking about Kaido."
"We already discussed that before...." Finn rolled his eyes at Sakazuki.
Sakazuki didn't dwell on it. After a moment's thought, he said, "G-1."
"G-1?" Finn raised an eyebrow. "I thought you'd choose a base in the first half of the Grand Line."
"I considered it at first," Sakazuki nodded, but soon continued. "But I ultimately decided it wasn't suitable. Choosing a base in the first half would undoubtedly focus on guarding against newcomers while prioritizing development. There's not much to say about those new pirates. For us, they're no problem at all."
Finn nodded, acknowledging Sakazuki's point.
Indeed, things like Supernovas were basically instant kills for people like him and Sakazuki. They weren't a problem at all.
"But when it comes to development, to be honest, I'm not very good at it. I can't even compare to Borsalino, let alone you. So if I choose a base in the first half of the Grand Line and serve as base commander, I won't be able to utilize my strengths. In the end, the results might not be good. The New World is different," Sakazuki said with a slight smile.
Without waiting for Finn to speak, Sakazuki continued. "The pirates of the New World are stronger and more to my taste. Also, as an Admiral, you know better than I do that the Marines' focus will always be on the New World. Sooner or later, we'll launch a major counterattack and hunt down those damned pirates one by one..."
"I see. It seems you've really thought this through..." Finn said, understanding dawning.
"Of course," Sakazuki said, then fell silent.
The Marines would definitely counterattack the New World in the future. In the first half of the Grand Line, Sakazuki couldn't display his strengths, but in the New World, his aggressive nature couldn't be concealed. Therefore, he probably never intended to prove his development ability from the beginning. He just wanted to further demonstrate his powerful offensive capabilities.
Marine bases in the first half of the Grand Line and the New World shouldered two different responsibilities. Bases in the first half and the Four Blues were mainly responsible for providing resources to Headquarters and were development-oriented, while the New World was the battlefield and was strategy-oriented.
This way, at least until the Marines achieved their ultimate goal of conquering the New World, Sakazuki could use this to prove he was an indispensable asset.
If he worked hard for a few years in the New World and achieved results in this area, then with that experience and those achievements, he could be promoted to Admiral and no one would be able to object.
In fact, even without all these considerations, Sakazuki's position as Admiral wouldn't be taken away by anyone else.
It was just that by doing things this way, he could do it more elegantly.
In the original story, Sakazuki should have been the head of the G-1 base for a while, right?
No wonder after he became Fleet Admiral, he'd moved Marine Headquarters to G-1.
That had been his base camp all along.
Just like G-7 and Finn.
"Speaking of which, what about you? You seem pretty relaxed lately. Could it be that you've become complacent after becoming an Admiral?" Sakazuki suddenly asked.
Finn rolled his eyes at him. "You're overthinking it. How could I possibly be complacent? Actually, as an Admiral, I'm mostly stationed at Marineford. It seems both the Fleet Admiral and Admiral Sengoku want me to take on more of the Marines' internal development matters rather than external conquests. That's why I seem a bit relaxed. You might not know this, but I just dealt with Amazon Lily last year. Those pirates who were once passed down from generation to generation can now be considered part of the Marines. The next Empress of Amazon Lily is currently at G-7, learning how to become an excellent Marine..."
Sakazuki really didn't know about this. After all, it was highly confidential, known only to a few high-ranking officials in the Marines.
However, although he didn't know, it was only because he hadn't asked. In fact, as an Admiral candidate, he had the right to know.
Therefore, Finn didn't hide it from him.
Sakazuki looked at Finn in surprise. "So you've wiped out the Kuja Pirates, which have been passed down for hundreds of years?"
"Ah, not quite yet, but it'll happen soon. Actually, I plan to let the next Amazon Lily Empress return to take over the Kuja Pirates after she comes of age, and then as a pirate..." Finn said with a smile.
Sakazuki caught on at this point. "As a pirate, she'll join the Seven Warlords of the Sea, right?"
"Exactly," Finn nodded.
"You really are something else," Sakazuki sighed again.
"Besides that, after helping you deal with Kaido this time, I'll also start discussing plans with Smoker when I get back. I'll use his position as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea to establish a trading company. This will also make it easier for him to handle the output from the Calm Belt in the future," Finn said, stroking his chin.
"You understand all that?" Sakazuki asked in surprise.
Finn glanced at Sakazuki. "I understand a little."
To be honest, the business model of this world was somewhat monotonous, and Finn had many sophisticated operations in mind that he could implement.
But in reality, there was no need for all those fancy maneuvers.
Power was the foundation for maintaining everything. In the face of power, all sophisticated business operations held little significance and would ultimately only serve to enrich others.
At this stage, Finn held immense power and was even able to connect the Seven Warlords of the Sea with Queen Stussy of CP-0.
If all else failed, he could drag Doflamingo into it too.
Just by assembling this lineup, there was no way he could lose money, right? It would definitely be hugely profitable!
Therefore, Finn didn't need to understand too much about business operations.
The development of the Calm Belt had been progressing steadily in recent years. Two years ago, a plant that had been extinct for more than two hundred years was discovered.
Back then, that plant had been used to make cigar tobacco. It had been controlled by a certain kingdom and was difficult to transplant, so it could be considered a unique product.
Then, more than two hundred years ago, the island where that kingdom was located had sunk, and the plant had been declared basically extinct.
Recently, this plant had been rediscovered in the Calm Belt, and it was completely feasible to establish a tobacco company. Smoker, the big smoker himself, was perfectly suited for this.
Moreover, there were more and more pirates, and their consumption level for such luxury items was rising higher and higher.
By then, they could create a cigar and cigarette brand like "Binks' Brew" that would be popular among pirates.
Make money from pirates.
And wouldn't Smoker, as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea under the Pirate King's legacy, be the perfect spokesperson?
What's more, if nothing unexpected happened, these cigars would be made by pirate prisoners.
This was very meaningful. If you, as a new pirate, didn't have one of the cigars made by veteran pirate prisoners, were you even really a pirate?
In short, these were all contingency plans. Finn intended to use Smoker's status as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea to establish a large trading company. In a dozen years, it might develop into a giant consortium. By then, it could provide stable financial support for the Marines.
Once this problem was solved, the World Government could step aside.