"Identify the holder of the War Hammer Titan and bring me its power."
"Take... the War Hammer Titan?" Pieck looked up in extreme shock.
"Why are you interested in its power? You already have the Founding Titan. The War Hammer Titan shouldn't be a threat to the Eldians, right?"
"You can take this as a clause in our negotiation. After all, only if you truly help us and break ties with Marley will we be able to trust you enough, right?" Gale sat back down and took a sip of tea.
He looked indifferent, as if he did not care whether he obtained the War Hammer Titan or not, but that was far from the truth.
They absolutely had to obtain the power of the War Hammer Titan.
The power of that Titan was connected to his plan to create one of the most crucial machines in the manufacture of nuclear bombs: the centrifuge.
The process of building nuclear bombs was not complicated. The real difficulty lay in extracting radioactive materials, which was the most complex stage.
To purify enough radioactive elements for a chain reaction, they needed centrifuges powerful enough to do the job.
A nuclear centrifuge works through ultra-high-speed rotors capable of separating materials according to their density.
It had to be capable of spinning day and night, and its rotation speed needed to exceed 20,000 revolutions per minute.
If that rotational speed could be maintained for approximately two years, the radioactive elements present in extremely small quantities within uranium ore could be extracted by taking advantage of the difference in mass.
If they manufactured around 10,000 centrifuges like these, had 3,000 tons of uranium ore, and allowed them to operate for two years, they would be able to extract enough material to build a nuclear bomb.
The more centrifuges they had, and the faster they spun, the faster nuclear bombs could be produced.
However, with the current industrial capacity of Paradis Island, they could not manufacture nuclear centrifuges efficiently.
In fact, over the past two months, a prototype machine had been built using a "special crystalline ore" unique to the island.
When testing the rotational speed, the voltage was increased until it reached 30,000 revolutions per minute.
Its projected lifespan exceeded three years.
However, manufacturing even a single unit required enormous amounts of time, manpower, and resources.
Furthermore, that mineral seemed to be connected to the power of the Titans, likely a product left behind by the Founding Titan and Ymir centuries ago.
It was an extremely peculiar crystalline material capable of fusing with metals during the smelting process, greatly increasing their hardness and heat resistance.
In the past, the Scout Regiment had used refined fragments of this mineral to manufacture parts for the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear.
The launch wires used to fire Titans and the blades used to cut them contained small quantities of that special material.
However, production of the mineral was extremely limited, and even using steel reinforced with hardened crystals was still insufficient to meet the needs of the centrifuges.
However, Gale, with his knowledge of the future that still remained useful, found a substitute: the Titan's hardened shell.
The hardened shell was durable enough. To manufacture a centrifuge, the material only needed to withstand a rotational speed of 20,000 revolutions per minute without breaking apart.
The hardened shell of the War Hammer Titan could perfectly satisfy that durability requirement.
There was no need to worry about electricity.
At that very moment, new power plants were being built across the island, and once the centrifuges were completed, they could use the power of the Founding Titan to extract the Colossal Titans from within the walls and generate electricity at full capacity.
If they succeeded, they would have more than enough energy.
But then another problem arose: because this substance was so strong, it could not be processed with precision.
In the past, using a hardened outer shell to assemble the Navy One had not posed much of a problem. However, if they wanted to use Titan materials to manufacture centrifuges, it would be necessary to carry out meticulous and precise processing on the shell itself during the manufacturing process.
Unfortunately, neither the Armored Titan nor the Female Titan possessed this ability.
Only the War Hammer Titan could perfectly control the hardening material.
Therefore, they absolutely had to seize the War Hammer Titan.
The best moment to attack would be during the period in which Marley and the Middle East were at war. That way, Marley would have no time to attack Paradis Island, and they could launch a surprise assault against Marley and seize the power of the War Hammer Titan.
Therefore, they first needed to determine the identity of the successor of the War Hammer Titan and where that person was usually located.
Unlike the other inheritors of the Titans, the power of the War Hammer Titan had always been controlled by the Tybur family.
Unlike other Eldians, the Tybur family was the ruling class of Marley.
One hundred years ago, the 145th king, together with the Tybur family, invented a lie, presenting the Tybur family as the heroes who liberated Marley.
The Tybur family enjoyed an excellent international reputation and extremely high status within their own country.
The identity of the successor of the War Hammer Titan was a secret within Marley.
Although Gale remembered part of the original plot, it dealt with the successor of the War Hammer Titan several years later, and he did not know who the successor of the War Hammer Titan was in the year 850.
Furthermore, that person had only appeared briefly in the anime. He did not know their name, address, area of activity, or any other information.
Gale could not recklessly head to Marley based solely on that tiny fragment of footage.
The objective was simply to seize the War Hammer Titan; it was not yet time to begin a war.
Only a very small number of elite mobile units would be sent to Marley for the operation. To seal the power of the War Hammer Titan, Eren and Dina would also need to be present.
Although Gale appeared to be an ordinary person on the surface, this was actually an operation tied to the fate of Paradis Island and the possibility of building a nuclear bomb.
He would take advantage of anyone he could persuade or exploit.
"You can think it over carefully: whether you decide to join us or place your trust in Marley to save you." Gale lightly tapped his fingers against the table. "There is still plenty of time. Once you have made a decision, you may come to me whenever you wish."
"Excuse me, Mr. Gale, may I return to my room to rest first?" Pieck's mind was in complete chaos.
"Of course." Gale raised his hand, signaling the soldier to escort her back.
Throughout the entire process, Zeke remained silent, his attention completely focused on Grisha Yeager's notes.
That record documented Grisha's life, how Zeke's father became a fanatical restorationist, how he inherited the Attack Titan, entered the walls, and formed a new family with the women who lived inside.
Zeke was deeply moved as he read his father's thoughts.
The death of his father's sister at Marley's hands, and the encounter with his parents, all of it intertwined with Grisha's personal emotions and reflections.
A soldier attempted to approach and wake Zeke, who was completely absorbed in his reading.
Gale stopped the soldier, then gestured toward Mikasa, who was standing by the door, and whispered, "Please, Mikasa, go call Miss Dina."
Mikasa nodded and quietly left the office on tiptoe.
Gale sat down and silently waited for Zeke to finish reviewing Grisha's notes, while telling the others to remain quiet.
Zeke flipped through the notebook page by page, examining it with great attention, until he reached an old yellowed page.
The note read: "I'm sorry, Zeke, I have always loved you. I'm sorry, I was not a good father..."