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Chapter 728: Support
Sea Calendar 1500, March.
During this period, the North Blue Navy achieved great success in the North Blue and also held significant influence within Marine Headquarters.
They had conducted large-scale operations multiple times, eradicating Pirate Gathering Places, including some dark, Lawless Islands.
Those relatively famous Pirates were either scared into complete hiding or driven to the Grand Line.
Of course, it was impossible to make the North Blue completely stable.
The North Blue Underworld itself was extremely chaotic.
Even after the World Conscription, the military strength of the North Blue Navy was still unable to cover the entire North Blue.
They could only do their best to achieve this.
Wars between Kingdoms, fierce fighting and contention between Underworld Forces and Gangs were the real main reasons for the chaos in the North Blue.
Shirek knew that using violent suppression and killing methods could not stabilize the situation in the North Blue.
Such actions would only intensify conflict.
The backlash would be even more severe afterward.
Even if more Factions were eliminated, before long, countless Underworld Forces would emerge like mushrooms after rain.
Currently, Shirek could rely on the powerful strength of the Marines to suppress the North Blue and collect "military sponsorship".
But this couldn't last forever.
Now, the Marines possessed numerous strengths from Marine Headquarters, which would gradually evacuate in the future and eventually return to the Grand Line.
Placing them in the Four Seas was truly a waste of talent.
If not for the need to suppress the outbreak of the Great Pirate Era, Marine Headquarters wouldn't have dispersed so much strength.
In this situation, the Marines' strength in the Grand Line was actually extremely weak.
However, Marine Headquarters saw that war would not break out in a short time, which is why they did this.
Currently, some Generals from the North Blue Navy had already returned to Marine Headquarters, back to the Grand Line.
They were further promoted based on their merit in the North Blue, filling the large number of vacant positions caused by the bloody battle.
Marine combatant strength was scarce; as long as one could survive the bloody battle, they could basically achieve a leap in military rank in a short time.
The weakening of the North Blue Navy's presence was unavoidable.
Shirek and Sakazuki couldn't stay in the North Blue forever either.
The North Blue Navy would, of course, remain strong; a virtuous cycle had already formed in Shirek's hands.
They could obtain large revenue through various means every year.
The average treatment of North Blue Marine Soldiers had also improved to some extent.
But when Sakazuki and Shirek left, many troublemakers would naturally emerge.
They would resist the order established under the strong pressure of the North Blue Navy.
Therefore, based on the existing strategic deployment, a certain degree of optimization was needed.
It needed to shift from the North Blue Navy primarily focusing on suppression to exerting indirect influence.
The conflict between the Underworld Forces and the North Blue Navy needed to be transformed into internal conflict among the Underworld Forces themselves.
That is to say, utilize the Underworld Forces to rule the Underworld Forces; the North Blue Navy only needed to maintain the order of the North Blue Underworld.
Therefore, the North Blue Navy needed to secretly support Factions capable of maintaining the order of the North Blue Underworld.
Of course, there couldn't be just one, to avoid one Faction becoming dominant; mutual checks and balances were the best choice.
For Shirek, a certain degree of chaos in the North Blue was more beneficial to the development of the North Blue Navy.
The various Factions in the North Blue, especially the Member Nations, would also become more dependent on the North Blue Navy.
The World Government was Shirek's target; he naturally wouldn't let the North Blue be too peaceful.
Order and peace were actually not equivalent.
Following the expansion of the North Blue Navy in the North Blue, the development and expansion speed of the Dark Sun Cult would be even faster.
The newly risen Donquixote Family also caught Shirek's eye.
The boss of the Donquixote Family, Doflamingo, was a very capable and intelligent person, and full of ambition.
Furthermore, that special surname, as well as the specific intelligence gathered, allowed Shirek to confirm Doflamingo's identity.
Although he hadn't interacted with him, Shirek still saw the promising development potential of the Donquixote Family, most importantly under the leadership of Doflamingo, an outstanding leader.
Ability and insight explained everything.
Moreover, Doflamingo himself was a person with Monster potential.
The North Blue couldn't contain him.
The Donquixote Family was also continuously expanding outwards; since its establishment, its development speed had been very rapid, even extending its business to other Sea Areas.
In terms of potential, in Shirek's eyes, the Donquixote Family even surpassed the Gallagher Family.
If not for the emergence of a young Monster like Gallagher Karl from the Gallagher Family, they fundamentally wouldn't have been able to rise.
Of course, this wasn't looking down on the Gallagher Family; the Gallagher Family was considered a top-tier Faction in the entire North Blue.
Each Family Member's strength was not bad, and they possessed multiple Ability Users.
However, the Donquixote Family started from obscurity and proceeded step by step, possessing a good development strategy to rise rapidly.
Whereas the form of expansion of the Gallagher Family was very savage and crude.
With Karl secretly clearing obstacles, the Gallagher Family only needed to continuously annex and consolidate, repeating the cycle.
This was the gap between the two Factions.
Therefore, Shirek decided to support the Donquixote Family.
Some old and worn-out armaments phased out from within the Marines could be sold to the Donquixote Family.
As long as the Donquixote Family could provide enough Beli, Shirek could help the Donquixote Family completely establish a foothold in the North Blue.
They could become the King of the North Blue Underworld.
Ultimately, Shirek liked to cooperate with smart people.
And Doflamingo was, without a doubt, that smart person.
For now, the chosen Factions were the Dark Sun Cult and the Donquixote Family.
Ultimately, there was actually only one Faction, the Donquixote Family.
The Dark Sun Cult had always had cooperation.
Within the North Blue Navy, countless people came from the Dark Sun Cult; it could be said they were in cahoots, just not exposed.
Shirek wouldn't meet with Doflamingo, but he would secretly send people to contact them.
If the Donquixote Family developed to a certain degree and left the North Blue for the Grand Line.
Shirek was willing to let the Donquixote Family become the King of the North Blue Underworld and only support them as a single Faction.
If the Donquixote Family didn't leave, then Shirek would support a second candidate to avoid one Faction becoming dominant.
Whether one Faction became dominant or not, Shirek actually didn't care, as long as it was within his control range, even if one Faction became dominant, what of it?
The future development of the Donquixote Family would affect Shirek's plans for the North Blue Underworld.
(end of chapter)
Sea Calendar 1500, March.
During this period, the North Blue Navy achieved great success in the North Blue and also held significant influence within Marine Headquarters.
They had conducted large-scale operations multiple times, eradicating Pirate Gathering Places, including some dark, Lawless Islands.
Those relatively famous Pirates were either scared into complete hiding or driven to the Grand Line.
Of course, it was impossible to make the North Blue completely stable.
The North Blue Underworld itself was extremely chaotic.
Even after the World Conscription, the military strength of the North Blue Navy was still unable to cover the entire North Blue.
They could only do their best to achieve this.
Wars between Kingdoms, fierce fighting and contention between Underworld Forces and Gangs were the real main reasons for the chaos in the North Blue.
Shirek knew that using violent suppression and killing methods could not stabilize the situation in the North Blue.
Such actions would only intensify conflict.
The backlash would be even more severe afterward.
Even if more Factions were eliminated, before long, countless Underworld Forces would emerge like mushrooms after rain.
Currently, Shirek could rely on the powerful strength of the Marines to suppress the North Blue and collect "military sponsorship".
But this couldn't last forever.
Now, the Marines possessed numerous strengths from Marine Headquarters, which would gradually evacuate in the future and eventually return to the Grand Line.
Placing them in the Four Seas was truly a waste of talent.
If not for the need to suppress the outbreak of the Great Pirate Era, Marine Headquarters wouldn't have dispersed so much strength.
In this situation, the Marines' strength in the Grand Line was actually extremely weak.
However, Marine Headquarters saw that war would not break out in a short time, which is why they did this.
Currently, some Generals from the North Blue Navy had already returned to Marine Headquarters, back to the Grand Line.
They were further promoted based on their merit in the North Blue, filling the large number of vacant positions caused by the bloody battle.
Marine combatant strength was scarce; as long as one could survive the bloody battle, they could basically achieve a leap in military rank in a short time.
The weakening of the North Blue Navy's presence was unavoidable.
Shirek and Sakazuki couldn't stay in the North Blue forever either.
The North Blue Navy would, of course, remain strong; a virtuous cycle had already formed in Shirek's hands.
They could obtain large revenue through various means every year.
The average treatment of North Blue Marine Soldiers had also improved to some extent.
But when Sakazuki and Shirek left, many troublemakers would naturally emerge.
They would resist the order established under the strong pressure of the North Blue Navy.
Therefore, based on the existing strategic deployment, a certain degree of optimization was needed.
It needed to shift from the North Blue Navy primarily focusing on suppression to exerting indirect influence.
The conflict between the Underworld Forces and the North Blue Navy needed to be transformed into internal conflict among the Underworld Forces themselves.
That is to say, utilize the Underworld Forces to rule the Underworld Forces; the North Blue Navy only needed to maintain the order of the North Blue Underworld.
Therefore, the North Blue Navy needed to secretly support Factions capable of maintaining the order of the North Blue Underworld.
Of course, there couldn't be just one, to avoid one Faction becoming dominant; mutual checks and balances were the best choice.
For Shirek, a certain degree of chaos in the North Blue was more beneficial to the development of the North Blue Navy.
The various Factions in the North Blue, especially the Member Nations, would also become more dependent on the North Blue Navy.
The World Government was Shirek's target; he naturally wouldn't let the North Blue be too peaceful.
Order and peace were actually not equivalent.
Following the expansion of the North Blue Navy in the North Blue, the development and expansion speed of the Dark Sun Cult would be even faster.
The newly risen Donquixote Family also caught Shirek's eye.
The boss of the Donquixote Family, Doflamingo, was a very capable and intelligent person, and full of ambition.
Furthermore, that special surname, as well as the specific intelligence gathered, allowed Shirek to confirm Doflamingo's identity.
Although he hadn't interacted with him, Shirek still saw the promising development potential of the Donquixote Family, most importantly under the leadership of Doflamingo, an outstanding leader.
Ability and insight explained everything.
Moreover, Doflamingo himself was a person with Monster potential.
The North Blue couldn't contain him.
The Donquixote Family was also continuously expanding outwards; since its establishment, its development speed had been very rapid, even extending its business to other Sea Areas.
In terms of potential, in Shirek's eyes, the Donquixote Family even surpassed the Gallagher Family.
If not for the emergence of a young Monster like Gallagher Karl from the Gallagher Family, they fundamentally wouldn't have been able to rise.
Of course, this wasn't looking down on the Gallagher Family; the Gallagher Family was considered a top-tier Faction in the entire North Blue.
Each Family Member's strength was not bad, and they possessed multiple Ability Users.
However, the Donquixote Family started from obscurity and proceeded step by step, possessing a good development strategy to rise rapidly.
Whereas the form of expansion of the Gallagher Family was very savage and crude.
With Karl secretly clearing obstacles, the Gallagher Family only needed to continuously annex and consolidate, repeating the cycle.
This was the gap between the two Factions.
Therefore, Shirek decided to support the Donquixote Family.
Some old and worn-out armaments phased out from within the Marines could be sold to the Donquixote Family.
As long as the Donquixote Family could provide enough Beli, Shirek could help the Donquixote Family completely establish a foothold in the North Blue.
They could become the King of the North Blue Underworld.
Ultimately, Shirek liked to cooperate with smart people.
And Doflamingo was, without a doubt, that smart person.
For now, the chosen Factions were the Dark Sun Cult and the Donquixote Family.
Ultimately, there was actually only one Faction, the Donquixote Family.
The Dark Sun Cult had always had cooperation.
Within the North Blue Navy, countless people came from the Dark Sun Cult; it could be said they were in cahoots, just not exposed.
Shirek wouldn't meet with Doflamingo, but he would secretly send people to contact them.
If the Donquixote Family developed to a certain degree and left the North Blue for the Grand Line.
Shirek was willing to let the Donquixote Family become the King of the North Blue Underworld and only support them as a single Faction.
If the Donquixote Family didn't leave, then Shirek would support a second candidate to avoid one Faction becoming dominant.
Whether one Faction became dominant or not, Shirek actually didn't care, as long as it was within his control range, even if one Faction became dominant, what of it?
The future development of the Donquixote Family would affect Shirek's plans for the North Blue Underworld.
(end of chapter)
