"What are they all doing there?"
Emerging from the office, Wu Shu looked at the group gathered, chatting and laughing, not training, nor out at sea hunting pirates, and his expression was somewhat displeased.
Bastille followed by his side and, upon hearing the question, stammered awkwardly, "The East Blue is almost entirely occupied by Xuanwu Navy's soldiers."
"Now, there are hardly any pirates who dare to show their faces at sea."
Upon hearing this, Wu Shu's face turned dark and extremely displeased.
"What exactly is going on?" Wu Shu asked hesitantly.
During this time, Wu Shu had been utterly dejected.
After clashing with Jianzhirou, he was KO'd in one move. In fact, Jianzhirou had destroyed a warship with a single punch, causing many casualties.
Henceforth, the vast disparity declared their counterattack doomed to failure.
Fortunately, Jianzhirou had no intention of wiping them out. After a show of force, his only demand was that they not leave the East Blue Navy base.
Wu Shu understood why this was done.
However, understanding it did not negate the humiliation he felt, which was a first.
Moreover, he had been reprimanded by Headquarters.
At that moment, Wu Shu desperately wished he could return to Navy Headquarters.
But now, he couldn't.
Fleet Admiral Kong Goke had ordered him to continue guarding the East Blue Navy base and maintain the situation.
Upon hearing this news, Wu Shu felt like slapping Kong Goke and cursing him out: "Damn it, this is too much!"
He couldn't defeat the Xuanwu Navy, so seeking reinforcement from an Admiral should have been possible, perhaps having Vice-Admiral Garp come over.
The result was as expected.
Garp refused. Sengoku needed to guard the Grand Line. Zeff had to train the navy soldiers. Other Vice-Admirals were still fighting in the New World.
In short, no one was willing to come.
This infuriated Wu Shu to the point of wanting to smash the Den Den Mushi.
"Do they think they can do whatever they want just because they're in the Navy?"
"They're being scorned, and now they're entertaining themselves here?"
"Go and gather them all. Heavy training."
"Until they are trained into presentable soldiers, no going out to sea."
Wu Shu, his face dark, spoke with grim determination.
Bastille's expression shifted slightly, and then he fell silent.
During this period, the reputation of the East Blue Navy had plummeted.
In contrast, the Xuanwu Navy was buzzing with activity and full of vigor.
More and more pirates were captured, meaning more pirate crews were annihilated.
Depending on the strength of the pirate crews, almost every crew could contribute one hundred to three hundred Justice Points.
In one week, the entire East Blue was swept clean, fifty-three pirate crews were attacked and destroyed, successfully contributing 6750 Justice Points to Benedict.
He also completed an achievement mission, gaining 1000 Justice Points.
Title: Vanguard Legion. A honorary title awarded for successfully attacking and destroying one hundred pirate crews.
Thus, Benedict now possessed 10050 Justice Points.
"Ten thousand Justice Points, how should I utilize them?"
"Build a gourmet restaurant? Absorb funds?"
"Set up a shipyard? Building ships also requires funds?"
"A weapons processing plant? That also needs funds?"
"Alright, let's absorb funds."
Benedict wrote and drew, eventually realizing that with the current cash flow of the Xuanwu Navy, even if the factories were built, there wouldn't be enough funds for the production of weapons or warships.
It was all due to a lack of money.
"It seems very necessary to build a gourmet paradise."
With this thought, Benedict's gaze shifted to contemplation.
The best way to build a gourmet paradise under his control was to develop an island and turn it into a paradise on earth.
Therefore, the establishment of fine wines, banquets, hot springs, accommodation, a large integrated market for convenient procurement, and some entertainment venues became highly necessary.
"Tesoro's Golden City?"
After planning for a while, Benedict suddenly thought of Golden City.
Golden City, built by Tesoro with his Goro Goro no Mi, was a place frequented by nobles, Celestial Dragons, and pirates for consumption.
It was a place where hundreds of millions of Berries were spent daily, a place of extreme extravagance.
However, what the Xuanwu Navy intended to build was a civilized gourmet paradise, not a corrupt and chaotic place like Golden City.
With this in mind, Benedict quickly began planning again.
He had even chosen an island.
Ten nautical miles from the Xuanwu Navy base, an island of 100,000 mu, with many trees, was quite high above sea level, had a suitable climate, and storms and heavy rain were rare.
With this island as the center, several surrounding shipping routes were also frequently passed by ships.
Furthermore, it was relatively close to some countries.
Building a gourmet paradise here was a must.
However, to spread the word and to serve as an intelligence organization, gourmet restaurants would need to be established on islands in various countries.
Thus, inexpensive, entry-level gourmet restaurants would be very suitable.
"Kingdom of Goa, Orange Town, Cocoyasi Village, Foosha Village, Loguetown, oh yes, these can all be targeted. They are significant locations, and entry-level gourmet restaurants must be built."
"Where else? Syrup Village, this island should have quite a bit of foot traffic."
"Once the gourmet restaurants are built, small bases must follow. This will require dispatching enough special forces."
...
Wang Zhi and Jianzhirou went to discuss some matters with Benedict, but upon seeing Benedict writing and drawing on sheets of paper, planning a gourmet empire, they soon joined in.
As a result, a complete plan was quickly completed.
"Marshal, these gourmet restaurants stationed on various islands, and building a gourmet paradise, do we have that many capable top chefs?" Jianzhirou's brows furrowed as he voiced his doubts while looking at the plan.
"You don't need to worry about this. Our chefs will be ready soon."
"I guarantee there will be no problems."
Benedict said with immense confidence.
Wang Zhi and Jianzhirou exchanged glances, unable to comprehend.
Chefs were not like pirates, readily available, and exceptionally skilled ones at that.
If the plan were to be fully implemented, an enormous number of chefs would be required.
"Bang!"
The office door was rudely pushed open, and Gin the Axe strode in with a hurried expression.
"Marshal, bad news! The Flying Pirates have appeared in the East Blue and, just moments ago, attacked the East Blue Navy base."
"The East Blue Navy base was destroyed by a massive island falling upon it, resulting in heavy casualties. The East Blue Navy base has been ruined."
"Furthermore, Shiki the Golden Lion has just declared to the world that in one day, he will lead the Flying Pirates to completely destroy the Xuanwu Navy."
Gin entered holding a Den Den Mushi and quickly connected and played it.
Soon, the footage of Shiki controlling an island to crash into the East Blue Navy base and issuing threats appeared before them.
"Hahaha, Kaido, you're too weak."
"To be defeated by a mere brat, you're disgracing the Four Emperors."
"Xuanwu Navy, Benedict, are you ready? Tomorrow, I will lead the Flying Pirates to crush your Xuanwu Navy underfoot in front of the whole world, letting everyone know that the Flying Pirates are the strongest pirate crew in this world."
"Hahaha!"
Listening to Shiki's words, Wang Zhi and Jianzhirou's expressions became extremely solemn.
A legendary pirate, equal in strength to Roger.
When he was imprisoned in Impel Down, it was only through the combined efforts of Sengoku and Garp, exhausting Shiki's stamina, that he was captured.
Such a legendary pirate, leading a powerful force, would undoubtedly be a great crisis for the Xuanwu Navy.
"Ding! The Xuanwu Navy faces a crisis. If the host leads the Xuanwu Navy to successfully repel the invasion of the Flying Pirates and defeat Shiki the Golden Lion, you will receive rewards: Special Forces Summoning Stone*1, Troop Enhancement Stone*50, Revelation Instructor*10, Golden Treasure Chest*1, Justice Point*50000."
As the system's voice sounded, Benedict knew that Shiki's onslaught was formidable and wouldn't be easily overcome.