A few years ago, Rocks himself successfully escaped from Mary Geoise and severely wounded a Navy Admiral, leading to his eventual death.
This was not only a major loss of the Marine's strength but also a humiliation that was hard to wash away, making the Marine hesitant when dealing with Rocks.
In the next generation, although people like Garp, Sengoku, and Zephyr were emerging with great potential, for now, in a paper comparison of top combat power, the Marine had actually fallen behind the Rocks Pirates.
Especially after Charlotte Linlin joined, the officer lineup of the Rocks Pirates could be described as luxurious.
Rocks himself possessed the terrifying strength to kill a Navy Admiral, forcing Aether to consider sending at least two Admiral-level combatants just to barely hold him back when formulating strategies.
This resulted in the Marine's paper strength being completely a notch below the Rocks Pirates.
The only saving grace was that the Rocks Pirates seemed to have focused their main energy on searching for something in recent years. Their main officers were mysterious in their movements and scattered all over the world, and they hadn't launched a large-scale unified action against the Marine and the Government. Otherwise, the Marine's situation would be even more difficult.
Thinking of Charlotte Linlin, Aether suddenly remembered a secret directive regarding her.
He frowned and looked at the female officer below, his tone carrying dissatisfaction: "It's been so long, and no one has successfully obtained Charlotte Linlin's weapon?"
"Sorry, Fleet Admiral. The composition of the Heavenly Calamity Pirates is special, consisting entirely of women, and their internal screening seems extremely strict. The undercover agents we tried to plant lost contact before they could even get close to the inner circle."
The female officer reported truthfully, but then changed the subject, "However, we have activated a backup plan. Since internal infiltration is difficult, we will use pirates to check and balance pirates."
She continued to explain: "We have issued a high reward through secret channels in the Underworld, offering an amount equal to Charlotte Linlin's own bounty for any one of her weapons.
Currently, according to feedback from our informants within the Rocks Pirates, the three officers John, Shikaku, and Silver Axe have shown a clear intention to act.
If this plan succeeds, regardless of whether they can successfully steal the weapon, it will inevitably trigger suspicion and conflict within the Rocks Pirates, thereby weakening their overall strength."
Hearing this, Steel Bone Aether's furrowed brows finally relaxed a bit. This was indeed a feasible and poisonous plan that could create chaos within the enemy; no matter the outcome, the Marine would surely benefit.
"However, Fleet Admiral Aether..." There was a rare hint of hesitation in the female officer's tone.
"What's the problem? Speak up!" Aether keenly caught this hesitation and immediately pressed.
"That Great Pirate John, who clearly expressed his willingness to act... requested that we pay half of the reward in advance as an 'action deposit'."
"Then give it to him!" Aether blurted out, his tone carrying a sense of frustration at her lack of initiative.
Compared to the opportunity to severely damage the Rocks Pirates, this small amount of Berries was nothing at all.
However, the female officer pushed her glasses and calmly stated a fact that made Aether's blood pressure soar again:
"But Fleet Admiral, we currently... do not have enough funds to pay this reward."
"What?!" Aether could hardly believe his ears, "The Marine can't even squeeze out this much money?!"
Although he didn't directly manage the finances, having been in charge of the Marine for many years, he had a general understanding of the military budget. According to previous allocations, paying this reward should never have been a problem.
The female officer calmly stated the harsh reality: "Due to the failure of this operation to capture Kaido, the Gorosei believe we have performed poorly and have reduced the extra funding support for the Marine this quarter.
At the same time, the four Navy Vice Admirals who died during the cornering of Kaido require high pension payments; plus the fixed salary expenditures for all Marine officers and soldiers, and Admiral Zephyr's abnormal wear and tear on warships in recent years... combined, the military budget account indeed does not have enough liquid funds to pay this huge reward."
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