At the end of the day, everyone has some degree of selfishness, and Sengoku was no exception.

  In a different situation if Sengoku didn't have the bag he now enjoyed. he wouldn't dare to overreach. If a major breakthrough like the new Seastoeology appeared, his only option would have been to report it directly to the Wover and hope for snition iurn.

  But things were different now. For years, Marine's retionship with Cudius had been exceptionally close. Cudius wasn't just some random Celestial Dragon sitting idly in Mariejois; he was a true power pyer, a heavyweight within the Holy Land's inner circle. His authority rivaled anyone below the Five Elders themselves.

  And Cudius had a natural advantage. As long as the Marines didn't pull something eous like deg independence, Cudius could shield them from almost anything.

  So naturally, Sengoku saportunity. But this wasn't just about taking advantage of Cudius. He knew better than to let someone like Cudius do all the heavy lifting without giving anything iurn. That wasn't how partnerships worked.

  As someoio bearine Fleet Admiral iure, Sengoku uood the rules of the game. Friendship alone wasn't enough to bind two parties together. True alliances were built on mutual is.

  Cudius cultivated his ties with Marine because it beed his own ambitions. Likewise, Sengoku sought tthen the Marines by nurturing his e with Cudius. It wasn't a one-sided retionship but a give-and-take dynamic.

  And now, the fruits of this long-standing partnership were starting to show. With Cudius' support, Marine would soon gain the capability to access the Calm Belt, a game-ger in every sense.

  Through Cudius, Sengoku could position this innovation uhe guise of "experimental testing." With this cssification, Cudius' influence could shield the project from scrutiny by the Wover.

  In truth, Sengoku's move wasn't just about teology, it was about the bigger picture. The age of pirates was snowballing out of trol. Whitebeard's rise as a "Pirate Emperor" was a reality, and Sengoku had every reason to believe he wouldn't be the st. Soon, there might be a sed emperor. A third. Even a fourth or fifth.

  How would Marine respond to such a crisis? To truly hold their ground, the Marines needed overwhelming strength, enough to domihe seas with absolute authority.

  If Marihree or five times strohan they were now, wiping out the Whitebeard Pirates would be just another day's work. They could restore order to the world without breaking a sweat. But the unfortunate reality was that, while Marine was strong, they weren't invincible. Their resources were limited, their forces spread thin.

  And this led to an even bigger problem: Marine's relian the Wover for funding.

  Marine's budget, its military strength, was entirely depe on how much funding the Wover allocated each year. Even with the best iions, Marine couldn't expand its forces beyond the limits of its budget. Justice, while noble, couldn't fill empty stomachs. And no matter how passiohe soldiers were, they couldn't fight for justi ay stomach forever.

  If the Wover reduced Marine's funding, even by a little, it would be enough to spark internal chaos. There would be no need for pirates to intervene, Marine would colpse us ow.

  So for years, Marine's growth had followed a step-by-step pn dictated by the Wover's financial straints. This slow and steady pasured stability, but it wasn't nearly enough to meet the challenges of the esg pirate era.

  While the Wover had been generous with fundily, Sengoku khis couldn't st forever. The system itself was fwed. The Wover was an enormous bureaucracy, and Marine wasn't its only .

  In fact, Sengoku uood that the CP agencies were the Wover's true favorites, receiving preferential treatment in both resources and attention.

  Although Sengoku didn't have access to the full details, he could guess the situation. The Wover was likely stu a vicious financial cycle. Marine's ret budgets may have been generous, but that generosity came at a cost.

  The truth was, the Wover had been running at a deficit for years. It was a carefully guarded secret, ohat even Cudius was unaware of. But for those paying attention, the signs were clear.

  The massive structure of the Wover meant that only a fra of the taxes collected worldwide actually made it to the tral authority. Of the hundreds of billions in taxes collected, only seven ht billion reached the Wover's coffers.

  The rising tide of piracy had further worsehe situation, disrupting trade routes and strangling maritime erce. Merts struggled, and as their profits deed, so did the wealth of the nations they operated in. A weakened eeant lower taxes, and the Wover's revenue tio shrink.

  In respohe Wover had been forced to increase its spending, p more money into Marine's military budget and other initiatives to bat piracy.

  But even amidst this financial crisis, the Celestial Dragons lived in their own world, oblivious to reality. They speravagantly, their opulent lifestyles draining the treasury with nard for the sequences.

  The gap between the Wover's ine and expenses had grown unsustainable.

  Sengoku could see the writing on the wall. The military budgets of today wouldn't st forever. Two years from now, Marine might find itself fag serious cutbacks.

  If there were no other options, Sengoku would accept this fate. But now, there was an alternative, a ce to break free from the Wover's tight grip.

  The new Seastoeology for ships had opened a door. With the ability to access the Calm Belt, Marine could tap into untold natural resources. And while Marine wasn't allowed to engage in indepe business operations explicitly forbidden by the Wover—Cudius could.

  As a Celestial Dragon and head of CP-X, Cudius operated outside the usual restris. His pedigree and privileges made him a perfect shield.

  Marine could work with Cudius to exploit the Calm Belt's resources, turning them into a new source of reve wouldn't just be about survival, it would allow Mario grow on its own terms, free from the limits of the Wover's budget.

  Of course, Sengoku had no iion of rep this development to the higher-ups. Instead, he beled the Seastoeology as "still iing," ensuring that no one could interfere for the time being. Cudius' support would cover any minor infras, smoothing over potential plications.

  And Sengoku had no doubt that Cudius was just as eager to see this succeed. The prospect of vast wealth and influen the Calm Belt was too entig to ignore.

  By w together, Cudius could serve as Marine's "umbrel," shielding them from bureaucratic scrutiny while they developed the Calm Belt's resources. With this new reveream, Marine could finally break free from its financial shackles.

  If the pn succeeded, Sengoku was fident Marine could enter a new era of rapid development. With increased power and resources, they could suppress pirate forces worldwide with ease.

  It wasn't a perfe there were risks and potential pitfalls but with Cudius c their tracks, Sengoku believed the partnership was rock-solid.

  "Having a backer is a wonderful thing," Sengoku thought to himself with a satisfied smile.

  ***

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