Chapter 35. Treasure vault
After teleporting the child, Neo and Hancock start searching for the vault. Heavenly tribute and devil fruits. With 800 years of history of oppression for sure Mary Geoise amassed great wealth
170 kingdoms are members of the world government. Being a member doesn't mean you will have free protection. On the contrary, they need to pay 4 billion a year just to receive the protection they want.
Many kingdoms issue high taxes to the people just to pay the heavenly tribute. This is the scheme the world government does. They won't eradicate the pirates so the kingdoms continue to pay. If the pirates are gone and no more threat in the sea, no point in paying the world government for that.
For 800 years this is what they want. They want control and wealth. With the strength of the world government, they could easily clean the new world.
What will happen when the new world and paradise are conquered? Where will the pirates go? Pirates won't have the goal to compete in the higher stage if that happens. They will just roam endlessly. But if you don't touch the new world and let pirates gather, they will start competing with each other. The world government doesn't even need to lift a finger and the pirates will kill each other
And if I rob the treasure they amassed
, that will surely anger the elders and imu. And for sure many devil fruits who don't see the light again will be hidden there. Some fruits are too dangerous to be in pirates' hands. I'm guessing maybe thousands of devil fruits hidden there.
Some kingdoms that don't have belis to pay, use other valuable possessions just to pay the heavenly tribute. Devil fruits, gold, rare stones, and many more. That way they got many devil fruits to distribute to their military powers.
For example, aokiji and Kizaru got their devil fruits using their merits in the Marines. They pay high to get devil fruits even so with a logia-type. Mythical Zoan is the rarest fruit followed by the logia.