One Piece: My Evolving Aircraft

Next Bonus, 100!!

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Additionally, considering the vacant positions and the surplus of Devil Fruits on the Empress, Jin decided to add a new batch of members and, at the same time, increase the strength of his core personnel to prepare for the great war to come.

He had Ai calculate the number of available positions for all authority levels below Level 5.

Level 1 Authority: 1 person (Jin). Unique and unchangeable.

Level 2 Authority: 7 positions.

Level 3 Authority: 16 special positions, plus 14 deputy positions for the Level 2s, for a total of 30 positions.

Level 4 Authority: 12 positions each for Elite Crewman, Officer Candidate, Honored Crewman, and Death Squad, for a total of 48. Plus 3 deputy positions for each of the 16 special Level 3s, for another 48. A total of 96 positions.

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Jin opened the ship's interface. Including the Paramecia Thorn-Thorn Fruit he had recovered from St. Sommers, he had a total of 47 Devil Fruits.

Logia: Sand-Sand Fruit, Rumble-Rumble Fruit.

Paramecia: Munch-Munch, Mushroom-Mushroom, Candy-Candy, Calm-Calm, Bomb-Bomb, Spring-Spring, Dice-Dice, Castle-Castle, Kilo-Kilo, Bari-Bari, Tori-Tori, Chain-Chain, Goop-Goop, Iron-Iron, Slow-Slow, Ton-Ton, Bubble-Bubble, Door-Door, Shadow-Shadow, Gold-Gold, Luck-Luck, Heat-Heat, Mark-Mark, Spin-Spin, Big-Big, Island-Island, Memo-Memo, Magnet-Magnet, Float-Float, Thorn-Thorn.

Zoan: Triceratops, Leopard, Silver Spider, Tyrannosaurus, Wolf, Giraffe, Elephant-Elephant, Titanoboa.

Mythical Zoan: Hell's Red Serpent, Kraken, Pegasus, Werewolf, Artificial Azure Dragon, Nine-Tailed Fox.

The next evolution required 100 Devil Fruits. It was clear what he had to do.

But for now, he didn't have enough core personnel to use them all. The 47 he had were more than enough.

Not everyone needed a Devil Fruit. Some of his members already had one. And he couldn't just hand them out to everyone. They had to be earned, through loyalty or merit.

Using Ai's database as a reference, Jin drew up a list of candidates and then opened the floor for nominations.

There were a total of 133 positions available for Levels 2, 3, and 4. The 47 Devil Fruits he had were not enough to go around.

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On an open-air plaza, created on one of the islands the Empress had swallowed—a contribution from Shiki the Golden Lion—the invited members began to arrive.

For the sake of secrecy, Jin had used the Door-Door Fruit and the Paw-Paw Fruit to personally pick them up from all over the world.

A teleportation gate shimmered.

Crocodile appeared with the top brass of the Bounty Hunters' Guild—all familiar faces.

Mr. 1, Daz Bonez, Head of the Assassination Division.

Mr. 2, Bon Clay, Head of the West Blue Branch.

Mr. 3, Galdino, Head of the East Blue Branch.

Miss Doublefinger, Zala, Head of the Logistics Division.

Miss Goldenweek, Marianne, Head of the Customer Service Division.

The Bounty Hunters' Guild had been repurposed from Baroque Works, so its leadership hadn't changed much. Others, like the Unluckies, Drophy, Gem, and Mikita, also held positions in the Guild, but they had not been invited.

Though the personnel was the same, the organization's purpose had changed. Baroque Works had been a private intelligence and assassination organization that served only Crocodile. The Bounty Hunters' Guild was a for-profit platform that served all bounty hunters and their clients. It was also one of Jin's primary sources of intelligence.

Daz Bonez stood impassively behind Crocodile. Bon Clay and the others looked around, their eyes wide with wonder.

"Where are we?" Zala whispered, her hips swaying as she took in the scene.

"Hey! Is that... the Revolutionary Army executive, Kuma the Tyrant, with a bounty of 3 billion Berries??" Bon Clay gasped.

Is this related to the Shadow King?

Galdino wondered. He had been the first of the Baroque Works agents to make contact with Jin. He still remembered the codename "Mr. Kite." And everything that had happened since then... it was clear that the President and "Mr. Kite" were connected. The reorganization of Baroque Works had been his doing.

"Is that a giant? He's huge!" Marianne said, tilting her head back to look at a massive figure sitting on the ground, a giant hammer resting beside him.

"That's the 'Cursed Prince' of Elbaf, Loki!" Zala whispered.

"Mr. Crocodile." Maya stood at the entrance to the plaza, a massive, white-furred saber-toothed tiger lying at her side. She checked a list in her hand. "Your seats are over there."

"Alright." Crocodile, a cigar clamped in his teeth, strode into the plaza, a smirk on his face. "Quite a crowd you've gathered here."

"Crocodile??"

Gion and Hina, sitting together, were stunned to see him.

"Jinbe, Hancock, Crocodile... and Jin himself. That's four of the Seven Warlords."

This was a force to be reckoned with.

Their presence here was a calculated move on Jin's part. He believed that there was a faction within the Marines that could be won over. Once they were marked, they were his.

The meeting also served to display the various factions under Jin's command.

The Winter Blossom Kingdom, led by Jin himself, with Robin, Law, Maya, Kuma, Reiju, Nojiko, Nami, Issho, Van Augur, Wilson, Uta, Carina, Brook, and Suleiman.

The Bounty Hunters' Guild, led by Crocodile.

The Fish-Men, led by Jinbe, with Aladdin, Prince Fukaboshi, Princess Shirahoshi, and Madam Sharley in attendance.

The Kuja Pirates, led by Hancock, with Sandersonia and Marigold.

The Giants, led by Loki and Hajrudin, with Dorry and Brogy also present, though the atmosphere between them was tense.

The Gran Tesoro, led by Katakuri, with Tanaka, Galette, Brûlée, and Chiffon.

The Skypieans, led by Gan Fall and the old chief, with Wyper, Raki, Kamakiri, Braham, McKinley, and Conis.

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And there were others who had distinguished themselves through merit.

From the labor camp, Kuro, Gin, and Jango, who had earned their freedom in the battle of Cocoyasi Village. Kuro had been promoted to warden, Jango had requested to join the Music Hall as a dancer, and Gin had been transferred to the secretariat.

From the science division, Judge, and others.

Excluding Jin, there were a total of 66 people in attendance for the first internal meeting of the Empress.

Some, like Ace and Shuraiya, were unable to attend for various reasons.

When everyone had arrived, Jin walked to the head of the plaza and sat down. He looked out at the assembly, and the plaza fell silent, all eyes on him.

"My friends," he began, his voice cutting through the silence. "A war is coming. A war that will engulf the entire world."

A murmur of shock rippled through the crowd.

"It will be a war of oppression versus anti-oppression, of exploitation versus anti-exploitation, of darkness versus light. The world has come to a crossroads, a turning point between the old era and the new. With the rise of the Revolutionary Army and the growing power of the pirates, a great upheaval is brewing. And in this great upheaval, the days of a corrupt ruling class feeding on the world like parasites are coming to an end."

"Yes. I'm talking about the Celestial Dragons and the World Government."

Gion and Hina were stunned.

Jin's words were bold, seditious. To so directly and openly condemn them... what was he planning?

Jinbe frowned slightly. The word "war" made Shirahoshi uneasy.

"He's so cool!" Hancock swooned, a filter of pure adoration over her eyes. In her mind, whatever Jin did was right.

Crocodile and Loki grinned. They loved a good bit of chaos.

Gan Fall and the other Skypieans were unperturbed. The wars of the Blue Sea rarely reached them.

Katakuri listened calmly. He knew Jin. His judgment of the situation was usually accurate.

"I'm not just making baseless accusations," Jin continued. "This... is the memory of a Celestial Dragon."

He waved his hand.

With the power of the Island-Island Fruit, the entire plaza was under his control. Pillars of stone rose from the ground, displaying photographs and documents.

"He was a member of the God's Knights, and the strongest of the invaders who attacked Cocoyasi Village. And in his memories... there were some interesting things. About the 'Empty Throne,' and the invisible king who rules over all the nations of the world... Imu... That's right. The Five Elders, who claim to be fair and impartial, are nothing more than that king's servants. All the member nations, all the people of the world... have been deceived by the World Government."

A wave of shock and disbelief washed over the crowd.

Gion, Hina, and Jinbe were all speechless.

How could it be possible?

"Imu controls the Five Elders," Jin said. "The Five Elders control the World Government. The Celestial Dragons control the world. That... is the truth. And now that you know the truth, you have all become the enemies of Imu, the Five Elders, and the Celestial Dragons."

Galdino fumbled with the document he had just picked up and quickly dropped it. This was too much.

I didn't see anything. I don't know anything...

"Everyone here has already boarded this ship," Jin said, his smile turning cold. "And the only way off... is death."

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