Sabaody Archipelago, Area GR66.
This is the Navy's stationed base on the island, while the adjacent Area GR62 is designated for the Neptune Army of Fish-Man Island. Essentially, the entire Area 60 belongs to government departments, and the general public is prohibited from entering freely.
As Jinbe, Aladine, and the others became familiar with the environment of Marineford, Dragon, who had just been promoted to Rear Admiral and appointed as the base commander, spent the morning familiarizing himself with the facilities and personnel at the base, transforming into an invisible wind to take a tour around the island.
It must be said that when it comes to covert investigation and infiltration, the Hurricane Fruit is probably the most useful among all the Logia-type Devil Fruits.
At this moment, he was in a conference room with the Right Minister of Fish-Man Island, discussing the operational plan for the upcoming mission.
Originally, the Neptune Army had no obligation to cooperate with the Navy, but since this mission involved rescuing the Fish-men and Merfolk, Dragon invited them to participate. The Right Minister had no objections and seemed somewhat excited after hearing the details of the mission.
"I should have requested support from the Fish-Man troops at headquarters, but Colonel Jinbe and the others have just arrived at Marineford and still need to acclimate to life there," Dragon expressed his apologies to the Right Minister.
With his orange-yellow skin, clad in armor and wielding a long sword, the serious Right Minister replied, "No, we should be thanking the Navy for allowing the Neptune Army to participate in this liberation operation. Please, give us your orders!"
"In that case, I won't hold back."
Dragon nodded, cutting straight to the chase as he looked at the map of Sabaody Archipelago on the conference table.
"I hope the Neptune Army can dive into the sea and coordinate with the warships to seal off the entire island, focusing particularly on the lawless Area 20 and the shipyard in Area 50."
"Your task is to pierce the hulls of any pirate ships or slave ships attempting to escape the sea. If anyone falls into the water, prioritize rescuing the slaves and then hand them over to the Navy. If they are Fish-men or Merfolk, you can bring them directly back to the Neptune Army's base; we won't interfere."
After hearing this, the Right Minister found no issues with Dragon's plan and readily agreed, saying, "Alright, leave it to us! I'll make the arrangements right away!"
With that, he turned and left the conference room efficiently, which made Dragon, who was collaborating with the Fish-men for the first time, begin to appreciate them a bit more. He also felt more optimistic about the World Government's decision to allow Fish-men into the Navy.
"The news of the Slave King's capture has been announced, so those involved in the slave trade on the island should be wary of my arrival. But no one would expect that I would launch a cleansing operation on my very first day in office, right?"
Dragon shifted his gaze from the Right Minister back to the map of Sabaody Archipelago, his smile fading into a serious expression.
This operation, while also targeting the shipbuilding and coating industries on the island, primarily aimed at the lawless zones from Area 1 to Area 29.
These three areas were interconnected and filled with criminal gangs specializing in kidnapping and extortion, while Areas 20 to 29 concentrated the highest number of slave companies, slave shops, and slave auction houses! It was easy to imagine that these slave industries, which had been rooted on the island for at least a hundred years, would have a large number of armed personnel for security and guarding, with many skilled fighters among them.
But for Dragon, these were not concerns. He believed that a short pain was better than a long one; rather than dragging things out, it was better to clear everything in a single day.
Chaos would inevitably ensue during this process, but how could one eliminate such a malignant tumor without using heavy-handed tactics? He felt this was also the reason Marshal Kong had sent him to be the base commander; his strength and status were sufficient to handle all the ensuing turmoil and retaliation.
An ordinary Rear Admiral would not suffice! However, a piece of intelligence from Marshal Kong made Dragon cautious, even vigilant, as he glanced at Area 50 on the map.
"Silvers Rayleigh of the former Roger Pirates, huh?"
To be honest, Dragon did not want to provoke such a formidable enemy at this time, but given his character, he could not abandon the regulation of the coating industry just because of Rayleigh.
As long as they cut off the pirates' demand for coating, they would be unable to reach Fish-Man Island and even less able to enter the latter half of the Grand Line. Most pirates would then lose the opportunity to come into contact with Armament Haki and Observation Haki.
While some pirates could comprehend and master Haki on their own, that was either due to serendipity or exceptional talent, which certainly did not apply to the majority.
Over time, the number of pirates in the 'New World' seas would dwindle, and without a fresh supply of blood, the powers of various pirate crews would be stifled, effectively turning it into a gladiatorial arena-like cage.
However, Dragon also understood that this cage was not yet secure, as their four strengths were still insufficient to seal off those powerful pirates.
But everything has a beginning; they would take it slow!
Soon, while the people of Sabaody Archipelago continued their peaceful lives, and the leaders of the dark world discussed the potential impact of Dragon's arrival and how they should respond, warships began to sail out of the Navy base's port.
They did not immediately surround the island but instead sailed a mile forward before turning back, forming a larger encirclement.
The Neptune Army soldiers had it much simpler; they simply jumped into the sea and scattered. Following Dragon's orders, most of their forces concentrated on the seabed of Areas 20 and 50, while the rest monitored other areas in pairs.
As a result, from an aerial view, it became apparent that centered around Sabaody Archipelago, the Neptune Army and Navy warships formed two encirclements—one small and one large, one visible and one hidden—and the outer encirclement was rapidly closing in.
At that moment, the gates of the Navy base suddenly swung open, and three officers clad in Justice Coats stepped out, leading a large number of sailors armed with muskets and long swords, swiftly charging in three directions!
Colonel Eric led the team heading towards the hotel street in Area 70, as they needed to pass through there to enter Area 20.
Lieutenant Commander Cecil's team surged into the lawless Area Zero, from GR1 to GR9, where they were responsible for arresting all pirates and kidnapping gangs they encountered, thus having the largest number of personnel.
Interestingly, the previous Black Cat, Tripod Cat, and White Cat, Fishing Cat, were also among them, dressed identically to the sailors, in sailor uniforms topped with seagull hats.
The final team was personally led by Rear Admiral Avène, who crossed the bridge connecting the two areas, preparing to conduct a thorough investigation of the entire Area 50. Any pirate ships found undergoing coating would be seized without exception.
However, Dragon's orders specifically noted that there was no need to arrest the involved coating craftsmen; a verbal warning would suffice.
Rear Admiral Avène was actually quite puzzled by this command.
What he found most strange was why he was not assigned to the slave auction house in Area 20, but rather to the non-priority Area 50?
His strength was certainly much greater than Colonel Eric's! But Rear Admiral Avène had no idea that Dragon valued his steady character to avoid unnecessary trouble.
He could personally head to Area 20!