Cocoyashi Town - Meeting Room.
As the most developed town within the Conomi Archipelago, this Meeting Room was specially built in Cocoyashi Town, dedicated to meetings discussing the development of the Conomi Archipelago.
Dante scanned the spacious and bright meeting room before his eyes settled around the conference table.
This was an impromptu meeting, so attendance was light, mostly consisting of villagers from Cocoyashi Town.
Ever since the Loguetown Branch Base Commander... well, 'former' Base Commander, he corrected himself mentally.
He had been promoted and received a raise some time ago, transferred to Marine Headquarters.
As for whether he would be assigned to the Grand Line or the New World as a Base Commander next, or stay directly at Marine Headquarters, Dante wasn't sure.
Honestly, after Captain Shawn's transfer, he still felt a bit unaccustomed, after all, their cooperation had been quite pleasant.
It was a pity that just as Dante was preparing to expand his influence in the East Blue, his key ally had been reassigned, and Dante already knew who the next Loguetown Branch Base Commander would be.
Genius Marine Captain-Smoker!
Even setting aside what he knew from the anime, Dante was well aware of his Smoker's reputation from his time at Marine Headquarters.
In any case, the secret cooperation with Loguetown would probably have to be put on hold for now.
'That's right, Dante,' he thought. He is a transmigrator, currently a Marine Captain dispatched from Marine Headquarters.
Of course, now he should be called Marine Captain-Dante Ashford. To be honest, when he first arrived in this world, he was also completely dumbfounded, especially since he had become a Marine, and even more so because he had somehow managed to collide head-on with a Celestial Dragon's personal guard, and was sent to the Marine Court, making him want to curse even more.
Ever since his first encounter with a Celestial Dragon, Dante had felt a deep, lingering disgust for this world.
Despite its vast, breathtaking beauty-from the endless seas to the vibrant islands and rich cultures-the Marines and World Government seemed determined to ruin it at every turn.
They claimed to be the protectors of justice, but all they did was safeguard corruption, tyranny, and cruelty.
Of course, not every Marine was like that.
Not everyone could be like Captain T-Bone-a true Marine, a man who genuinely embodied the ideals of honor, integrity, and justice.
Dante still remembered his time at Marineford, where he had crossed paths with T-Bone. A man who, despite his odd appearance, had a heart as pure as the sea was vast.
If the Marines were filled with people like him, then maybe... just maybe, their justice wouldn't be so rotten.
But the reality was different.
Even putting aside everything else, Whitebeard-Edward Newgate, A so-called 'pirate' who voluntarily sheltered impoverished island nations, didn't interfere with their lives, and anonymously donated to his hometown. He was likely the poorest Yonko yet was hailed as one of the top ten people who moved the seas.
That was more righteous than constantly shouting about justice, absolute justice, and justice that reigns supreme.
Perhaps many Marines at Headquarters genuinely believed in justice and were unaware of the World Government's corruption, striving to maintain peace.
The top was rotten to the core, and when the foundation was crumbling, nothing the lower ranks did could change a thing.
'Of course, all of this has nothing to do with me,' Dante thought.
In the end, because the collision hadn't caused serious consequences, Zephyr's intervention had given him the opportunity to be dispatched as the Base Commander of the East Blue Marine 16th Branch.
Logically, he should have been sent to the remote 315th Base, but after Captain Nezumi was dismissed for embezzlement and bribery, thanks to having couple meetings with Captain Shawn, he became the Base Commander of the 16th Branch thanks to Captain Shawn's recommendation.
As for the original 16th Branch Captain Nezumi... he'd become Captain Shawn's stepping stone to promotion.
"...Cocoyashi Town hasn't had any major incidents recently, and the Tangerine Jam Factory is in stable production. But even with the factory running at full speed, it still can't keep up with customer demand," Mayor Nojiko of Cocoyashi Town said, shaking her head with a helpless expression.
Logically speaking, as a young person in the village, she couldn't possibly become the Mayor of Cocoyashi Town, but under Captain Dante's recommendation, she firmly held the position of Mayor of Cocoyashi Town, although she didn't really care about whether she could be the mayor or not, as long as she could protect the tangerine groves left behind by Bellemere, that was enough for her, but...
Looking at Captain Dante in front of her, Nojiko's heart was filled with gratitude and admiration.
He was the one who saved Cocoyashi Village, saved her sister Nami, fulfilled Bellemere's wish, and led Cocoyashi Village towards prosperity.
He'd saved everyone and was Cocoyashi Village's benefactor.
Therefore, Nojiko would do her best to fulfill Dante's requests.
She sighed and continued, "Although everyone followed Captain Dante's suggestion to expand tangerine cultivation some time ago, it's impossible to increase production in the short term. And..."
Her tone was a mix of pain and happiness.
"Everyone has been working so hard, but the factory isn't the only place that needs people. Cocoyashi Town needs manpower everywhere!"
As soon as she finished speaking.
The others around the table nodded in agreement.
Although Cocoyashi Village could now be called a town, it was still a fledgling one. Its infrastructure, population, and everything else were still underdeveloped, and Dante understood this.
After listening to Mayor Nojiko, Dante nodded, satisfied with her work.
After coming to the East Blue, he'd never considered returning to Marine Headquarters.
But having the identity of a Marine Captain made things easier.
He didn't want to be a Marine, and he wasn't interested in being a Pirate either, so... he might as well stay here and become a warlord!
Unfortunately, this world was too dangerous, thankfully having read till Egghead Incident, he knew true powers of Five Elders, they might as well be Tail Beasts from Naruto! Just thinking about it made him feel insecure. Fortunately, as a transmigrator, he had a cheat.
Dante looked at his cheat.
The cheat was called the [Transmigrantor Performance Clearing System].
That's right, he wasn't an ordinary transmigrator, he was a legal and compliant transmigrator, full insured.
Simply put, he was sent to various worlds to complete tasks, such as rewriting plots and promoting social development. If an accident occurred, he'd receive high compensation. It was a formal enterprise. And, as one might guess, he'd initially thought about committing insurance fraud to go home.
Unfortunately...
Perhaps because too many people had committed insurance fraud recently, the company's rules and regulations were now more stringent. If insurance fraud was discovered, the penalties were severe.
After reading the Probationary Employee Travel Handbook, with its tragic examples of discovered insurance fraud, Dante severely criticized those shameless fraudsters, righteously refused to commit insurance fraud, and began to devote himself to work.
'Only weak transmigrators think about committing insurance fraud to go home!'
What's more, because there was too much insurance fraud, to prevent any loopholes, the higher-ups had proposed a series of hard Performance Indicators.
Only by meeting the Performance Indicators and completing the work could he receive subsidies and compensation after death and become a Permanent Employee. And this had become his cheat.
---
[Name: Dante]
[Occupation: Level-4 Senior Staff Member]
[Performance Indicator Value: 1500]
[Note: When the employee reaches 10,000, they can be promoted to Level-3 Senior Staff Member and receive an employee benefit.]
---
Each completed task earned him Performance Indicator Value. When the value met the standard, he'd get a promotion and a raise after leaving this world.
Rewriting plots, promoting social development... all of these earned Performance Points! Especially major events and changes in characters could obtain more Performance Points.
For example, the Cocoyashi Village Incident had promoted him from a Level-2 Staff Member to a Level-1 Staff Member. Then, leading the development of Cocoyashi Village had successfully promoted him to a Level-4 Senior Staff Member.
If he kept developing like this, promotion and a raise, reaching the peak of a transmigrator, was just around the corner.
As for that little compensation for insurance fraud, he no longer cared.
After pondering for a moment, Dante looked at the lady elegantly taking notes beside him.
Nico Robin.
Wearing a white shirt and a dark pencil skirt, her long black hair was pulled back into a simple bun. She occasionally adjusted her fashionable glasses.
The outfit looked elegant and scholarly, and particularly shrewd and capable, perfectly suited to her role as a warlord's personal secretary.
He'd met Nico Robin before the Cocoyashi Village Incident, when he first came to the East Blue. At his invitation, she'd become his secret assistant.
Of course, they were just in a cooperative relationship.
In any case, inviting Nico Robin had directly promoted him from a Probationary Employee to a Permanent Employee Level-2 Staff Member.
Miss Robin was a considerable achievement! "This matter will be left to Mock!"
Mock. The captain of the Mock Pirates. There were many things Dante couldn't do conveniently, so he'd leave them to Mock.
As his protege, Mock knew what he should and shouldn't do, so Dante didn't need to worry.
Even if this world was a cesspool, Dante still had his own bottom line.
"Understood," Robin said, gently brushing a strand of hair from her forehead, crossing her legs, and nodding with a smile. "I'll notify Mock later!"
As an ally, Robin was quite satisfactory. She understood her role and was very capable!
Seeing that the arrangements were almost complete, Dante turned to everyone, briefly summarized the meeting, and reiterated the development goals of the Conomi Archipelago.
Basically: build high walls, store up provisions, and postpone declaring kingship!
Develop secretly! After waiting for everyone's response, Dante nodded with satisfaction.
Everything was progressing steadily!
Just as he was about to announce the end of the meeting.
Suddenly.
"We're doomed! We're doomed!"
Nami rushed in, her smiling face replaced with panic. Amidst everyone's confusion, she ran to Dante. Before he could even ask, she blurted out, "The Marine Headquarters Inspection Group is here! News from the branch says your embezzlement, bribery, misappropriation of public funds, and collusion with pirates have been exposed!"