One Piece: Scourge of the Seas

Turning prisoners into a formidable fighting force.

From the Navy's perspective, such a dangerous notion would never be entertained.

The reason was simple.

Even with slave collars, the inherent instability of prisoners couldn't be completely eliminated.

Thus, no matter how much the Navy lacked manpower, they would never recklessly deploy an unstable force onto the battlefield.

Moreover, cannon fodder was meaningless in a war of that scale.

The braided-haired woman looked at Maude in confusion, unaware of where his confidence came from.

Vice Admiral Tsuru, however, immediately associated Maude's words with the Shadow-Shadow Fruit's abilities.

With the precedent set by the late Gecko Moria, many possibilities came to mind.

First, using prisoners' shadows to quickly create an army of zombies that neither feared death nor pain.

Second, using prisoners' shadows to enhance the individual strength of his own forces.

"Shadow-Shadow Fruit, is it..."

Tsuru scrutinized Maude and slowly said, "According to your statement, you're planning to use the prisoners' shadows to indirectly bolster combat power?"

"That's right."

Maude nodded calmly.

As expected of the Navy's chief strategist—she could deduce his plan from just a small amount of information.

Tsuru fixed her gaze on Maude's eyes, speaking faintly, "But from what I know, if you're simply borrowing the prisoners' shadows, intelligence shouldn't be necessary, correct?"

There was a sharp edge hidden in her words.

Maude remained composed. "That's because you don't understand the Shadow-Shadow Fruit's abilities. As an outsider, don't be so quick to jump to conclusions."

Tsuru showed no reaction to Maude's barbed remark, but the braided-haired woman beside her frowned, stepping forward as if about to flare up.

Noticing her subordinate's movement, Tsuru raised a hand to signal her to stand down.

The woman silently retreated.

Tsuru looked back at Maude, once again repeating her earlier words:

"I'm listening."

"The shadows I extract must form a contract before they can be officially deployed. This contract involves retaining only part of the shadow's memories and subjective consciousness."

"And if I want to maximize the shadow's combat potential, the best method is to selectively preserve the shadow's ability memories and experience."

Maude knew full well Tsuru's influence within the Navy. If she showed interest, there was a high probability the Navy would adopt his proposal.

Therefore, it was necessary to explain certain key information clearly.

Gazing at Tsuru's calm face, Maude continued, "However, under normal circumstances, I lack the corresponding intelligence, making it impossible to selectively preserve the desired memories and experience. As a result, the shadows' performance often falls short of expectations—hence why I need intelligence."

Tsuru stroked her chin thoughtfully, considering the potential value of prisoner shadows.

Maude's expression remained placid.

His explanation, while largely truthful, concealed his ultimate motive—using the intelligence not just to enhance shadow soldiers, but to increase the yield of the Hunter's Notebook.

Since Tsuru couldn't possibly know about the Hunter's Notebook, she naturally wouldn't be able to discern Maude's true intentions.

After a moment, Tsuru lowered her hand, meeting Maude's gaze.

"A remarkable ability."

"It depends on who's using it."

Maude smiled.

Tsuru nodded in agreement.

It was precisely because Maude stood before her, wielding the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, that the fleeting thought crossed her mind—if only this ability were in the hands of the Navy.

Something that the previous wielder, Gecko Moria, had failed to achieve.

"You've made a valuable proposal," Tsuru said flatly, "but for now, the Navy doesn't need you to go to such lengths."

In other words, they weren't desperate enough to rely on prisoners' shadows just yet.

"For now, huh..."

Maude chuckled softly, unperturbed.

If they were only facing the Whitebeard Pirates, the Navy indeed wouldn't need him to stir things up at Impel Down.

After all, Impel Down was a heavily guarded stronghold, forbidden to pirates—especially someone like him, a Warlord of the Sea.

However... if the Golden Lion and his massive fleet joined the fray, the pressure would inevitably force the Navy's hand.

In his initial plan, Maude had even considered sending Law to perform a life-saving operation on Whitebeard, curing his ailments and restoring his strength—just to create more pressure for the Navy.

But since his ultimate goal was Whitebeard's head, he scrapped the idea.

"The choice is yours... but,"

Maude glanced at the braided-haired woman, smirking, "I still suggest you prepare the intelligence in advance—just in case."

With that, he turned and walked toward the door.

The braided-haired woman furrowed her brows, watching Maude's departing figure.

"Is he... questioning our department's capabilities?"

Tsuru glanced at her subordinate, inwardly noting that Maude's remark hadn't implied that at all.

"He's becoming more formidable..."

Tsuru silently observed Maude's back.

Using prisoners' shadows to bolster the Navy's strength—

The proposal was simply too tempting, like offering a cup of water to a traveler lost in the desert.

Running into Tsuru at the intelligence department had been an unexpected development.

Originally, Maude had planned to raise the matter at the Seven Warlords Summit.

He hadn't anticipated the chance to warm up the idea with Tsuru in advance.

"They won't refuse."

Maude was at least ninety percent certain the Navy would eventually adopt his proposal.

Whether they used the shadows to create a zombie army or enhance individual Marines—

It made little difference to him.

After all,

Through the medium of shadows, both zombies and Marines would be directly connected to him—

And the experience they gained would count toward his Hunter's Notebook.

If given the choice, Maude preferred creating a zombie army.

With the excuse of needing fresh corpses, he could cleanse half of Impel Down's prisoners without lifting a finger, reaping massive rewards.

In pursuit of maximizing his gains during the Marineford War,

Maude was fully prepared to burn through every blank page in the Hunter's Notebook.

Though, it would be wise to reserve a few pages for the top-tier fighters...

Leaving Marineford, Maude invited Fujitora out for drinks in town.

Meanwhile—

A warship carrying three Pacifista units arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago.

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