Pirate: Hades! ( One Piece)

Chapter 236: The Munitions Market

Even though Rocks was dead and the Rocks Pirates had been annihilated, they left behind a huge mess for the World Government and the Marines in the Four Seas, the First Half of the Grand Line, and the entire World.

The Marines needed to handle it.

Member Nations would not easily trust the World Government or the Marines and thus give up the navies they had painstakingly built.

Some kingdoms had invested unknown amounts of funds to establish their navies.

 They purchased warships, bought armaments, and cultivated their military.

Many years had passed, and the navies of many kingdoms had already formed and were already exhibiting considerable deterrence.

Many Kingdom Navies' own military officers were poached from the Four Seas Navy, so their formation speed was very fast.

 Additionally, they had the Marines as a template to imitate.

However, no matter how much they developed, they did not have the strength.

 Compared to the Marines, they were worlds apart.

 Talent and funds limited their scale.

Compared to the army, the navy required more funds.

 Even so, they possessed the strength to protect their kingdoms.

Having a navy also meant having deterrence against pirates on the Great Sea; ordinary pirates would not dare to offend them easily.

This situation reduced the stress on the Marines, but it was not a good thing for the World Government and the Marines.

 The gradual independence of the Member Nations allowed them to break free from the shackles of dependence on the World Government.

 And these shackles were something the World Government had spent a long time establishing.

Of course, there were not many Member Nations with the ability to establish a navy, especially a powerful one.

 Many relied on external warships and munitions.

The financial resources consumed also made it difficult for some kingdoms to bear.

Since the rise of the Rocks Pirates, the economic strength of most kingdoms had been declining, yet they still had to support their navies, which were like gold-swallowing beasts.

Just a fleet composed of ten warships required them to grit their teeth to scrape together the funds, and they even owed a lot of foreign debt.

The World Government's response to this approach was naturally to utilize pirates to wear down the maritime strength of these Member Nations, and then send out Marines as reinforcements.

Through huge losses, they aimed to make these Member Nations give up their plan to establish navies.

The cost of relying on the Marines was far lower than rebuilding their own navy, which was also one of the reasons why many Member Nations had not invested energy in building navies all this time.

However, Member Nations with the ability to build navies would eventually build them.

The strength of the navies built by these Member Nations was not comparable to ordinary pirates.

For example, the Hasshoken Army of Flower Country in the West Blue is a powerful maritime force built by Flower Country operating under the guise of pirates, specifically to help Flower Country resolve enemies that cannot be resolved through overt means.

The current World Government is still in a state of internal and external troubles.

It is indeed necessary for the Kronos Kingdom to put down its hatred towards them.

The tide turns.

 The world situation is so chaotic, yet the trade scale of the Kronos Kingdom is getting bigger and bigger.

The World Government noticed this long ago, but they were always tied down by the Rocks Pirates.

What are they coming for now? It cannot just be to improve relations with the Kronos Kingdom.

 Just this is not worth the World Government making a trip personally.

Hades could guess a bit.

The Wind God Arms Company and the Fire God Arms Company, along with the "King of Arms" from the Underworld, have occupied more than half the share of the entire World munitions market.

The impact of this is huge.

 As the lethality, range, and accuracy of firearms improve, war becomes more brutal.

However, lower quality munitions have not been completely eliminated.

 Their performance is also improving, and relying on their low price advantage, they still occupy a considerable share in the entire World.

Behind them naturally stood the World Government originally.

Maintaining a certain amount of chaos, triggering wars, selling munitions, and earning profits - this is something the World Government has always been doing.

However, the World Government did not fully consider it as a means of gaining profits.

The munitions they produced were limited and not enough to satisfy the entire World's demand.

 Moreover, they also needed to supply the Marines and the Army.

In the wars of these years, only a very small portion of the munitions produced by the World Government could flow to the Great Sea; most were internally consumed by the World Government.

This also allowed the Kronos Kingdom to occupy the munitions market more quickly.

And now, that portion of the share that originally belonged to the World Government has been swallowed by others.

In the chaotic Great Sea, the demand for munitions is constantly increasing.

 Munitions produced by various large and small factions are constantly flowing into the market, hoping to capture a portion of the market share.

Seeing the increasingly large market, the World Government is clearly getting restless.

Compared to the World Government, some munitions manufacturers focused on certain regions possess lower costs.

After finally catching a breath and planning to take a large chunk of the munitions market share, they found they cannot compete at all.

A series of wars has already caused the World Government to lose its share of the munitions market.

 Now they have seen the huge profit of the munitions market.

Wanting to re-enter is a bit difficult.

The World Government has its own advantages.

The existence of the Red Line allows them to effectively transport munitions supplies to the Four Seas.

Relying on the World Government's scientific technology, they can update and upgrade the current armaments at any time.

It's just that in the past, in order to suppress the development of weapons on the Great Sea, the World Government did not do this.

In order to deal with the greater threat of pirates and ensure the World Government and the Marines maintain their munitions advantage, the World Government must update and upgrade their armaments.

After the upgrade, the quality of munitions produced by the World Government will definitely be ranked among the top.

This does not mean that the World Government can easily occupy the munitions share.

The quality of munitions produced by the World Government will not be higher than that of the Kronos Kingdom, which has high-precision machine tools and high-efficiency production lines.

The increase in cost will also lead to an increase in price, making it unable to compete with the lower prices of the Aeolus Company and the Hephaestus Company.

Moreover, various Member Nations had long ago established trade relations with the two major companies and have a basis for cooperation.

If the Kronos Kingdom actively opposes them, the World Government's attempt to enter the munitions market will inevitably fail.

If the World Government wants to pursue small profits but quick turnover, as long as the two major companies also lower their prices, then how can the World Government compete?

That is to say, the World Government must reconcile with the Kronos Kingdom and must satisfy the Kronos Kingdom, so that they do not secretly oppose the World Government.

The news received in recent days has already proven that the World Government wants to enter the munitions market.

Besides munitions, what else is there?

What else does the World Government know?

Wano Country? Fish-Man Island? Or is it the Kronos Kingdom's plan in the New World? Or is it several Superpower Alliances?

(end of chapter)