With a satisfied smile, Wright departed from Punk Hazard and returned to the G-5 Branch base.
Dr. Vegapunk, a scientist whose genius surpasses the world by 500 years, took just over half an hour to devise a comprehensive upgrade plan for the waypoints.
According to this plan, the Lightforged Sigils only require minor improvements to be directly installed onto the Lightforged Beacons. This allows the Lightforged Crystals to be continuously charged, enabling the beacons to switch into a self-powered teleportation state when imbued with the sigils!
Wright transmitted the blueprints to Judge on Watcher Island, who would promptly upgrade the Lightforged Sigils for beacon enhancement.
After informing Sengoku about the significant advancements in the fifth-generation Lightforged Beacons, the Fleet Admiral's eyes turned red with excitement.
If the Navy could mass-produce and deploy the fifth-generation waypoints, the strategic impact would be immeasurable!
At this point, Sengoku no longer felt the slightest guilt toward Kizaru for the hardships he endured—if given another chance, he would still have sent Kizaru on that mission without hesitation!
"I will personally advocate for Dr. Vegapunk's support. For now, we'll focus on upgrading the existing beacons along the Grand Line without adding new ones."
Sengoku had fully realized the truth behind the saying: "Scientific advancement is the primary force of productivity!"
Over a week had passed since Wright eliminated the legendary pirate, Golden Lion Shiki.
The Navy Headquarters made a decisive move—fully supporting a plan to promote Wright to the rank of Admiral!
More precisely, the Navy's real objective was to pressure the World Government into allowing the establishment of a fourth Admiral position.
Traditionally, the Navy Headquarters maintained three Admirals, with rare occasions where the number dropped but never exceeded three.
In the previous generation, when Kong served as Fleet Admiral, the Navy had only two Admirals—"Buddha" Sengoku and "Black Arm" Zephyr.
The third Admiral position was unofficially held by "Iron Fist" Garp, who stubbornly refused to accept a promotion.
By the time Sengoku took over as Fleet Admiral, three "monster" Vice Admirals had risen to power and were promoted simultaneously, fully staffing the Admiral ranks and maintaining deterrence over the seas.
Yet, even with this strength, the Great Pirate Era continued to escalate. Sengoku's vision was for the Navy to subdue the seas, not merely act as a balancing force in the World Government's chess game against the pirates. Strengthening the Navy's core power had become imperative.
Wright's emergence inspired more civilians to admire justice and join the Navy, significantly expanding the Navy's recruitment pool.
Additionally, Wright's miraculous healing abilities and revolutionary Lightforged Crystals drastically reduced casualties in combat, preserving the Navy's fighting force far better than before.
As a result, compared to the original timeline, the overall military strength of the Navy Headquarters had grown considerably.
But it was still not enough.
In this world where power is inherently personal, the influence of top-tier combatants is undeniable. The presence of a single supreme powerhouse can elevate an entire faction's strength and prestige.
Even with its current improvements, the Navy was merely preventing itself from being weaker than the Four Emperors' forces—despite their alliance with the Seven Warlords, they still fell short in the original timeline.
Not to mention the ones who slacked off during Marineford...
Moreover, the Navy still only had two bases in the New World!
To truly suppress the seas, the Navy needed an additional top-tier combatant—a fourth Admiral!
With a fourth Admiral's power and deterrence, the Navy could further expand, strengthen its forces, and weaken pirate influence.
The Seven Warlords were unreliable—a fact that Sengoku and all high-ranking officers had long accepted, especially after the Crocodile incident. To mitigate the damage, the World Government had even deployed CP agents across various regions to control the narrative.
World Economy News mogul Morgans had also received stern warnings from the Government, preventing him from sensationalizing the incident.
Frustrated by the restrictions, Morgans had been biding his time for the right opportunity.
Then, to his utter shock, Wright had single-handedly slain the legendary pirate, "Golden Lion" Shiki, the Admiral of the "Flying Pirate Fleet"!
Wright had mentioned waiting for the right moment—but this was beyond explosive!
Now, with the Navy Headquarters officially endorsing him, Morgans was practically ecstatic—this was better than going solo!
As a result, the Navy's top brass were stunned when they realized Morgans had gone all out on the coverage.
Morgans meticulously unearthed every last detail about Shiki's past, presenting an exhaustive profile that depicted his power, brutality, ambition, and infamous deeds—leaving nothing to the imagination.
For the first time since Gol D. Roger's era, the world was reminded of how terrifying the previous generation's legendary pirates had been!
Though the World Government found this unsettling, they had their hands full dealing with Alabasta's formal protests and mitigating the fallout from the Crocodile scandal.
Moreover, they had never explicitly suppressed information about Shiki—he had simply vanished for over a decade, allowing people to forget him. Now that his exploits had resurfaced, there was no way to erase them.
And most importantly—Shiki was dead.
No matter how powerful he had been, no matter if he had been the second coming of the Pirate King himself—he had been slain by the Navy! And the Navy belonged to the World Government!
Thus, in just two days, the entire world was flooded with Shiki-related news. But by the third day, the World Government sensed something was amiss.
Was Wright strong? Undeniably.
Had he performed a great deed? Beyond measure—Shiki had invaded Navy Headquarters and was the first to ever escape Impel Down, humiliating the World Government in the process!
Should he be rewarded? Absolutely—but as a Vice Admiral, he had already reached his rank's peak. There was no room for further promotion—the three Admiral seats were full.
So, they could just award him more medals, honorary titles—things the World Government excelled at.
But—
The World Economy News had published full-page spreads featuring sequential photographs of Wright's battle with Shiki, even releasing a special issue dedicated to it.
Which war correspondent had the nerve to plant a Visual Den Den Mushi thousands of meters in the air?!
Although the final climactic clash wasn't captured, detailed imagery of Merveille's floating islands before and after the battle, the testimonies of thousands of island residents, and Shiki's intact corpse painted a complete picture.
With this wealth of evidence, and Wright's own account, Morgans had virtually recreated the entire battle sequence.
Shiki's ambition, his monstrous power, his cruelty, the "SIQ" serum, and his beast army project—
Everything was exposed to the world.
Through Morgans' masterful embellishment, Shiki's danger level soared—ten years later, he was deemed even more terrifying than before!
And the man who stopped him, Wright, was no longer just a war hero—
He was a world-class hero!
Seizing this golden opportunity, Sengoku and Tsuru led the Navy Headquarters in launching an official commendation campaign, capitalizing on the media frenzy.
The World Economy News published the full commendation, and Sengoku went all in—publicizing nearly every one of Wright's accomplishments since joining the Navy, save for classified operations and sensitive incidents.
This was an orchestrated push for Wright's elevation.
Now, the world's leading media and the Navy Headquarters were building momentum for Wright—on two fronts!
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