Starting with helping Zhao Kai ascend the throne in the snow

Faced with Akainu's question, Chief of Staff Tsuru also looked at Sengoku with curiosity, as she had been wondering about this question for a long time.

It seems that from the moment she joined the Navy, she was instilled with the idea that powerful pirates must be imprisoned, especially those with Devil Fruit powers. Only pirates who were not Devil Fruit users were sentenced to death (like the Pirate King Roger).

It is precisely because of this strategy that Impel Down is filled with many heinous criminals, many of whom are guilty of crimes for which they could be sentenced to death multiple times. However, because they are Devil Fruit users, they are spared the death penalty and instead imprisoned indefinitely until they die of old age or illness.

This strategy is highly unreasonable and has absolutely no deterrent effect on criminals, yet this is precisely what the world government requires.

Chief of Staff Tsuru recalled that the World Government's explanation was that they were afraid that if these people were killed, the Devil Fruits would randomly appear in other places, causing uncontrollable situations. But upon closer examination, such a reason was hard to believe.

Most of these criminals would still die if they were locked up in Impel Down, so this would have no effect whatsoever.

Facing the gazes of Akainu and Chief of Staff Tsuru, Sengoku pondered for a long time before shaking his head and smiling bitterly, "Actually, I don't know either."

"You don't know?" Akainu and Chief of Staff Tsuru both looked at Sengoku in disbelief, seemingly unable to believe what they were hearing.

Sengoku was a renowned naval strategist, known for his profound wisdom; how could he not know this?

Seeing that the two did not believe him, Sengoku sighed and explained in detail, "To be honest, I really don't know the reason. The World Government has always required this, and the Navy and CP have always carried it out in this way."

Sengoku paused here, then changed his tone and said, "However, according to my guess, all of this should be related to the origin of Devil Fruits."

"The origin of Devil Fruits?" Akainu and Chief of Staff Tsuru both looked completely bewildered.

"The earliest origin of Devil Fruits can only be traced back to the establishment of the World Government eight hundred years ago. All the history before that has been destroyed. No one knows where Devil Fruits came from or when they appeared. It seems as if they appeared out of thin air."

"The secret behind this is probably known only to the highest governing body of the Celestial Dragons, but they are trying their best to cover up the truth of history and prevent anyone from investigating the past. Ohara Island is one example of this."

"During the eight hundred years of World Government rule, there have been countless examples like Ohara Island. Whenever the World Government discovered that someone was trying to understand the past, they were ruthlessly destroyed, and countless countries and islands perished as a result."

What is said without malice may be taken to heart by the listener.

"Ahem, Mr. Sengoku, let's hear your assessment." Akainu coughed, his expression turning unnatural, after hearing about Ohara Island. He was the one who personally orchestrated the destruction of Ohara Island back then.

When Sengoku heard Akainu interrupt him, a look of sudden realization appeared on his face. He had been so engrossed in talking that he had completely forgotten that Ohara Island was Akainu's dark history.

Sengoku immediately changed the subject, saying, "As the saying goes, there's no smoke without fire. Since the World Government is trying so hard to cover up history, it proves that history must have something that frightens them. Coupled with their prohibition against indiscriminately killing Devil Fruit users, there's only one truth: if too many Devil Fruit users die, something will inevitably happen that threatens the World Government."

"Sengoku, what you're saying isn't right. There must have been quite a few Devil Fruit users who died in the last eight hundred years, right?" Chief of Staff Tsuru asked, frowning.

“Tsuru, I apologize for not being clear. What I meant was that in the short term, the number of Devil Fruit users who die cannot exceed a certain limit. Let’s take 100 as an example. If the number of deaths exceeds 100 in a year, it may cause a disaster. Conversely, as long as it does not exceed 100, there will be no problem. So the World Government’s practice of having us imprison those criminals is to control the number of deaths.”

"Of course, all of the above is just my speculation, but it can't be entirely called speculation. I once had someone secretly investigate the Navy's archives over the years, and it seems that the number of Devil Fruit users who die each year has really not exceeded 100." Sengoku's glasses gleamed with wisdom.

"Alright, let's leave it at that for today. Mr. Sengoku, I'll leave the task of sending someone to Beehive Island to gather information to you." Just then, Akainu, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, ending the conversation.

After Sengoku and Chief of Staff Tsuru left, Akainu lowered his head, crossed his arms on the table, and muttered to himself, "It seems necessary to send someone to investigate what the truth of what happened back then really is..."

----

In the temporary residence of the Taiping magistrate during the Northern Mang and Southern Dynasties.

Taiping Ling was leaning over the table, carefully writing and drawing on the map with a brush.

The map before him was a map of mountains and rivers he had traveled all over the world during his twenty years of hiding his identity. It not only recorded the two kingdoms of Liyang and Beimang, but also detailed the Western Regions, Nanzhao, and the South China Sea.

Because Empress Murong did not want Xu Xiao to suffer a disgraceful end, she rejected Taiping Ling's proposal to send troops. However, Taiping Ling could not remain idle; he had already made plans to defeat Beiliang squarely.

Therefore, after leaving the Northern Mang Northern Court, he personally went to the border area of ​​Liang Mang to inspect the terrain and deployment, and to check the military preparations of the Southern Dynasty of Northern Mang, in order to prepare for the upcoming great battle.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps approached, and the next second, Hong Jingyan appeared outside the door.

"Come in." Before Hong Jingyan could even ask to see him, the Taiping Ling's gentle voice rang out.

Upon hearing this, Hong Jingyan respectfully walked to Taiping Ling's side and bowed, saying, "Grand-disciple Hong Jingyan greets Grandmaster."

Hong Jingyan is the disciple of Sun Shaopu, the current head of the Sword Palace of the Chess and Sword Music Academy. Sun Shaopu is the disciple of Taiping Ling, the previous head of the Chess and Sword Music Academy. Therefore, the relationship between the two is that of a disciple-grandson and a master-grandson.

"Alright, I've never liked those formalities. Tell me, what happened to your master? Why did he offend His Majesty?" Taiping Ling put down his brush, but his gaze never left the map in front of him.

At this moment, the map clearly marks the various forces of Northern Mang, Northern Liang, Li Yang, and the Western Regions, with detailed descriptions of the geography and landscape. Even the distances from one place to another, how long it takes to walk or ride a horse, are clearly annotated, indicating that Taiping Ling has everything memorized.

Faced with the Taiping Order's inquiry, Hong Jingyan dared not be negligent and hurriedly recounted to the Taiping Order in detail the information he had heard from Sun Shaopu.