One Piece: The True Codex

"Fifth Bureau of Commercial Intelligence?" The senior agent repeated the name, gritting his teeth in frustration. "Why do we need another department? It's not like we can't handle external operations!"

Kuro shook his head. "Don't be so indignant. The National Security Bureau has been around for quite some time, yet we're still confined to domestic operations. Progress on external work has been minimal, so it's only natural for Lord William to be dissatisfied."

The senior agent, still unwilling to concede, said, "Director, are we just going to let those brats in the Steward's Office take away our authority like this?"

Kuro's lips twitched into a faintly malicious smile. "Give and take—that's what makes things interesting. Did you know that Lord William has long wanted to reorganize the kingdom's military? Personnel, structure, and even departments. It's just that he's been too occupied with governance, particularly the rural resettlement and migration policies, to address it. But now that those policies are stabilizing, I think it's time to bring this matter to the forefront."

Kuro tapped his index finger on a document spread out on the desk, where the words "Formation of the General Staff Department..." were faintly visible.

"General Staff Department?" William murmured with a half-smile as he reviewed the document submitted by the Steward's Office.

Kuro was indeed an exceptionally clever individual—not only capable of measured judgment but also adept at discerning the intentions of his superiors.

The Steward's Office, tasked with assisting William in handling daily affairs, was also a cradle for cultivating trusted aides and grassroots leaders. It was foreseeable that this department would grow increasingly prominent and powerful in the future, with its influence expanding significantly.

Signs of this were already apparent. The Four Seas Trading Company, the White Pine Free Trade Zone, the Flash Gold Bank, the Morgan Pirates, domestic governance, and even the weapons development laboratory—all these departments and initiatives had some involvement from the Steward's Office.

Just as he had done with Kuro's National Security Bureau, William intended to divide the Steward's Office's authority. And, as with the National Security Bureau, William's subordinates, keenly attuned to his intentions, proactively stepped forward to play the role of the "villain."

The establishment of the Fifth Bureau of Commercial Intelligence was William's own idea; the Steward's Office merely proposed it in alignment with his wishes. Similarly, Kuro's suggestion regarding the Steward's Office's responsibilities was also a reflection of William's underlying intentions.

The so-called General Staff Department was modeled after the German General Staff system from William's past life, designed to oversee comprehensive planning and deployment for the military. However, it had been adapted to suit the current context.

With the Morgan Pirates as a loyal armed force and his own formidable personal strength, William had implemented a "civilian-first, military-second" policy after taking control of the Navia Kingdom. Using overwhelming military power to suppress unrest, he prioritized addressing urgent civil issues before turning his attention to the military.

In the coming months, the Navia Kingdom underwent significant upheaval. William first brought King Norton I and his family, who had been relegated to the countryside near Black Reef Town for nearly half a month, back to the royal palace. He then gradually recalled the nobles who had been exiled to rural areas by this "treacherous minister."

For these nobles, who had spent an extended period in the countryside, it was the first time they found themselves longing for the days of being under house arrest in Kalmar City. The places William had assigned them to were far from affluent—either newly developed, sparsely populated islands or villages with recent migrants, often fraught with conflicts between locals and newcomers.

After bringing these former rulers back to the city—effectively placing them under surveillance—William embarked on a sweeping reform of the Navia Kingdom's military.

He first established the General Staff Department, reallocating some of the Steward's Office's functions to oversee military affairs, training, logistics, and other military-related administrative tasks. The newly created "Directorate of Military Supplies," a subordinate agency, not only took over the weapons testing laboratory previously managed by Dampier but was also tasked with providing professional quartermasters for William's fleets. These quartermasters would also serve as spies, monitoring any irregularities in the ships' supplies.

While the overall structure of the Steward's Office remained largely unchanged, its military-related responsibilities were stripped away, leaving it to focus solely on civil affairs. Its subordinate Mapping Bureau would oversee maritime charting, meteorological analysis, and ship route management, while also providing professional and reliable navigators for the fleets.

Prior to this, William had already taken advantage of the population census conducted during free medical treatment campaigns to establish a Ministry of Health, which would later supply ship doctors for his fleets.

William envisioned two types of armed forces for the future. One would be a professional military modeled after the Marines and formal armies from his past life. The other would resemble the Seven Warlords of the Sea system or the privateering system of 18th-century Britain. Through letters of marque, pardons would be granted to individuals who were not criminals wanted by the World Government. Foreign offenders could earn legal status by serving the Navia Kingdom for a certain period.

The decision to recruit private armed forces was dictated by the nature of individual combat power in this world. In an environment where a single person's strength could determine the outcome of an entire ship's crew, talent was invaluable and worth recruiting.

If not for the inevitable backlash from the World Government, William would have considered extending the pardon to even those listed on the World Government's wanted list.

The loyalty of these individuals was harder to guarantee compared to those from professional military backgrounds. This was why William intended to tightly control the roles of quartermasters, navigators, and ship doctors.

These positions were indispensable on any ship. As the number of ships under his command grew, it would become increasingly difficult to maintain direct control over all of them, including those from professional military backgrounds. However, by controlling these key roles, William could monitor the general sentiment aboard each ship.

Moreover, this approach would increase the cost of betrayal. Navigators and ship doctors, in particular, naturally earned the trust and affection of ordinary crew members, making them influential figures who could help mitigate any negative impacts.

After finalizing these high-level arrangements, William began implementing sweeping reforms within the military. He first reorganized the youth army into the Royal Guard. The training mechanism of the youth army's instructional units had matured over the past year, and under William's leadership, this system was extended to the entire kingdom's military.

Although William had not restructured the kingdom's military in the past year, he had not been idle. The Steward's Office had been meticulously compiling records of junior officers. The reorganized Royal Guard would become the kingdom's elite force, open only to grassroots officers who had served for a specified number of years or demonstrated exceptional performance. These officers would undergo additional training before rejoining active duty.

At the same time, as William drew personnel from various units, he began inspecting the military's organization and supplies. Officers involved in embezzlement or supply shortages, regardless of rank or severity, were summarily dismissed or, in severe cases, imprisoned.

He then trimmed down bloated, ineffective, and redundant units, transferring some useful forces to the police system to alleviate the financial burden.

These actions inevitably encroached on the interests of entrenched military factions. Misinterpreting William's initial year of inaction as fear of their power, these groups attempted to incite unrest among disgruntled junior officers and dismissed soldiers.

However, their plans were swiftly uncovered by Kuro and the National Security Bureau, eager to prove their worth.

After the intelligence was reported, Harden, known as the "Mad Dog," personally led a team to arrest the conspirators. Following William's approval, over a dozen ringleaders were executed for treason, while others were stripped of their noble titles or sentenced to hard labor in prison.

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