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Chapter 296: The GDP is Rising Again!
Chapter 296: The GDP is Rising Again!
The setting remained in the banquet hall.
Crocodile put down his knife and fork, lit a cigar, and leaned back in his chair.
Following his actions, Daz Bones, who was eating, also paused, his expressionless face now crossed as he hugged his arms.
"Give me a share."
Blowing a puff of smoke, Crocodile demanded of Sark.
Sark finished his soup, wiped his mouth with a towel, and slowly said:
"Since you got out of Impel Down, your confidence has returned, your business channels have reopened, and you have loyal subordinates following you. Usually, you don't even bother to call me. Now you come to me to discuss business, demanding a share without any explanation. I like that you came to me, but I don't appreciate your attitude!"
Sark straightened up and exclaimed, "You owe me money, I don't owe you! And you can't even be bothered to address me as your creditor, Crocodile!"
"Don't call me that!"
A vein popped on Crocodile's temple as he retorted, "When I arrived, I saw ships under Donquixote Doflamingo's command. I know you have business dealings with him, but I can handle this business too. I am also your partner, and the people I know are different from Doflamingo's connections."
Indeed, they were different.
Doflamingo's largest trading partner was Kaido, and now he had also added Sark to the list, but their primary dealings were in arms, exporting weapons to nations at war and collaborating with the World Government.
In the underground world, Doflamingo essentially served as a hub connecting the World Government, the underground, and the pirates; he was a 'collaborator'.
Crocodile was different. He mainly collaborated with those in the underground world, using them to counter the World Government; he was an 'adversary'.
The underground world wasn't just about the six industries; they were merely representatives, and not even the sole representatives of their respective fields.
The underground world also included affiliated nations, powerful non-affiliated nations, wealthy aristocrats, and various strong individuals.
Due to the limitations of the vast seas, the underground world served as an alternative means of connection, and it was because of these individuals that the underground world earned its name.
Among them were quite a few who held grudges against the Navy and the World Government.
Crocodile conducted his business through these channels, and while it seemed to overlap with Doflamingo's operations, the essence was different.
Furthermore, Doflamingo couldn't possibly handle all the business in the world; he managed his own channels, and Crocodile had his.
"Give me a share of what Doflamingo is doing. We'll offer the same prices, expanding your business channels. You have no reason to refuse."
Crocodile glanced at him obliquely, "Wait until I'm ready and have established my ideal country. Then we can expand our business even further."
"Why don't you come and help me, then?"
Sark also lit a cigar, propping one leg on the armrest, "That utopia, free from the threat of any force—I can achieve that too. Wouldn't it be more feasible if you came to help me?"
"I will not submit to anyone, Sark."
Crocodile said in a low voice, "Also, I'm surprised you've managed to hold on for half a year. I didn't expect you to actually occupy a kingdom, even if it's a non-affiliated one."
Being a king was no easy task. So far, the only one who had truly succeeded was Doflamingo.
Even Crocodile himself, despite staying in Alabasta for so long and even becoming the country's 'hero', had ultimately failed to seize the throne.
This was partly due to his eventual defeat, but it wasn't the only reason.
Perhaps even if he had won, most people would still not have acknowledged him, and only a small fraction would have. Being a hero was vastly different from being a king.
Outsiders rarely became kings.
"What do you mean?" Sark asked.
"Many people say you're an upstart. After all, you've killed quite a few kings, and now you've become one yourself. A lot of people resent you for that. Quite a few are secretly funding your opposition, and logically, you should've been overthrown by now, forced to find an island and continue being a pirate. I'm surprised you've managed to hold on."
Crocodile said, "Haven't you noticed? There have been quite a few rebellions in your territory."
"Lily?"
Sark turned to look at Lily, who was also attending the meeting.
"Yes, there have been."
Lily confirmed, "But they were quickly suppressed. Siever and Miss All-Sunday have done a great job, and Gabra and the others have provided a lot of intelligence. We nipped these rebellions in the bud as soon as they showed signs of emerging. I reported this to you before, but you didn't pay attention."
The incidents were minor, mostly involving the remnants of the nobility. The nobles who hadn't been purged yet would produce a knight one day and a leader the next, rallying a group of people to counter-attack.
Some were dealt with by Miss All-Sunday and Siever, while others were discovered and crushed by Gabra and his group.
"I wouldn't care even if they were suppressed."
Sark stroked his chin thoughtfully, "No wonder some pesky pirates and bounty hunters haven't stopped causing trouble. I thought the New World pirates were just that brave. Turns out there's money involved."
Ever since he occupied Gales, although the region was gradually regaining its prosperity, there were still some who didn't know their place. Moreover, quite a few dared to challenge him, and Sark had simply assumed that the people of the New World were just that defiant. He never expected there to be a deeper reason.
"Your bounty in the underground world is as high as 3 billion berries, higher than your own bounty. The biggest contributor is 'Du Feld' from the 'God of Fortune'."
Crocodile said, "But you've held your ground and done a fine job. I was planning to reach out to you after you were overthrown and returned to the sea. Now, I'll have to change my approach."
At the end of the day, they were just pirates.
While there may be countless pirates on the vast seas, they were still just pirates. Powerful ones like Big Mom, who had attained the status of a 'Yonko' and controlled numerous territories, were considered 'powerful nations' at best, not rulers of the world.
There were indeed numerous powerful nations on the high seas.
For ordinary pirates, with a crew of a hundred or two hundred, how could they possibly take on a nation? Raiding ports would be considered a decent feat, but conquering a nation was a rare achievement.
Someone like Sark was truly an exceptional case, the first known instance among the great pirates of the New World.
"Du Feld."
A vein popped on Sark's temple, and he clenched his teeth, biting his cigar in half. He laughed angrily and said, "That guy owes me 52 billion; with interest, let's call it a trillion. I'm not going after him, but he dares to come after me?"
"A maggot in the sewers, too spineless to crawl out of the well. He's good at being disgusting! Where is he?!"
"You're not the only one looking for him. If he were that easy to find, he would've been dead by now." Crocodile shook his head.
"Indeed, he's hard to track down," Lily agreed.
This wasn't the first time Sark had tried to find him.
Ever since Lucci joined CP0, Sark had also given Gabra a task for Lucci—to find Du Feld and inform him of his whereabouts, or ideally, bring the man to him.
However, not a word had been heard from Lucci for quite some time, indicating that Du Feld was hiding extremely well.
"Getting back to the topic, are we going to collaborate or not?" Crocodile asked. "Make a decision soon, as I have other places to be and preparations to make."
"Damn it, what a deadbeat," Sark muttered.
"Alright, then. Let's do this: DoFlamingo takes a third of the share, you take a third, and I keep the remaining third. There's also something else..."
He paused, and Lily took out a rainbow gem, placing it in front of Crocodile.
Sark shared his vision for the rainbow gem and said, "Help me promote it, and I'll give you 20% of the production. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"It can be arranged, but I have a small problem," Crocodile said, exhaling a puff of smoke. "I don't have the money."
"..."
Sark's temple throbbed visibly, and he forced a smile. "Are you here to pick a fight?!
"I lent my money to Kakashi, and the rest of my funds are tied up. For this deal, I plan to borrow from you. Give me a portion of the weapons first, and I'll find a way to sell them to Kakashi."
Bakki had recently become a Shichibukai and founded a company called 'Bakki Express,' which was essentially a mercenary business, providing soldiers to regions in need around the world.
However, mercenaries needed weapons, and Bakki had borrowed money from Crocodile to fund this aspect of his business. Now, Crocodile intended to profit from this transaction and recoup the money Bakki owed him.
He was adept at juggling funds.
"Oh, a loan? Sure, I'm in the money-lending business too. In the spirit of our partnership, I'll offer you an annual interest rate of 40%. How much do you want to borrow?" Sark's eyes lit up, and he immediately changed his attitude.
"40%?!"
Crocodile's face twisted, and he gritted his teeth. "As I suspected, that 500 million you gave me before wasn't an investment. You were lending me money with interest!"
"Let bygones be bygones; no need to dwell on the past. How about this: You owe me 700 million berries, and I'll lend you an additional 13 billion, making it a nice round 20 billion berries."
Sark smiled broadly. "Place an order with me, and I'll start production immediately."
...
Crocodile left, grumbling under his breath.
Aside from taking a bag of rainbow gems, he didn't take anything else, not even money.
It wasn't that he didn't want to borrow the money, but rather, Sark had turned the loan into orders for weapons and battleships. Once the production was complete, Crocodile would send someone to pick up the goods.
Sark didn't have to spend a dime, while Crocodile took on the debt and gained a substantial order worth over 10 billion berries for his newly established factory that hadn't officially started production yet. This deal also provided jobs for many people, from the factory workers to those involved in raw material production, not to mention the additional tax revenue.
Hey, the GDP was rising again!
A few days later.
A raft made entirely of large logs approached the port of Augustinburgh.
"Ahahahaha!"
A hearty laugh rang out from the raft, "What a fine place you've found, Sark!
(End of Chapter)
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