Chapter 411: I Want to Start a Bank
Chapter 411: I Want to Start a Bank
"Zouwu?" Sage asked, taking a sip from his wine glass and grinning. "Dooflamingo is really doing well for himself."
He recalled a red historical text, or 'road sign,' which had made him want to go to Zouwu.
However, the problem was the lack of direction.
To those who knew its name, Zouwu was believed to be an island, a towering giant among islands.
Only those in the know understood that it wasn't an island at all, but a massive elephant with 'Zouwu Nation' on its back.
This creature was a living being, and it was constantly on the move.
Not only was there no record pointer or permanent pointer, but even if one knew the location, by the time they arrived, the giant elephant would have moved.
The only way to reach Zouwu was with the life card of the giant elephant, which could lock onto its position.
Sage had wanted to ask Flox if he had it, but this lazy cat, abandoned in the North Sea since childhood, not only didn't know but also didn't consider Zouwu his homeland.
If he had to name a homeland, he would say Ohara, and the treasury of Storm City was his home.
Sage had no choice but to ask around.
Doflamingo, who had connections in both the black and white markets, was the perfect person to ask.
After such a long time, he had finally found it!
"Hurry and have him send it over."
"I've already told him, and..."
Lily spread the newspaper on the table, and Sage looked down, clicking his tongue. "Why is this photo still being used? Can't they take more photos of my heroic moments? Lily, this photo is cool, but it doesn't look like you at all after a while."
The front page was dominated by Sage's photo, followed by Lily's bounty poster.
"I didn't ask you to look at the photo."
Lily rolled her eyes at Sage, realizing his intention before he could speak.
What else was there to look at besides the photo? He was illiterate.
Lily pursed her lips and pointed at the photo that had taken up half the page three days ago but was now reduced to a single image. "It's about the Azure Nation. After that island was destroyed and you became a Yonko, the newspapers are calling you the Demon of Nation Destruction. They say that wherever you go, you'll annihilate the local nation, and both the people and the king will perish under your disaster."
"Although it's not a big deal, should we find these newspapers and give them a warning?"
Lily was the one most influenced by Sage, and her way of thinking was gradually aligning with his.
She didn't care about the public opinion regarding the destruction of the island because no matter what, pirates would always be feared. As long as one had strength, nothing was impossible, and even demons could be revered as heavenly gods.
Lily was pleased that the newspapers were praising Sage's fearsome reputation, but she disliked their attitude of fabricating stories.
"Can you control the heavens and earth, and also control what others write?"
Sage glanced at the photo Lily was pointing at, showing a mushroom cloud rising, and he chuckled. "There's no need. Let them say what they want."
Sage hadn't intended to destroy the Azure Nation; he had planned to conquer it. But that place was beyond saving.
It wasn't just Akainu; Green Bull also followed this differentiation, and this ideology had originated from the Azure Nation.
From the nobility to the commoners, everyone in the nation adhered to an extremely strict class system.
The king treated the nobles as servants, the nobles treated the lower-ranking nobles as servants, and the entire class system treated ordinary people as slaves.
Normally, one would just need to eliminate all the nobles to solve this issue.
However, the problem lay in the fact that even among the commoners, there were lower-class slaves!
They discriminated against each other, and within their circle, they determined who was a slave based on their honor and wealth.
Even among the slaves, there were further divisions based on status, creating new slaves, and the cycle continued.
In this nation of less than 100,000 people, most were caught in a chain of discrimination, slavery, and being enslaved.
After eliminating the old nobility, those at the top of the commoners became the new nobles, while their lower-ranking slaves became ordinary people. The lowest-ranking slaves rejoiced and voluntarily created new divisions of slaves and lower-class slaves.
The people of the entire nation seemed insane, and no amount of killing could stop their desire to enslave others. Sage didn't have time to play liberator to these tens of thousands of people.
He was a pirate who maintained a neutral stance on slavery as long as there were none within his territory.
These people would only pollute the purity of the people under his rule. Sage had eliminated the nobility, not to create a new batch, as no one could share the power to rule with him; it was solely his.
Since these people were beyond saving, and 70% of the island was forest, with only wood and other rare resources found in the surrounding areas, Sage decided to destroy it.
And so, the photo of the rising mushroom cloud appeared in the newspaper.
And thus, he was given the title of the 'Greatest Calamity'.
"I don't have time to deal with those tabloid issues either. Has Pirikro cracked yet?" Sage asked.
"If you can't get him to talk, we definitely won't be able to," Lily replied.
Lily shook her head, "He probably genuinely doesn't know."
'Undertaker' Doraq Pirikro, one of the leaders of the six major industries in the underworld, was the head of the funeral industry, or in other words, the assassin business. Sage had captured him to extract information about the other five industry leaders.
Unfortunately, Pirikro knew nothing.
The connection between the six industries wasn't that tight, especially among the leaders. It was already a miracle if they even had each other's contact information.
But after Sage became one of the Four Emperors, those guys seemed to have gotten wind of it and cut off all contact with Pirikro, leaving Sage with no way to get any information.
"Hmm," Sage mused, sliding his wine glass forward slightly. Lily refilled his glass, and he picked it up, swirling the wine as he pondered.
From the start, he knew that Pirikro wouldn't know anything.
Few could resist the power of his Big Dipper Fist, and Pirikro was definitely not one of them. Getting him to spill the truth was a simple matter for Sage.
It was his stubbornness that got the better of him. He couldn't bear the thought of not being able to extract the information himself, so he handed the task over to the Majin Clan.
But now it seemed that it was all for naught.
"What should we do? Let him go or kill him? Should we stay out of that industry?" Lily asked.
Sage rolled his eyes, "Why would I need assassins to kill someone? Who would I need to hire an assassin for?"
"Red Hair? Kaido? Or that crazy woman, Big Mom? If there really was such a capable assassin, would they still be an assassin?"
"Stop joking around. What top-tier assassins could there be in the underworld? Roger and his crew are the best of the best, but even they couldn't take down Doflamingo."
Doflamingo's current status of having a foot in both the legal and illegal worlds wasn't due to his Celestial Dragon identity from the start. On the contrary, he had faced numerous assassination attempts because of it.
It was only after they failed to assassinate him that they turned to cooperation.
"If assassins are useless, do we really have to take up their so-called funeral business? Do we have to go around burying bodies all over the world? If there were really that many sources of corpses, Lord Moriah wouldn't have had to go through all that trouble to find materials for his zombies," Sage scoffed.
Moriah's zombies were all dug up by his own claws; there was no funeral business involved.
The true funeral industry was closely connected to local communities and didn't require outsiders. At its simplest, it involved digging graves, and at its most elaborate, finding a local cleric to perform a ceremony was considered a decent send-off.
Among the six major industries in the underworld, the assassin business was the most useless. It was like buying slaves; paying for someone to kill brought no value.
As for the money earned from killing, Sage didn't bother with such petty sums.
"Forget it, just kill him and hang the body at the port," Sage waved his hand and said.
"Okay, I'll go inform them," Lily replied without asking about ransom or anything.
That was before they entered the New World. Now that they had their own territory in the New World, many things couldn't be measured by money anymore.
"While we're at it, give me an update on our recent territories and situations."
"I don't need the details. Just give me a general overview. It's your job to plan now, Lily."
"I just need to know if my plan is complete or not," Sage said.
"It's done. We're in the final stages, and it's estimated that in three to four months, we'll have complete control over all the known islands. Moreover, our subordinates are searching between islands to see if there are any undiscovered islands," Lily reported.
"Our forces are steadily increasing. Excluding the 3,000 Ohara local guards, we now have 16,000, and I estimate we can surpass 20,000. As for population replenishment, the World Government hasn't discussed the specifics with us yet, so we need to know the numbers to plan," Lily added.
"So, everything's going well?" Sage asked with a smile.
Lily nodded in agreement.
"That's more like it, Lily. You have to step up and take on more responsibilities as the Chief Minister. Your tasks will only increase, and if you can't handle something, come to me. For the rest, take charge and you'll become more skilled," Sage nodded in satisfaction.
That's what subordinates are for! What's an overlord for?
Sage leaned back in his chair.
An overlord's job was to set the direction, hold absolute power, and let specialists handle the details while he enjoyed the fruits of their labor.
The size of his territory and the number of people under his rule were of little concern to him, as everything was already his.
The more people, the merrier, and the better it would be for him!
"Since we've stabilized things, it's time to move on to the next plan, Lily."
Sage raised his eyebrows, his face full of excitement. "I have a plan!"
Lily furrowed her brows slightly. "What are you planning to do?"
Sage's plans had always been, well, rough around the edges.
While he would eventually accomplish them, the amount of effort required depended on the scale of his plans and the number of tasks involved.
Even the plan he had made before entering the New World took over a year to complete.
And now, he had another plan.
She thought for a moment and said, "I think we should focus on consolidating our territory first and digesting it properly. We're not fully prepared for a war with the other Four Emperors yet."
"That's not what I meant."
Sage waved his hand and smiled. "I'm talking about the next step after digestion. With a larger territory, I may be living the good life, but the people below me still need improvement. They may be well-fed and entertained, but it's not enough."
"In simple terms, I want more for the people. I want them to live more prosperous lives. If they're not prosperous enough, I won't be able to enjoy more exciting things."
The more prosperous a place, the more one could experience.
"Look, they're living comfortably now, and some are even losing their drive. They have good food and a decent life, but if we continue like this, development will stagnate. I can't keep enjoying only what I have now."
He clicked his tongue and showed Lily a row of white teeth with a sinister smile. "It's not enough, Lily!"
"Dancing troupes? Musical bands? Fishing with golden rods and farming with golden hoes? Or having the finest food and drinks? I'm starting to get bored, just a little, but this boredom won't go away quickly. Soon enough, I'll be utterly fed up!"
He spread his arms, his expression slightly manic. "These things can't satisfy me anymore, Lily! I want more! More! More!"
Human desires are like a ladder.
Only when one is full and no longer worried about their next meal can they have the energy to think about other things.
But desires are also endless; satisfying one level leads to another, each higher than the last.
And Sage, a man with deep and heavy desires, wanted 'more' than even the Devil Fruits he had consumed.
This had always been his way.
From the basic desire for wealth to acquiring territory, expanding it, and now, he craved prosperity and more excitement.
These desires required significant effort to fulfill!
"The economic base determines the superstructure, Lily. I can't be satisfied anymore!"
Sage's eyes widened, staring intently at her. "So, I'm going big!"
Lily was taken aback and instinctively looked down, her face flushing slightly. She stammered, "Th-this... it's not... you can't... I mean, you shouldn't... I..."
She closed her eyes and stamped her foot. "At least, before that, we need to spend..."
"Exactly! I want to spend money! You understand me!"
Sage slammed his hand on the table, delighted. "I want to spend money, more money!"
"I want grand infrastructure! I want to increase the people's happiness! I want Storm City! I want Ohara! I want all my territories to be lit up with colorful lights and decorations! I want them to prosper so that I can gain more and enjoy more!"
Where was his hometown?
Forget about strength, but in terms of prosperity, it was undoubtedly more impressive than the vast ocean.
There were all sorts of powerful and influential figures there.
That's what Sage wanted now—these influential figures.
He wanted to be in a bustling metropolis, surrounded by people who would showcase their creativity due to the prosperity. He wanted to be the center of attention, enjoying the benefits of this prosperity!
Bring on the fun and joy! Of course, basic human morality was essential; pirates had their code of conduct, and Sage was even more particular about it.
So...
"I want to open a bank!"
Sage shouted, "No, call it a Golden Bank! My plan is to open a Golden Bank first, then use the money to develop grand infrastructure! Hmm, what's that look on your face?"
He noticed Lily's expression change and asked.
"It's nothing."
Lily regained her composure, her voice turning cold. "I just saw a nice bouquet of flowers earlier. Please continue."
"Opening a Golden Bank, funded by me, will attract everyone to deposit their money. The primary business will be to develop infrastructure, stimulate the domestic market, boost production, enhance creativity, and..."
Sage's smile turned sinister. "Usury!"
(End of Chapter)
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