Chapter 624: Red Port Test Fire
Chapter 624: Red Port Test Fire
Recently, the atmosphere at sea has been a bit peculiar.
It's not because of the secret arrest of a Navy admiral being exposed, nor because the Rebel Army is clashing with Marineford again, nor because the Cross Organization has accepted the Empress.
Instead, what's unusual is how quiet the New World has become.
Or rather, the first half of the New World, which Sagel controls, has become eerily silent.
Despite everything proceeding as usual, with business flourishing more than ever, there's an unsettling quiet.
The well-known high-ranking officials haven't been seen in a long time.
Even the palace, which used to be bustling with noise visible from the port, has been unusually quiet for a while. There hasn't been the familiar noise for quite some time.
The palace's noise is public, and because the feasts are held frequently, the nearby residents feel reassured.
That's what their lord should be doing—providing them with stability, peace, and a prosperous life. What's the harm in hosting a few feasts?
How much can a feast cost? How much can eating and drinking cost?
No matter how much one person can eat, it's still limited.
Besides, the lord is the one paying for it!
For the residents, it's a matter of priority. They can't compare with the lord. The rarest items, even if they can afford them, might not be available, and they are all supplied to the palace.
But no one complains about this.
Those who had complaints are long dead. The remaining ones either have no complaints or dare not voice them.
For the common people, paying for it is entirely unnecessary. Out of respect for their lord, they are more than capable of providing.
A meal with hundreds of dishes?
Even a meal with tens of thousands of dishes—can all four million people of Ohara not afford it?
On the contrary, the more people there are, the easier it is to provide.
They only need to support one.
What they fear is not just supporting one, but supporting thousands, and still not being satisfied, wanting to take their homes, their lives, and enslave them for generations.
But such a thing doesn't exist in Ohara, nor is there any ground for it to exist.
To put it bluntly, these people are already Sagel's slaves, ruled by Sagel, and are his private property.
Anyone else trying to do the same isn't just breaking the rules; they are directly rebelling against Sagel. This is seen as a severe provocation and will be dealt with the utmost severity, ensuring they are utterly destroyed.
Even those merchants who were bold enough during the cleanup period only dared to embezzle workers' wages, not to the point of claiming land or treating people as slaves.
After being ruled by Sagel for a long time, people might have been initially uncomfortable, but as the loyalists, who initially resisted, were reduced to a minority, and the surrendering faction became the majority in Ohara, people grew accustomed to the lively atmosphere in the palace.
Some even took pride in it.
The more lively their lord's activities, the better their contributions, right?
Good contributions mean paying more taxes, which means the lord can host grander feasts.
On the contrary, if the noise isn't enough, they would reflect on their efforts. How could they let the lord's feasts be so quiet?
They need to earn more and pay more taxes.
In the past few days, there has been no noise from the palace, which has worried the residents.
Lady Lily seems to have set sail, but the lord hasn't left; he's been in the palace. There have been no feasts for several days. Could it be that he's out of money?
He might rest for a day at most, but it's been several days with no activity.
Some people have taken money to the palace gates, throwing it down and running away. Before long, a pile of gold and silver has accumulated at the gate. Akane, responsible for the gate, had no choice but to have his subordinates count the money and the people, and then return the money.
This isn't the first time this has happened.
They need to be reassured that Sagel isn't hosting feasts because he's busy, not because he's out of money.
He has a gold mine and a massive golden bell from Skypiea on top of the palace.
Who else could be out of money when Sagel isn't?
The current king of the sea, the holder of the world's greatest treasure, if he's out of money, who knows who should have money?
Shimizu?
Many countries pay the heavenly gold, but there are also many Shimizus. After deducting the World Government's expenses, the remaining amount isn't much per person.
Sagel was different. He was truly a one-man operation. The taxes from the people and industries in his territory were more than enough to cover his current military expenses, and even had a surplus. With so many people and profitable businesses, supporting over seventy thousand pirates wasn't a big deal.
On average, about sixty people supported one pirate, and that was enough. Sagel himself had core industries that he had spearheaded and invested in.
For example, the infrastructure issues in Ohara. This project was bound to be a money-loser, but for the sake of his vision of prosperity, the infrastructure had to be built. To achieve efficiency, it required spending money to get the job done.
Building roads, renovations, and re-planning—none of these things came cheap.
Tearing down and rebuilding houses for people didn't yield much profit. Relying on Sagel's own prestige, he managed a one-to-one exchange of houses, adjusting the sizes to compensate for differences, but it wasn't a profitable venture. After all, he wouldn't set the prices too high.
He didn't need to collect taxes prematurely to arm himself, as his personal strength was sufficient, and he didn't need to mortgage the future.
However, the money spent on this project wasn't a loss. It was an investment in the future. Once the roads were built, more residential and commercial areas would open up in the outskirts of Ohara, attracting more merchants. The taxes he would collect in the future would more than make up for the initial investment.
A major road could take ten years to recoup its costs through the labor and commercial taxes of the people who worked and did business there, but Sagel understood that people were the driving force of productivity. He wouldn't be stingy about this.
The rest of his investments were in businesses that merchants didn't see as profitable. These businesses weren't suitable for Sagel to handle personally and couldn't become core industries, but they were necessary for the time being. So he took the lead and publicly invested a portion, encouraging more people to participate. Once the industries scaled up, he would recoup his investment and exit, letting the merchants run them.
Whether they made a profit or a loss, it didn't matter. The meat was still in the pot.
The gold in the bank was the Berry he had stolen from Tesoro, but for Ohara alone, this money would be a shock. It could only be absorbed by the global market. So, most of the time, Sagel adhered to normal development.
Even if he had done poorly in his studies, he still understood inflation and deflation. What good were riches if they were useless?
Without a trade route, trillions of Berry were like waste paper. He couldn't harvest goods.
But now, an opportunity had come.
"Boo boo boo."
In a room within the palace, Sagel dialed a phone number, placing the receiver on the table. He opened a bottle of champagne, found a wine glass, and poured it, then lifted the glass, swirling the liquid inside while staring at it.
Apart from the Den Den Mushi making the call, another Den Den Mushi with its eyes open was projecting an image on the wall. The image showed a vast, red mountain, its waves of red stretching endlessly.
However, the position of the image was significant. At the bottom, there was a concave shape resembling a closed stone door, marked with the World Government's emblem. Below this emblem was a fortress, and in front of the fortress, there was a ship with the symbol of a main cannon.
Red Port.
Like the Shabondy Archipelago near the Red Land, Red Port was a port controlled by the Marines. From there, one could reach Marineford. Similarly, on the New World side, there was an identical port used for the passage of people, though ships were not allowed.
At this moment, the alarm bells were ringing in Red Port. The Marines and World Government officials stationed there were all on the move. Some boarded the warships at the port, sailing forward to form a naval line, while others entered the Red Port artillery fort, their faces tense.
They couldn't afford to be tense.
They had received intelligence:
The Damnation Star was approaching!
The flagship of one of the Four Emperors, 'Worldslider'!
"Don't be nervous."
The current Marine headquarters vice admiral stationed at Red Port, 'Burning Mountain,' a dovish and kind-faced Marine, was biting on a cigar, exhaling a puff of smoke. Facing the faint outline of the approaching ship, he said:
"Worldslider isn't here. The leader is 'Swordmaiden.' She's probably not here to start a war. We don't know what she wants, but Admiral 'Yellow Flash' has already been dispatched. There's no need to be afraid. As Marines, we must never be afraid, no matter what situation we face. The Four Emperors may be fearsome, but for the sake of justice, we must stand firm against any enemy, no matter how terrifying!"
"Yes!!"
The Marines around him stood tall, saluting Burning Mountain.
In the distance, from the position of Red Port, only the massive black silhouette of a ship, several times larger than the Marine warships, could be seen. On the deck of this ship, several people stood, including a few subordinates holding a giant Den Den Mushi equipped with a telescope, focused on Red Port.
"Can we really do this?"
Ulchi glanced at Hawkins, who was drawing cards, "Are you sure this is reliable? I don’t want to end up at the bottom of the sea."
"Don’t worry, we won’t die today."
Hawkins repeatedly divined and confirmed that at this distance, their survival rate was consistently above 85%. This slightly reassured him.
Why not 99%? Because the power of Pluton was still unknown. He couldn’t estimate something he didn’t understand. An 85% survival rate was good enough.
After all, if fate decreed otherwise, even a 99.99% chance wouldn’t save them. There was always that one-in-ten-thousand chance that could come knocking.
"Hehehehe, an ancient weapon."
Moria, who was with the ship, giggled, "Thinking back, it’s a shame Kaido couldn’t activate Pluton in Wano. It’s a real pity."
Kaido knew that Pluton was hidden in Wano, even deep underwater. Jack, being a Fishman, discovered the Poneglyph during his exploration and somehow learned of the existence of Pluton. However, his luck ran out, and he couldn’t activate it. He was also defeated by someone else.
Otherwise, he might have been the most hopeful candidate to become the Pirate King after Roger, and he could have achieved his own dream.
Indeed, the sea was teeming with powerful individuals, some even surpassing Roger in strength. But over the years, very few had achieved their personal dreams. Not the small, trivial dreams, but the grand, world-changing ones.
Pirate King Roger achieved his dream of finding the final island, Raftel, and was one of the few who truly fulfilled their ambitions.
Another was Whitebeard.
He achieved his dream of finding a family.
At this level, only these two had realized their dreams. The rest fell short.
Big Mom’s dream seemed close, just a few more races to go, but it was actually far off. Her desire to dine with others meant she needed to enlarge everyone, something she couldn’t do.
Kaido’s dream—if he could activate Pluton, it would solve everything. By sheer strength alone, no one could become Pirate King before him. Unfortunately, he was defeated by Sagel.
Now, the key to this weapon was in Sagel’s hands, and this time, he was here to test it.
"He’s the one who’s unlucky, not Sagel."
Lily stood near the bow of the ship, her hand resting on her sword hilt, her golden wavy hair flowing in the sea breeze. She gazed at the Red Port for a moment and then said, "It’s best to inform them to retreat. The purpose of this test is just that, and this location happens to be in the way. We’ve given the warning; whether you act on it is up to you."
Suddenly, a yellow light appeared on the ship’s railing. Yellow Flash, hands in his pockets and a bandage on his head, pouted in surprise, "Oh~ That’s frightening, Commander Lily. Can you now predict my moves? It seems you’ve changed quite a bit. I heard Big Mom is with you, and Battousai has defected. Are they doing well?"
"Whether they’re doing well or not, you know better than anyone. Sagel says you owe us a favor, so we’re giving you a warning. If you don’t act, the people in Red Port will disappear, and it won’t be our problem", Lily said coolly.
"Ah, it seems you’ve acquired a formidable weapon. One of the ancient weapons Big Mom mentioned, Pluton or Poseidon? What you’re doing will cause global panic."
"Does it matter? Pirates have always caused global panic. Whether it’s sooner or later, it’s the same. This time, it’s just a test. If it goes well, we might maintain peace for a while. That way, you won’t rush into a war with us."
"That’s a tough one for me."
Yellow Flash chuckled, "Does it have to be Red Port? Can’t we change the location? The sea is vast; we could release it somewhere else without drawing attention."
"That place is perfect. Once it’s opened, it will provide a good passage."
Lily said coldly, "Sagel personally chose this location. We don’t want to change it."
(End of Chapter)
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