https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-64-The-Man-Who-Possesses-Everything/12608514/
Chapter 63: Whatever Loguetown Has, I Have It Too!
Chapter 63: Whatever Loguetown Has, I Have It Too!
No matter how bold or crazy the words are, there has never been a pirate who came to rob and said that he would sell an entire town.
A town is an island, and in some places, there is only one town on an island, and a kingdom may only have one such island.
What Sarge said about selling a town is not much different from selling a kingdom.
If it were someone else, the old man would have thought he was raving, but Sarge is different. He is not only currently the highest-wanted criminal in the East China Sea, but he has also done things differently from other pirates.
This guy has destroyed countries and killed kings!
When someone like that speaks, there is no need to consider whether they are sane or not.
Anyway, the old man called for an underground merchant.
On the vast ocean, apart from the popular pirates and the navy, there is also a gray area, not the kind of disreputable "smut star," but a dark world that connects smuggling and shady deals, encompassing finance, news, transportation, assassination, warehousing, entertainment, and various other industries.
Most of the goods plundered by pirates are digested by them because it is rare for pirates to honestly go treasure hunting, risking their lives to amass a pile of gold, and then go to the gold exchange to exchange it for three hundred million Bailey. Instead, they trade their plunder with the black market in exchange for the supplies and money they need.
Otherwise, even if it's a case of pirates preying on each other, the preyed-upon side must have something worth taking, right? If neither side is stealing from the other, what's there to plunder? Are they stealing air?
Goods don't appear out of thin air; they just change hands once or twice and become part of pirate-on-pirate theft. Doesn't that make it more high-end?
That's like claiming to fart without taking off your pants.
When Sarge farts, he doesn't need to take off his pants; there's no need for it.
Being a pirate, he is very professional.
The old man in the tavern had also moonlighted as such a liaison a long time ago, but after Smog arrived, he put a stop to it. Still, the connections remained, and although this tavern didn't have many customers, he knew where to find people if he needed to.
The fat man who was summoned by the old man at this time, wearing a round hat and a suit, was a local black-market merchant.
Even without the pirate business, Loguetown still had things that the navy couldn't control, and they could still make a living.
"I didn't want to come at first. What can a pirate do after entering Loguetown? But when I heard it was you, I came. It's been a long time since I've done business with pirates in Loguetown, and it's exciting."
The fat man, accompanied by two black-clad bodyguards, sat down across from Sarge, bit off a cigar, and said with a smile, "My name is Link, a black-market merchant in Loguetown. Norton Sarge, do you have any goods to sell?"
"Oh? Didn't I tell you?"
Sarge took the wine glass that the old man had re-brewed and took a sip before saying, "I said I was going to sell all of Loguetown."
"I didn't come here to listen to your jokes, Sarge."
Link blew out a puff of smoke, unafraid of the seven-thousand-bailey bounty on the pirate before him. "I heard that you destroyed several kingdoms and should have a lot of good things in your possession. I can buy them at a high price."
This Sarge fellow did have a lot of good things.
Especially the treasures obtained from the Kingdom of Natia, in addition to an entire throne, there were also quite a few valuable collectibles, but those were not for sale.
The treasure vault on his ship, of course, also needed to hold some collectibles to showcase his extravagance.
"Some gold can be sold to you, but that's not the main thing," Sarge said with a smile. "When I say Loguetown, I mean the whole town, not a fake one."
"Of course, I know," Link said. "That's why I came. But the heat is on, and for goods plundered from Loguetown, I can only offer half the cost price. In three days, we'll find a place on the high seas to make the trade."
The price at which goods are sold in stores is, of course, the selling price, and it is impossible to acquire them at this price. The acquisition price is basically the cost price with a discount on top of it.
"Half? Do you take me for a beggar on the streets?" Sarge raised an eyebrow.
"Half is already very fair. We also take on a lot of risks. You're causing quite a stir in Loguetown, and it will surely attract attention. We have to take on the task of disposing of your goods and finding a way to turn them into something that can be monetized, which takes a lot of effort."
Link said in a deep voice, "It's not like you pirates, who steal things without any cost.
"The price is too low."
Sarge took another sip of his drink and fell into a brief silence.
Link was about to bargain and raise the price. In business, it was always a back-and-forth negotiation. If the price was too low, you raise it; if it was too high, you lower it until a mutually satisfactory agreement could be reached. As long as it didn't exceed the cost price, there would still be a profit to be made.
"But it's not impossible," Link began, but Sarge interrupted.
"Five percent is five percent. What price are you offering for Loguetown? How about 5 billion Bailey?"
Link nearly dropped the cigar from his mouth. He clenched his teeth and said, "I'm not joking with you!"
"I'm not joking either," Sarge replied with a smile. "I said I'm selling all of Loguetown. It's you who's been refuting me. Are you showing a lack of respect?"
Sarge swayed his glass of wine and glanced at Link.
With just a glance, Link's body trembled, and his hand, which had been about to slam the table, froze in place as cold sweat formed on his forehead.
This guy...
He's terrifying!
"You still don't understand what I mean when I say I'm selling Loguetown. I have over 600 men ransacking the town. How much we can loot doesn't depend on the size of my ships, but on you!"
Sarge bared his teeth in a sinister grin. "Why do we have to trade out at sea? Why can't we do it here? Even if the Navy comes to their aid, it'll take time. I have their sea charts, and I know where their branches are located."
"According to estimates, it will take at least half a day for the nearest reinforcements to arrive. In other words, within half a day of my arrival in Loguetown, everything here..."
Sarge spread his arms wide and laughed loudly. "...belongs to me, Sarge! As long as you have the money, I can plunder every noble, wealthy merchant, and businessman in this town! Hohohoho!"
To fill his pirate ship with loot and then meet with black-market traders to haggle over the spoils? That was a tactic used when raiding merchant ships.
But now that he had invaded a town, he was still playing the same game?
That wasn't something Sarge should be doing! How much could a single ship hold compared to an entire town?
He wanted to liquidate everything on the spot!
It was so much more convenient, and it also avoided any bad luck or unforeseen circumstances that his jinx might bring about. After all, who knew what troubles might arise from trading out at sea? It was better to just get it done here and now.
Sarge's words caused Link to lose the calm and collected demeanor he had maintained until now. Instinctively, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at Sarge with eyes that seemed to be gazing upon a monstrous beast.
The man worthy of the title 'Calamity' was indeed a madman!
"The risk is too great," Link said, his voice trembling.
"But the profits are huge!"
Sarge leaned forward, looming over Link, and cackled, "Accept my proposal, and we can all make more money. As for how to avoid the risks, I'm sure a black-market trader like yourself has some tricks up his sleeve."
"I know you have many channels to liquidate the goods, but instead of passively choosing what to sell, why not be proactive? There are many benefits to doing business with me. The main one is that whatever you want, you can order it on the spot. Whatever Loguetown has, I can get it for you!"
Of course!
If he was going to loot the entire town, then he would have everything!
Link felt the sweat on his forehead growing heavier, and he averted his gaze from Sarge's eyes, his voice faltering as he said, "I... I don't have that much money."
5 billion Bailey?!
Even if he sold everything he had, he wouldn't be able to come up with that amount!
Sarge sat back down in his chair, his tone becoming more subdued. "I'll provide goods according to how much money you have. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; I won't be making offers like this again. After all, there aren't many pirates like me out there."
This was true. When doing business with pirates, one usually had to wait and see what they had looted from merchant ships. Although profits could still be made, opportunities like this were incredibly rare.
There were no pirates on the high seas who did things like Sarge.
It went against all common sense.
Most pirates would raid and then leave, but now, Sarge didn't seem like a pirate at all. Instead, he resembled a nouveau riche selling off his assets.
But it was an opportunity not to be missed!
Taking a gamble would lead to enormous profits!
Link took a deep breath and made up his mind. "I'll gather other merchants to pool our money together. We definitely won't have 5 billion Bailey, but we'll do our best!"
"Also..."
He thought for a moment and added, "You said I can place orders on the spot, right? There's something I really want."
A smile curved Sarge's lips. "No problem."
(End of Chapter)
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