Chapter 540: Licking Their Wounds (Part 2)
Charlotte Linlin swallowed the cake in her mouth. "How does it compare to the Rockefeller and Whitebeard Pirates?" she asked. This was her main concern. As long as their losses were lower than those two crews, she would be happy.
"There's no way to compare with the Rockefeller Pirates, but our losses are definitely much lower than the Whitebeard Pirates'," Katakuri reported. "In the final exchange alone, the Whitebeard Pirates lost at least ten thousand men. Their total death toll is estimated to be over twenty thousand."
"Mamamamamama! That old fool Whitebeard really took a beating this time! Mamamamamama!" For some reason, hearing about the Whitebeard Pirates' heavy losses put Charlotte Linlin in an excellent mood.
"With so many of his sons dead, Whitebeard must be heartbroken. Do you think we have a chance to snatch a few of his islands?" she asked, looking at Katakuri.
A cold sweat broke out on Katakuri's forehead. To provoke Whitebeard at a time like this? It was like adding fuel to the fire. Katakuri still remembered the power of Whitebeard's final attack; facing it felt like facing the wrath of nature itself.
"Uh, Mother," Katakuri began carefully, "now is not a good time to provoke the Whitebeard Pirates. With so many of his sons dead, Whitebeard is on the verge of a breakdown. Provoking him now would not be worth the risk." He watched his mother's expression closely as he spoke.
Fortunately, it seemed that for the time being, Linlin's greed hadn't completely clouded her judgment, perhaps because they had just been beaten back by the Rockefeller Pirates.
"Is that so? In that case, forget it. But what should we do now?" It was clear that Charlotte Linlin was getting bored with nothing to do.
"The most important thing now is to build up our strength and wait for the next great war," Katakuri said quickly. "Only by being fully prepared can we withstand any risks."
Although they had emerged as winners in this war and had gained a lot, their expenses had also been enormous. The resources Katakuri had painstakingly accumulated over the years had been completely depleted in this one battle. The entire Big Mom Pirates crew probably couldn't even scrape together a billion Berries at this point. Compared to the Rockefeller Pirates, who relied on their vast mineral resources, the only thing the Big Mom Pirates had to offer was food. But because of the war, they couldn't export their goods. The food merchants didn't dare come to the New World, cutting off their main source of income.
"Fine. We'll build up our strength and wait for the next war," Linlin conceded, before adding with a huff, "That damn Rockefeller Charlotte! I'll kill him sooner or later!"
Katakuri excused himself to handle the aftermath of the war.
After the war in the New World ended, the Rockefeller Pirates also returned to Camelot Island. Aside from leaving some men to garrison their important military bases, the entire crew returned to the island to await orders.
Inside Rockefeller Castle, Rockefeller Charlotte sat at the head of a long table. Carter and Bullet sat at his right and left hands, respectively. After them were Wolf, Paul, and Isaac. Then came the younger commanders: Esdeath, Caesar, and Tesla. Finally, there were the children who had participated in the war: Robert, Sif, Deidara, Eve, Logan, Julie, Philip, Trunks, and Kakarot. They all sat on either side of the long table, eagerly awaiting the start of the meeting.
This was their first time attending a high-level meeting of the Rockefeller Pirates. It signified that they were slowly beginning to participate in the crew's affairs. This was, of course, part of Charlotte's plan for their development. The oldest among them, like Robert, were already eighteen, while the youngest were fifteen. They were all old enough to handle tasks on their own and possessed a certain degree of strength. Robert and Deidara, for example, though still a bit green, were already capable of participating in the crew's battles.
"This meeting is now officially in session," Charlotte announced. "Carter, report on our losses during this period."
"Yes, sir!" Carter stood up and took out a report.
"In terms of losses during this period, aside from the over five thousand casualties, we lost one-third of our territory in this war. Most of it is now in the hands of the Big Mom Pirates. As for the territory exchange proposed by the Whitebeard Pirates, they have not yet acted on it. Additionally, the material costs and damages from this war exceed twenty billion Berries!"
When Carter mentioned the twenty billion figure, everyone gasped. Twenty billion! To put that in perspective, it was the amount the Revolutionary Army's Dragon had scraped together over two or three years of hard work. And the Rockefeller Pirates had burned through it in a single battle.
Charlotte's face darkened as well. He had just earned twenty billion from the Revolutionary Army, and before the money could even warm his pockets, it was all gone.
Seeing the grim faces, Carter continued his report without pause. "Because of this war, the Rockefeller Pirates' business has been severely affected. Sales to the Four Blues and the first half of the Grand Line have been cut off. The merchants don't dare to approach the New World because of the war, leading to a massive backlog of goods. The daily cost of this is in the hundreds of millions, and it will be difficult to recover anytime soon. We expect this year's income to be cut in half."
If the twenty billion loss was a slight sting, the economic impact of the war was the real heartache. It was common knowledge which pirate crew in the New World had the best treatment: the Rockefeller Pirates. A pirate crew that actually paid its members a salary was unheard of. This was all supported by their trade network. If that trade was cut off, the Rockefeller Pirates would collapse from within, unable to sustain their massive expenses.
Charlotte waved his hand. "These are minor issues. The war is over now. The Marines are powerless to suppress the seas, so trade will slowly recover. The merchants will swarm back like sharks smelling blood, and trade will return to normal," he said reassuringly. His words brought a sigh of relief to the others.
"Is there anything else to report?" Charlotte asked Carter.
Carter shook his head and sat down. His report was finished. Now it was Charlotte's turn to speak.
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