— — — — — —
After using the Divine Bone, Joey had one more thing to take care of.
It was finally time to have a talk with his mom.
Seriously, Joey couldn't help but complain about this situation.
Most people struggle so hard to raise their kids into something great.
But him? He's the poor guy who has to struggle to turn his lazy mom into a proper powerhouse.
"Sigh..."
With a helpless sigh, Joey handed over the captured Angel Tribe to Amande. Then, he turned his attention to the 'mother problem.'
Including the Angel Tribe, Totto Land was now home to 23 different races.
Granted, the Dragon Tribe and the Minks were technically counted in that total—but Joey had never truly gained full control over those two races. In fact, he was already considering using more... terrifying means to bring them under his rule if it came to that.
Still, having 23 unique races living under one flag was already pretty insane.
While Joey was off dealing with his mom...
— — —
Elsewhere!
Tap... Tap...
Footsteps echoed through a dimly lit room as one figure after another entered. Perospero sat there with his usual calm, creepy grin—that weird mix that only he could pull off.
The room was already filled with some seriously big names.
Big News Morgans
Queen of Pleasure District: Stussy
The God of Fortune: Du Feld
Major Undertaker: Drug Peclo
These four were no ordinary guests. They were top dogs of the Underworld, the kind of people you'd call 'Underworld Emperors.'
Of course, there were others like:
The Five Great Mafia Families of West Blue
The Bounty Hunter Guild of South Blue
The Assassin Guild of North Blue
Those were also powerful factions.
Not to mention big players like the Shipping King or the Storage Industry Tycoons—but those folks weren't here today.
"Hehehe~"
Perospero chuckled lightly. "Gentlemen—and Lady—thanks for coming. Sorry to keep you waiting."
Du Feld cut straight to the point. "Perospero, what's this meeting about?"
"Oh, nothing too crazy," Perospero replied casually, sitting down. "It's just that in March, Totto Land will officially declare itself a nation. These are your invitations to the founding ceremony."
He passed out the invitations one by one.
Even just looking at them, it was obvious these invites were priceless.
"Oh?" Stussy raised an eyebrow, letting out a small laugh as she took hers. "Ara, Ara~ So the Charlotte Family is finally making their move? Declaring Totto Land a nation? That's a lot faster than I expected."
Peclo agreed. "Honestly, I thought it'd take them ten years to finish building Totto Land. Can't believe it's only taken four."
Perospero smirked. "With Amande in charge, isn't that only natural?"
The moment he mentioned Amande, Perospero's pride practically overflowed.
After all, this was his little sister.
In just four years, she had managed to organize Totto Land so perfectly that even the World Government was taking notice.
Morgans chimed in, "No kidding. There's even a rumor going around that the World Government offered Amande a fortune to become their Minister of Internal Affairs."
Perospero scoffed proudly. "That's true. But does my sister need to go work for someone else? Please."
Right now, Perospero was practically radiating smug energy.
Like—what are you even bragging for? In every category, I'm better.
After accepting their invitations, the four underworld veterans didn't say much else. They weren't dumb enough to joke around like, "Pfft, just an invitation and you called us here?"
Only an idiot would say something that stupid. Especially when dealing with the Charlotte Family.
World Government? Superpower? Big shots?
The Charlotte Family didn't care who was backing you.
If you dared to disrespect them, you'd be leaving here in a body bag.
"..."
Everyone stayed quiet.
Because they were all waiting for Perospero to get to the real reason for this meeting.
Perospero glanced at the four of them, cursing internally, "Bunch of sly old foxes..."
Today's meeting wasn't just about invitations.
Business had gotten a little messy lately.
Stussy's Pleasure District looked like it was just about selling women, but it was actually an intelligence network.
Du Feld's gambling and loans? Basically, a casino empire.
Morgans? Well, everybody knew about his news empire.
And Peclo? Human trafficking and organ trade.
Of course, only Morgans was invited sincerely.
But the other three? Let's just say there had been some friction with the Dark Trade recently.
Perospero finally spoke. "Stussy, I'm a straightforward guy, so I'll just say it. Don't you think you've been getting a little too aggressive lately?"
"Hehehe~" Stussy let out a seductive laugh, blowing a puff of smoke. "Perospero, you know better than anyone—in the Underworld, there's no such thing as 'too aggressive.' If someone loses their turf, that's just how it goes. Survival of the fittest."
Clearly, Stussy wasn't backing down.
And why would she?
Sure, the Dark Trade was scary.
Sure, the Charlotte Family was terrifying.
But she had the World Government backing her.
Who was afraid of who?
Perospero's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Oh? So you're saying you really want to play that game? Purely based on strength?"
"Oh, right!" As if something suddenly came to mind, Perospero added with a helpless tone, "Sure, my Dark Trade Organization's intel may not be the best in the industry, but it's definitely top-tier."
"But! There's one thing that's for sure — when it comes to status in the New World, I'd say my Dark Trade stands just a little bit higher than your Pleasure Street."
Stussy's expression didn't change.
But...
Anyone with a brain could tell from her eyes—those icy, murderous eyes—that this was outright a threat.
Problem was...
Stussy didn't really have a choice but to back down a little.
Exhaling a puff of smoke, Stussy spoke in a calm voice, "Perospero, let's both step back a little. You wanting 70% of the business? That's absolutely impossible. In the New World, the most I can offer you is 50%. There's no way I'm giving you more."
Perospero shrugged, "Fifty percent, huh? Sure... given the current situation, fifty sounds about right."
After all—
The Charlotte Family. The World Government.
Right now, they were basically in a honeymoon stage, cooperating with each other. It wasn't really the best time to go all-out against everyone.
And so—
With the deal between Perospero and Stussy settled, he turned his gaze toward the remaining two people at the table.
Honestly, the Dark Trade and the Shipping King Umit had also been clashing hard in the business world.
But! Perospero had absolutely no intention of negotiating too much with Umit.
I mean, c'mon...
You're running shipping across the seas? While I'm flying cargo through the skies.
How can sea routes possibly compete with air routes? What a joke.
"Sixty percent?"
"No way in hell! Forty percent is my absolute limit! That's already pushing it!"
And so began the next round of intense bargaining.
Perospero, Feld, and Pecklo—
The three of them argued non-stop for almost two hours straight.
Finally, they came to an agreement:
A 4:6 split.
Dark Trade gets 40%, they get 60%.
Honestly though...
It might look like the Dark Trade didn't get the biggest slice.
But don't forget—
Everyone else in the underground world usually specializes in just one kind of business.
Meanwhile, the Dark Trade? If it makes money, they're in. Doesn't matter what it is.
That's a whole different level of dominance.
In just four short years, the Dark Trade had grown like crazy, expanding at a borderline savage pace.
Among the six original Underground Emperors of the New World—
Aside from Morgans, the news king— The other five had lost at least 40% of their business to the Dark Trade.
Especially Umit. He got hit the worst.
Almost 70% of his shipping empire was swallowed up.
After all, Umit ran sea transport. All those port fees, tariffs, and dangers at sea added up.
The Dark Trade, on the other hand? Air transport.
Fast, efficient, and way safer.
Given the choice, only an idiot wouldn't pick them.
That's why—Compared to everyone else, Umit was probably the most pissed off.
But fighting back? Forget it.
Umit's backers were in the North Blue. No way they could start a war in the New World.
This was Charlotte Family's turf.
Starting a fight here?
Heh...
As soon as things got ugly, Big Mom's crew would show up in a heartbeat.
"Sigh..."
Feld let out a frustrated sigh, his anger boiling over. "It's only been four years! In just four damn years, we've each lost at least 40% of our business!"
"If this keeps going, what, in another four? Eight? Are we even gonna have an Underground Emperor title left to hold?!"
Everyone around him stayed pretty calm.
Pecklo just shook his head and said, "Feld, what can we do? The Charlotte Family's rise in the New World has been like a freaking monster coming out of nowhere. Their speed is just too crazy, it doesn't even feel real."
Stussy blew out another puff of smoke and added calmly, "Relax. At most, you'll lose 70% of your business. The Charlotte Family's leader... that man knows when to advance and when to retreat. He won't push things so far that he burns all bridges with your backers."
As for Morgans?
That guy was just sitting there munching on popcorn like he was watching a show.
No way he was getting involved.
His business was untouched.
The voice of Big News Morgans came from walking through fire and blood. Every news agency in the world had their eyes glued to him.
Who in their right mind would wanna jump into this mess?
Pecklo sighed, "True enough... Umit lost 70% of his business. With the Dark Trade's power, swallowing the rest wouldn't even be hard. But they've chosen to stop."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
It was obvious.
When it came to shipping?
The Dark Trade could easily surpass Umit.
Almost effortlessly.
But after taking 70%, they backed off.
That was basically them giving face to Umit's backers.
After all, most of these Underground Emperors had powerful people behind them.
Except Morgans.
That crazy bird made it this far purely on his own skills.
A real outlier.
The other Underground Emperors? The Loan Shark King, Queen of Pleasure Street, Shipping King, and Undertaker Parlor Tycoon.
These four made up the core of the New World's underground world.
Add in the Five Great Mafia Families of the West Blue, the Assassin Organizations of the North Blue, and the Bounty Hunters of the South Blue...
This— This was the underground world power structure known all across the world.
.
.
.