Hearing his two younger brothers' advice, Umi Family head Umide said nothing at first. Instead, he tossed out the bounty posters of the Hell Pirates' crew one by one.
"Brook, the captain of the Hell Pirates, gave me a call. He asked if we wanted to accept his help. If we refuse, he'll just back the Worldcom Shipping Syndicate instead."
The cigar clenched between Umide's teeth trembled slightly. Even Brook, a rising overlord, was getting involved in the underworld now?
In the past, none of the dominant pirate crews bothered with monopolizing the dark trades. Vesper's crew formed their own pirate transport fleet and operated openly — their business grew even larger than the underground networks.
But many forces and pirate crews still refused to cooperate with Vesper's gang. They'd rather avoid dealing with a power that bullied its partners and even snatched rare goods by force.
That was the only reason the underground syndicates like them had survived. The Ice Demon Pirates and the Rocks Pirates didn't care much about trade and commerce either, which gave the dark networks room to grow.
Now, after the great upheaval in the New World, it was an even better time for them. With two overlords locked in war, all their focus was on fighting — leaving logistics and supplies to these black market companies.
"Big Brother, the underworld has always stayed neutral. Once we side with an overlord, we'll become a target. Our fate will be tied to theirs. That's no good for the family's future. Those so-called overlords haven't lasted as long as our family has!"
Umina, the youngest, immediately objected. Overlords came and went — every few decades, a new one would rise and slaughter the old. He had no intention of letting the Umi Family get dragged into that bloodbath.
"Exactly. Remember the World Dark News? Kandor thought he was untouchable after getting Vesper's backing. Got too cocky, didn't even hide properly — and look, Rocks cleaned out their whole base like it was nothing!"
The second brother, Umile, firmly opposed joining any faction. Their family was powerful enough; they didn't need protection. They had hidden bases scattered everywhere — too many to count.
"He says he won't expose our connection. He's even offering to take down the New World Dispatch Company first."
Umide puffed on his cigar, his gaze deep and dark. If they stayed out of it, they'd risk being targeted by this rising power. And for merchants like them, that was the last thing they wanted.
"So Brook wants us to be his secret ally? If that gets out, we'll be caught in the crossfire too!"
"They can fly. They won't go down easily. And they're younger, more aggressive. If we refuse, they'll move against us and back Worldcom instead."
Umide sighed. If they were already the undisputed kingpins, they could afford to dictate terms, maybe even cut Brook off completely. But right now, they were still locked in a three-way struggle, fighting for monopoly over the market.
"Big Brother, are you seriously thinking of siding with the Hell Pirates?!"
Umina stood up, visibly upset, still unwilling to back this dangerous gamble. It could bring disaster to the Umi Family.
"They have Skypiea."
Umide's simple statement silenced the room. He spoke slowly, deliberately.
"Brook says he can guarantee our safety. He's offering to let our people set up operations on Skypiea.
Now, let's vote. Either we secretly join the Hell Pirates — or we prepare to fend off their attack."
Though he was the head, Umide left this life-or-death decision to the three brothers together.
Umide raised his hand, voting to side with the Hell Pirates. His two brothers hesitated for a long while, torn — but in the end, they reluctantly agreed with their elder brother's call.
"Good. Whether this decision is right or wrong, time will tell. Now get ready — we're taking over the Dispatch Company's market share. We can't let Worldcom snatch it out from under us!"
Umide sent his reply to Brook. The Hell Pirates would make their move against the New World Dispatch Company — all the Umi Family needed to do was swoop in and claim the market.
...
Skypiea — Baron Island.
"Yohohoho~ As expected, family-run forces fear death more — but they're also more stable. That Dispatch Company boss, Siboshe, he's a tough one. Built his empire from scratch, I respect that pride!"
Brook wasn't sure if Siboshe had some force backing him from the shadows, or if he was just that bold on his own.
But either way, it helped Brook make his decision. The Umi Family — they were destined to be one of the six great underground emperors of the future. Kings of sea transport — no one else fit the role better.
With Mortomas and the Umi Family both aligned, Brook's plan was taking shape. As for Bra Kara, the Pocket-Pocket Fruit user — his role was set too. If he refused to play along, Brook would just toss him a massive job he couldn't resist.
The Dispatch Company usually had Bra Kara handle only transport. He wasn't allowed to meet clients directly — a move to keep him from gaining too much power.
But this time, the target was big. Golden Island itself was involved, so Brook dispatched the Golden Ark — their flying flagship. A mere Pocket-Pocket Fruit user wouldn't be a problem. The real challenge was tracking down Maxway.
That slippery bastard kept changing locations. He only showed himself when enemies came knocking — the rest of the time, he stayed hidden, quietly running his company from the shadows.
At some non-affiliated kingdom in the New World, Bra Kara's current mission was to smuggle a batch of weapons to the military. His job was simple: deliver the goods to a secret drop point and let the client pick them up.
Since the cargo was huge this time, Bra Kara had to secretly join the receiving crew and stuff everything into his body's pocket space — a space he'd developed until it rivaled even the Castle-Castle Fruit's capacity.
Once loaded up, they set sail immediately. But midway, Bra Kara switched to a different ship in secret before continuing on to the destination.
Brook's crew was already waiting on the route, having tracked down every detail about the pickup and delivery points.
When the seemingly ordinary merchant vessel neared the target waters, Redfield's Den Den Mushi deployed its Birdcage jamming field — locking everything down in an instant!
No one onboard could call for help. Bra Kara's face turned grim as he stared at the massive operation closing in. Even in disguise, he knew — this time, he was screwed.
As the golden airship loomed closer, Bra Kara realized who had come for him: the infamous rising overlord — the Hell Pirates. Even with his bounty in the two to three hundred million range, he knew it wouldn't matter here.
"Maxway… looks like I can't work for you anymore."
Bra Kara sighed, hoping his disguise might buy him some time. But with a force this overwhelming, there was no way they'd let him slip through.
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