"The Pirate King's Throne!"
Kaido's eyes burned with fervor.
Among his greatest desires in life, the Pirate King's Throne stood paramount. Once he became the Pirate King, he could rally pirates from across the world to launch the grand war of his dreams!
"Gurd, why do you believe those rookies can alter the world's balance?"
"Big Brother Kaido."
Gurd spoke calmly.
"Are you aware of Lady Toki's prophecy?"
"Prophecy?!"
Kaido's heart jolted.
Of course he knew. Before her death, Lady Toki's prophecy had spread like wildfire throughout Wano Country, and the foretold time was four years from now.
"Big Brother Kaido."
Gurd's tone remained indifferent. "Sixteen years ago, Lady Toki sent Kozuki Momonosuke and his retainers into the future moments before her death, leaving behind a prophecy that Wano would open its borders in twenty years."
"I believe the prophecy is real!"
"In four years, Kozuki Momonosuke will return to Wano with reinforcements and challenge us, the Beasts."
"The reason is simple—Kozuki Oden sailed with Roger to Laugh Tale. He must have learned the truth of the world."
"As his wife, if Lady Toki truly possessed the power to traverse time, then sending her son and retainers twenty years into the future must have been for a monumental purpose—one tied to the One Piece!"
Here, Gurd paused.
The room was deathly silent.
Everyone stared at Gurd, sweat trickling down their foreheads.
Gurd sneered.
"Roger found the One Piece, yet he revealed nothing about it. But before his execution, he made a declaration that ignited the Great Pirate Era."
"Why do you think he did that?"
No! Idea!
Including Kaido, everyone shook their heads in unison.
What a bunch of blockheads!
Gurd sighed in exasperation and explained, "There's only one reason Roger did this—he wanted someone to find the One Piece!"
"Huh?!"
Question marks popped up above everyone's heads.
What was the issue with that?
Roger himself had told everyone to go search for it!
Gurd's eye twitched. "Big Brother Kaido, you've fought Roger before. What kind of man do you think he was?"
"Roger was a naive bastard!"
Kaido snorted.
Roger, Whitebeard, Red Hair...
In his eyes, they were all idealistic pirates.
The strong dominating the weak was the natural order of the world, yet Roger pursued freedom, showing no interest in ruling.
He was the Pirate King!
Had he raised his banner, pirates across the globe would have obeyed his command—even Rocks couldn't compare!
"Naive, well said!"
Gurd smirked coldly. "Big Brother Kaido, the very same 'naive' Roger you speak of deliberately triggered the Great Pirate Era, plunging this war-torn world into even greater chaos!"
"That's not the behavior of an idealist."
"If Roger truly wanted the world to know the truth of the One Piece, he could have simply revealed it. Instead, he chose a path paved with corpses, leaving it to others to uncover the One Piece's secrets."
"This means one thing—for some special reason, the One Piece couldn't be made public while Roger was alive, but it could after his death!"
"Combine that with Lady Toki's prophecy, and the answer becomes clear."
Gurd's lips curled into a grin as he uttered words that sent chills down the spines of every executive present.
"In four years, a new Pirate King will rise!"
Kaido shot to his feet, his blazing gaze scorching everything in its path.
Four years!
Only four years!
He had waited for that day for a full twenty years!
"Gurd, are you serious about this?!"
"It's just speculation, but I'm ninety percent certain!"
Gurd calmly sipped his drink.
There was no way he could tell Big Brother Kaido that he'd read the script.
"Big Brother Kaido, calm down, sit!"
"Right!"
Kaido crossed his legs and sat down.
Hmm? Something feels off.
Gurd glanced around at the speechless executives and said coldly, "We only have four years left. The world will undergo earth-shattering changes in these four years, so we must prepare for the final battle!"
"From now on, I need your full cooperation with my Groudon Real Estate Company to expand at the fastest possible pace."
"We must establish Beasts' Outposts on every island in the New World within two years and completely seize control of the New World!"
Gurd frowned.
"Understood?"
"Understood!"
The Flying Six shouted excitedly.
As pirates, what could be more thrilling than participating in the battle for the Pirate King's throne?
This was their greatest dream!
Even if they died along the way, they would unhesitatingly follow Big Brother Kaido and push him onto the throne!
Gurd nodded slightly.
While the Beasts Pirates weren't suited for property management and security, they could still be useful in the early stages—at least for forced demolitions and protecting construction crews to ensure smooth progress on his projects.
In such a short time, he couldn't gather enough manpower anyway. Since the Beasts Pirates were idle, they might as well contribute to his cause.
There was nothing wrong with a violent gang transitioning into real estate. Besides, he'd already funneled so much money to Big Brother Kaido.
That money couldn't go to waste!
Gurd turned to Kaido with a bright smile.
"Big Brother Kaido, what do you think?"
"Me?"
Kaido propped his cheek on one hand.
This brat had already laid out all the plans before asking for his opinion?
Damn brat!
"Wororororo, do as you say!"
"Understood, Big Brother Kaido."
Gurd's smile widened.
With Big Brother Kaido's approval, he could now command the Beasts Pirates without restraint and shift their focus entirely to real estate.
"Right now, we're still short on workers."
The Dark King had already opened six construction sites. Relying solely on prisoner labor crews clearly wasn't enough.
He needed a massive workforce!
Wano Country was off-limits.
Weapons production was too important—ample firepower was the foundation for maintaining community stability. After all, he was building these places like small fortresses.
As for the civilians, the people in every town and village were his rent sources, especially those who had taken out loans to buy homes—they owed him at least a decade's worth of mortgage payments.
The citizens of Flower Capital and Boro Town were the Beasts Pirates' playthings. He had to leave some entertainment spots for the pirate lords.
No point in killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.
Gurd looked around.
"Any ideas?"
"Workers..."
The group exchanged glances.
What a coincidence—they actually had plenty of workers!
"Wororororo!"
Kaido laughed. "Gurd, labor uprisings have broken out on several islands we've occupied. Since you're full of schemes, you'll lead the team to suppress them!"
"Uprisings?"
Gurd was stunned.
Unarmed laborers dared to rebel against the Beasts?
They had a death wish!
Where did they get the nerve?!
Come to think of it, those islands were excellent sources of labor. He could even build Fortuna Communities there while he was at it.
"Gurd."
King handed him a photograph.
"This is the leader of the labor uprising."
"Got it."
Gurd took the photo, studying the man's strikingly familiar face. A phrase suddenly popped into his mind:
"Working for others? Never gonna happen."
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