Chapter 39 Nami: This Crocodile really deserves to die.
"I really underestimated Crocodile. It makes sense that he looked down on Doflamingo," Bane said, licking his lips.
Bane does not believe that Doflamingo lacks talent compared to Crocodile.
Robin nodded in agreement and said, "That's right. The business has a lot of competition. Crocodile doesn't like that Doflamingo submits to the Four Emperors of the New World. So, he often refused to work with Doflamingo and forced many of the Donquixote family's businesses out of the first half of the Grand Line. "
"What do you mean by competition in this business? " Bane asked casually.
He knew a little about Baroque Works, but he only had guesses about the deeper details.
Robin explained clearly, "Baroque Works mainly operates in the dark world. We pretty much control all related businesses in the first half of the Grand Line. We handle intelligence, smuggling, trafficking in contraband, assassination, bounties, and more. If it's business in the dark world, we are involved. "
After a short pause, Robin continued, "This is why those cadres are willing to make donations. Baroque Works has many connections, which are available to cadres based on their ranks and contributions. Also, being a cadre helps avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble. "
After hearing this, Bane admired Crocodile even more. The Donquixote family, under Doflamingo, is well-known as middlemen in the dark world. Their main business is brokerage and some smuggling. Still, their model shows they have also participated in the dark world.
Crocodile's approach is much more aggressive. He took a section of the Dark World and treated the market in the first half of the Grand Line as his own territory. He established a system. You can only access the market if you pay and become a member. If not, you won't get access to advanced channels.
What happens if you don't want to pay? Didn't Robin just say there would be unnecessary troubles? Crocodile has a group of tough enforcers, which is impressive in the first half of the Grand Line. They likely handle problems with those who refuse to join the dark world led by Crocodile.
Then, Bane suddenly understood and said, "So, you nearly took all the profits of the dark world in the first half of the Grand Line? "
"In the early years, it was just beginning to creep in, but a stable situation has formed in the past two years," Robin replied modestly.
"How much profit can we make each year? " Bane asked again, sounding a bit excited this time.
"After excluding various expenses, the net profit would be almost more than 400 billion Berries," Robin said after thinking for a moment.
As soon as she finished, Nami, who had been listening, slammed the table and said with jealousy and anger, "Damn it, Crocodile really deserves to die! ! !
"With a profit of more than 400 billion Berries a year, doesn't that mean Crocodile has trillions in his hands now? Is he really that rich? " Bane was shocked.
He seemed to already envision a future where he would be wealthy.
But before he could get lost in this daydream, Robin brought him back to reality. "Not really. So far this year, until I left Alabasta and came to the small garden to find you, the total profit on the books of our Baroque Works is only just over 20 billion Berries. "
"Ah? " Bane was taken aback and asked through gritted teeth, "How can this guy be so wasteful? What did he do? "
"He has been stirring up trouble in Alabasta for years and has funded many rebel leaders. As far as I know, he has funded 400,000 rebels just this year. He plans to completely take over Alabasta this year. Most of the money he saved in the past has now gone towards this," Robin explained. There is still some left, which Crocodile uses to win over the nobles in Alabasta. He also has some private lending businesses, just like in the original story, Crocodile once lent money to Buggy.
Bane now understood. Crocodile originally had a lot of reserve funds, probably around two or three trillion Berries. But this year, he began his big plan to seize Alabasta, so he used all his money to support the rebels there.
Wow, he single-handedly supported 400,000 rebels. He is really a ruthless guy.
But then Bane felt much happier. Once he took over Crocodile, if Baroque Works could keep making this level of profit, then it should be easy for him to fund Zephyr, the 'rebel leader' of the Navy.
Four hundred thousand is an extreme number, after all; the Navy is not the army. But even if he recruits tens of thousands of new Navy soldiers, he will be seen as a big boss in this world. If he stomps his feet, the sea will shake!
If we can follow a path of sustainable growth in the future, we will make more and more money, and our team will keep getting bigger. It will be just a matter of time before we conquer Mary Geoise!
"What a talent, truly a talent. If I didn't know that his character makes him incapable of being humble with me and working for me, I would really hesitate to kill him," Bane said with emotion.
Robin agreed, saying, "That's true. Crocodile has a proud and very arrogant personality. He is very self-centered. He won't easily submit to others. Even if you force him to give in, you always have to watch out for his retaliation. "
Bane nodded but chose not to say more about Crocodile. Instead, he casually asked, "Besides Baroque Works, doesn't he also control a casino? The one called Rain Dinners? I heard it's the most luxurious casino in the first half of the Grand Line. "
"That's right. This casino provides Crocodile with a lot of money every year. However, he uses it to gain support from the elites in Alabasta. He runs it himself and usually lives in the basement of the casino. I don't know much about its profit," Robin explained.
"That's fine. Once we kill him, we'll figure it out by looking at the accounts," Bane said indifferently.
"In addition to that, Crocodile also owns shares in many joint ventures, like Carnival City and Golden City," Nico Robin added.
Bane recognized the name Carnival City, but not much else. The mention of Golden City excited him. He sat up straight and asked, "Is the Golden City you just mentioned the one owned by Gild Tesoro? "
"Yes, it's the world's largest and most luxurious entertainment city," Robin confirmed. "Tesoro and Crocodile are also somewhat connected. Crocodile owns 3.6% of the shares in Golden City. "
At first, Bane was a bit surprised, but then he thought about it and realized it made sense. Tesoro was the richest man in the world, controlling a quarter of the world's cash flow and known as the "Golden Emperor. "
Also, the entire Golden City is the only mobile neutral zone in the world, where all kinds of groups, like pirates, revolutionary armies, the navy, celestial dragons, and CP agencies, coexist without interfering with each other.
So the question is, does Tesoro have the power to control everything? Does he deserve to enjoy this wealth all by himself?
Clearly, that's not possible; he doesn't have that kind of ability. He may be the head of Golden City, but there are many shareholders behind him.
The World Government is definitely involved, and Crocodile, as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, has a significant influence in the dark world of the first half of the Grand Line and is also extremely wealthy. So he is indeed qualified to hold some shares in Golden City.
Many powerful people probably own shares, which is why Golden City can thrive in various fields.
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