Novel Chapter
"Create your own losses, inflate the reports, pay less... Think Aus doesn't care enough to notice, so they gamble on exploiting the loopholes?"
"Fuffuffu... He's the richest man alive. Maybe they thought he'd never catch on to such a small trick?"
Turns out, this wasn't an isolated case. Plenty of places were pulling the same stunt.
Take the classic move: stage a robbery. Send "bandits" to steal cargo and financial records. Annual profits drop, payments shrink.
Honestly, if Aus really were the lazy slacker everyone thought he was, or if his subordinates weren't meticulous, this might've worked.
But too bad.
In this gamble between profit and survival, these fools bet wrong.
With Doflamingo controlling resource flows and acting as middleman, and the News Coos watching the world, their little scheme was exposed.
...
North Blue
On the back of a massive snail, rows of identical soldiers stood guard, their formation flawless. At the center stood a grand castle.
Inside the top-floor chamber, a tall man with a helmet and flowing golden hair sat on his throne, his expression grim as he stared at the Den Den Mushi.
"You didn't leave any survivors, right?"
His brow furrowed deeply, his gaze locked on the face across the line.
Truth be told, he already regretted it—sending troops to help those underground merchants raid cargo ships for a bit of funding.
Sure, raiding was Germa 66's bread and butter. And that infamous big shot spent most of his time wandering the Grand Line—he'd probably never notice losses up here.
But thinking it over... maybe not the safest play.
"Relax, Your Majesty Judge. Aside from trusted confidants, everyone involved's been dealt with.
Nobody knows a thing. Take the money and sleep easy."
Judge nodded and hung up.
Germa needed massive funding for research and war. This side income wasn't small change.
Besides...
He stood and walked to the window, gazing at the uniform rows of fearless artificial soldiers. Germa's proud technology. His newborn children, already born with bodies of steel...
Even against someone like a Sea Emperor, throw enough weapons and bodies at them—eventually they'd run out of stamina, right?
That's what the young Judge thought, never having faced such powers himself.
But where there were bold ones, there were also fence-sitters.
"Buru buru buru..."
The Den Den Mushi rang again. Judge picked up.
"Click."
Seeing who it was, his brow creased. An old acquaintance—a merchant he'd known for years.
Helped Germa sell weapons to various countries, stir up wars. A textbook scumbag from the dark world.
"What's up, Nicholas? Why the sudden call?"
"Judge, I've got a bad feeling about this..."
Nicholas frowned. He'd attended the underworld conference. He knew exactly how much weight the name "Black Emperor" carried.
After being blinded by profit for a moment, he'd spent every day since consumed by dread.
If they got caught, someone that terrifying would absolutely kill him!
"That's not like you. Second-guessing yourself."
"We already did it. Just make sure everything's handled properly. What's the point of regret now? Besides...
This is the North Blue! Germa's the strongest force here!"
Judge had guts. Clearly ready to throw down if needed.
The power of science wasn't necessarily weaker than whatever "Haki" those New World monsters boasted about!
"You didn't attend the conference. You can't imagine how terrifying the King of the Underworld is."
Nicholas shuddered, recalling how a bodyguard with a 500 million bounty couldn't even withstand a single burst of pressure from Aus.
"I'm backing out. I'll pay the tribute out of my own pocket. Let's wait and see."
If Aus kept ignoring these small moves, he could copy them later. For now, let someone else test the waters.
After all, you need to be alive to spend money.
Years of navigating battlefields taught him one thing: survival.
"Making more and more money, but your balls keep shrinking, Nicholas."
"Just a pirate..."
Judge sneered. To him, Nicholas had no ambition or guts. Profit had to be seized!
"Fuffuffu... Bold words, King Judge."
That strange laugh and mocking tone made Judge's face change instantly. He summoned an electrified spear to his hand, eyes locked on the window.
A familiar figure.
Short blonde hair. Pink feathered coat. That cocky, wicked grin.
The North Blue's most infamous pirate—Heavenly Yaksha Doflamingo.
"Hey! Pirate!"
How the hell did he get past all the guards straight to the palace roof?
"Who is it?! Judge!"
Nicholas, already jumpy, turned pale.
"Looks like perfect timing. If it isn't Mr. Nicholas, who got raided not long ago?"
Doflamingo grinned wickedly. In the North Blue, of course he recognized that face.
"Don't panic. I'm just the advance party. Lord Aus will arrive shortly."
Doflamingo crouched on the windowsill, fingers twitching as threads controlled the guards trying to burst through the door.
"What?!"
Hearing the name he least wanted to hear, Nicholas's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Snot and tears poured down as the light in his eyes dimmed.
It's over. All over...
"Just a pirate dares invade Germa Kingdom's territory!"
Judge's eyes blazed. His boots erupted with propulsion. His spear crackled with violent electricity.
Using the massive thrust, he charged straight at Doflamingo!
"Still trying to fight back?"
Doflamingo's grin widened. He casually dodged the fierce strike, stepping on cloud-bound threads to stand in midair.
"Fuffuffu... I admire your courage, King Judge.
If you survive this, based on guts alone, I'll definitely work with you more in the future.
Of course—
That's if you survive."
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