Royal Palace, Banquet Hall.
The twelve extravagant golden chandeliers on the banquet hall's ceiling emit bright light even during the day. Under the glow, Weevil reaches out to grab the hind leg of the third roast ox, oil droplets rain down like stars onto the unidentified luxurious carpet on the floor.
Twenty chefs file in, pushing carts adorned with perfectly decorated cakes, steaks made from Sea King meat, and a large array of delicacies, all being parked there, soon to be served by the waiting attendants.
The attendants skillfully place trays on each table, the aroma of perfectly roasted squab filling the air as pirates reach out and grab, tearing into them voraciously.
"Oh ho!"
Sipher lifts a giant stew pot, the amber-colored broth swallows the marrow-filled beef vertebrae, all gulped down in one go, spitting out the bones on the side.
Although not as large as Weevil in size, his appetite is no small matter.
Urouge raises a half-person-high oak barrel, the sound of his throat rolling is mixed with the exclamations of surrounding subordinates.
Renedia holds an inexplicably modified Gatling-like barrel, spraying rainbow-colored cocktails around, her laughter clear like silver bells.
Sunlight passes through the fingerprint-smudged stained glass, refracting broken rainbows in the sprayed liquor. She leans back, a foot just right to squish a grape, purple juice slowly seeping into the carpet as the music's final notes play.
Music, laughter, boisterous noise, and constant chewing sounds mingle with luxurious attire and vulgar pirates; this is the Disaster Pirates' banquet style.
In the middle of the banquet hall, there is an even larger dining table, adorned by six hundred exquisite dishes personally prepared by Marika and her team. Sage sits in the primary seat, Lily on the left side, with Vegapunk deliberately seated on the right, participating in the banquet together.
"Actually, there's no need for such luxury..." Vegapunk said, "I don't cherish material desires that much."
"Not particularly for you."
Lily said indifferently, "This is Sage's norm; we have won, so naturally, we throw a banquet."
Vegapunk: "..."
He looks at Sage, who is utterly without decorum, grabbing a big chunk of meat and gnawing at it, bones included, and sighs, "Do all great pirates eat like this?"
"Mainly for enjoyment."
Sage quickly consumes the leg of meat, his oily hand reaching for a lamb leg, "You should try some, Marika's skills are top-notch, and here, rare ingredients abound, combined they create flavors hard to find anywhere else."
Vegapunk nods, picking up a fork to stab a piece of steak placed in front and, after a bite, his eyes light up, but he soon puts the fork down.
"It's very tasty, but... you didn't invite me here just to eat, my other self is still conducting research in O'hara, and there's been new information just now. Sage, your kingdom looks good, but there are flaws."
Vegapunk, synthesizing vast amounts of information, immediately pinpointed the flaw in O'hara's current model, "If the manufactured goods aren't sold, then the prosperity here will crumble."
His eyes filled with deep concern, "When there's no new income, if those with jobs face fiscal issues, then..."
Here is wonderful, better than any kingdom or city he's ever seen, even superior to his own Egghead.
Though Egghead is high-tech, it requires money to experience its services, including food.
Yet there's always an inherent laziness...
Unlike here, bursting with vibrant life, Vegapunk's other self has seen so much, discovering that everyone here carries hope.
Each person has a job, with salaries varying, but risks and talents match the pay, and as for those well-connected individuals, they lean into high-level connections of merchants or pirate leaders to get into management...
That is indispensable.
No one really cares about that.
Sage pursues prosperity, tax revenue, and a vibrant populace to mask the flaws in his rule.
After all, he is a pirate.
As for Vegapunk's worries...
"...then this place will perish."
Sage casually responds, "But if it really comes to that, what does it have to do with me..."
He pushes the gemstone wine glass, allowing Bella to pour a cup of wine, "What you speak of is too distant, do you know just how vast the first half of the New World is? How many islands are there in this world? Millions, tens of millions? How many people? No one can know. The ocean is too big, the endless conquests just right to satisfy my desires."
He raises his wine glass, first gesturing towards Lily, "Do you know what her dream is?"
Vegapunk looks over.
"To eliminate oppression from the world."
Lily ponders for a moment and says, "To be precise, it's to stop people in this world from being unable to afford food, housing, living their lives without leaving anything behind, to the point of not being able to afford medical care due to exploitation."
Vegapunk thinks of something, opens his mouth, but ultimately doesn't speak.
Lily gives him a look, "I know what you want to say, that someone is selling raw materials over here, and it's not even places we control. You're suggesting that it's because we're exploiting others that we maintain current prosperity, correct?"
O'hara's prosperity, summed up, is low-cost raw materials, high-priced goods.