Country of Flowers – Tiger Shadow Mountain
The region was surrounded by rolling mountains, and the tallest peak among them was known as Tiger Shadow Mountain.
According to legend, in ancient times a monstrous tiger once roamed the mountain, tormenting the villagers living below. The first leader of the Happo Navy, the Great Monk Lingyin, was begged by the desperate villagers to eliminate the beast. He climbed the mountain and fought the demon tiger for seven days and seven nights before finally subduing it.
From that day forward, the mountain was named Tiger Shadow Mountain.
Mafia Victor and his companions followed a winding mountain path upward. At the end of the trail stood the stronghold of the Happo Navy—the fortress known as Waterfall Stronghold.
Surprisingly, the guards at the gate did not make things difficult for them. After asking a few simple questions, they allowed Victor's group to pass.
Perhaps they had absolute confidence in the military strength stationed inside the fortress.
The entire stronghold was composed of eight towering buildings that extended straight down into the valley. Numerous suspension bridges connected the structures into dozens of layered levels.
Under the guidance of a guard, Victor and the others crossed the largest central bridge and walked toward the core building of the fortress—the Grand Tower.
When they arrived in the main hall, they found themselves in the middle of a heated argument.
A muscular black-haired man was fiercely arguing with a younger man who had orange hair tied in a ponytail. Several people nearby were trying to calm them down, but none of it worked.
"I'm telling you, Abu!" the black-haired man shouted angrily.
"That idiot woman from the Second Treasure Navy—you can send whoever you want to meet her! I'm not going!"
"And if anyone tells the old man about this, I'll cut them down!"
The orange-haired man looked like he was about to cry.
"Big brother! Marcus Vale!"
"The one asking to meet you is Hollysha! She's your fiancée!"
"Grandfather arranged your engagement with the leader of the Second Treasure Navy! If you won't go meet her, who will?"
Everyone nearby nodded in agreement.
The man called Marcus Vale scratched his head frantically, muttering things like "This is a disaster," "political marriage," and "muscle-bound ugly woman."
Then he suddenly turned his head and noticed Mafia Victor's group.
"You… you're Mafia Victor?"
Marcus Vale ran over in surprise.
He remembered Victor clearly. Two years ago they had met in Falling Bell Village. At the time, Marcus Vale had ended up owing Victor a favor.
In a moment of boldness, Marcus Vale had promised that if Victor ever needed help, he could come to Tiger Shadow Mountain in the Country of Flowers.
"There's nothing I can't handle!" he had proudly declared back then.
"Mr. Marcus Vale, it's been a wh—"
Before Victor could finish speaking, Marcus Vale grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the center of the hall.
"Isn't this Victor, my good friend who came all the way to see me?"
Marcus Vale shouted loudly.
"How could I not host a grand feast for such an honored guest?"
"Abu! You guys head over to the Second Treasure Navy first! After I finish entertaining my friend, I'll come find you!"
"Well… alright, big brother. Just don't take too long."
Abu sighed helplessly before leading the others away.
Marcus Vale peeked around the corner to confirm that Abu and the others were gone. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Turning back toward Victor—who was watching him with an amused expression—Marcus Vale said irritably:
"You always look like that… like nothing can be hidden from you."
"I heard you've become the new boss of that group… Coral, right?"
"So you came here to do business?"
Victor nodded.
"Business… and some information."
Marcus Vale's expression became serious.
He quickly led Victor and the others into the rear hall.
Passing through a long suspended corridor beside the main hall, they entered a luxurious chamber prepared for a buffet-style banquet.
Victor allowed the others to explore and eat freely while he and Marcus Vale went upstairs to a private room called Water Crane Pavilion for a confidential discussion.
"Alright," Marcus Vale said, pouring Victor a cup of rice wine, a specialty of the Country of Flowers.
"What information is so important that you had to come all the way here yourself?"
Victor took a sip of the wine. Its flavor was mellow and lingering—very different from red wine.
"The Country of Flowers is about to go to war with the Saiblam Kingdom, correct?"
Marcus Vale smirked.
"You've got excellent intelligence."
"You should quit the underworld. Being an information broker would suit you better."
Victor ignored the sarcasm.
"Then do you know that the Saiblam Kingdom has already secured a large supply of weapons?"
Victor took another sip of wine, silently deciding to bring a few bottles back with him later.
"What?!"
Marcus Vale nearly dropped his cup.
"Is that information reliable?"
If the news was true, the delicate balance between the two nations would collapse instantly.
And the Happo Navy, which supported the Country of Flowers, would also suffer.
Victor smiled calmly.
"I brought a few gifts with me."
"I'm sure the king of the Country of Flowers would never complain about receiving more weapons."
The three largest underworld organizations in the West Blue—
Coral
Suleiman Family
Capone Gang
—had once controlled more than thirty towns between them.
Now that they had merged, their combined resources rivaled that of a small kingdom.
For this deal, Victor had brought half of Coral's entire weapons stockpile.
"The king will certainly pay a fair price for those gifts," Marcus Vale said thoughtfully.
"But what I really want to buy… is the weapons supply route used by the Saiblam Kingdom."
He understood there was no such thing as a free lunch.
Victor's earlier information had been the deposit.
Now it was time to pay the final price.
Victor set down his wine cup.
"Then I'll be direct."
"I want one thing."
"The training method for Armament Haki."
Marcus Vale did not hesitate.
"Deal."
In the four outer seas, the training method for Armament Haki was extremely rare.
But on the Grand Line, especially in the New World, most powerful fighters possessed it.
Compared to the fate of the Country of Flowers, such knowledge was insignificant.
"The weapons supplier is someone from the Grand Line."
Victor spoke calmly, like a storyteller.
"His codename is Joker."
His real name is Donquixote Doflamingo, also known as the Heavenly Yaksha.
He leads the Donquixote Family, a criminal organization that rose to power in the North Blue.
After taking control of the North Blue's underworld, they entered the Grand Line a year ago and quickly established intelligence networks and weapons transportation routes around the world.
"The Saiblam Kingdom is one of their customers."
"In just a few days, shipments of firearms and blades will begin flowing through their hidden routes."
"And once that happens…"
Victor did not finish the sentence.
He didn't need to.
Marcus Vale understood perfectly.
His face turned pale as he sat in silence for a long time.
Finally, he grabbed his wine cup and drained it in one gulp.
He then stood up and went into a nearby room.
More than ten minutes later, he returned with a slightly worn notebook.
"This is my Armament Haki training journal."
"I'm not very smart, so I wrote down all the key points."
"Burn it after you finish reading it. Deal?"
Victor flipped through the notebook briefly.
Marcus Vale's handwriting was so terrible it nearly made Victor cry.
He closed the notebook and nodded seriously.
"Don't worry."
"I'll burn it immediately after reading it."
Victor opened a zipper on his hand.
Behind the zipper was a dark, endless space.
He stored the notebook inside before pulling out a map of the West Blue.
Victor tapped a location near Reverse Mountain's sea entrance.
"I've heard that unfamiliar ships sometimes appear around here."
"As for anything else…"
"I know nothing."
Marcus Vale's eyes lit up.
He immediately dipped a pair of chopsticks into chili oil and marked the spot on the map with a red circle.
There was no pen nearby, so it would have to do.
"Thank you, my friend!"
Marcus Vale laughed loudly after carefully storing the map.
"You haven't tried the cuisine of the Country of Flowers yet, have you?"
"Men! Tell the chefs to bring out their best dishes!"
Soon afterward—
A lively Country of Flowers–style banquet began.