As days passed, the construction of Aluba Trade Port rapidly took shape, especially the steel-framed warehouses, which required relatively less time to complete.
Every day, numerous transport ships from Hoenn arrived, while over half of the affiliated nations sent envoys to Aruba Port.
Their purpose was strikingly consistent.
Weapons!
In international trade, weapon transactions had always been one of the enduring mainstream commodities and were particularly valued by smaller nations.
The weapons manufactured by the Beasts were of exceptional quality and precision. When the envoys from various nations discovered this, their hearts immediately tightened with concern.
Among the affiliated nations, many were enemies due to territorial disputes or other issues. If their adversaries purchased weapons from Groudon Company while they were still stuck with shoddy equipment...
Facing superior arms with inferior ones—how could they possibly win?
They had to buy!
Hoenn Headquarters.
Gurd stood by the window, gazing down at the Golden Route below.
One after another, massive transport ships from the Nation of Labor passed through, later escorted by the Hoenn Navy as they traversed the North Sea to reach the Grand Line.
The Nation of Labor gathered nearly half of the New World's resources, suffering from severe overproduction. Now, they finally had an outlet.
"The World Government seems a bit slow to react!"
Gurd rubbed his chin.
A whole month had passed, yet the World Government remained silent, as if muted. Were they brewing some major countermove?
He'd have to consult a fortune-teller later.
His secretary, Chikara, entered the office and handed him a file. "Lord Gurd, these are recent reports from the North Sea. Please review them."
"..."
Looking at the thick stack of documents, Gurd felt a headache coming on.
"Anything important?"
"There are two major matters."
Chikara picked up the top file.
"Avalo Pizzaro, the 'Evil Government King' from the North Sea, has returned to his homeland and violently seized power. He is now enforcing tyrannical rule."
"Inform Aokiji and have him handle it."
Gurd ordered.
The North Sea was too shallow for big fish.
Capturing the Evil Government King would make for excellent positive publicity. However, that man's abilities were formidable—ordinary forces wouldn't be able to subdue him.
Aokiji would likely have to make the trip himself.
Chikara nodded and moved to the second matter.
"The Kingdom of Lubni, one of the World Government's affiliated nations, has contacted us. Their king wishes to sell his country to us for 50 billion Berries ."
"Huh?!"
Gurd was stunned.
What the hell? Selling a nation?
Chikara explained, "Lord Gurd, this isn't particularly strange. Among the noble class, buying and selling kingdoms is quite normal."
"Normal?"
Gurd gave her a strange look.
How was this normal? It was anything but.
Though he had no expectations for the moral standards of royalty and nobility, outright selling their nation and fleeing was downright inhuman.
Chikara hesitated, then spoke uneasily, "Lord Gurd, have you heard of the Celestial Dragons' Indigenous Massacre Tournament?"
"I've heard rumors."
Gurd frowned.
Chikara elaborated, "Every three years, the Celestial Dragons hold a massacre tournament. They select resource-rich, unaffiliated nations, slaughter the indigenous populations, and then sell the islands to nobles who wish to establish new kingdoms—or develop them themselves."
"I see."
Gurd understood now.
The royal family of Lubni likely wanted to flee to another sea, purchase a new island from the World Government, and rebuild their kingdom there.
In the North Blue, the situation for the member nations of the World Government was growing increasingly dire. Aside from the infiltration efforts on his end, the primary issue was the significant reduction in channels for acquiring wealth.
The relatively affluent non-member nations had all become his territories, leaving fewer targets for plunder, which naturally made life difficult.
Compounded by the rampant Pirate activity.
For those royal families, their nations were merely assets—similar circumstances had occurred in his homeland.
Over at Aruba Port, many nations had proposed trading land for weapons and other supplies, which was essentially the same in nature.
Gurd pondered for a moment.
Islands capable of becoming member nations were relatively resource-rich, so purchasing them would hardly be a loss—provided the price was right.
This made him realize something.
The World Government's control over its member nations was remarkably weak. If even selling off their own countries was permissible, other manipulations were undoubtedly easier.
The trade war he had initiated—perhaps the World Government wasn't holding back some grand strategy, but simply struggling to command its member nations.
"Reply to the Kingdom of Lubni—no more than 10 billion Berries ."
"Understood."
Chikara filed away the documents.
"Lord Gurd, there's another matter. The World Government has dispatched officials to Alabasta, seemingly attempting to compete with us for the market."
"Pay them no mind."
Gurd shook his head with a faint smile.
His production efficiency was exceptionally high, and most resources came from his own islands, keeping overall costs extremely low.
Meanwhile, the bloated World Government's prices for the same goods were at least double his, if not several times higher.
They stood no chance against him.
This trade war had only just begun—its true impact had yet to surface.
Due to information isolation and the relative difficulty of navigation, member nations previously had no choice but to trade exclusively with the World Government, leaving them heavily exploited.
Now, they had a new option.
Once those member nations tasted the benefits and reduced or abandoned trade with the World Government, that was when the real headaches would begin.
He didn't trust those nobles and royals, but he trusted human nature. Seeking profit and avoiding harm was innate—the greedier the person, the more this held true. If they were willing to sell their own nations, what wouldn't those nobles stoop to?
He needed to push harder to provoke the World Government. The more desperate they became, the more they'd resort to unjust actions.
Gurd's eyes narrowed.
"Chikara, summon Lucci and the others."
"Right away."
Shortly after, Lucci and his companions arrived in the office.
Gurd looked at Lucci and nodded approvingly.
In just a month, Lucci had flawlessly completed his assigned mission. The Lubni royal family's desire to flee was largely due to Lucci's assassination efforts.
"Well done, Lucci."
"..."
Lucci remained silent.
But his eyes revealed satisfaction with the mission—his return to headquarters was proof enough.
Gurd didn't press, smiling as he asked,
"How much do you know about revolution?"
"A fair amount."
Lucci's gaze flickered.
Cipher Pol 9's most frequent missions involved hunting down Revolutionary Army officers—they were arguably the most knowledgeable about the revolutionaries.
Gurd gave a slight nod, his voice grave.
"According to my intel, the royal families of North Blue member nations are preparing to abandon their countries and flee. They're ruthlessly plundering their people's wealth, leaving them destitute and fueling constant rebellions."
"I need you to covertly support the rebel movements. If there are no rebellions, incite them—but do not expose your identities!"
The king was planning to flee, and before leaving, he would undoubtedly squeeze one last fortune from the land—leaving only the common folk to suffer.
Law's hometown, the "White Town" of Flevance, was a prime example. When the Amber Lead disease broke out, the nobles fled with their wealth, while the common people were all slaughtered.
However, hoping for a successful revolution was difficult—after all, these were just downtrodden people without even decent weapons.
But it didn't matter. They were merely a diversion.
Once the royal families of various nations were overwhelmed, he would name his price. No doubt, those royals would be all too happy to sell their countries to him!
"Understood, sir!"
Lucci grinned.
This time, it seemed he could once again go all out.
(End of Chapter)