"Sage, did you call for me?"
In the office, Lily walked in, holding a report in her hand.
Sage looked up, seeing Lily wearing a belted shirtdress that reached her knees. Although only one button was undone, a beautiful, smooth groove was faintly visible, softly undulating as she moved forward.
The golden wavy long hair casually draped over her back was still slightly damp, steaming...
"Just finished showering? Did you go to the cliff to train again just because it's raining? If you get struck by lightning, it's not my problem," Sage joked.
"Just slice it open, and it's fine."
Lily sat on a sofa not far from the desk, raising her dress to the knees, revealing her almost shiny white legs entangled with her other leg.
She opened the report, quickly scanned through it, and said, "Kalifa."
"Here."
Kalifa, who was beside Sage acting as a secretary, pushed up her glasses.
"As I say, you take notes. The Tiltren side needs to speed up stone mining. Recent output can't meet demand. The latest batch of ships delivering people can be sent there, and add another twenty construction designers."
"On the Celent side, slow down gold mining. Let half of the gold miners transfer to the iron mine. It's best to coordinate with Stidtefear; they have experience in iron mining there."
"Step up on clearing Parthia. It's been months, and why is it only 10% cleared now? Didn't we increase the population on that island half a month ago?"
"This was communicated before."
Kalifa thought for a moment and said, "Reinaldo mentioned that there are too many wild beasts on that island. They've been mainly exterminating beasts, and they also find the tropical rainforest environment hard to endure..."
"I don't want excuses, I want results,"
Lily said flatly, "Call him. I don't care if he does it himself or uses explosives to clear the way. He has two months to increase the clearing progress to 30%. That place is rich in fruits; we must not disrupt our established plans."
"Also, Colver's canned food production, increase this month's production by 20%. Sharret's pharmaceutical production is up by 30%, especially the coastal area's medicinal algae. It's currently too little and needs to be stocked up."
"Alright, that's all." Lily put down the report.
"Yes, I'll execute this right away."
Kalifa quickly finished taking notes, left with her notebook, and gently closed the door.
Sage watched Lily with a smile and remarked, "You're becoming more skilled, indeed. That's good, now I can confidently leave things in your hands while I go fishing or something."
In business matters, Lily was growing increasingly adept, handling things with rich experience now.
Upon hearing this, Lily pressed her lips together, thought for a moment, and said, "Sage, occasionally doing some work is also beneficial for the mind and body."
Sage waved his hand, "Let's not talk about that; I called you because Doffy just called..."
When he mentioned Doflamingo's case, Lily immediately furrowed her eyebrows, "Stop just like that? What does he think he is? Not even for a few days, not even a day. It's not just an economic issue but also about our authority..."
Then she paused in silence for a while, saying, "Sage, if we keep relying passively, we'll become vulnerable."
It's not about breaching channels. Not only Sage disdains breaking promises, but Lily also disdains going back on her words.
Since they've promised a cooperation, they wouldn't easily abandon it.
But certain things aren't about cooperation, but about proactivity.
They control Dof's channel movements; many goods originate from them. If they stop, the ones who suffer would, of course, be Dof and his trading partners.
But conversely, Lily just calculated that if Dof cancels the cooperation, their factory's efficiency would drop by at least a third!
It's too threatening!
Although this time it's only a few days, and the losses are covered by Dof, Lily doesn't like this passivity.
In the past, this issue wasn't a concern because such things couldn't happen; Dof understands the stakes.
But now that it's happening, it's not about Law or Straw Hat, but about the nature of the issue.
Without the Surgeon of Death, others like a Rebirth Therapist will eventually emerge. Without Straw Hat, someone like a Goggle Boy will appear.
Someday, they'll face the same situation again, perhaps even worse.
"That's why I called you."
Sage tapped the table, and Lily stood up from the sofa, taking a cigar box from the edge of the desk, pulling out one for him.
After lighting it, he exhaled smoke and rhythmically tapped his fingers on the table, "The goods must be sent out; this time you need to handle it personally."
Lily paused for a moment, "Do you think the matter isn't over yet?"
Sage smirked, "The newcomers in the New World are all very proud and ambitious, always wanting to cause some trouble. If Dof, that fool, insists on playing with them, I can't control that, but I won't let anything happen to my goods. Once you get there, you can make your own decisions."
Lily blinked her lovely eyes, understanding Sage's implication...
"Will Doflamingo fail?" She found it hard to believe, "Even if he does, his influence will remain, considering his different status."
Having captured Caesar and fled from Punk Hazard, Lily was confident they must have formed an alliance and would target Doflamingo.
She didn't underestimate Straw Hat either, as this guy had defeated Crocodile and tied with Moriah two years ago.
Even if they were dispirited back then without Haki, Straw Hat didn't have Haki back then either.
Luck or opportunism, regardless, it was still a victory.
In her view, Straw Hat is on par with the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Adding Law to the mix, they could indeed escape from both Reinaldo and Weevil.
Otherwise, without solid strength, escape would be hard.
This news, which was earlier than what Sage told her from Doffy's call, was informed to her by Reinaldo already.
"On that note, some underlings have opinions, thinking our authority was challenged. It's best to eliminate one or two if they reach Dressrosa. Should we take them out?" Lily asked.
"Ha! How conceited are they for me to waste effort targeting them? They're not worth it," Sage responded with smokers' laughter.
Lily nodded, "Reinaldo mentioned they've activated the Infinite Energy mode. There's frostbite and explosion injuries; even with top doctors, it would take several days to recover. Since the lesson has been given, it ends here. These small figures are indeed not worth the effort."
Continuing, she added, "If Doflamingo wants to cause a stir on his own, that's natural. He's not our subordinate or vassal. He has his own schemes... But this also requires giving him a wake-up call. With my personal visit, he'll understand."
"If he wins, I'll give him a warning. If he loses, I'll be there. No matter what he stirs up, I'll take over if necessary to ensure we experience no losses."
She glanced at Sage, "Is that what you meant?"
"What I meant is... why consider so much, do whatever you want, Lily! I'll back you up, do what you please!"
Sage grinned, "Trading channels? As long as the stuff is good, those guys will reach us through other channels. Products not selling? I've got tons of ways to tackle that! The simplest is free trade!"
Open up! Free trade!
This tactic suits his current game perfectly.
Bad reputation for Pirates?
No matter.
"The Disaster Pirates can be rumored as evil, chaotic, regarded as a world threat, but one thing..."
Sage's grin turned vicious, "As long as we're not perceived as weak, everything else isn't a problem!"