This is a highly abnormal world, where laws exist, but countless people possess personal strength to break from the laws.
Cross-border fraud is generally difficult to handle, but on these seas, as long as there's a trace to follow, powerful forces have plenty of ways to deal with it.
Just like impersonating other pirate crews, everyone knows the risks involved, yet faced with enormous profits, there will always be people willing to risk their lives to try it.
In the first half of the Grand Line, near Kekri Island, according to reports from Beasts Fruits, multiple fraud incidents have recently occurred around this island.
As a legitimate business, they naturally wouldn't take action casually, so another group was arranged to handle the matter.
"Lord Page One, there's no need for you to come here personally for something this minor."
"Nonsese! Impersonating us is no small matter. The problems in this region are almost equal to the sum of all other regions. It's not a good habit to keep fleecing the same sheep."
"Besides, what if there's someone troublesome behind it?"
Page One's reasoning was very solid, but the real reason was that the sea was becoming increasingly chaotic, and the Beasts Pirates were short on officers. Assigning a single-digit Numbers to the first half of the Grand Line was still acceptable, but they would never send two people at once.
This meant that during the mission, Page One could reasonably avoid his sister's torment. He actually hoped this mission would drag on longer. Unfortunately, reality always disappointed him. Less than a day passed before the source was found.
"Lord Page One, it's confirmed. The source of the fake lottery tickets is right here. That guy is 'Triple Tongue' Demalo Black, bounty 26 million Berries."
"He's got some guts."
Looking at the information in his hand, Page One couldn't help but admire the boldness of these rookies. If someone earned a 26 million bounty with their own strength, they could at least be a regular grunt in the New World.
But people like this, who rose through trickery, wouldn't even count as cannon fodder in the New World. Yet strangely, they all had absurdly big guts.
Page One couldn't waste too much time on this kind of pirate, or else it would just give Ulti an excuse to cling to him. So he had no interest in showing up personally, and instead launched an Earthquake and Draco Meteor from a distance, reducing Black's base to ruins.
Where there are fakes, there are also genuine ones. After eliminating the shills they had arranged and counterfeiters, the lottery tickets began to have their intended effect following a period of buildup.
New World, Egghead Island. Cheers of surprise rang out from the island.
"I won! The grand prize!!"
A man dressed in a slightly sci-fi style rubbed his eyes excitedly. That dazzling golden light said it all.
This was the new research facility of Vegapunk, built after Punk Hazard was rendered unusable due to an explosion. It was known as the Future Island, with technology said to be five hundred years ahead of the world.
The island's population was not large, mainly staff arranged by the World Government to assist Vegapunk. They were responsible for transporting materials, handling the island's logistics, and serving as research assistants.
Although many roles had been replaced by robots, some human staff remained. At this point, the World Government had not yet developed the idea of eliminating Vegapunk, and their relationship remained fairly close.
The quality of life on Egghead was very high. There were machines that automatically prepared meals. As long as the ingredients were in place, 500 types of dishes could be made within a minute. Cooks on the island didn't need culinary skills; they only needed to feed ingredients into the machines.
The downside was a lack of technical personnel. Only Vegapunk and his clones could build such machines, making mass production impossible.
There were also various styles of holographic projectors that could alter the island's appearance to provide different living experiences to the inhabitants, and automated dressing machines offering a wide range of clothing styles.
However, this was strictly a workplace. Vegapunk had not allowed any employees' families to settle here. Salaries were still indispensable to them.
500 million Berries is no small amount. For them, it meant immediate financial freedom.
"You're so lucky, actually winning the grand prize."
"Hehe, I bought it during my last vacation and forgot it in my pocket without scratching it. If I had known, I would've scratched it earlier."
"Cut the chatter, hurry up and take time off to claim your prize. It's only valid for a month."
"Time off? I'm quitting! With this much money, who's still going to work here!"
The next day, this person left Egghead and went to the nearest prize redemption center.
"Name."
"Tel."
"Occupation, and where the ticket was purchased."
"You need that kind of info just to claim the prize?"
"Of course, we have to verify the information, and the funds provided to you must have a clearly documented source. You wouldn't want to be hauled in for investigation on charges of possessing large amounts of money with an unknown source, would you?"
"Fair point. I used to be a researcher on Egghead. I bought the ticket from a merchant ship passing by Egghead."
"I see. Got it."
The staff quickly filled out the information and sent it through a Rotom Phone to Tesoro. His Rotom Phone even had an eye-like feature, clearly marking it as an original model.
This alone was enough to show that he was a member of the Beasts Pirates.
"Just wait a few more days. The 300 million Berry prize will be delivered to you soon."
"Wait, wasn't it 500 million Berries?"
"The World Government takes 200 million in taxes. There's nothing we can do about that. Oh, and as a routine question, are you interested in making a donation?"
"No."
The prize shrinking by nearly half made him awkwardly scratch his head. It seemed he'd quit his job a little too early.
While the prize claim process had only just begun, news of a real grand prize ticket reached Arceus within an hour.
"Lord Sacred Beast, according to reliable intel, the test strip made by Acier has reacted. There's a high probability your plate is on Egghead."
Shayna flipped through the information in her hands and, after compiling it, reported the news to Arceus.
"Egghead. Shayna, you and Zeraora head there to confirm. If it is indeed there, bring it back.
Take Kuzan with you on this mission. He's been here a month or two and hasn't done anything yet. If there's any combat, let him handle it. Your and Zeraora's top priority is the plate.
If it is confirmed to be a plate, you can contact me directly."
Zeraora and Shayna were the fastest among the senior officers. Combined with their strength and ability to fly, few could stop them.
At the same time, this was also a test for Kuzan—to see what choices he would make in such a situation, and thus determine his future role. Otherwise, the most reliable option would be for Arceus to go himself.
"Understood. I'll handle everything. Please rest assured."
At nearly the same time, on Egghead, several gleaming golden tickets had already appeared in Lilith's hands.
"Lilith, what are you spacing out for?"
A man wearing a helmet labeled 01, dressed in a long hoodie printed with "Vegapunk 01" on the side and the word "Justice" on the back, questioned Lilith beside him.
They were both Vegapunk's clones, but each had independent thinking, which made their behavior distinct.
Compared to No. 02 Lilith representing evil, the No. 01 Shaka representing good was much more serious.
"I originally wanted to test my luck and see if I could get more research funding, but now, I've made a new discovery."
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