After the events on Enies Lobby, Bege spent several days with Jessica. Upon learning of Taylor's death, the young girl had been emotionally devastated, finding comfort only in Viola's presence. When Bege returned, Jessica was still deeply melancholic. He could only stay by her side, taking her on daily tours of the sky island. A month slowly passed before Jessica began to emerge from the shadow of her sister's death.
Afterward, Bege descended from the sky island to inspect the development of his territories over the past month.
By now, all the islands under his control had fully implemented his policies. The various black-market industries had been essentially dismantled, replaced by a harmonious development plan centered on economic construction.
Freed from the tyrannical rule of the Demon Lord of Fear and benefiting from Bege's favorable policies, the common people of his territories showed an unprecedented level of support for him.
The economic development of the territories was in full swing. The islanders were full of enthusiasm, and the future looked promising.
The blockade of his seas had also been lifted, and ships could now pass through normally. However, the number of Sea Patrolling Beasts within his waters was steadily increasing.
As long as a ship flew the flag of the Fire Tank Pirates, it could pass through his territory unhindered. Any ship that did not fly his flag would be attacked by the Sea Patrolling Beasts.
In one month, the number of beasts in his waters had nearly doubled, turning the entire region into an impenetrable fortress.
Next, Bege had Ben Kosa create a batch of fast and durable fused sea beasts. He planned to use them to build a kind of high-speed sea beast-powered passenger ferry, reducing travel time between the islands.
As the saying goes, to get rich, you must first build roads. He wanted to create a dense and high-speed network of sea routes between his islands to accelerate their development.
In just half a year, the high-speed sea routes between the islands were established, cutting travel times by several factors. This made it much easier and more convenient for the islanders to travel for leisure or business, which greatly promoted the prosperity of the region.
In addition to the construction and development within his territories, Bege also actively sought opportunities for external cooperation. His partnerships with major maritime trading companies became more active and closer.
Besides legitimate trade, Bege also dabbled in the underworld, with arms dealing being one of the most important aspects. With more territory came more mineral resources. And with a wealth of talent at his disposal, he quickly built a large-scale arsenal, developing more and more military weapons to sell abroad.
The arms trade brought him into contact with many pirate crews, and even Emperor-level crews came to him seeking to purchase weapons. His arms business was booming, earning him a massive amount of funds and resources.
Over the past six months, the Fire Tank Pirates had also been recruiting heavily. Countless pirates flocked to join their ranks.
Of course, all recruits had to go through a strict screening process. Most of them ended up joining the guard forces of the various islands. The requirements to join the main fleet of the Fire Tank Pirates were even more stringent, and very few passed. But those who did were all incredibly strong and had great potential.
Little Oars's Giant Corps, in particular, had grown by five or six new giants, greatly increasing its strength.
Bege did not, however, trust the pirates who passed the screening. His most important initiative was to secretly recruit orphans from his territories, especially young ones. He would raise them himself, instilling his own ideology in them and turning them into his true men.
He had already taken in several hundred orphans and placed them on the sky island to be personally trained by his most trusted followers. When they grew up, they would become his most important force.
From every angle, his maritime territory was showing signs of a thriving and prosperous future. In another ten years, its development would far surpass that of any other region in the New World.
On this day, the Sky God was docked at a military port on Dragon Fruit Island. It shimmered with a rainbow of colors under the sunlight. It had been coated. Today, Bege was preparing to make a trip to Fish-Man Island.
A giant Sea Patrolling Beast emerged from the depths. The crew attached a harness to it, and the beast pulled the Sky God down into the sea, where it began to travel at high speed.
The deeper they went, the darker it became. Only a few bioluminescent sea creatures provided any light, and the environment grew more and more oppressive.
The Sky God turned on its massive lights—large lamps made from Light Dials that illuminated the surrounding waters.
At the bottom of the sea, the Sky God was like a giant light bulb, easily attracting the attention of the great sea monsters.
In the waters above five or six thousand meters, no sea monster dared to attack the ship. The Sea Patrolling Beast pulling it was large enough to intimidate most of them.
But as they dove deeper, the giant beasts and Sea Kings of the depths began to eye the Sky God covetously, circling it. A few of the more aggressive Sea Kings even launched attacks.
However, they were repelled by Modi's sword slashes before they could even get close. They were then caught by Bege's external domain, forcibly shrunk, and imprisoned within his body-castle to be used as material for more Sea Patrolling Beasts.
They dove deeper and deeper, passing through a range of underwater mountains. Suddenly, two round lights appeared in a trench, and a massive dark shadow slowly emerged. It used its many tentacles to pull itself up the side of a mountain.
Under the ship's lights, the true form of the dark shadow was revealed to everyone.
It was a giant sea monster that looked like a cross between an octopus and a squid. It was as large as a small mountain, and its expression was tyrannical, its massive eyes staring ferociously at the Sky God.
Even the sea beast pulling the Sky God showed a hint of fear in the face of this behemoth.
Bege looked at the giant creature and smiled. "The Kraken. So we really ran into it."
"Godfather, you know this monster?" Enel asked.
"This guy is known as the Demon of the Deep. He specializes in ambushing ships heading to Fish-Man Island. Many pirate ships have been destroyed by him," Bege said with a laugh.
He glanced down at the seafloor. The area between the underwater mountains was littered with the wreckage of countless ships, all destroyed by the Kraken.
"He's that strong? Then let me take care of him," Enel said, lightning crackling around his body, eager for a fight.
"We're at the bottom of the sea. Let me handle it," Modi said, stepping forward, his eyes instantly turning sharp.
The Kraken could wait no longer. It launched itself from the mountain, its long, thick tentacles shooting toward the Sky God like missiles.
Modi leaped from the ship. A white membrane covered his body, protecting him from the deep-sea pressure. With a casual swing of his sword, a massive slash of sword energy tore through the water and struck the Kraken, leaving a huge gash. Blood instantly stained the sea red.
The blow enraged the Kraken. It lashed out at Modi with its tentacles. Modi agilely dodged, and his sword danced, severing the tentacles one by one. A flurry of slashes left the Kraken covered in wounds. It finally felt fear and turned to flee.