At the largest restaurant on Sweet Island, the spacious hall was set with a specially made massive round table, large enough to seat many people.
As night fell, this island guarded by Katakuri became the most bustling place in Totto Land, second only to Whole Cake Island.
Once evening arrived, countless street lamps lit up across the island, dotting every street and building like scattered stars, creating a hazy, lively atmosphere.
Caesar, as usual, sat at the head of the table.
The seating arrangement for the core members of the Beast God Pirates hadn't changed much.
The only difference was that Doflamingo now sat beside Katakuri, while Pudding, visibly uneasy, sat next to Doflamingo.
Sanji had been placed beside Pudding, his expression cold, like a corpse frozen for millennia.
To the right of Kaido sat Aokiji, Yamato, King, and Queen in that order.
Judge of the Germa 66 and Doflamingo's family executives sat at the far end, occasionally glancing around the table at the others.
Judge was already all too familiar with Linlin's former children—after all, not long ago, he had nearly met his end in this very place.
How unpredictable fate was.
He had just escaped from Totto Land and returned to the Grand Line, intending to go back to the North Blue to focus on his research in peace.
But no sooner had he stepped foot there than Kizaru dragged him back.
Judge couldn't help but think of his clone soldiers and the dozens of giant snail ships, all confiscated by Kizaru's science division.
The thought made his heart ache.
The moment he saw Sanji seated beside Pudding, Judge vaguely understood that they had likely been brought back as Sanji's family.
'Who would've thought that three-eyed girl's status has risen so much? Her seat now surpasses most of Big Mom's children, second only to the second son, Katakuri. Ah, what a shame. Sanji has already made mortal enemies with Caesar and the others. Otherwise, my Germa could've under a better protection than the Big Mom Pirates.'
At the table, Caesar was chatting and laughing with Katakuri, King, and Doflamingo, discussing the future development of the Beast God Pirates.
"Boss, I think the most urgent matter is to launch a large-scale recruitment. We're severely short on manpower. The people we brought from Wano Country have already been dispersed across the 87 islands in Totto Land's waters. While each island has over a hundred people assigned, their overall combat strength is far too weak.
Aside from the slightly stronger guards on key islands—where having executives stationed makes them safer—other places, like the outer edges of Totto Land bordering other Emperors' territories, basically have no top-tier fighters holding them down."
King had always been in charge of personnel allocation for the Beast God Pirates.
He was steady and patient, an excellent manager.
Though he occasionally had some peculiar hobbies—like playing with small whips—when it came to work, he was more capable than ten Queens combined.
Caesar pondered for a moment before nodding.
He knew that while the Beast God Pirates appeared to have an overwhelming number of top-tier fighters, seemingly surpassing even the other Emperor crews, manpower and combat strength were always in short supply when it came to the vast territories of the New World.
"This is indeed a problem, but right now, we don't have enough money. Wano Country's weapons haven't even been produced yet, and even once they are, how much can we really earn from just one batch? We need massive amounts of money—hundreds of billions, trillions, even more.
Our territory will keep expanding. By this time tomorrow, the Buggy Pirates' domain to the west—Katakuri, Kuzan, take the elite officers and go there. Conquer it. If you capture that clown Buggy, bring him back to Totto Land. I'll skin him alive and turn him into a paste."
Caesar frowned, deep in thought about how to make money.
This was the burden of ruling over a vast territory.
Keeping the economy thriving was always a crucial step in ensuring a major power's continued prosperity.
Unlike the days when they were just a single pirate ship, free to plunder others for wealth, now that they controlled entire seas, they had to think about how to make money multiply—how to draw wealth from other regions into their own domain.
Looting was only a temporary solution, like drinking poison to quench thirst.
It could never solve the problem permanently.
"Doflamingo, do you have any good ideas? You should have plenty of experience in this area." Caesar turned to Doflamingo, raising his glass.
Doflamingo, flattered, quickly lifted his own glass and clinked it against Caesar's.
Hesitantly, he said, "Caesar-sama, regarding making money, I do indeed have many strategies that I plan to implement step by step in the future. In the New World, the main avenues for profit are arms trade, shipping, human trafficking, and luxury goods trade. The first few have always been dominated—Kaido was a titan in the arms trade. What I want to focus on is the last one: luxury goods."
Doflamingo cleared his throat.
Dozens of eyes at the table turned to him, but he showed no fear, speaking confidently.
"What are luxury goods? Fufufufu—pearls, gold, Devil Fruits, famous swords, even Poneglyphs—these are all incredibly valuable luxuries. Take Devil Fruits, for example. Even the weakest can fetch a hundred million berries, while rare types can sell for billions. The same goes for famous swords—they're worth a fortune."
"But these things are extremely rare. Once sold, they're gone. Some power-boosting treasures must be kept to strengthen our own forces. So what's left are the pearls, jade, agate, gold, and other things the nobles love.
Caesar-sama, in this world, there's one place filled with countless rare treasures unseen on land. If we can bring that place under our control, we'll never lack for money again."
Doflamingo deliberately kept everyone in suspense, building up their anticipation before slowly uttering a few words.
"Fish-Man Island."
Caesar's eyes lit up.
Of course, Fish-Man Island was a deep-sea region rarely visited by outsiders.
Legends said the pearls there were so abundant they could pave the roads.
A small piece of coral, which would fetch an exorbitant price on land, was as common as dirt on Fish-Man Island.
The volcanic belts beneath the sea also held vast deposits of raw gold—just swing a pickaxe, and you could haul home massive chunks of the precious metal.
King also chimed in, "Fishman Island indeed needs to be incorporated into our sphere of influence. In the New World, strong Fishman pirates are highly sought after. Major factions often pay hefty prices to purchase Fishman warriors from auction houses or slave traders.
In the sea, these Fishmen can unleash incredibly formidable combat power. If we can bring Fishman Island under the banner of the Beast God Pirates, we'll have an endless supply of Fishman soldiers—perhaps even form an entire Fishman army. This would give us a tremendous advantage in naval battles across the New World."
Caesar found himself increasingly convinced that Fishman Island was truly a golden opportunity.
At that moment, Doflamingo flashed a peculiar smile, abruptly leaving his seat to approach Caesar. Leaning in, he whispered a few words.
The others watched Doflamingo's sudden movement with curiosity, wondering what he had said to Caesar.
"WHAT?! Such a thing exists?!" Caesar's massive frame shuddered in shock, his expression one of astonishment.
Doflamingo chuckled darkly, "Absolutely true, Caesar-sama. This is a major secret known only to the Celestial Dragons, the World Nobles."
Caesar's expression immediately turned grave.
"Then Fishman Island is non-negotiable—we must secure it."
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