But on further thought, it wasn't all that surprising. The world is full of wealthy people, and essentials like food, clothing, and shelter are vital for survival. Many are willing to spend extravagantly to satisfy their desires. Fish-Man Island is located 10,000 meters below the sea, and getting there with an ordinary ship requires facing enormous risks. So, it's only natural that the island's specialties would fetch high prices.
Interestingly, while Wood and his crew were making a killing selling seafood, a clueless pirate crew became envious of their earnings and tried to extort a so-called "protection fee."
As for what happened to those pirates, the outcome was predictable. These would-be extortionists had no idea that the man they saw as just a regular fishmonger was actually the notorious Wood, a super rookie in the New World with a bounty of one billion Berries. Needless to say, those pirates met an unfortunate end. They probably died without understanding how a pirate worth one billion could be so low-key as to sell fish, effectively baiting them into a trap.
After Wood's crew took care of the would-be extortionists, Ruth made a surprising discovery: the pirate crew they defeated had three bounty heads among them. The combined bounty was a whopping 150 million Berries, with their captain alone being worth 100 million.
It was yet another reminder that the New World was the New World—where even nameless, faceless pirates could carry bounties in the hundreds of millions.
Wood sent an unbountied crew member to deliver the heads to a Navy base to claim the reward. Along with the proceeds from selling the seafood, Wood's crew found themselves in the best financial position they'd ever been in, with a total of 350 million Berries.
Given their newfound wealth, which was far beyond what Wood usually carried in his empty pockets, he should have been ecstatic. But the sudden ringing of a Den Den Mushi quickly turned his excitement into a scowl.
Finding an excuse to slip away from Ruth and the others, who were busy feasting and drinking at the tavern, Wood pulled out the small Den Den Mushi with the familiar goat-like beard.
That old schemer Sengoku had promised him that they'd only contact him once every few years, that the mission would be mostly up to his discretion, easy, safe, and he'd get paid just for laying low. But now, it was clear that those promises were nothing but empty words!
What was that about contacting him once every few years? It had barely been half a year, and he had already lost count of how many times they had reached out to him. And the missions were anything but easy; they were downright dangerous.
As for the promised pay? Wood hadn't seen a single Berry yet. If it hadn't been for Queen Otohime's seafood gift, they wouldn't have even made it to this island.
After mentally preparing himself for the inevitable frustration, Wood finally answered the persistent "buru buru" ringing of the Den Den Mushi. As soon as he picked up, the Den Den Mushi mimicked Sengoku's expression and voice almost perfectly.
"Wood, I take it you've entered the New World by now. I have an important mission for you…"
"I'm not doing it! I'm done! What happened to the promise you made when you first roped me into this so-called secret mission? You said it would be easy, not too dangerous, and after a few years, I'd get to retire as a branch captain.
"But what happened? You said you'd only contact me every few years, and yet, first, you had me negotiate with the World Government and secretly steal the blueprints of Pluton. Then you had me bombard Enies Lobby. You don't even give me any operational funds, and now you want to send me on another dangerous mission? Forget it! I'm not doing it. Whoever wants to do it can go instead."
Before Sengoku could even finish his sentence, the Den Den Mushi, perfectly mimicking Wood's enraged expression, cut him off with a torrent of complaints.
Honestly, ever since becoming Fleet Admiral, Sengoku hadn't been spoken to this way by anyone, except maybe the Gorosei. But he knew he had indeed handled things poorly in the past, so he simply wiped the spittle from his face without reprimanding Wood.
"The mission I'm contacting you about this time is precisely about arranging your operational funds. Given your current status as a pirate, it's difficult to send you funds directly from headquarters. So, this mission is meant to introduce you to another colleague.
"Once you help him complete his task, you'll receive your operational funds from him."
The moment Sengoku began to speak, Wood could already smell another trap. Given that their pirate crew had just made a significant sum of money and had finally escaped poverty, Wood was about to refuse without a second thought.
But just as he was about to reject Sengoku, his long-dormant system suddenly reacted, triggering a new mission for him.
[Mission Name: Save the Boy in Silence]
[Mission Objective: Assist Trafalgar Law, who is suffering from Amber Lead Syndrome, and obtain the Ope Ope no Mi. Ensure that both Corazon and Trafalgar Law survive.]
[Mission Reward: One opportunity to simulate a life in the Wanjie Universe.]
Seeing the mission details pop up in his system, Wood instantly realized which storyline he had stumbled into. Combining this with Sengoku's mention of a "colleague," Wood probed further.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, this mission wouldn't have anything to do with the Donquixote Family that's been making waves in the seas and the underworld recently, would it?"
The silence from the Den Den Mushi was telling. Sengoku, obviously caught off guard, was curious how Wood had connected the dots so quickly.
Sensing Sengoku's silence, Wood quickly covered up his slip by saying, "I've been a pirate for almost a year now. Given my recent fame and my ten-billion-Berry bounty, I've had quite a few people trying to join forces with me. Some even approached me about doing business in mermaids, knowing my ties to the Fish-Men.
"So, I have my own sources of information. The Donquixote Family's activities in the underworld have been hard to miss lately. Considering the timing of your call, it wasn't hard to guess that this mission might involve them."
Wood's explanation wasn't perfect, but to Sengoku, it made sense. After the events of Enies Lobby, Wood's connections to the Fish-Men were practically common knowledge.
Given the consistently high prices of mermaids in the underworld, it wasn't surprising that someone would approach Wood with such an offer.
*******
P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 320+ at p@treon.com/Betek and change @ to a