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That night.
The wedding proceeded smoothly.
Big Mom, dressed in a stunning wedding gown, pushed open the door and looked at the dozen or so men on the bed whom she had spent a fortune to acquire. A smile spread across her face.
"Husbands, give me a group of children that belong to me."
She slowly approached.
Lifting the quilt, she prepared to find the right position.
The lights went out.
The room plunged into darkness.
Suddenly~~~
Boom.
A puff of blue smoke appeared.
Big Mom picked up a withered, deformed leaf with a puzzled expression: "My black husband, why did you turn into a leaf?"
She frowned and glanced at the others nearby.
Ten minutes passed.
"Perospero, Katakuri, get in here!"
"And don't let that liar get away."
Big Mom's terrifying roar echoed through the sky.
"Akira, I've received Rouge and am heading back to headquarters quickly."
"Fleet Admiral, I don't know why, but I'm feeling uneasy!"
"Don't worry, the fruit transformed by the deformed leaf can last for a while. Besides, the fleet and clones are on their way to pick you up, so nothing will go wrong."
In the Fleet Admiral's office, Akira hung up the phone.
Without hesitation, he dialed another number.
"This is the General Staff, Rosinante speaking."
"It's Akira! I have two orders for you," Akira said in a deep voice.
The Den Den Mushi's expression grew serious as Rosinante replied solemnly, "Please go ahead."
"First, we need to conduct a large-scale promotion of Marine Bank, and distribute it worldwide for free, just like last time."
"You can come up with the title and content yourself; I just want results."
Rosinante swallowed and asked, "Sir, what result do you want?"
"In a short period, I want everyone in the world to rush to deposit their money in Marine Bank."
"Yes! I'll do my best. What's the second task?"
"Notify the Fraud Department... It's time to close the net!"
"Understood!"
Click.
Akira hung up the phone and slumped back in his chair.
He carefully reviewed all his plans in his mind, and after confirming there were no mistakes, he let out a long breath.
"Now, we just wait and see the results."
Akira closed his eyes and muttered to himself.
In the Sabaody Archipelago, closest to headquarters.
In the cheapest hotel, a middle-aged man clutched the leaflet that read, "I, Roger, Pay Money!" His eyes were bloodshot.
"Damn it, why didn't you come to me, Roger!"
"I spent a hundred thousand to save you, and millions more to buy you a boat."
"A few days ago, you said you fell in love with a girl on the road, and I sold everything I had to support you."
"You've had enough fun! Take me to find the One Piece, take me out to sea to become a master, you bastard."
The middle-aged man gritted his teeth and let out a low growl from his throat.
It's been half a month, and Roger still hasn't shown up. It's impossible not to be suspicious.
But every time such thoughts surfaced, he would quickly suppress them.
Admitting he was fooled?
He couldn't bear the humiliation.
He had sacrificed too much, nearly bankrupting himself, to become a crew member of the Pirate King and sail the seas with him.
The sunk costs were so high that he had no choice but to keep deceiving himself.
"I bet that Dark King, who claims to be the right hand of the Pirate King, is just a fraud."
The middle-aged man suddenly recalled something and spat in disgust.
Bang bang bang.
Bang bang bang.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
It felt like a warning, instantly fueling the middle-aged man's already boiling anger.
"Bastard! Who is it?
"Check the water meter!"
"Check your sister. Knocking like that, can't you wait..."
The middle-aged man got up and opened the door, but before he could finish his sentence, he froze in panic.
In front of him stood three Marine soldiers, weapons in hand, glaring at him coldly.
"Uh, gentlemen, how can I help you?" the middle-aged man asked cautiously.
"We've received a report that you're suspected of bribery and attempting to rescue Roger to sail with him as a pirate."
The leading soldier held up Roger's leaflet and said, "Please come with us to cooperate with our investigation."
As soon as he finished speaking, the three soldiers stepped forward and expertly restrained him.
"Hey, I'm innocent! You've got the wrong person!"
The middle-aged man shouted in protest.
"Everyone we arrest says that."
"Don't worry, we have all the evidence of your transactions."
"Face it, even if you were tricked, you still intended to go to sea and commit crimes."
The soldiers, unfazed, began marching him toward their base, ignoring his struggles.
A bespectacled drunkard with a scar over his right eye leaned against a tree, watching the scene while taking a swig from his bottle.
"Heh~~~"
"I told you it was a scam, but you didn't believe me. No one can imitate Captain Roger's charm."
"It's a shame. I shouldn't have sent money either. How am I going to explain to Shakky where my one million berries went? What a headache..."
The drunkard hiccupped and wandered off leisurely.
On an island in the New World.
The place buzzed with activity.
A grand hotel stood at the very center of the island.
Pirates, criminals, and mafia from all corners of the world had gathered here.
"How do I look today? Am I handsome?"
The tall, dark-skinned, eyebrowless Diamond Joz slapped his chest confidently.
He had put in a lot of effort to find a high-end suit that fit his large frame.
He even visited a salon and got a particularly striking hairstyle.
At this moment, he looked the best he had in over 20 years.
The third division crew members who accompanied him gave him thumbs up, showering him with compliments like rapid-fire.
"You look amazing, boss! You could be a star with that outfit."
"Those other guys competing with you don't even deserve to shine your shoes."
"Boss, today you're definitely going to win over that beauty. We believe in you."
"The boss is the strongest, the boss is the most handsome, a true legend!"
Hearing his subordinates' flattery, Jozu nodded in satisfaction.
However, he still warily eyed his competitors across the room.
"They're all rivals!"
Sensing the aura and threat emanating from them, Jozu couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.
But that was all.
He was confident he'd be the last man standing and would be chosen by Queen Alice.
After all, he had worked his connections and spent a lot of money to boost her favorability toward him to 500%.
"Most people can only get to 100% favorability, but I've already reached 500%. Why even compete with me?"
Jozu adjusted his collar, brimming with confidence.
What he didn't notice was that the expressions of his competitors were identical to his own.
That smug look that only bosses with 500% favorability would have.
Time ticked by, minute by minute, second by second.
The sun in the sky gradually set to the west.
Finally, someone noticed something was wrong.
"What's going on? Why hasn't Queen Alice shown up? Didn't she say she would choose the final winner today, right here?"
"Where's the staff? Where are they? Someone come out and explain!"
"Go inside and hurry them up! It's getting dark, and we've been hanging around all day."
"Captain!!! There's no one inside! Those staff members from this morning are gone, and so is the money!"
"What? Impossible."
The atmosphere in the area grew tense.
Panic began to spread among the crowd.
Even Jozu's expression paled as the unease set in.
"Go, go inside and check it out."
He couldn't sit still any longer and quickly directed the third division members to rush toward the hotel.
The other villains followed suit.
The island fell silent.
But soon!
A sky-shattering roar completely destroyed the hotel.
"It's an empty shell! This is an unfinished hotel. The outside looks magnificent, but the inside is rough."
"No one's here, and the money's gone!"
"There's a tunnel here that leads straight to the port on the back of the island. They ran away with our money, ah~~~"
"Liars, they're all liars! This whole 'asking for a child with a lot of money' is a scam!"
"Everything is fake, hahahahaha, everything is fake."
"Where is my Queen Alice? Where have you gone? I know you must be playing hide and seek with me, right? If I find you, you'll give me my money back, right? I'm coming, I'm coming to find you."
"Didn't you promise a full refund if we lost? I'm ruined!"
Chaos broke out in the hotel, turning from confusion to anger, then desperation, madness, and finally, unified cries of despair.
Even now, they still didn't fully realize they'd been scammed.
The whole idea of "asking for a child with a lot of money" was a complete hoax.
Tread Tread.
A distraught Jozu emerged, his eyes empty and lifeless, like a walking corpse, moving forward without purpose.
Behind him, the third division members followed closely, but none dared to approach him.
They knew what their captain had sacrificed to be chosen.
Not only had he used up all his private funds, but he had also borrowed a large sum from friends.
A few days ago, to achieve that 500% favorability, he even borrowed in his father Whitebeard's name from the king of loan sharks in the underworld—"God of Fortune" Lu Feld.
The amount of debt was enormous.
If the "asking for a child with a lot of money" had been real, and Queen Alice had promised to refund all the money if he wasn't chosen, then even failing to be selected wouldn't have been a loss, just a waste of time.
And time was the least valuable thing to them.
But they didn't expect that the entire scheme was a lie, and Queen Alice wasn't real.
The only thing real was their debt.
"Good thing I didn't borrow money. I don't have much savings, so I'm not too upset about being cheated," one crew member suddenly said.
The others nodded subtly.
Those who failed the selection had actually paid a large sum, but the "Kingdom Guard Chief" had said they would all pay together to save trouble, given that they were in the same group as Jozu.
At the time, they didn't think much of it, but now they realized it had all been a scam.
At this moment, they were grateful they hadn't been chosen and that their losses weren't as great.
Splash.
Suddenly, the sound of water splashing ahead echoed.
"Captain Jozu jumped into the sea! Hurry, get down there and save him!"
"Devil Fruit users can't swim! Don't just stand there, save the captain!"
"No way... Captain Jozu~~~"
The third division members hurriedly jumped into the sea.
After much effort, they finally dragged the soaked Jozu back to shore.
"Captain Jozu, you have to stay strong, you have to be brave."
"You still have us, and Dad."
The youngest crew member wiped his tears, sobbing.
Dad!
Joz's lifeless eyes flickered slightly, and he subconsciously pulled out a Den Den Mushi from his pocket.
Pere~Pere~Pere~Pere~
"Bastard son, why are you finally calling the old man?"
"Haven't I been telling you to come back for days now, and you didn't?"
Whitebeard's deep voice echoed through the Den Den Mushi.
At that moment, twenty-year-old Jozu's emotional defenses completely crumbled.
Just like a child being bullied and running to their parents for comfort, tears streamed down Jozu's face as he cried out loudly.
"Father, I… I've been scammed into bankruptcy, woo woo woo...
"I… I still owe a ton of debt, and I can't pay it back!"
"I'll never trust women again in my life, woo woo woo..."
Whitebeard:
A cold wind blew through the air.
The world had lost another innocent boy.
Meanwhile, in a magnificent castle on the Grand Line…
"Sister Jessica, have all your grandpa's tea leaves been sold?"
"Brother Lan, woo woo! Not yet, my grandpa is so worried he can't eat, and I'm so sad."
An ordinary-looking man with a peculiar tapered hairstyle and royal attire was talking to a Den Den Mushi.
On the other end of the line, a woman's distressed sobbing could be heard.
Lanwas filled with concern and immediately responded, "Don't cry, my darling, little baby!"
"Ugh~~~"
The Den Den Mushi suddenly made a retching motion.
Lan was slightly taken aback: "Jessica?"
"Oh, Brother Lan, I'm fine. I'm just retching because I cried too much."
The Den Den Mushi panicked and quickly explained, "Don't misunderstand! I love my brother the most. Why would I retch because of my brother's nickname for me?"
"Oh, I see."
Lan nodded in realization, pinching his chin as he smiled confidently: "I knew it—I'm so handsome, how could anyone want to throw up because of me?"
The Den Den Mushi fell silent.
If a face full of pimples, a square jaw, narrow eyes, and thick lips could be considered handsome, then there would be no ugly people in the world.
Making money is tough, but it's okay, I'll just keep going.
Jessica quickly changed the subject: "Brother Lan, I'm so sad. I don't know what to do with my grandpa's tea."
"It's okay, I'll buy it, I have money."
"But, I just asked you to buy a few hundred kg's a while ago, so I'm embarrassed to ask you to buy more."
"Nonsense, we don't keep track of such things between us. I'll take as much as you have."
"Thank you, Brother! Grandpa's tea leaves only amount to 50,000 kg in total."
"Fifty thousand kilograms?"
Lan was taken aback, swallowing nervously as he asked, "How much does that cost?"
"Not much, just 500 million berries! I'm sure that's easy for my brother."
Fifty thousand kg of tea for 500 million berries meant it was 10,000 berries per kg!
Lan's expression twitched slightly.
Those teas he drank… well, let's just say they weren't worth 10,000 berries per pound. After taking a sip, he had spat it out and handed it to the butler.
Moreover, shelling out 500 million berries at once was a huge challenge for him.
He hesitated.
But the next second, Jessica's words made him excited.
"Brother, once Grandpa's tea is sold out, I can visit you with a peaceful mind.
"I… I'm mentally prepared.
"I hope my brother will take good care of me when the time comes."
The Den Den Mushi made a coy expression.
"I'll buy them all! I'm heading to Marine Bank right now to send you the money."
Lan suddenly stood up and dashed out the door.
Scenes like this were happening all over the world.
On this day, countless pirates, criminals, and nobles shed tears of sorrow.
Marine Bank's coffers overflowed with berries.