"According to the historical records, there were supposedly three Ancient Weapons capable of destroying the world: the most vicious warship in history, 'Pluton'; 'Uranus,' the 'Heavenly King,' whose appearance and records had never been passed down, leaving only its name; and 'Poseidon,' the 'Sea King.' The latter two sounded steeped in mysticism. Whether they truly existed in this world was impossible to verify. Only 'Pluton' was something I was certain truly existed in this world!"
Crocodile paused there before continuing.
"I once went to Water 7 and learned about the history behind the birth of 'Pluton'! I was also fortunate enough to meet a legendary shipwright and receive some guidance from him!"
"Yet where exactly Pluton, the Ancient Weapon bestowed with the title of 'god' and capable of destroying the world, was located... even no one in Water 7, the place that had once created Pluton, knew..."
"Even when I mentioned 'Pluton,' they only told me it was a legend! Or, even if it wasn't a legend, that warship was a creation from eight hundred years ago. Perhaps it had long vanished into the river of history, sunk in some corner of the world, or perhaps..."
"But I know that a warship granted the title of 'god,' one capable of easily erasing islands, would never be so easily destroyed by the world! It had to be moored somewhere in this world, waiting for someone truly fated, waiting for its true master to command it."
Crocodile sat opposite Shaya and spoke to himself.
"So you're saying that the legendary Ancient Weapon has always been under the World Government's control?! Since the World Government already has information on the Ancient Weapon, what do you need me for? You could just retrieve it yourselves, couldn't you?"
Crocodile stared at Shaya and coldly questioned him.
"Listen to yourself..."
"We Celestial Dragons have controlled the world for eight hundred years..."
"Over those eight hundred years, we've searched every corner of this world no fewer than eight hundred times. We've even cut open and stitched up the world's 'urethra,' examining it over and over hundreds of times. Tell me, is there any secret in this world that we Celestial Dragons don't know?"
As Shaya spoke, he pulled out a cigar and began puffing clouds of smoke.
He blew ring after ring of thick smoke straight at Crocodile's somewhat handsome face...
"Cough, cough, cough..."
"Damn it, someday I'm going to smoke cigars like crazy too!"
Crocodile was badly choked by the thick smoke Shaya exhaled. At that moment, he swore that someday, he too would smoke cigars—hard. The kind where he smoked two at once...
"So after all that, where exactly is Pluton?"
Crocodile looked at Shaya and asked.
"Hehe~"
Upon hearing that, Shaya chuckled softly, then looked through the cabin window and gave the CP0 guards outside a signal that they could leave.
Following Shaya's order...
Before long, CP0 had cleared the entire World Government warship.
At that moment, only Shaya, Doflamingo, and Crocodile remained aboard.
"Wano Country."
Only after everyone had left did Shaya slowly reveal Pluton's true location.
"You said Wano Country? That legendary country of samurai?"
Crocodile froze for a moment. He clearly hadn't expected the legendary Ancient Weapon, Pluton, to be connected to the country of samurai.
"Yes, Pluton sleeps beneath Wano Country."
"To obtain Pluton, Wano Country must open its borders!"
"And there is only one way to make Wano Country open its borders! Completely destroy the enormous walls of stone surrounding Wano Country!"
"Bring Wano Country's water level even with the surrounding sea and release all the accumulated water that has been trapped there for so many years..."
Shaya looked at Crocodile and Doflamingo and spoke softly.
"Hey, hey, hey! You're joking, right?"
"If I remember correctly, Wano Country's barriers are several thousand meters high!"
"Destroying the barriers around Wano Country would be no easier than punching a hole through the Red Line ten thousand meters in the air! That isn't something mere manpower can accomplish..."
Doflamingo was indeed well-informed, and he immediately pointed out the impossibility of what Shaya had said.
"Eh! No matter how high those stone walls are, they're just rocks! That isn't a problem for me at all. Even if pirates have to dig them apart with their bare hands bit by bit, one day they'll break through them. You know, in this Great Pirate Era, there's no shortage of pirates..."
After hearing Doflamingo's words, Shaya lightly waved his hand.
As everyone knew, what the Great Pirate Era lacked least was pirates willing to work. Just like Palworld never lacked Pals who 'loved' working—if you wouldn't do it, plenty of pirates would!
"The real issue is that Wano Country's current ruler is that former apprentice from the Rocks Pirates, the man who ran rampant through the New World when he was only fifteen—the governor of the Beasts Pirates, Kaido! That guy is our biggest obstacle to obtaining Pluton~"
Shaya told the other two that Kaido had occupied Wano Country.
"Kaido is in Wano Country?!"
Crocodile's expression immediately changed. This was clearly the first time he had heard that Kaido had taken over Wano Country.
"..."
Compared to Crocodile, who had been stunned, Doflamingo remained much calmer. From when he had pointed out the issue with the height of Wano Country's barriers to hearing that Kaido occupied Wano Country now, he showed no reaction at all...
Clearly, Doflamingo had already obtained information about Wano Country.
"To obtain the legendary Pluton, I need one of us to infiltrate the Beasts Pirates! Help me get in touch with the original rulers of Wano Country, Oden's faction. Then, when Oden and Kaido fight and both suffer losses, we'll take Wano Country for ourselves and reap all the benefits..."
Shaya explained his plan to Crocodile and Doflamingo.
"Interesting..."
"Still, I'd like to test myself against Kaido. I want to see whether Kaido is stronger, or whether that bastard Bullet is stronger..."
As Crocodile spoke, the corners of his mouth kept rising, and intense fighting spirit flashed in his eyes.
"In that case, let me congratulate us in advance on a pleasant cooperation~"
Shaya smiled at Crocodile.
"Pleasant cooperation~"
Crocodile grinned broadly.
At that moment, Crocodile had already made up his mind. Once he used Shaya to obtain Pluton, he would ditch both Shaya and Doflamingo...
As for Shaya, he had never intended to retrieve the Pluton stored in Wano Country yet.
He was merely using Crocodile's hand to help him kill a few people in Wano Country...
Just as Crocodile had said, if Shaya had a way to retrieve Pluton on his own, why would he need to cooperate with them?
In truth, if Crocodile had been a little calmer, he would have noticed the problem...
Unfortunately, Pluton's temptation was too great, and Crocodile had briefly lost his mind~
"Doflamingo, I have another job that I need you to handle..."
Just after Shaya and Crocodile shook hands with smiles on their faces...
Shaya looked toward Doflamingo beside him and smiled.
"What is it?"
Doflamingo's expression became slightly more alert.
Although Crocodile had failed to notice the problems and loopholes in Shaya's plan, Doflamingo had noticed them. After all, he wasn't particularly interested in the legendary Ancient Weapons! Only someone outside the game could clearly see the flaws on the board...
That was what they meant by those in the game being blind while onlookers saw clearly...
"In recent years, under its current leader Kurozumi Orochi, Wano Country has transformed from an agricultural power into an industrial power!"
"More than eighty percent of the country's farmland has been destroyed and turned into factories! The people are suffering terribly, and most can't even afford to eat..."
Shaya looked at Doflamingo and spoke softly.
"I see, I understand! You mean for me to sell food to those Wano Country commoners who can't afford to eat?"
Doflamingo asked doubtfully after hearing Shaya's words.
"Bullshit! Commoners are meant to be harvested. How could we feed them?"
"If you fill their stomachs, what will we Celestial Dragons eat and drink?"
Shaya glared at Doflamingo and shouted.
"Uh..."
Doflamingo fell silent.
"What I mean is, buy back all the weapons Wano Country is currently selling! However much they sell, we buy!"
"Not only that, we increase demand and tell them that their current production capacity is nowhere near enough to satisfy our appetite. Force them to turn that remaining twenty percent of farmland into factories too..."
"We'll take control of all of Wano Country's food supply, leaving them without even the slightest agricultural capacity. Then won't they have to pay whatever price we set for food?"
"At that point, if they want to keep living and obtain food, they can only spend all the money we paid them for weapons on buying food. As for those weapons, we can stop buying them and say we don't need so many anymore..."
"But their factories will have already produced the weapons. What do they do when production capacity becomes excessive? They'll have only two options. The first is to destroy the excess weapons they made, ensuring that the small number left can still sell at a price. The second is to bundle all the weapons together and sell them cheaply, recovering as much money as possible..."
"If they choose the first option, destroying most of their weapons to ensure the remaining few can still meet the price target, then even though those few weapons can still sell for a good price, the total volume will definitely be nowhere near what it once was!"
"At that point, huge numbers of citizens in their country will lose their jobs. From what I know of Kurozumi Orochi, citizens who lose their jobs and can no longer provide labor are no longer citizens in his eyes. When that happens, we can tell him that besides arms, we also trade in people! They can exchange labor for money. What do you think Kurozumi Orochi will do? He'll happily sell all that surplus labor to us at low prices..."
Shaya paused there.
"Then the next year, we tell Kurozumi Orochi that the World Government's demand for weapons has returned to its previous levels!"
"At that point, Kurozumi Orochi will need massive amounts of labor to produce weapons again! But all the able-bodied adults who could make weapons have already been sold off by him. Even if he immediately forced his citizens to have children, he couldn't produce workers that quickly!"
"If he needs manpower then, he'll have to buy it from us. We'll sell back the people we bought from Wano Country at double the price?"
"Wouldn't that be the same as shorting his entire country's population? Repeat that a few times, and the entire country becomes ours..."
Before Shaya could speak, Doflamingo, who was just as much of a beast as Shaya, continued the thought.
"There's no need to make it so complicated. Who's going to do legitimate business with him? Once Oden dies and the country loses its spiritual pillar, the entire country will already be ours..."
"Once Oden dies, we'll sell Wano Country to Kaido in the name of the World Government and make Kaido Wano Country's king, recognized by the World Government..."
"As for Kurozumi Orochi? What the hell is he? Does he deserve to do business with us? While that fool is still in power over the next few years, we'll hollow out all of Wano Country. Then we'll simply promise Kaido an empty shell. Once Kaido realizes Wano Country is empty of both people and wealth and abandons it, we'll drill a hole through the surrounding stone walls and kill the chicken for its eggs, taking out the Pluton hidden beneath Wano Country! Let me make this clear: I want Wano Country's money, and I want its people too. We want its abundant Seastone mines! Even the Pluton underground can only belong to us..."
As Shaya spoke, a disdainful smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
He wanted to destroy Wano Country itself...
As for its people, they would all be packed up and sent to factories as slave labor!
Doflamingo was more familiar than Shaya with the business of factory slave labor!
He could just ask Doflamingo about his toy factory...
That was far crueler than the compounds in northern Myanmar~
"Brother Shaya! Brilliant!"
Doflamingo's expression turned serious.
Only then did Doflamingo finally begin to take Shaya seriously. There were many people in this world stronger than Doflamingo, but there weren't many who were even more beastly than him...
Shaya was one of them...
"Brother Shaya! Hard!"
At that moment, Crocodile picked up a wine glass from the tea table and sincerely spoke to Shaya. It had to be said, Shaya's methods were vicious and ruthless...
"Eh! My two brothers are both brilliant and hard!"
Shaya waved at Doflamingo and Crocodile and chuckled.
"Hahahaha..."
For a time, cheerful laughter continually echoed through the small cabin.
Shaya, Doflamingo, and Crocodile—three young schemers—drank and laughed as they decided Wano Country's fate~
But only the three of them knew what they were truly thinking...
Calling it a case of each harboring their own ulterior motives would not be an exaggeration...
"Click~"
Just then, the cabin door suddenly opened...
Stussy, her legs straight and clad in leopard print, walked in carrying a steaming plate of dumplings.
"This is called dumplings. They taste delicious!"
"There's an old saying in the Flower Country: nothing tastes better than dumplings, nothing is more fun than..."
"I had Stussy cook seven first. Let's eat seven first, then cook another seven after that!"
"These first seven are for my two brothers!"
Shaya looked at the dumplings on the table and spoke softly.
"There's some significance to that?"
Doflamingo and Crocodile exchanged glances and asked doubtfully.
"First Seven, good! First Seven is especially good..."
Shaya merely smiled lightly.
At that moment, Doflamingo and Crocodile did not understand what Shaya meant by First Seven. It was not until many years later, when Shaya personally sent the two of them into the great deep-sea prison...
Looking at Monet, Sugar, and BABY-5 on his left; Viola, Nico Robin, and Michino on his right; with Alabasta Kingdom's princess Vivi and Dressrosa's princess Violet sitting on his lap, they finally understood. They cursed Shaya for killing the donkey after it had turned the millstone, calling him an absolute beast!
A four-thousand-word chapter! Brothers, please keep reading!
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