Dolypa Kingdom

By then, Julian's Mud Dragon Pirates had been sailing at sea for nineteen days. After Julian had plundered Edia Kingdom last time, he was now preparing to head to the next World Government-affiliated kingdom. He had cleaned out Edia Kingdom too thoroughly, so he was embarrassed to remain there and could only continue onward to try his luck in the next kingdom.

It was already the end of the year, with only two days left until the New Year. It was Marine Year 1497, and people in this world basically did not celebrate the New Year. Julian guessed that perhaps only the Flower Country in the North Blue celebrated it. Judging by the route ahead, it would take them about half a day to reach Dolypa Island. Seeing the timing, Julian decided to let the crew celebrate the New Year in Dolypa Kingdom.

This was also Julian's first New Year in this world. He had been here for over seven months and had spent more than four months with George, Pekki, Leo, Rose, and the others. He also cherished the friendship he had built with the later Division Captains, Allison, Pierre, and Herbert. These people were one hundred percent loyal to Julian and one hundred percent devoted to the Mud Dragon Pirates. This was all thanks to Julian's clever maneuvers.

The ship's rules and training, as well as his usual way of dealing with people, made him friendly and approachable toward others. He handed out Berries by the fistful, often trained alongside everyone, and mostly encouraged his crew in their daily lives. He had too many virtues to count. Every Division Captain had received Julian's care, and he freely gave out food and Berries. Julian had learned this from Cao Cao's methods of winning people over in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and he had not only learned it but surpassed it.

Over the past few days, Julian had been training with everyone, and Alice had joined them as well. With the Earth Weight-Bearing Suit letting them overtake others on the curve, the other Division Captains had all gained something. Julian also had Alice turn the Snake Kiss Orchids into medicine for the Division Captains to use every night to relieve fatigue.

Why not give it to the other crew members? Mainly because the Snake Kiss Orchids had a low yield. Although they had been transplanted onto the ship and Julian had covered them with large amounts of excellent, fertile soil, there was nothing he could do. Snake Kiss Orchids were simply that rare.

Julian looked at the crew training before him and said, "Everyone, stop training for today. We'll reach Dolypa Kingdom this afternoon, and the New Year is in two days. Pablo, give all the brothers double pay today so they can have a good New Year." Everyone was somewhat confused about what celebrating the New Year meant.

Julian said, "My hometown has a custom. During the New Year, we take a few days off and get double pay. Take the money and go into town for some good food and nice clothes. Let everyone have some fun." George said, "Captain, your hometown sounds wonderful. You even have a New Year custom." Then he burst into laughter, and the other crew members laughed as well.

Pekki asked, "Captain, will we celebrate the New Year every year from now on?" Julian smiled. "Of course we will. The brothers should have a good time together." Julian added, "We'll hold a banquet on the night of the New Year."

Julian then told everyone, "Keep a low profile when you enter the city. This is also a World Government-affiliated kingdom." He was also planning to pay a visit to King Dopa's Castle.

Julian was planning to steal from the castle. If they robbed it openly, they would alert the Marines. Julian did not want to go to war with the Marines. If Marine Headquarters mobilized, Julian was still wary of that. He truly could not defeat those Marine Headquarters Admirals.

Julian looked at his company and had no intention of dragging his employees into the grave. Especially at this stage, being too conspicuous clearly did not fit Julian's principle of steady development. He said again, "Everyone, go rest first."

The navigator had already chosen the landing point, and Julian trusted Garud greatly. Returning to his room, Julian said to Alice and Beatrice, "We'll go into the city and look around later." Alice said, "We can take a good look around the island and see if there's anything nice." Looking at Alice's faint anticipation, Julian said, "Take money yourself if there's something you want to buy. Take as much as you want. No need to be polite." Beatrice said, "We're only looking around. There's no need to spend too much."

Julian said, "It's no big deal. Take your time looking around, we have plenty of time." Alice said, "All right." The Mud Dragon Pirates' twelve ships had reached the docks. All the ships slowly pulled into a huge harbor. Julian said, "Lower all the flags. All helmsmen, lower the Mud Dragon flags."

Julian discovered that the island was roughly sixty thousand square kilometers in area, with a population of over 1.2 million. King Dopa Sart was in his fifties. Julian looked around the docks for other pirate crews, but he did not see any other pirate crews there.

Julian was not planning to cause trouble yet. They still needed to stay in this kingdom for a few days. He took the two women and several Division Captains ashore, heading toward the docks. George surveyed the surroundings and said, "This dock leads to the kingdom's main city, but it's more than a ten-minute walk."

Julian gave everyone leave to go shopping in Dolypa Kingdom's main city. He left part of the logistics personnel behind to guard the ships, along with two Squad Leaders.

The island had fifteen docks and was a highly developed commercial nation. The island was ruled by a king and nobles, with little difference from the affiliated kingdoms they had encountered before, except that it had more people and more nobles.

Julian told the crew not to spread out too far, especially the ship doctors and nurses. He directly assigned First Division Captain George to protect Rose's ship doctors and nurses. George and Rose would act together.

Julian took Beatrice and Alice to the commercial main city to begin shopping. He had brought out more than a billion Berries, intending to buy supplies. What should he buy first? Naturally, it would be the Mud Dragon Pirates' uniform clothing.

Julian first found a large shopping center specializing in clothing. He found a merchant and began ordering custom clothes: two hundred yellow cape coats with a dragon head emblem on the back, one thousand epaulets, and two thousand large yellow dragon head buttons.

Julian intended to distribute them to the other Division Captains, Squadron Captains, and Squad Leaders. Division Captain epaulets would have three dragon head buttons, Squadron Captain epaulets would have two, and Squad Leader epaulets would have one. Those without positions would wear yellow suits. Julian also ordered two thousand yellow suits, five hundred nurse uniforms, and other types of employee uniforms.

Julian asked the owner how long it would take to deliver the goods. The owner, a middle-aged man in his forties, said, "About five days. We have many workers here making clothes. Sir, do you need any other garments?" Julian could not be bothered with more trouble and said, "Just these. If you can rush out one hundred yellow cape coats and more yellow suits within five days, I'll take them all."

The middle-aged owner said, "Don't worry, sir. Our workers are very skilled. We can definitely make these clothes." Julian asked, "How much?" The owner said, "Ten million in total. If you think that's too expensive, sir, we can give you a discount." Julian said, "Ten million it is. I'll pay you directly next time." The owner said, "Don't worry, sir. Come collect the goods in five days."

Julian wanted standardized clothing so they would look more imposing. He wanted his Mud Dragon Pirates to look like a warlord force rather than pirates. Was there anything more intimidating these days than uniform clothing? Julian thought to himself, When we invade Sky Island with a force like this, won't those little-winged Skypieans surrender the moment they see our presence?

Julian was very satisfied with his masterpiece. The owner said, "Sir, could you pay two million Berries as a deposit first?" Julian immediately handed over the money and said, "Money is a small matter. Just prepare the goods." The middle-aged owner beamed and said, "Rest assured, sir. Our goods are the best around here."

Julian left the market and took Alice and Beatrice shopping. He watched the two women buy things and paid directly. They bought women's clothes, shoes, and cosmetics. Julian paid for everything at once, then stored it all inside his body. Julian thought to himself, My Earth-Earth Fruit really is convenient.

Julian, Alice, and Beatrice arrived at a bookstore. Alice and Beatrice began looking for interesting books. Curious now that he had finally found a bookstore, Julian asked the owner, "What books do you have here?" The bookstore owner smiled and said, "We have Complete Maritime Knowledge, Legends of the Sea's Brave, comics, and Legends of Adventurers."

Julian thought to himself, They're basically just novels. Julian found them boring, all boasting about how brave this person or that person was. He asked, "Boss, do you have any ancient books, manuals, or treasure maps? The price is negotiable." The bookstore owner directly led Julian upstairs and took out several manuals.

Julian looked at the manuals before him and smiled inwardly. One was a training manual for the Lightning Fist technique. The second was an unnamed manual. The third was an Armament Haki training manual. The owner was already quite old and did not understand the value of these things, giving Julian the chance to find a bargain.

Julian asked, "How much for all of them?" Seeing how easy Julian was to fleece, the owner said, "Five million Berries, and they're all yours." Julian immediately paid and took the three manuals. Both Julian and the bookstore owner smiled, as though each had profited from the other. Julian looked through the manuals and could tell that Lightning Fist was a powerful fist technique. Once mastered, it allowed one's fists to unleash powerful strikes with lightning-like speed and force, making it highly suitable for close combat.

As for the second unnamed manual, it contained records of various flowers, grasses, and trees. The third Armament Haki training manual made Julian think, Amazing. It was written by a rather formidable Armament Haki expert and contains his insights into training Armament Haki.

Julian looked at Beatrice and Alice and asked, "Have either of you found anything else you like?" Alice said, "No." Beatrice had bought several novels: The King and the Princess, The Voyager's Journey, and The Tale of the Adventuring Hero.

Julian glanced at them and thought, These count as novels? Every one has the same beginning and ending. Julian grumbled inwardly, Any random novel from my previous life could crush these. They're truly outdated.

Julian thought, Getting these three manuals was an incredible profit. He asked several street vendors for the location of King's Castle. Once Julian knew where the king's castle was, he intended to steal from it next time. He also asked whether there was a huge shopping center or an Auction House nearby.

Julian learned that this kingdom indeed had an Auction House, and an auction would be held five nights later. He also learned that a Devil Fruit might be auctioned there. Julian thought to himself, Not bad. I, Julian, will take this job. Satisfied, Julian returned to the ship with the two women. This was not yet the Great Age of Pirates, so there were not many pirates.