The King of Maritime Transport's Reaction

A massive sea chart hung on the wall.

It was so enormous that the vast New World was contained within it, and though many regions remained shrouded in mist and unexplored, this map already marked every surveyed area in the New World.

Just this single chart, if taken out, could sell for an astronomical price.

Yet, compared to the chart itself, the dense web of routes recorded on it was the true inexhaustible gold mine, with mountains of gold and seas of silver flowing through every route at all times.

This was the fruit of Lord Umit's half-lifetime of effort.

The specific data of each route, the detailed conditions of every port, the wind direction, waves, tides, currents, reefs, and drift ice of each sea area—these pieces of information formed the flesh and bones of the Black Water Association, propping up the King of Maritime Transport's position in the New World.

"What's going on with the Dallama Kingdom? Why haven't I seen the latest report from the Dallama Kingdom Shipping Company? And Aliye too—where's their report? Why isn't there one?"

Umit stared at his bowed secretaries with eyes cold enough to make one forget the sweltering climate of a summer island, as if they had fallen into the depths of an ice cellar.

He had a massive secretarial corps.

As the King of Maritime Transport in the New World, he couldn't possibly steer the Black Water Association, this super commercial battleship, single-handedly. Both energy and time were limited; he needed enough hands to help him control this super commercial battleship.

A secretarial corps of over fifty people was his tentacle for controlling his vessel.

"Can someone tell me? What exactly happened?"

Umit asked again.

The uniquely shaped, oversized deep-blue hat with an anchor pattern on his head trembled slightly as he looked around.

The secretaries didn't stay silent for long. After a silent exchange of glances, someone stepped forward and bowed respectfully before Umit's desk. "Lord Umit, we haven't received specific reports from below yet. So far, only fragmented information..."

"Tell me the conclusion!"

Umit stared at the secretary who had stepped forward.

"It's... the Ekmondo Kingdom." The secretary gritted his teeth and said the name.

As secretaries under Umit, they knew better than anyone his ambitions and actions. In fact, the specific plan against the Ekmondo Kingdom was their collective brainchild—using the Amento Kingdom as a disguise to deceive the Whitebeard Pirates' gaze, then, after creating a fait accompli, soothing the Whitebeard Pirates' anger with heads and heavy gold.

The plan wasn't particularly ingenious, but it had the merit of being straightforward and easy to execute.

Unfortunately, the plan only got its start, not its finish.

The [Black Prince] Sokachio Aleus made his name in a single battle, and all their efforts and sacrifices became stepping stones for Aleus, helping this previously obscure prince carve out a place for himself in the New World, teeming with the strong.

The message brought back by Trick Sword Venkura was still deeply etched in their hearts.

After all, it had been nearly a decade since anyone dared to say to Umit, "Before I personally take your head, please keep my trophy safe! Don't lose it!"—such an arrogant declaration.

What was most infuriating was that Venkura, that cowardly waste, had been scared out of his wits, going on and on before Lord Umit about Aleus's terror, exhausting his meager vocabulary until he'd nearly wrung his brains dry.

Exaggerating the enemy's strength to cover up one's own incompetence—such foolish behavior was hardly rare.

But they never expected that Venkura, once so highly anticipated, would be so fragile under pressure, painting the enemy as terrifying as one of the Four Emperors... it almost made one laugh, and after the laughter came deep disappointment.

Venkura was still locked up in the cells!

And now, they had to bring up that unpleasant name, the Ekmondo Kingdom, again.

"The Ekmondo Kingdom... so, this is retaliation?"

Once he understood who was behind it, Umit's anger actually subsided. Seventy percent of his anger came from the unknown; the fear of the unknown was the greatest fear. As long as he could identify the enemy's true identity, that fear would naturally vanish.

Compared to the unknown, what was the fear of the known?

Unless the one coming for him was a monster like the Four Emperors, the Navy's Three Admirals, or Hawk Eyes.

Otherwise, for him, nothing else was worth fearing.

He was the King of Maritime Transport, one of the undisputed titans of the Dark World.

"I was planning to let them off for the sake of Whitebeard's flag, but since you're asking for trouble... then you can only blame yourselves for not knowing when to stop." Umit tugged at his curly beard, his icy eyes filled with a chilling murderous intent.

Ever since the battle at Whale Tail Island hit the news, the intelligence about his meddling in the Whitebeard territory's conflicts had spread, forcing him to focus on the Whitebeard Pirates, warily guarding against their thunderous wrath.

But instead of the Whitebeard Pirates' fury, he got bitten by the Ekmondo Kingdom, a little dog he hadn't even bothered to notice.

"Contact..."

Umit started to speak, then stopped.

Who should he contact?

Venkura wasn't the strongest among the hidden cards he kept, but he was definitely in the top five. Seeing Venkura reduced to that pathetic, confidence-shattered state said something about the Ekmondo Kingdom... no, about the [Black Prince] Sokachio Aleus—he wasn't just a bloodthirsty butcher.

Experts on par with Venkura probably wouldn't be of much use, but those far above him... would he have to act personally?

Also, he had to consider what the Whitebeard Pirates would do if he continued to move against the Ekmondo Kingdom—would they ignore it, or would they think he was pushing his luck?

This made him realize that his murderous intent was somewhat too presumptuous.

The New World was just that complicated.

The New World was the New World of the Four Emperors—not the domain of a single Pirate Emperor, but of four. Even a Pirate Emperor couldn't truly act as they pleased. Visible and invisible constraints existed around everyone, including himself, a magnate of the Dark World.

No one was truly free to do as they pleased, to act with reckless abandon.

Even Big Mom, that mad emperor who would conquer a country for sweets, no matter how much she coveted Fish-Man Island's pastries and fish-men, was still restraining her desires and avoiding that island sheltered by Whitebeard.

"Whitebeard... Since I can't just barge in on him, then... let's have him come to me!" Lord Umit stared at the massive sea chart on the wall. "Spread the word that I'll be meeting Joker in Dressrosa mid-next month. At the same time, send an invitation to our Black Prince, saying..."

As a self-made man of ambition.

Lord Umit had never lacked courage and decisiveness.

He didn't hesitate even to use himself as bait. Risk and opportunity coexisted—a truth he understood better than anyone. Those unwilling to pay the price could never reap sufficient rewards. If he wanted to eliminate Aleus, that pest trying to destroy his 'Maritime Kingdom,' in the fastest and most effective way, he naturally had to bear the corresponding risks.

"Say I'll be waiting for him in Dressrosa. I'm giving him a chance to kill me. If he wants the spoils... how can he get them without fighting?" Lord Umit's gaze remained fixed on the sea chart.

That unwavering stare.

Was as if he were looking at his own life.

And indeed it was. This sea chart, these dense routes—this was his life. The better part of his existence had been poured entirely into these shipping lanes.

"If he wants my head, let him come!"

He muttered to himself.

The secretaries stirred with unease.

They disapproved of Lord Umit putting himself in danger, especially in Dressrosa, Joker's den. That insatiable, treacherous scoundrel Joker was far more dangerous than Aleus, whose courage to accept the invitation was uncertain.

"Lord Umit, Joker..."

"Don't worry. Don't underestimate that scumbag's survival instincts."

Lord Umit cut off his secretaries' protests.

As fellow magnates of the Dark World, Joker's ambition was an open secret. This former Celestial Dragon, now a Shichibukai, had always followed his own theory of "justice always prevails." He firmly believed that only the final victor could define "justice," and he knew well that with his current strength, he couldn't be that final victor.

So.

He wouldn't maliciously break the existing rules.

On the contrary, to maintain his position of straddling both the underworld and the legitimate world, he would do his utmost to preserve the current order. Before the so-called "new era" he anticipated arrived, he wouldn't actively destroy this old one.

That was precisely why Lord Umit had chosen Dressrosa.

If necessary, by paying a certain price, he might even borrow Joker's power.

Of course.

If Aleus didn't show up in Dressrosa next month... he would simply find another way to deal with this nuisance. His Maritime Kingdom wasn't something a single tiny pest could destroy so easily.