Royal Palace Banquet

"Dressrosa... a land of love, passion, and toys... why would that old geezer Umit pick a place like this? What scheme is he cooking up? Is it related to Joker? Or... the Beast?"

"But it shouldn't have anything to do with the Beast—Umit and the Beasts have no connection."

Among the four Pirate Emperors, the one Umit latched onto was Big Mom. He attends every tea party she hosts.

Come to think of it, all these big shots of the Dark World are closer to that mad Emperor Big Mom, keeping the other three Pirate Emperors at a respectful distance. It's not that everyone's brains are scrambled, desperate to cozy up to a mad Emperor who'd even kill her own children when she loses it.

In truth, it's not that their brains are faulty—it's that they have no choice.

Of the four Pirate Emperors, Whitebeard and Red-Haired honestly don't deserve the title of 'pirate.' They never engage in arson or plunder; their worst crime is collecting protection money from their territories. These two Emperors, who have their own bottom lines, can't tolerate the filth of the Dark World. There are plenty of shady businesses the World Government might not bother with, but these two Emperors, when the mood strikes, love to meddle.

Cross those two off, and you're left with Big Mom and the Beast. Well, strictly speaking, both are choices with holes in their heads.

But what can you do? They've got no other options!

In the end, the Beast, who prefers to act alone, gets scratched off the list by the Dark World's big shots too. One by one, they reluctantly grovel at the feet of that mad Emperor Big Mom, just to avoid the gaze of the other three Emperors.

"Aleus, next month—are you really planning to go?"

"Of course. They've invited me by name. It'd be rude not to show up."

"I swear, you!"

His Majesty the King of the Ekmondo Kingdom helplessly pointed a finger at Aleus through the air.

"That's Deep Current Umit we're talking about. You think he's some small fry like Ghost Sword or Black Beast? That old bastard Umit is infamous for being shameless. For profit, he'll do anything, no matter how filthy or despicable. And... don't think just because he hasn't been in the spotlight for years that you can underestimate him. No one who's looked down on him has come out well."

This was the palace garden.

After defeating the Amento Kingdom's fleet, reclaiming the Toothed Whale Sea Area, and sending his Aides to strike at Umit's subordinate forces, Aleus had led the fleet back home, returning to the capital Arabica and the palace.

Today, the weather was fine, with clear skies and not a cloud in sight.

On top of that, with the good news of Aleus's victorious return, after a grand feast benefiting all the city's citizens, a small family banquet was held in the palace.

Call it a family banquet, but the Sokachio Family didn't have many people in the palace.

Not counting the clan members on the Red Line Continent, on Bikahi Island alone there were only Aleus's parents, his younger brother, and his younger sister—five people in total. It really could only be described as 'small.'

"Father, just relax. Let me put it this way: as long as it's not a monster on the level of the Four Emperors, the Three Admirals, or Hawk Eyes, your son isn't afraid of anyone giving me trouble." Aleus grabbed a big red apple from the fruit platter and took a fierce bite.

This was a tradition of the Sokachio Family—they never used formal titles like 'Your Majesty' that felt distant. Father, mother, dad, mom, older brother, older sister... In a harsh land like the New World, if you couldn't even be close to your family, life would be too bleak.

"Aleus, be careful you don't bite off more than you can chew with all that big talk."

Burwell's head ached. This son of his was good in every way, except sometimes his confidence bordered on arrogance—no, this was outright arrogance, wasn't it?

"I'd love to see just how strong the wind has to be to make me bite off more than I can chew."

Eating his apple, Aleus kept bantering with his father.

Burwell glared at his unfilial son, grabbed a pear in a huff, and gnawed on it silently. It wasn't that he lacked authority as a father—it was just that his son was too outstanding. Aside from a bit of arrogance, he couldn't find any other flaws. He couldn't just scold him without reason, could he?

He was a reasonable father, not some dictator.

"Father, Dressrosa... any advice on that place?" As a dutiful son, Aleus proactively bailed his dad out, even if it was the same dutiful son who'd just been challenging Burwell.

"Dressrosa, huh."

Burwell chewed on the pear's flesh.

"The royal family there was originally the Riku Family. Five years ago, Joker showed up in Dressrosa, and the Riku Family fell from the throne. The Donquixote Family became the new kings of Dressrosa. But your grandfather once said Dressrosa was originally the Donquixote Family's country... Of course, that history doesn't matter much.

Now, Dressrosa is Joker's turf. That guy Joker is a Shichibukai, a broker in the Dark World, and one of its big shots himself. He controls the weapons trade in the New World. Weapons are super profitable—even more lucrative than our coffee beans... Anyway, that guy walks both sides of the law, and his personality is pretty twisted. If you can avoid him, it's best not to provoke him. That's what your grandfather told me."

With that, Burwell took another bite of the pear and glanced sideways.

"If you go... I don't have much to say. After all, you, kid, don't have anyone in your sights except the Four Emperors and the Three Admirals now."

"I'm just stating facts!"

Aleus emphasized.

"It's because I know you're stating facts that I'm not stopping you. Otherwise, I'd have locked you up long ago!" Burwell glared at his unfilial son again and tossed the pear core into the trash. "When do you plan to leave? And, Aleus, are you really going to take out Umit?"

"Of course. If I don't take him out, how do I inherit his legacy?"

Aleus reached out to catch his little brother, who came charging at him, tossed him into the air like a ball, caught him, and repeated the cycle, making his six-year-old brother giggle nonstop.

"His shipping company? Ah, that is tempting... Hey, Aleus, how about I abdicate right now? While I can still move, I could go play in Paradise and the Four Seas. Otherwise, once I head to the Red Line Continent, I probably won't get another chance."

"Don't joke around. Once you're king, you can't just run off and play wherever you want. Besides, you were already thirty when you took the throne. You've got to stick it out for at least another ten or twenty years."

Aleus firmly rejected his father's unreliable suggestion. Being king... how could that compare to being a prince? And now the papers had just given him the nickname 'Black Prince.' If he ascended the throne, wouldn't it change to 'Black King'?

Not... very catchy, was it?

Better to go straight to 'Black Emperor' later—that sounded cooler!

"...Tch!"

Burwell clicked his tongue in regret.

He'd been serious just now.

When he was young, as a prince, he'd had his wild days too, but back then his range was limited to the New World. He'd never had the chance to see the sights of Paradise and the Four Seas. If he could, he really wanted to go check them out.

"By the way, when exactly are you planning to set out?"

"In another two days! It's only the start of the month, no need to rush. If I go too early and end up fighting Joker by accident, I'm afraid Umit will laugh himself to death." Aleus ended the game between brothers, setting down his dizzy younger sibling and watching the little guy stagger along the road like he was drunk.

"..."

Burwell rolled his eyes. "You're not thinking of taking over Joker's arms business too, are you?"

"No plans for that yet. Let's wait until I've taken over Umit's shipping company! Compared to the arms trade, I'm more interested in Joker's identity as a Shichibukai... Father, how about I get myself a Shichibukai title too?"

"Shichibukai? What do you want that title for? Our family doesn't run a pirate operation. Besides, we're already a member state of the World Government—there's no need to borrow that kind of false prestige, is there?" Burwell looked at his son, who always loved stirring up trouble, with a headache.

"Isn't this about taking over Umit's shipping company? Compared to our family's reputation, don't you think the Shichibukai name would be more useful?"

Aleus pinched his chin, the more he thought about it, the more feasible this sudden idea seemed. "After all, there are plenty of World Government member states, but only seven Shichibukai. Rarity makes value. If I could really get that layer of prestige, our family's business might even expand into Paradise."

"You're thinking pretty big, but do you really think the World Government is that easy to fool? Even if Grandfather works for them, it won't help. He doesn't have the authority to appoint you as a Shichibukai. Besides, the current Shichibukai roster is already full—where's the room for you to squeeze in?"

"Where there's a will, there's a way. Worst case... I kill one Shichibukai and free up a spot, right?"

Aleus said lightly.

"...Joker won't do. He has a very close relationship with the Beast. I don't know how he got tangled up with them, but it's best not to test it. If you really provoke that unkillable monster, our family might have to pack up and move to the Red Line Continent to scrape by."

"I already told you, for now I'm only planning to deal with Umit. Before I fully take over his forces, I don't intend to touch anything else."

"Good. You can't get fat on one bite. There's no rush with this kind of thing—if you can take it slow, don't hurry."