"Dressrosa... the Land of Love, Passion, and Toys... He actually picked a place like that. What's that old geezer Umit up to? Does it have something to do with Joker? Or... Beast?"
"But it probably has nothing to do with Beast. Umit and Beast aren't on friendly terms."
Of the four Pirate Emperors, Umit had hitched his wagon to Big Mom. He attended every tea party she held.
As it happened, the Dark World's bigwigs were all on closer terms with Big Mom, the Mad Emperor. They kept their distance from the other three Pirate Emperors. It wasn't that they were crazy enough to flock to the side of an emperor who would even kill her own sons when she went mad.
In fact,
it wasn't that they were crazy. They simply had no other choice.
Of the four Pirate Emperors, Whitebeard and Red-Haired weren't really worthy of the name "pirate." They never robbed or pillaged. Their worst crime was collecting protection money in their territories. These two Pirate Emperors had their own principles and couldn't stomach the Dark World's filth. The World Government might overlook many shady businesses, but the two of them could meddle whenever the mood struck.
With those two out of the running, that left Big Mom and Beast. Well, strictly speaking, both were choices with a few screws loose.
But what could they do? They had no other options!
In the end, the Dark World's bigwigs also ruled out Beast, who preferred to act alone. One by one, they could only awkwardly prostrate themselves at the feet of Big Mom, the Mad Emperor, to avoid drawing the attention of the other three emperors.
"Al, are you really planning to go next month?"
"Of course. They invited me by name. It'd be pretty rude not to go."
"I swear, you...!"
The king of the Ekmondo Kingdom helplessly pointed a finger at Aleus.
"That's Deep Current Umit we're talking about. Do you think he's some third-rate nobody like Ghost Sword or Black Beast? That old Umit is famous for having no shame. He'll do anything, no matter how vile or despicable, if there's profit in it. And... don't let the fact that he's stayed out of the limelight all these years fool you. Anyone who's dared to underestimate him has come to a bad end."
They were in the palace garden.
After defeating the Amento Kingdom's fleet, reclaiming the Toothed Whale Sea Area, and sending his retainers to strike at Umit's subordinate forces, Aleus had sailed home with his fleet. He'd returned to the kingdom's capital, Arabica, and the Royal Palace.
The weather was fine, with not a cloud in the sky.
On top of the good news of Aleus's triumphant return, a grand banquet had been held for the people of the capital. Afterward, a small family banquet was held in the palace.
It was called a family banquet, but there weren't many members of the Sokachio Family in the palace.
Leaving aside the family members on the Red Line Continent, the only ones on Bikahi Island were Aleus's parents, younger brother, and younger sister. There were just five of them in all, so "small" really was the right word.
"Father, don't worry. Put it this way: short of the Four Emperors, the Three Admirals, or monsters like Hawk Eyes, I honestly can't think of anyone who could give your son a hard time." Aleus picked up a bright red apple from the fruit platter and took a big bite.
It was a tradition of the Sokachio Family never to use a distant-sounding title like "Your Majesty" for their parents. They called each other father, mother, dad, mom, older brother, older sister... In a harsh place like the New World, it would be too bleak if you couldn't even be close with your family.
"Al, be careful not to bite your tongue when you're bragging."
Burwell was getting a headache. His son was great in every way, but sometimes his confidence bordered on arrogance. No, it was probably fair to say he was just plain arrogant.
"I'd like to see how strong a wind it would take to make me bite my tongue."
Aleus kept sparring with his father as he ate his apple.
Burwell glared at his unfilial son, then angrily grabbed a pear and began chewing in silence. It wasn't that he lacked authority as a father; his son was simply too outstanding. Aside from a little arrogance, he couldn't find anything wrong with him. It wasn't as if he could just scold him for no reason.
He was a reasonable father, not a tyrant.
"Father, Dressrosa... do you have any advice about the place?" Being a dutiful son, Aleus took the initiative to help his father out, despite having been the one to talk back in the first place.
"Dressrosa, huh!"
Burwell chewed the pear.
"The royal family there used to be the Riku Family. Five years ago, Joker appeared in Dressrosa, and the Riku Family fell from power. The Donquixote Family became the new rulers. But your grandfather once said that Dressrosa had originally been the Donquixote Family's kingdom... Of course, that history doesn't mean much.
"Nowadays, Dressrosa is Joker's territory. The man is a Shichibukai, a broker in the Dark World, and one of its major players in his own right. He controls the New World's arms trade, and weapons are incredibly profitable—more profitable than our coffee beans... Anyway, he does business with both sides of the law, and he's a real freak. Best not to provoke him if you can help it. That's what your grandfather told me."
Burwell took another bite of his pear, then glanced sideways at Aleus.
"If you're going... I don't have much to say. These days, you don't seem to think anyone's worth your attention except the Four Emperors and the Three Admirals."
"I'm telling the truth!"
Aleus insisted.
"I know you're telling the truth. That's why I'm leaving you alone. Otherwise, I'd have locked you up ages ago!" Burwell glared at his unfilial son again and tossed the pear core into the trash. "When are you planning to leave? And, Al, are you really going to kill Umit?"
"Of course. If I don't kill him, how am I supposed to take over his legacy?"
Aleus caught his younger brother as he came running over. He tossed the boy into the air like a ball, caught him, and repeated the routine, making his six-year-old brother giggle nonstop.
"Umit's shipping company? Ah! That is tempting! Say, Al, why don't I abdicate right now? I'm still in good shape, so I could go see Paradise and the Four Seas. Once I move to the Red Line Continent, I probably won't get another chance."
"Don't joke around. If you become king, you can't just run off wherever you want. Besides, you were already thirty when you took the throne. You've got to work for at least another ten or fifteen years."
Aleus firmly rejected his father's impractical suggestion. Being king... a prince had so much more freedom. Besides, the papers had only just given him the nickname "Black Prince." If he took the throne, wouldn't he have to change it to "Black King"?
That didn't sound... very good!
Better to skip straight to "Black Emperor" someday. That sounded much cooler!
"...Tch!"
Burwell clicked his tongue in disappointment.
He'd meant what he'd said.
When he was young, he'd had his share of wild days as a prince, but he'd been confined to the New World. He'd never had the chance to see the sights of Paradise or the Four Seas. If he could, he really did want to visit them.
"By the way, when are you actually planning to leave?"
"In a couple of days. It's only the start of the month, so there's no need to rush. If I go too early and end up fighting Joker by accident, I'm afraid Umit will die laughing." Aleus ended the game with his brother and set the dizzy boy down. The little fellow staggered along as if he were drunk.
"..."
Burwell rolled his eyes. "Are you planning to take over Joker's arms business too?"
"Not for now. Let's talk about that after I take over Umit's shipping company. More than the arms business, I'm interested in Joker's status as a Shichibukai... Father, what if I got myself a Shichibukai title too?"
"A Shichibukai? What would you want that title for? Our family doesn't even engage in piracy. Besides, we're already a World Government Member State. There's no need to wrap ourselves in that sort of tiger skin, is there?" Burwell looked at his son, who was always coming up with new schemes, with a pained expression.
"Isn't it because we're taking over Umit's shipping company? Don't you think the Shichibukai title would be more useful than our family's reputation?"
Aleus rubbed his chin. The more he thought about it, the more his sudden idea seemed workable. "There are plenty of World Government Member States, but there are only seven Shichibukai. Scarcity makes things valuable. If we could get that protection, maybe we could expand our family business into Paradise."
"You've got a nice dream, but the World Government isn't that easy to fool. Even your grandfather working for the World Government wouldn't help. He doesn't have the authority to make you a Shichibukai. And besides, the Shichibukai are already at full strength. Where do you think you'd find an opening?"
"Where there's a will, there's a way. Worst case... we kill one of the Shichibukai and make room, right?"
Aleus said it casually.
"...Joker's out of the question. He's very closely connected to Beast. I don't know how he got involved with him, but it's best not to test it. If we provoke that unkillable monster, our whole family may have to move to the Red Line Continent and scrape by there."
"I told you, for now I'm only planning to deal with Umit. I don't intend to reach for anything else before I've taken over all of Umit's forces."
"Good. You can't eat a whole fat man in one bite. There's no need to rush. If you can take it slowly, don't hurry."
Before you continue