The Fortune on Shirahoshi

Time flew by like a white steed passing through a crack.

Sea Circle Calendar 1522 had quietly arrived.

Over the past year or so, the Holy Knights had been locked in constant battles of wits and blood with the D Alliance and the Revolutionary Army on the Grand Line.

The Five Elders remained stationed in Mary Geoise, feigning civility with Wang Shi while clashing in secret, barely maintaining a surface-level balance.

The World Government's Immortal Corps and the World Alliance's Martial Merit Idol Group each campaigned through North Blue and West Blue, subjugating wavering allied nations and securing the flow of Heavenly Tribute.

Now, only South Blue, which was under the World Government's absolute control, and East Blue, divided up and ruled by the Goa Empire, remained as the world's only peaceful regions.

The Three Emperor Alliance had unified the middle and latter sections of the New World, while remaining locked in a prolonged standoff with Marine Headquarters in its first half.

The powerhouses of Marine Headquarters and the Goa Empire had even taken time to wipe out Great News Morgans, Drug Peclo, of the Underworld.

They eradicated the slave-catching trade, the organ-trafficking trade, the assassin trade...

Led by Doflamingo, the underground broker emperor, Feld the King of Usury, Umit the Deep Sea King, Giberson the Storage King, and the other underworld emperors all paid Wang Shi a hefty protection fee.

Big News Morgans and Stussy, the Queen of the Pleasure District, went without saying.

Thus, the Underworld continued to serve as a gray zone between the World Government, the World Alliance, and the Three Emperor Alliance.

However, most of its profits were handed over to the World Alliance and the Three Emperor Alliance as protection fees.

In truth, they were all working for Wang Shi alone.

During this