Gang Boss Crocodile!

Chapter 38: Syndicate Boss, Crocodile!

Watching that brief exchange, the inexplicable woman suddenly defected to their side, addressing Bane as "my lord" with an air of absolute, life-sworn loyalty.

Zoro was utterly bewildered!

"Why are you so surprised?" Nami nudged Zoro from the side. "This is the power of language and intelligence."

"I know that, obviously. I'm not a complete idiot," Zoro retorted, feeling quite annoyed with Nami.

He always felt like this navigator was looking down on him!

A moment later, Zoro sighed, "I'm just curious, where exactly does Bane get all this information?"

Back at Shimotsuki Village, when the topic of the Revolutionary Army came up, Bane could keep pace with him—and even his master. He hadn't stepped foot outside, yet he reported a massive number of pirates and Marines in the East Blue.

After setting sail, before they even reached Cocoyasi Village, Bane had already thoroughly grasped Nami's past and was intimately familiar with the situation there.

Now, having just arrived at the Grand Line, he had subdued this woman named Nico Robin with just a few words.

Is this even reasonable?

"Didn't he say it himself? Don't ask about things in the underworld; just focus on your Sword Arts and be done with it." Nami teased him first, then smiled. "Besides, the more he knows, the better it is for us, isn't it?"

On the other side, after Robin expressed her willingness to cooperate in taking down Crocodile and pledged her allegiance to Bane, Bane stopped resting and returned to his gluttonous feast, devouring the food on the table.

He didn't let it distract him from business, though. While eating, he said, "Now that you believe I can truly command you and threaten you into working for me, we can talk about what I need you to do."

Nico Robin watched the man before her stuffing his face with meat, his movements entirely lacking elegance. Yet, she felt no disgust; instead, she felt a sense of relief, and her tone carried a hint of a smile. "Of course. I am very eager to know what I can do for you, Lord Bane. I also look forward to receiving some trivial reward after I perfectly complete your tasks, for example..."

"I told you, I admire you, so I don't wish to drive you in that manner," Bane said, chewing on dinosaur meat. "The New World, the land of giants, Elbaf. Jaguar D. Saul is there. That is the first answer for you."

Upon receiving this answer, Robin's expression clearly betrayed a flicker of agitation.

Before she could speak, however, Bane tossed a bone onto the table. "However, admiration is one thing, but we have yet to establish true trust. So, the answer to your second point will be postponed. When we have built a certain level of trust, I will tell you."

"The second answer, you have already given me, haven't you?" Robin said softly after steadying her emotions.

The way she looked at Bane now held more sincerity and goodwill, and less hypocrisy.

If Saul is in that place, then the books from Ohara must be in the same location. In other words, they are both in Elbaf!

Bane was extending goodwill to her, actively demonstrating a form of trust.

Bane didn't deny it, but he didn't dwell on it either. He shifted the conversation, "I have a rather massive plan for the next few years. To implement this plan, I need a great, great deal of capital. This is the first reason I sought your cooperation."

"You want to swallow the fruits of Crocodile's labor from these past twenty years?" Nico Robin asked after a moment of thought.

"Exactly. Your greatest advantage in the plan to take down Crocodile is that you are the Vice President of his massive Baroque Works. And, as far as I know, Crocodile has basically left all the affairs of this organization to you. In other words, once I eliminate Crocodile, with your help, I can take over everything that belongs to him in its entirety. Do you have the confidence to do this for me?" Bane looked at Nico Robin with a hint of pressure in his eyes.

Nico Robin nodded without a moment's hesitation. "Absolutely no problem. You will have everything that belongs to Crocodile."

"Very good. Now, I have one small doubt: does Crocodile truly possess wealth that rivals a nation, as my investigation suggests?" Bane asked.

If he remembered correctly, this guy's "Utopia" plan was already in its final stages this year. It would be a real shame if this bastard had already spent all his money.

"He does." Nico Robin confirmed immediately, then added, "Baroque Works possesses a massive organizational structure spanning the first half of the Grand Line. The high-ranking officers number under thirty, and we implement a 'last-place elimination' system, so there is rotation every so often. As for the mid-level officers, known as 'Billions,' there are two hundred of them. To attain this status, one must not only possess a certain level of strength but also contribute at least 100 million Belly to the organization. Under the Billions, there are 1,800 low-level officers, collectively known as 'Millions.' They are the grassroots commanders of our Baroque Works."

"Billions need to contribute 100 million Belly, so Millions need to contribute 1 million Belly, right?" Bane pondered.

"That is per person, per year—at least 1 million Belly. That is also why we don't have a 'Ten-Millions' rank; because Billions must pay at least 10 million Belly annually to maintain their status and identity," Robin explained.

One million a year—that couldn't possibly be just a flat contribution; there had to be internal competition.

But even calculating conservatively at 1 million per person per year, 1,800 people would easily funnel 1.8 billion Belly into the organization annually. This wasn't profit; it was a "membership fee." If you didn't pay, you couldn't be an officer!

Add in the two hundred Billions paying at least 10 million each, that's another 2 billion starting out. Good grief, Crocodile's organization is something else. Just from membership fees alone, he's raking in at least 4 to 5 billion Belly a year.

Seeing the shock on Bane's face, Nico Robin finally felt a sense of amusement. So, you are capable of being surprised, too?

Consequently, she became even more detailed and proactive in introducing Baroque Works.

"I haven't really kept track of the low-level Millions in the last few years, but as far as I know, these small-time officers who can pay at least 1 million Belly a year all possess at least one ship and fifty subordinates. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to complete certain missions or earn that much profit," Robin explained.

Bane understood this perfectly. If you didn't have subordinates or even a ship, why would you work yourself to the bone just to pay a 1-million-Belly membership fee? That would be madness. Just by working, after deducting food and expenses, you might not even be able to afford that 1 million Belly.

After all, looking at the villagers in the East Blue, Arlong was a skin-flayer, and he only demanded 100,000 Belly per person annually—and even that was enough to drive people to the brink of death.

Bane didn't dwell on it further. He did a quick calculation of the numbers in Baroque Works: 1,800 small-time officers, each with at least fifty subordinates—that meant the entire Baroque Works had nearly 100,000 members.

But clearly, these were just the baseline figures. The actual numbers were likely three or four times, perhaps even seven or eight times that. In other words, over these past twenty years, Crocodile had built a syndicate in the first half of the Grand Line that spanned the entire sea and boasted hundreds of thousands of members!

Back when Bane read the story, he never really took Baroque Works seriously. But thinking about it carefully now, Crocodile really was something else. What was he trying to do? Was he trying to build a New Wo Luen Shing!?