The nights in Water 7 never truly quiet down; even in the dead of night, small boats with pointed prows glide through the waterways, their prow lights casting streaks of light across the surface.
The signs of the taverns on both sides of the river flickered under the gaslight, and drunken sailors leaned against the stone walls singing, their voices muffled by the sound of the water. But this bustling scene had nothing to do with the headquarters of the Uchiha Trading Company.
Koldo sat behind his desk, on which lay three Den Den Den Mushi): one awake, one asleep, and one half-open in standby mode.
On his left was a stack of communications summaries from various Alabasta branches, and on his right was an emergency dispatch plan he had just drafted. The ink was still wet, and the Fountain Pen on the pen holder had already dried.
He's only in his early thirties, but he already has a few gray hairs at his temples.
A few years ago, he was an information broker at the Orange Town docks, making a living by selling information between the Sea Serpent Gang and various merchants. His biggest dream was to save enough money to buy a small sailboat, leave the East Blue, and go to the Grand Line to see the world.
Now he is the secretary-general of the Uchiha Trading Company. He rose from a small-time information broker to a position second only to the Uchiha, a position above thousands of others, in less than ten years.
In the East Blue, the West Blue, and the first half of the Grand Line, every port that flies the Fan Flag contains documents he signed, regulations he established, and people he promoted.
The lower-level officers of the Chamber of Commerce called him "Mr. Koldo," while outsiders called him "the shadow chairman of the Uchiha Trading Company." Of course, he never accepted this title and would immediately correct it every time he heard it.
He admitted he was pleased with himself.
In the stillness of the night, he would stand by the office window, watching the lights of the Water 7 reflected on the waterways, and recall how he used to copy intelligence in the damp basement of the docks, his fingers so frozen he could barely hold the pen.
Now his office has heating and a private bathroom, a contrast that makes it hard not to feel a sense of accomplishment.
But more important than pride is his cautiousness. He climbed to his current position not only because of ambition, but also because of one principle: never offend the Uchiha.
This principle is so simple, consisting of only seven words, yet its implementation requires daily self-examination.
He would mentally review every document he signed three times: first, to see if it violated the rules set by Barlow; second, to see if it exceeded his authority; and third, to see if it would cause any trouble to the Uchiha Clan.
He had seen too many people climb from the bottom to the top only to fall and be shattered because of momentary pride, and he didn't want to be one of them.
More importantly, he was genuinely grateful to the Uchiha.
Without Barlow's appreciation, he'd still be selling information at the Orange Town docks, his best outcome being to save enough money to buy a ship, only to be robbed by some pirate gang.
Therefore, he cherished this opportunity more than anyone else, and he knew better than anyone else that the only reason he was able to sit in this chair was because the Uchiha Shin him.
But this trust is now under immense pressure; something has happened in Alabasta.
The news came ten hours ago: a large-scale rebellion has broken out in the Alabasta Kingdom. The rebels launched an attack from the northwestern desert region and captured important cities such as Yuba and Rainbase in just two weeks. Currently, except for the capital Alubarna, almost all of the kingdom's major cities have fallen.
The Uchiha Trading Company's assets in Alabasta were affected to varying degrees. The distribution warehouse in Rainbase, the transit port in Yuba, and the spice freight station connecting the eastern and western deserts were all located in war zones or occupied areas.
The preliminary loss report has not yet been compiled, but the looting of the Rainbase warehouse alone has already resulted in book losses exceeding 100 million.
This isn't even the most difficult part. The most difficult part is that the Uchiha Trading Company operates in Alabasta in a completely different way than it does in the East Blue and Water 7.
In the East Blue, the Uchiha were local strongmen, with both the legitimate and criminal worlds on their side.
In Water 7, the Uchiha Trading Company is one of the city's economic pillars, and even the mayor has to be mindful of Barlow's feelings.
However, in Alabasta, the Uchiha Trading Company was merely a "larger partner," maintaining a cooperative relationship with the Nefertari Royal Family for many years, with equal status and no subordination between them.
This rebellion disrupted the entire game. If the Uchiha Trading Company were simply a trading company, they would have chosen to withdraw their investment immediately and leave once the situation stabilized.
But Barlow never saw the Uchiha Trading Company as a "simple trading company," as evidenced by the annual goals he set for the Alabasta branch: to infiltrate the kingdom's lifeline within two years.
This objective now faces an unprecedented window of opportunity. The rebellion is a disaster for Alabasta's existing order, but for an external force seeking to infiltrate the kingdom's lifeline, disaster is the best ticket to entry.
The problem is how to accept these admission tickets, who should accept them, and how many should be accepted?
After clarifying these thoughts, Koldo did what he could first.
The first Den Den Den Mushi was made to the head of the Alabasta branch, informing them that all non-combatants of the Chamber of Commerce should evacuate the combat zone and gather in Alubarna. Warehouse supplies that could be transported should be transferred, and those that could not be transported should be sealed up on-site and await subsequent takeover.
The branch manager's voice sounded somewhat flustered on the other end of the Den Den Mushi; he was a businessman who had never witnessed war.
Koldo's tone was calm as he repeated the instruction in an uncompromising manner. After hanging up, he drew a line on the paper with his Fountain Pen to confirm that the instruction had been conveyed.
The second Den Den Den Mushi was to Rosa.
Rosa was in Loguetown, having just finished processing the qualification reviews of a batch of newly joined underground croupiers. Her voice still carried the crisp and efficient quality characteristic of an administrative officer when she answered the phone.
Koldo briefly explained the situation in Alabasta, then told her to contact Joey immediately, Joey would then contact the Uchiha Security Force.
The Uchiha Patrol recently completed its overall expansion and some reassignments, and was officially renamed the "Uchiha Security Force".
Koldo ordered the Guard Corps to immediately enter a state of Level 3 mobilization, cancel all leave, order all personnel to return to their posts and stand by, and put the Water 7 to Alabasta air route on high alert.
Joey didn't ask any further questions, simply replied "Understood," and then hung up.
He dialed Barlow's number for the third Den Den Den Mushi.
The call didn't go through. The Den Den Mushi's eyes were closed, its antennae drooping on its shell, emitting a soft, even snore.
This is Barlow's standard setup when he's resting; he's switched his Den Den Mushi to silent mode.
Koldo didn't dial again. He put down the Den Den Mushi, picked up his Fountain Pen again, and added a few more supplementary points to the blank spaces in the emergency dispatch plan.
Outside the window Water 7 changed from deep black to deep blue, then the first rays of dawn appeared, and the boat lights on the waterways gradually went out.
Koldo leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and continued writing.
Barlow called back at 5:55 a. m.
Koldo was holding his coffee cup and about to put it back on the tray, the Den Den Mushi on the table suddenly opened its eyes, its eyeballs bulging outwards.
This characteristic is highly consistent with his personal style of getting straight to the point when answering the phone, without any unnecessary chatter.
Koldo put down his coffee cup, picked up the Den Den Mushi with both hands, and pressed the answer button.
The Den Den Mushi's face instantly changed; the angle of its downturned eyebrows, the half-closed eyelids, the tightly pursed lips—that face was now the face of Barlow, thousands of miles away, every detail faithfully reproduced.
"Speak," Barlow's voice came from the Den Den Mushi, speaking faster than usual.
Koldo finished reporting the situation in about three minutes. He did not add any subjective judgment, but only reported the data: the scope of the rebel offensive, the list of cities that had fallen, the distribution of the Uchiha Trading Company's assets in the war zone, the preliminary loss estimate, and the three orders he had already issued: evacuation of non-combat personnel, sealing up supplies, and mobilization of the three-level Guard Corps.
He spoke quickly, but clearly, and each number was accurate to the last verifiable digit.
The Den Den Mushi was silent for a few seconds as Barlow pondered, Koldo didn't interrupt him.
"Your deployment is on the right track."
Barlow's voice came through the Den Den Mushi, his tone steady.
"But we've overlooked a crucial point: where did the rebels come from? Who's funding them? Alabasta is a superpower with a population of over ten million. A rebel group without external support couldn't possibly have taken Yuba and the Rainbase within two weeks. This intelligence gap must be filled. Contact Mila immediately and have her mobilize the underground intelligence network to investigate the source of the rebels' weapons. The weapons and supplies needed by so many rebels can't just grow in the desert; there must be external channels. Only by finding those channels can we determine the rebels' true strength and subsequent movements. This intelligence must be obtained within two days."
Koldo memorized the order, but at the same time he realized that he had indeed overlooked this crucial detail. He had considered asset security and the deployment of the Guard Corps, but he had neglected Barlow's forte: information suppression.
"Secondly," Barlow continued, "You said to seal off the supplies? No, you can't seal them off. Sealing them off is tantamount to telling the rebels that the goods are still there, and they have plenty of time to break down the doors and locks. You immediately notify the Alabasta branch to transfer all movable supplies in the warehouse to the Uchiha Trading Company's capital office near the Alubarna Palace. If there isn't enough transport capacity, destroy them on the spot. The nature of the rebels seizing the Uchiha Trading Company's supplies is completely different from seizing supplies from an ordinary merchant guild. The latter merely stole goods, while the former slapped the Uchiha in the face, and we can't let them slap that face."
Koldo's Fountain Pen flew across the sticky note, jotting down the keywords: "Transfer to the vicinity of the Alubarna Palace," "if there is insufficient transport capacity, destroy on-site," and "don't let them slap you in the face."
"Third." Barlow paused for a moment, Koldo heard a very faint sound of paper turning on the other end of the Den Den Mushi.
"You handled this matter promptly. Roy, Mila, and I will be back soon. Before we return, stabilize the situation and minimize the losses."
Koldo nodded, then realized the Den Den Mushi couldn't see him nod, and quickly added, "Understood."
"There's one more thing." Barlow lowered his voice and slowed his speech, a characteristic of him when giving the most important instructions.
"Contact the Nefertari Family."
Koldo's fingers tightened slightly as he gripped the Fountain Pen. The Nefertari Family, the royal family of Alabasta, had ruled this desert land for centuries, and were said to be descendants of one of the twenty kings who established the World Government.
Barlow wasn't joking; he wanted the Uchiha Trading Company to be their lifeline when the royal family was at its weakest.
"With the rebellion at this stage, the royal family must be lacking supplies, allies, and anything else they can seize. Our assistance now is a timely help."
"But offering help in times of need comes with conditions. We'll discuss those conditions once I arrive. You should establish contact first, in the name of the Uchiha Trading Company, not on my Barlow personally."
"Understood, I'll take care of it right away."
The Den Den Mushi closed its eyes, and Barlow hung up the phone.
Koldo put the Den Den Mushi back on the tray, leaned back in his chair, and let out a long sigh.
Outside the window Water 7 was already fully lit, and small boats began to glide along the waterways, the sound of oars stirring the water coinciding with the first hammer blow from the shipyard in the distance.
He picked up his now-cold coffee, took a sip, then picked up his Fountain Pen, turned to a new page, and began drafting a formal letter to the Nefertari Royal Family.