Aboard the Moby Dick, on deck.
The moment Scarlett awakened her Conqueror's Haki, quite a few of the weaker pirates rolled their eyes back and fainted on the spot.
Seeing this, Whitebeard was not angry. Instead, he threw back his head and laughed.
"Gurararara!... What an interesting little girl!"
"Then I'll hear what you came for!"
"The Dressrosa Kingdom is willing to enter your sphere of influence.
To that end, we will pay you ten billion Belly every year."
"Ten billion...?"
At that, a flicker of interest passed through Whitebeard's eyes. This was no small sum to him...
In fact, due to the differing circumstances of each island under Whitebeard's rule, the "protection fees" they paid him were not simply treasure. Some offered food, while others provided daily necessities.
For instance, Mattathias Island paid him a fixed amount of food each year, while Palm Island offered exquisite handicrafts... The tribute from every island came in all kinds of forms.
Speaking of which, Whitebeard had a particularly unusual hobby. Whenever he saw a young person he liked, he would say:
"Become my son!"
Honestly, when most people suddenly heard something like that, they would more or less want to punch him...
They simply could not beat him. Otherwise...!!!
Back to the point, raising all the sons Whitebeard took in cost money...!
Although each of the affiliated pirate crews under the Whitebeard Pirates paid him a certain amount every month as tribute, they were restricted by the various rules he had established, such as not being allowed to target ordinary people or impoverished islands...
As a result, the Whitebeard Pirates' affiliated crews did not earn much, and the amount they could hand over to him was even less!
Whitebeard's direct main force numbered over a thousand people. Nearly every one of them