Two days after Werther returned to Dressrosa, the first shipment of Gold Ore arrived.
The sight of it gave Werther a headache. The ore had yet to be refined, so it took up an enormous amount of space.
Still, one look at the ore told him how much gold it contained.
Werther had Doffy's men pile it on the King's Plateau for now. The whole place glittered gold.
If Nami of the Straw Hat Pirates had been there, Werther suspected the sight of so much wealth would have made her faint.
"This is my first time seeing this much gold. It's incredible. Seeing it in person is nothing like watching a Den Den Mushi broadcast."
Diamante stared up at the mountain of ore, too stunned to collect himself.
Bright sunlight poured down, bathing the King's Plateau in a golden glow.
"What are we supposed to do with all this? Doffy, can you refine the ore?"
Werther had a headache. Unlike Beli, the ore needed to be refined, stored, and eventually sold.
He almost wanted to kick the whole lot into the sea.
He didn't mind trouble when it came to something he enjoyed, but selling gold was another matter.
Doffy lounged in a deck chair, sipping orange juice through a straw. Ice cubes clacked against the sides of his glass.
"Refining it won't be a problem. Selling it will. Even the most precious commodity loses value if too much hits the market at once.
"And Kaido has an even bigger stockpile. If we both start selling, the price of gold will hit rock bottom. Gold is a luxury, not a necessity."
Werther sighed and kicked a piece of ore by his foot into the pool.
"Hey, Doffy. How about I give you all this gold?"
"Pfft—cough, cough!"
Doffy sprayed orange