Intimidating the Troublemakers (Yesterday's Bonus Chapter, Posted Late Because I Overslept)

West Town was a seaport town on the southern coast of Drum Kingdom. Its location was excellent, and it was one of the country's few Port regions. Yet its economy had never taken off. It could not compare with the country's prosperous towns.

The reason was simple: the town's mayor was far too selfish. Greedy to the bone, he pocketed every benefit he could and never gave a thought to the town.

Streets, buildings, sanitation, public safety—the problems went on and on. With a mayor like that, any West Town resident with a little ambition had moved away long ago. Those who remained were mostly layabouts and thugs.

The poorer it grew, the more chaotic it became; the more chaotic it became, the poorer it grew. That principle did not apply only on Earth.

Fortunately, in the One Piece World, strength ruled. No matter how rotten those thugs were, they did not dare openly oppose Wapol, a Devil Fruit User.

Quite the opposite. They sided with Wapol.

But everyone had seen how that turned out. Wapol had never cared about his supporters and had left them to fend for themselves. Since his death, their lives had only grown harder.

So it seemed only natural that they would start thinking about rebellion, didn't it?

In the Royal Palace's meeting room, Simon stood beside the table and reported to his colleagues. "Based on this information, we can conclude that someone in West Town is plotting something. They also have ample funds, enough to buy so much food in such a short time."

"I therefore propose sending troops to search West Town. We need to find out exactly why they're stockpiling so much food and other supplies!"

Why? What else could it be? They were planning a rebellion!

At the head of the