The next day, Zesi told his pops, Wenlai Kate, about his decision to take over the Brunei Family.
Hearing Zesi's words, Wenlai Kate breathed a sigh of relief.
He would have to pass the position down sooner or later.
Under normal circumstances, Kate would not have handed the family over to Zesi so easily.
He still wanted to keep working at it for a few more years.
But now, the Brunei Family's affairs were no longer just a matter of business.
Kate sensed an enormous crisis brewing unseen.
The slightest mishandling could destroy the family and cost them their lives.
That was why they now needed someone powerful to hold up the Brunei Family.
Zesi did not take over all the Brunei Family's affairs. He still left the business side to Kate, since he knew nothing about it.
He only took over the Brunei Family's Shadow Wings.
When he gathered all the family's Shadow Wings members, he discovered that, after years of development, the Brunei Family's Shadow Wings had grown to as many as three hundred members.
Some of them were stationed at the Brunei Family headquarters, while a large portion were at the family's branches in various places.
To supply Totto Land with such vast quantities of dessert ingredients, the Brunei Family needed to collect those ingredients from all over the New World.
With so many ingredients being collected, the Brunei Family could not supply only Totto Land.
Kate had a keen sense of risk. What if, one day, Totto Land no longer needed him to supply those ingredients?
Wouldn't all the ingredients the Brunei Family had collected be left to rot on their hands?
So Kate had also established his own branches throughout the New World, distributing those ingredients as well as collecting them.
So many branches also needed protection. Besides recruiting large numbers of people and forming guard units to protect them, Kate had also dispatched Shadow Wings members to guard them in secret.
Those guards had all been recruited with money. There were all sorts among them, including spies planted by other powers and even business rivals.
Only the Shadow Wings had been raised by the Brunei Family itself.
It was precisely thanks to the Shadow Wings that those branches could remain secure.
At Zesi's command, every member of the Shadow Wings returned to the Brunei Family headquarters.
"My name is Wenlai Zesi. Some of you here already know me, and some don't, so let me introduce myself again. My name is Wenlai Zesi. I am the head of the Brunei Family, as well as the master you serve, so you must remember me clearly. Within the Shadow Wings, my orders are absolute."
Zesi gathered all the Shadow Wings members at a secret base in the Brunei Family headquarters.
He had even called Feiluo over, and Feiluo was now standing behind him.
"The Shadow Wings are the strongest protective force the Brunei Family has spent heavily to build. But I think there are too many members. A lot of trash has slipped into the ranks and dragged down the quality of the Shadow Wings!" Zesi said.
"What?"
"Even if you're the new family head, you can't talk about us Shadow Wings like that!"
"Exactly! The Shadow Wings are the family's most important force! We've rendered outstanding service to the family!"
"You..."
At Zesi's words, the Shadow Wings immediately erupted, voicing their displeasure.
Feiluo, standing off to the side, rolled his eyes too.
On his first day gathering the Shadow Wings, instead of winning them over with promises of benefits, he called them trash. Was that really a good idea?
What if the Shadow Wings developed disloyal thoughts because of this? What would they do if the members became alienated?
"Heh heh heh. It seems you aren't happy with how I put it. Then let me put it another way. As the Brunei Family's protective force, you can no longer keep up with the family's growth. Does that make you feel any better?" Zesi said mildly.
At Zesi's words, some of those present fell silent, but even more continued shouting in displeasure.
Just as everyone was making a racket, a terrifying aura emanated from Zesi.
All the noise stopped instantly, and every one of them stared at Zesi with eyes full of horror.
They felt as though a devil from hell were watching them, and even their souls trembled.
Now they felt terror.
Now they were afraid.
"It seems that besides strength, you also need to learn some rules. I'll teach you the other rules gradually. Right now, you only need to remember one: you must obey everything I say without question. Your job is to obey, obey, and obey again!"
Zesi had merely released a slight trace of his Conqueror's Haki.
Having already gained complete mastery over his Conqueror's Haki, he could control the intensity of its intimidation, making it enough to cow them without overwhelming them and knocking them unconscious.
After all, he still needed to train them next. He could not simply let them pass out like this.
"For the next while, you will undergo the most brutal training here. Anyone who cannot endure that brutal training will be eliminated from the Shadow Wings. I will not let anyone without sufficient strength bear the name of the Shadow Wings!"
At Zesi's words, everyone present looked astonished.
They had not expected Zesi to be serious!
While Zesi began training the Shadow Wings, a major incident occurred among the Big Mom Pirates.
Big Mom's eldest son, Perospero, accidentally angered Big Mom over a trivial matter.
In her anger, Big Mom banished Perospero to Totto Land's most distant island.
This had originally been only a minor matter. Perospero was, after all, Big Mom's eldest son.
Even if Big Mom had punished Perospero in anger, such a small matter would not affect his standing. He would return before long.
But this allowed some people to see an opportunity!
In the past, everything the Big Mom Pirates needed, including desserts, had been plundered.
That remained the case after Totto Land was founded.
They had never imagined that Totto Land would need so many dessert ingredients.
Nor had they imagined that becoming the kingdom's supplier of dessert ingredients could be so profitable.
Only after the Brunei Family had grown did they discover just how enormous the profits were.
This made many of the powers allied to the Big Mom Pirates through marriage green with envy.
But over the past year, the Brunei Family had given a large share of its profits to Perospero so he could grease palms at every level. Only because of this had no one else seized its position as supplier.
Now, however, things were different. Perospero had been demoted and sent to an outlying island.
Although it was only temporary, some people saw an opportunity.
They prepared to seize the position of supplier.
Not only that, they had even set their sights on the Brunei Family's wealth.