"Saint Arandos, welcome to the Oran Kingdom. I am Dofele XI, king of the Oro Kingdom. On behalf of all the nobles and subjects of the Oran Kingdom, I welcome you on your inspection of the Oran Kingdom!"
That day, a large crowd gathered at the Oran Kingdom's harbor, where numerous guards patrolled and stood watch.
The kingdom's rarely seen nobles, led by the king, stood respectfully at the harbor to welcome the person disembarking from a World Government ship.
At the sight of the arrival, everyone except the royal family knelt on the ground, even the nobles.
The newcomer was obese, dressed in elaborate formal attire resembling a spacesuit, with a square, transparent helmet over his head.
Before him, the normally proud and lofty nobles knelt on the ground with their heads deeply bowed.
Even the king did not dare look freely at him, lowering his head slightly to show respect.
The newcomer was a Celestial Dragon, one of those known as the world's nobles.
Even in the New World, the Celestial Dragons remained above everyone else.
After all, the World Government and Marine Headquarters stood behind them.
The World Government and the Marines remained the world's most powerful force, an immense power formed by over a hundred countries.
When Celestial Dragons traveled, especially to the New World, they generally had Cipher Pol guards accompanying them.
Not to mention that if anyone attacked a Celestial Dragon, an Admiral from Marine Headquarters or CP0 would lead troops to the scene.
Even super pirate crews in the New World, such as those of Golden Lion and Big Mom, did not dare attack the Celestial Dragons.
Because once they attacked a Celestial Dragon, they would become mortal enemies of the World Government.
Just think about how Rocks, who had once aspired to rule the world, had died.
Wasn't it because Rocks had attempted to kidnap the Celestial Dragons?
In the end, he had been defeated by the Marine hero and Roger working together.
No matter how powerful Golden Lion, Big Mom, and the others were, they did not consider themselves stronger than their former captain.
Almost all the great pirates in the New World today had come from Rocks's ranks.
Golden Lion, Whitebeard, Big Mom, Kaido, John, Silver Axe, Ochoku, and so on.
With Rocks's fate as a warning, they would not touch the Celestial Dragons.
As long as they did not touch the Celestial Dragons, ordinary pirates would never dare entertain any thoughts of doing so.
"The Oran Kingdom has prepared a palace for your stay, Saint Arandos, along with a lavish banquet. Please honor us with your presence!"
"You, whatever your name is, king of Oran, you've done very well!" the Celestial Dragon said arrogantly.
"I am unworthy of your praise, Saint Arandos. It is merely my duty as king!"
Then the king and ministers of the Oran Kingdom escorted the Celestial Dragon to the kingdom's royal palace.
"Oh? What wine is this? I've never had it before. It's actually better than the fine wines offered as heavenly tribute." After taking a sip of the wine the king of Oran had personally poured for him, the Celestial Dragon's eyes lit up as he asked.
He was a wine lover himself, but even he had never tasted wine so fragrant, mellow, and delicious, and he could not help asking in surprise.
"I was just about to report to you, Saint Arandos. This is Noble Blood, a fine wine the Brunei Family created especially for us nobles!"
"I heard some time ago that a fine wine called Brunei Fine Wine had appeared in the New World. I thought it was merely ignorant people exaggerating. What would they know about the taste of truly fine wine? But now it seems this Brunei Fine Wine really is a top-class wine!"
"Only we Celestial Dragons deserve to possess wine like this. Have that Brunei Family or whatever produce wine exclusively for the Celestial Dragons!" the Celestial Dragon Arandos told the steward beside him.
"Yes. I will report your decision immediately, Saint Arandos. Before long, Cipher Pol will take action and make the Brunei Family the exclusive wine supplier for you and the Celestial Dragons. They will no longer be permitted to sell it. Only the Celestial Dragons may enjoy such fine wine."
The steward beside Saint Arandos spoke flatly, his face expressionless.
It was as though he were deciding the fate of someone utterly insignificant.
Hearing Arandos and his attendant's words, some people at the banquet smiled at the success of their scheme.
The Brunei Family's fine wine had become wildly popular in the New World, earning the family an enormous fortune.
But the emergence of Brunei Fine Wine had also caused sales of the New World's previously popular wines to plummet.
This had encroached on the interests of many factions.
Had they not known that the Brunei Family had some ambiguous ties to the Big Mom Pirates, these people would have joined forces and wiped out the family long ago.
But even if they could not act directly against the Brunei Family, they certainly could not simply leave them unchecked.
As it happened, they learned that the Celestial Dragon Saint Arandos would be visiting the Oran Kingdom on an inspection.
So they devised a plan to have the king recommend Brunei Fine Wine to the Celestial Dragon.
That was how the earlier scene had come about.
Had it been an ordinary family, a casual word from Arandos would have been enough to decide their fate.
Once Brunei Fine Wine became an exclusive supply for the Celestial Dragons, it could no longer be sold to anyone else and would no longer be able to compete with them.
If the Brunei Family refused the Celestial Dragons' order to supply them exclusively, utter annihilation would await them.
Even the Big Mom Pirates could not possibly offend the Celestial Dragons for the sake of a single Brunei Family.
Once the Brunei Family was destroyed, they might even be able to take its place as Totto Land's dessert suppliers.
At that thought, smug expressions appeared on their faces.