Chapter 197: The Entrepreneurial Black Hole—Golden Lion
In terms of raw strength, Ochoku didn't rank very high on Hachinosu back in the day, but in terms of scheming and sheer insidiousness, he certainly earned a top spot.
After concluding this transaction, Ochoku didn't linger; he swiftly returned to the surface.
If the situation hadn't been so dire, with the constant threat of Nereus kicking down his door at any moment, Ochoku would absolutely never have risked his life to venture into the deep sea.
No matter how familiar one was with this route, the mortality rate of every dive remained unchanged. This was a consensus among all pirates; even Whitebeard and Roger were no exception.
Aside from the Fish-men and Merfolk who feared no depths, this ocean treated all who attempted to dive into it with absolute equality, randomly displaying the true terror of the deep sea.
That layer of coating bubble was their sole lifeline. Stripped of its protection, the vast majority of people possessed utterly no ability to resist the deep sea.
Ochoku came fast and left even faster. He was terrified of bumping into a suddenly appearing Nereus.
Facing Nanamo, he could still adopt the posture of a gift-giver to ease the tension. If Nereus had been standing before him, Ochoku could genuinely put on a display of: "There were too many people outside earlier, but now I'm dropping to my knees for you."
After inspecting the treasure for any hidden traps and confirming it was safe, Nanamo accepted everything without hesitation.
Bribes delivered right to her doorstep—she had no reason to refuse.
Moreover, Nanamo had no intention of putting in a good word for Ochoku in front of Nereus. Whatever Nereus decided to do, she wouldn't interfere.
It wasn't as if this had been sent by an envoy of an affiliated nation, where taking money without delivering results would draw criticism.
In Ochoku's case, there were only two possible outcomes. First, Nereus accepted this blood money, ultimately sweeping the matter under the rug and dropping the issue entirely.
If that happened, it meant Nanamo had taken the money and delivered the result, perfectly resolving the problem.
The other possibility was that Nereus rejected Ochoku's compromise, stormed Hachinosu, and killed him. When that happened, all the assets on Hachinosu would belong to Fish-man Island anyway.
Even if she returned this money now, she would just have to take it back later. Accepting it early merely skipped a few steps; there was no harm done.
As for Ochoku, after leaving the deep sea, he didn't return directly to Hachinosu. He knew perfectly well that the pirates stationed on Hachinosu were virtually nonexistent in the face of Nereus.
If he returned to Hachinosu right now and Nereus decided to make a move against him, he would just be sitting there waiting to die.
His own subordinates were also untrustworthy at a time like this. True, they had been his loyal men since the Rocks Era.
But precisely because they had survived that era, they understood Nereus's terror even better. Ochoku never believed in true loyalty. In his eyes, "loyalty" merely meant the chips for betrayal weren't high enough yet.
When facing Nereus, subordinates could not be trusted.
The Underworld was equally untrustworthy. Nereus's hands reached deep into it; Umit, the "Shipping King," was essentially just working for Nereus.
Therefore, after giving some instructions to his men, Ochoku used "having business to attend to" as an excuse, found a random island, and hid himself away, waiting for news from the outside world.
While Ochoku lived in fear and trepidation, Nereus returned to Fish-man Island and learned of Ochoku's visit to deliver gifts from Nanamo.
"What do you think about this?" Nereus asked.
"Hmm... I think Ochoku is just surrendering," Nanamo replied. "He doesn't seem to have the same stubborn attachment to 'face' as the others on Hachinosu; he won't throw his life away over something like this."
"Pretty much. That guy... rather than a pirate, he's more like a merchant. For the sake of profit, he'd sell absolutely anything. Do you remember what happened right before the God Valley Incident?"
"That woman Shakky went missing?"
Mentioning this instantly brought back Nanamo's memories of the major event on Hachinosu that year: Shakky's sudden disappearance.
Regarding Shakky's disappearance, Nanamo was actually one of the people who had been quite happy about it. After all, Nereus also owned a tavern on the island back then.
Once Shakky's Rip-off Bar opened for business, the revenue at Nereus's place plummeted significantly; she had essentially stolen their business.
It was exactly because of this that Nanamo remembered it so clearly.
"Yeah. Malone died on the island, and Shakky was taken away by the World Government. Although the World Government has the capability, pulling it off so flawlessly without anyone noticing isn't easy.
"There had to be an inside man on the island coordinating with them. Ninety-nine percent chance it was Ochoku.
"That guy and John are cut from the same cloth; for profit, they'll sacrifice a great many things.
"But he doesn't possess John's insatiable greed. When faced with a threat to his life, he is equally willing to abandon a great deal."
As for Ochoku's fundamental reason for not going to God Valley, only Ochoku himself knew, but there couldn't be many reasons.
The fear of being identified and subsequently silenced was likely one of them.
However, assuming Ochoku was indeed the traitor, Shakky probably didn't see him that night either. Otherwise, Rayleigh and Gloriosa would have definitely sought Ochoku out to settle that old score afterward.
"So about this current matter..."
"We'll leave it at that. With that guy on Hachinosu, he can at least rein in the pirates on the island. After this incident, given his personality, he will definitely pay much closer attention to these things in the future."
Although Nereus looked down on Ochoku's combat power, to the pirates in the first half of the Grand Line, Ochoku remained an insurmountable mountain.
Being burned by a fire he failed to contain this first time, Ochoku was caught completely off guard. Going forward, he would undoubtedly be hyper-vigilant about such matters.
Nereus didn't actively contact Ochoku either. In the end, Ochoku hid for a while, realized nothing was happening, and heard no news on the sea about Nereus making a move against him. Only then did he cautiously return to Hachinosu.
Upon returning, Ochoku immediately began establishing new rules for the island. Even if such hotheaded fools appeared again, they absolutely could not be allowed to set sail from Hachinosu.
Seeing no further developments, the onlookers stopped paying attention to the incident. Furthermore, it wasn't long after this that a massive new event erupted to capture the world's attention.
Two months later, in early Year 1514 of the Sea Circle Calendar, in the waters of Edd War, the grand fleet of the Golden Lion Pirates violently clashed with the Roger Pirates.
The Golden Lion chose to extend an invitation to Roger—a man he had always held in high regard.
"Roger! Guys like Harald and Nereus are making deals with the World Government! Those fools have long lost their ambition!
"Join forces with me! Become my right hand! If you and I join forces, we can absolutely rule this world!"
"Unfortunately, Shiki! I have absolutely no interest in your invitation!"
During the fierce naval battle, the sea itself seemed to side with Roger. A sudden, massive storm and tidal wave destroyed the vast majority of the Golden Lion's fleet. Even the Golden Lion himself ended up with a steering wheel lodged firmly into his skull, becoming an irremovable part of his body.
After his Flying Empire was heavily damaged and dismantled by Harald, his grand fleet had now similarly suffered catastrophic losses, losing more than half its strength.
Although his personal combat power hadn't been severely crippled and he remained a major overlord in the New World, his threat level in the eyes of the Marines had diminished significantly.
The Golden Lion, having failed in his ambitious entrepreneurial endeavors one after another, seemed to have become the unlucky jinx of the pirate circles. For a time, the number of people flocking to join his banner dwindled considerably.
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