"Gahahaha! You want to borrow some money? Of course that's not a problem! So, what sort of figure do you five need?"
"Oh? Five hundred billion Berries ? That really isn't a small number! Ah, the cash I have on hand isn't much either!"
"Hm? Gahahaha! Since Your Excellency Saint Warcury has put it that way, then no matter what, I must help. How about this? I still have a batch of treasure deposited in the Underworld bank. Its value should be roughly around five hundred billion Berries . You can take that money and use it first!"
"Sigh! What are you saying? We're friendly allies who signed a peace treaty, aren't we? Talking about things like that would hurt our relationship!"
"By the way, the interest and principal will be repaid together next month, correct?"
...
After receiving a Den Den Mushi call, Roldy, who was currently on the top floor of a luxurious restaurant in the Sabaody Archipelago, handled the conversation with a face full of smiles.
After chatting for a while amid mutual laughter, the Den Den Mushi call was ended.
"Hey, Croc, prepare that batch of treasure I deposited. Someone will come to receive it in a few hours."
Roldy tossed the Den Den Mushi aside, leaned back in his chair, and spoke to Crocodile beside him with a completely unconcerned expression.
Crocodile frowned slightly, but he did not say anything more.
"Boss, who was that on the Den Den Mushi? His voice sounded kind of familiar!"
Sheen sat at the dining table, eating with absolutely no regard for his image.
"Who else could it be? The Five Elders, of course! Interesting. Those guys actually have a day like this too. Looks like the World Government's current situation is even worse than I imagined. Hey, Dragon, your Revolutionary Army really picked up a huge bargain this time!"
Inside the private room, aside from Roldy and the four officers under his command, the remaining people were Revolutionary Army leader Monkey D. Dragon and Fisher Tiger.
The two groups involved in the Mary Geoise operation had only just returned to the Sabaody Archipelago when Roldy offered them a grand reception.
"Not at all. This operation was thanks to Mr. Tiger. If he had not infiltrated the Holy Land first, there is no way our Revolutionary Army could have attacked the Holy Land. Even if we had forced our way in, the casualties would inevitably have been disastrous."
Dragon replied with a smile.
Judging by his expression, however, the benefits the Revolutionary Army had gained from this operation were undoubtedly enormous.
This still-immature organization, after undergoing a hell-level baptism, had finally begun to possess the bearing and ability of true revolutionaries.
During this period when the World Government was too overwhelmed to look after anything else, the Revolutionary Army's strength would see a tremendous increase.
"Gahahaha! This time, the World Government has really suffered miserably! From what I know, the amount of the next Heavenly Tribute is going to skyrocket by another thirty percent! It isn't hard to imagine how many kingdoms will go bankrupt because of it, and how many kingdoms will choose to break away from their status as affiliated nations…"
There was no doubt that the world would descend into chaos.
But for Roldy, that was advantageous.
More kingdoms would come to follow the Revolutionary Army. As for Roldy himself, he could also use this opportunity to bring more kingdoms under his command.
Personal might was one thing.
But to change a world like this, one could not rely solely on personal power.
Creating an ideal new world did not mean that the new world would only contain a handful of people.
When those kingdoms were tightly bound together, even the weakest among them still possessed vast numbers of citizens. Countless faint forces, tied together like strands of hemp rope, would ultimately exert enough influence to drag the colossal World Government down from the Holy Land!
"So then, Dragon? With your strength, those five old men shouldn't have been qualified to injure you that badly. Which means… how strong is that King of the World?"
As they chatted, Roldy suddenly changed the topic and turned the question toward Dragon.
Dragon froze when he heard this. Then he smiled in understanding and did not seem intent on hiding anything.
Under everyone's puzzled gazes, he slowly explained what had happened.
"I really can't hide anything from you, Roldy. Looks like you came into contact with many things during your time with the Rocks Pirates. That's right. I did indeed see that King of the World. To be honest, I don't take those five old men seriously. They are strong, but before a storm that has already fully formed, they still could not heavily injure me. The one who truly makes me wary is that mysterious figure."
As he said this, Dragon unconsciously placed a hand over his abdomen.
There was an exaggerated wound there.
It was a penetrating wound, as if he had been pierced through by a sharp arrow.
What made Dragon feel a chill was that the King of the World had merely glanced at him. Dragon had not even seen the other party's appearance clearly before a tail shaped like that of a demon pierced through him.
Had his Observation Haki not been trained to a certain level, it would have been his heart that was pierced.
Borrowing the power of the wind, he had rapidly retreated.
"Strong. Truly strong. At the very least, Roldy, that person's strength is not inferior to yours. The feeling he gave me was the same kind of despair. That King of the World seems to possess abilities even more troublesome than those of the Five Elders. It appears to be an even more powerful Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit. He only looked at me once, yet that Conqueror's Haki almost left me unable to move… As expected of the king who has ruled this world for eight hundred years!"
Dragon sighed with emotion.
Roldy propped up his chin, thoughts rapidly turning in his mind.
So that was how it was?
He did not feel fear.
Instead, a relieved smile appeared on his face.
Although Dragon had been severely wounded, he had managed to escape. That meant the strength of that king had not reached a completely overwhelming level.
At the very least, not a level that could make Roldy despair.
What was certain was that the King of the World was stronger than Rocks. He might be slightly stronger than Roldy was now.
But Roldy could still grow stronger.
There was still some time before he reached his own peak.
While Roldy fell into thought, Dragon also clearly explained the information and rumors surrounding the King of the World to the officers under Roldy's command.
After all, for most people, simply knowing of the existence of the Five Elders was already no easy thing.
As for that mysterious King of the World, Dragon had only seen him once. Roldy, too, had only obtained some so-called intelligence through bits of idle conversation from Rocks.
"The King of the World… Sounds like someone worth cutting down."
An unprecedented gleam burst from Mihawk's eyes.
In order to become the world's greatest swordsman, he was passionate about challenging all kinds of powerful swordsmen.
An ancient king who had survived for eight hundred years—perhaps he was not skilled in swordsmanship, but after such a long accumulation of years, his attainments in the sword were bound to be extremely high.
At this moment, Mihawk felt incomparably fortunate that he had followed Roldy.
"How terrifying, how frightening… and how exciting!"
Sheen 's entire body trembled.
But it was trembling from excitement.
That was simply his personality. He feared only that the world would not become chaotic enough.
"So, Boss, why are you still providing the Five Elders with money? Wouldn't letting them fall into chaos be even more beneficial for us?"
Crocodile possessed the common flaw shared by all those who managed money—he was stingy!
Spending money was not necessarily a problem. A few hundred million Berries would not even be worth his attention.
But for Roldy to hand over five hundred billion Berries all at once…
That was far too exaggerated.
"Gahahaha! Doing absolutely nothing and receiving ten percent interest for free! That's fifty billion Berries ! There's no need to refuse such a good thing. Besides, Croc, do you think I'm someone who suffers losses?"
Roldy smiled mysteriously.
Naturally, the World Government had granted him quite a few special privileges. Otherwise, Roldy would never have agreed so readily.
"Mr. Roldy, then may I ask what your next arrangements are?"
Fisher Tiger spoke respectfully.
He had now officially joined Roldy's command, becoming the fifth senior officer under him.
He had brought with him a large number of Fish-Men. Presumably, once the Fish-Men on Fish-Man Street learned that he was in the Sabaody Archipelago, a great number of them would absolutely come to join him.
Likewise, after what he had done in the Holy Land, Tiger's mind had become clear and unhindered, and he had awakened Conqueror's Haki.
All these things meant that he was absolutely worthy of becoming Roldy's fifth officer.
"Gahahaha! Everyone, the World Government's wretched state is an excellent opportunity for us!"
"Prepare to set sail!"
"Our next stop…"
"Elbaf!"
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