Kane: Talking about money hurts feelings, but without money, we can only talk about people.
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Half a month after the Seven Warlords Investment Conference.
The port of Punk Hazard grew increasingly lively.
News had spread across the four seas and the Grand Line: just pay the fee, and you could obtain Legal Plundering Rights, have your bounty removed, and become a "legal pirate" recognized by the World Government.
This deal sounded like a bargain!
Thus, pirates of all kinds, unaware of their own limitations, flocked from all directions.
Some sailed in tattered ships, others rode on wooden rafts barely staying afloat, all surging toward the G-5 Branch in a grand procession.
Unfortunately.
None of these people could afford the thirty billion Berry entry fee.
Twenty million? Are you kidding?
Fifty million? Not even enough for interest.
The most outrageous one had a bounty of only eight million, holding a bag of Berries as he dared to knock on the door, even boasting, "My greatest strength is my potential."
Sakazuki didn't even glance at him, directly ordering his subordinates to handcuff him and stuff him into a prison ship bound for Impel Down.
Over the past half month, the warden of Impel Down had already called three times.
"What on earth are you doing at G-5? Impel Down is almost full!"
Kane cheerfully replied with four words: "Normal operations."
Then hung up.
The four vacant Seven Warlords positions remained unfilled.
But Kane wasn't worried at all.
Scarcity marketing—the rarer something is, the more valuable it becomes. He understood this better than anyone.
…
That morning.
Kane was catching up on sleep at his desk, having spent the previous night checking the accounts for Doflamingo's first batch of arms sales. As expected, that guy had tampered with the distribution reports, skimming an extra three percent of the profits.
Kane circled the problematic figures in red ink on the ledger and added a note: "Double deduction next time."
Then he slept soundly.
"Report!"
A hurried knock at the door.
Kane didn't move.
"Report! Admiral! A strange group has arrived at the port! All women!"
Kane rolled over and mumbled.
"Let Sakazuki handle it."
"But… but, Admiral, they claim to be the Kuja Pirates! Their leader calls herself the current empress of Amazon Lily!"
Kane's eyes snapped open.
Kuja.
Amazon Lily.
A name instantly popped into his mind.
Boa Hancock.
The future "Pirate Empress."
The only female among the future Seven Warlords.
A peerless beauty whose future bounty would start at eighty million, capable of captivating the entire sea.
Of course, that was over twenty years later.
For now…
Kane quickly ran the numbers in his head.
Amazon Lily was located in the Calm Belt, economically isolated, with scarce resources. The entire tribe survived on hunting and plundering passing ships.
To put it bluntly, dirt poor.
Normally, such clients would be turned away outright.
But Kane wasn't normal.
He stood up from behind his desk, put on his white coat, and strode out.
"To the port."
…
Punk Hazard Port.
A uniquely shaped serpentine ship docked at berth number three.
The bow was carved with a massive venomous snake head, and the sail was embroidered with nine entwined serpents.
On the dock, quite a few curious G-5 Marines had already gathered.
"They're all women!"
"My god, look at the one with the bow—her waist is so slim, her legs so long..."
"Shh! Keep your voice down! Those bows in their hands aren't just for show!"
The warriors of the Kuja Pirates formed a crescent formation, each with a fit physique and healthy tan skin. Armed with bows and swords, they watched their surroundings with vigilant eyes.
At their center stood a woman with a graceful and tall figure.
Gloriosa.
The current Empress of the Amazon Lily Kingdom, captain of the Kuja Pirates.
Though already past forty, her body, tempered by years of Haki training, remained upright. She wore the traditional serpent-patterned armor of the Kuja, a longbow at her waist, and exuded the authority of a seasoned veteran.
But at this moment, exhaustion was written all over the empress's face.
Behind her, three little girls huddled closely together.
The oldest, around ten years old, had black hair that fell to her shoulders. Her features already showed hints of exquisite contours—fair skin, thick eyelashes, and a pair of large, azure eyes curiously taking in everything at the port.
Boa Hancock.
She held the hands of two younger girls—one quiet and still, the other looking around restlessly.
Boa Sandersonia and Boa Marigold.
The three sisters had never left Amazon Lily since birth; this was their first time stepping into the outside world.
"Sister, these people..." the youngest, Marigold, gnawed on her finger, "...are so ugly."
"Shh!" Hancock covered her sister's mouth and whispered, "Don't speak carelessly. We're on their territory."
Sandersonia didn't say a word, only silently moved a step closer to her sister.
Gloriosa glanced back at the three children, her gaze complex.
She hadn't wanted to bring them.
But the situation on Amazon Lily was already perilous.
After the Great Pirate Era began, the order of the New World's sea routes collapsed. Countless ruthless pirates infiltrated the Calm Belt in search of safe havens. Though the Kuja Island had Sea Kings as a natural barrier, the cost of repelling invaders grew heavier each year.
Last month, a pirate fleet with bounties exceeding a hundred million Berry forced its way into the Calm Belt. Though ultimately driven back by the Kuja warriors, seventeen people on the island lost their lives.
Seventeen lives.
For an island with a total population of only a few thousand, this number weighed so heavily that Gloriosa lay awake night after night.
She needed the legal status of a Seven Warlord of the Sea.
With the World Government's recognition, those small-time pirates wouldn't dare provoke the Kuja so easily.
But the entry fee of three billion Berry...
Gloriosa had turned the entire national treasury upside down, sold three warships, and scraped together only two billion.
The gap between two billion and three billion was wider than the Calm Belt itself.
Yet she had come anyway.
Because aside from coming, she had no other path to take.
"He's here."
Someone in the crowd murmured a reminder.
Gloriosa looked up.
She saw a young man walking from the direction of the main building.
His white Navy Admiral coat fluttered in the sea breeze, the golden epaulettes gleaming under the sunlight.
His features were excessively handsome—no, not just handsome, but an aggressive, captivating kind of refinement that made it hard to look away.
Gloriosa had fought and killed on the high seas for most of her life, encountering countless powerful figures, but this was the first time she felt two completely contradictory temperaments in one person simultaneously:
Refined and elegant, yet untouchable.
...Kane walked up to the Kuja warriors and stopped.
"Yo."
He glanced at the serpent-shaped warship, then at the neatly arrayed Kuja fighters, before finally settling his gaze on Gloriosa.
"Captain of the Kuja Pirates, current Empress of the Amazon Lily Kingdom, Gloriosa. Bounty: seventy-six million."
The figure he quoted was precise down to the last digit.
Gloriosa's pupils contracted.
"Navy Admiral Calamity, Kane." Gloriosa performed a warrior's salute in the Kuja style. "I've long heard of your name."
"No need for formalities." Kane waved his hand with a smile. "Welcome to G-5. I assume you're here for the Seven Warlords of the Sea position?"
"Exactly." Gloriosa didn't beat around the bush. "Amazon Lily is located in the Calm Belt, with scarce resources. In recent years, we've been repeatedly harassed by pirates. If we can secure a position among the Seven Warlords, not only can we ensure the safety of our people, but we can also contribute to the World Government..."
"Alright, alright."
Kane cut off her diplomatic rhetoric, a friendly smile still on his face.
But the words that followed were colder than the sea breeze outside.
"Application fee: thirty billion Berry."
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