Although Luo Lan wanted to get more information out of Tsuru, unfortunately…
Tsuru was stubbornly tight-lipped.
Still, Luo Lan could make some guesses.
To make both Sengoku and Tsuru so wary—besides the Celestial Dragons, who else could it possibly be?
So this matter was undoubtedly related to the Celestial Dragons.
But it didn't matter, because Luo Lan already knew—his brother, the one who raised him through blood, sweat, and tears, was still alive.
For now, that was enough.
As for what exactly happened back then, once Jun Lin grew stronger, strong enough to stand against the World Government...
He believed Tsuru would eventually talk.
---
East Blue.
Goa Kingdom.
Inside a vast and extravagantly luxurious estate.
King Sterry III was examining a gold bar, using various methods to test its authenticity.
"This is truly perfect purity. Are you really willing to sell it at 90% of market price?"
"Yes. After all, Jun Lin is wanted by the Navy. We can't take these goods to official markets."
"Alright, I'll take them. How many do you have?"
"Each bar weighs 3 kilograms. We have 50 bars in total. With the current market rate at 837 Berry per gram, the total comes to __ Berries. At 90% of that, it's __ Berries. We only want cash."
"No problem with the price. How do we make the deal?"
To King Sterry III, leas than 400 million Berry was nothing.
If they hadn't said there were only 50 bars, he would've wanted even more.
"King Sterry III, before we trade, I must clarify a rule. After you buy this gold, you must not tell anyone for at least three years—nor can you gift or sell it to others. The source of our gold is... special, and it's not suitable for public exposure just yet."
"If you can't agree to this, then we can't do business."
Sterry thought the masked man was going to say something serious.
But it was just that?
He didn't lack money. If he was buying the gold, of course he'd hide it away. Why would he sell it?
As for gifting it? That'd only happen if he lost his mind.
"No problem!"
"Good. We'll trade tomorrow night. The time and place will be sent to you."
With that, the masked man took back the gold bar from Sterry and left.
"Master, shall I make arrangements for tomorrow night?"
"No need. Jun Lin isn't someone we can afford to mess with. Just make the trade honestly."
"Yes, sir!"
With that order, the butler immediately began preparing.
Even though it was under 370 million Beli, preparing it discreetly still took some effort.
What they didn't know was...
The same thing was happening all across the East Blue's kingdoms.
Just in the Goa Kingdom alone, 23 nobles agreed to make deals.
Of course, there were also those who refused and tried to report the matter to the World Government.
But those nobles didn't even get the chance to make the call—they were killed before they could.
Even the scene was made to look like the Revolutionary Army was responsible.
As for killing those nobles and framing the Revolutionary Army—Luo Lan felt no guilt.
He agreed to Karina's plan without hesitation.
According to her plan, no noble would be allowed to buy too much at once.
Based on the wealth of each client, the sale quantity ranged from 20 to 100 bars per person, each bar weighing a standard 3kg.
Every transaction amount was determined after careful investigation and analysis of the buyer.
For example, if a noble had large debts—even if he had the cash—Karina wouldn't approach him.
Because if that person later ran into financial trouble, they'd likely sell the gold.
In addition to controlling quantity, Karina was also very strict about who they sold to.
Only to nobles and royals.
Why? Because those people loved hoarding wealth in the form of gold.
Gold has always appreciated over the past 800 years—it's never gone down.
And those vaults where nobles kept their gold...
Just walking into them was a dazzling sight—who wouldn't get excited?
In just a few days, with help from Jun Lin's intelligence division, Karina completed over 100 transactions.
They had already collected more than 50 billion Berry.
And that...
Was less than 20% of the gold they brought back from Skypiea.
In fact, it wasn't even 1% of the total gold from Skypiea.
After wrapping things up in East Blue, Karina turned her eyes to the South Blue.
According to her plan, to prevent gold prices from crashing too soon, she would make a full round across all four seas and the Grand Line kingdoms.
Then, she would return to East Blue and expand the sale volume.
This way, even if the second wave caused a market crash, Jun Lin would have already made...
At least several hundred billion Berry in the first wave alone.
And if the second wave was carefully planned and delayed—or never crashed at all—
They could make even more.
---
A few days later.
The Danaan returned to Rhodes Island.
Luo Lan went straight to Karina's office.
"Karina, how's the gold situation?"
"Very smooth. Just from the East Blue alone, we've earned 58.7 billion Beli. The funds are being transported back to Rhodes Island as we speak. They should start arriving in ten days."
"What did you just say?"
Luo Lan's eyes widened.
He remembered clearly—Karina had said the gold should be sold in multiple rounds, with each round larger than the last.
And for the first round, to avoid crashing the market, they were supposed to strictly limit the quantity sold.
So for the East Blue—the first stop of the first round...
If they made a hundred million or even a billion, that would've already been impressive.
But you're telling me 58.7 billion?
Just from the East Blue?
"Yep. Don't underestimate East Blue. It may be the weakest sea in terms of pirate strength, but economically, it's the most prosperous. It's even known as the World Government's purse."
"Huh… That actually makes sense."
Luo Lan nodded.
He recalled why East Blue had that reputation.
Being called the weakest sea wasn't for nothing.
A pirate with just a 20 million bounty could be considered a big shot there.
In contrast, in the other seas, pirates with 50 to 60 million bounties were everywhere.
In the West and North Blues—due to their proximity to the New World—pirates with 100+ million bounties weren't even rare.
So it was inevitable that while East Blue's pirates were weaker, its economy outshined the other seas.
"Where's the money?"
"I already prepared it for you. I set aside 8.7 billion Berey for daily operational costs and the shipyard—that money pit. The remaining 50 billion is in Warehouse No. 3. Go help yourself."
Luo Lan didn't mind her taking 8.7 billion.
After all, the shipyard was pumping out second-generation battleships like crazy—each one costing around 500 million Berry to build.
Just like Karina said, the shipyard was now a money-burning monster.
And with their ever-growing organization, they were soon going to surpass 20,000 members.
So daily expenses had also increased ten- or twentyfold.
But that was fine. With all that gold, and Karina in charge—
Even if 50 billion wasn't enough, it didn't matter.
In less than half a month, another few hundred billion would come in.
"No problem. Is 8.7 billion enough? Want me to leave you another 5 billion?"
Luo Lan was in a great mood.
If Nami were here, she'd probably explode on the spot.
Back when she managed the finances, Luo Lan would try every trick to squeeze every last Berry from her.
But now that Karina's taken over, this guy actually asks if she needs more—"Want another 5 billion?"
The difference… was insane.
---
https:// ko-fi.com/sami27
(COMPLETED)