The place the woman belonged to was a nightclub specialized in providing drinking companions. The decorations outside looked decent, magnificent even.
The interior was also fairly nice, though there were no private boxes; golden walls divided the space into many sections, forming a "凵" shape.
Sage came in with his crew, found a relatively large space, and plopped onto the sofa. Soon, several scantily clad hostesses joined them.
Sage occupied the main long sofa alone and waved grandly to the mama-san approaching, "I want ten! And bring some good booze, or I'll demolish your establishment!"
"Alrighty!"
The mama-san beamed with joy, having more hostesses come over to sit by Sage's side.
Five on the left, five on the right, all scantily clad, waves surging above, fair and smooth below, warm and fragrant like jade.
One must say, in this world, as long as they're young and normal, everyone looks quite pleasing!
Basil and Gin were on the left and right, sitting on the left-side sofa with Sage, flanking Link in the middle. To the right, there were Bellamy, Mute, and Pearl.
Each had a hostess accompanying them.
"Pour the drinks!" Sage laughed heartily.
"The guest is truly generous!" The hostess laughed more brightly, popping the champagne open like it was raining—ten bottles in total.
Link's eye twitched wildly, unable to help but remind, "Armand Cartier, market price at a hundred thousand Belly per bottle, here it's one million five hundred thousand Belly, and you've opened ten bottles!"
Everyone knew the drinks in nightclubs were sucker drinks, generally sold at six to eight times the normal rate. Champagne, the king of sucker drinks, was starting at ten times.
The drinks Sage ordered were not cheap to start with, so just the drinks cost fifteen million Belly.
He waved generously, "I'm quite generous. Money will come back soon, hohoho!"
As expected!
Link swallowed hard, forcing a smile, "I drank all night last night, feeling unwell. How about we chat next time?"
Slam.
Gin put a hand on Link's shoulder just as he was about to get up, forcibly pressing him back down.
"Link, the quality of the women here is quite good, not as bad as you say."
Sage lay comfortably on the sofa, immediately having two women snuggle up, one massaging his shoulders, another his legs, some pouring drinks, and others serving drinks.
A typical image of a nouveau riche.
Link wiped the sweat from his face, awkwardly smiling, "I just think it's expensive here."
"Hah! You're running a high-profit business, and you're worried about it being expensive here? I'm footing the bill, don't worry!"
Sage roared with laughter, taking a drink fed by a woman, then pulling a cigar from his cloak, waiting for a hostess to wisely light it before asking, "Not staying in East Sea, what brings you to Grand Line?"
Link, a black market merchant Sage met in Logue Town.
Also the first major Belly robbery Sage committed since his debut.
All because of you!
Link grumbled internally but dared not say directly, simply replying, "Forced to leave. That place never relaxed, especially after dealing with you... The one we dealt with stayed for a while, so we had to come to Grand Line."
With outsiders around, one couldn't say much, but the basic meaning was clear.
After Sage escaped, Zephyr stayed in Logue Town for a while, providing some explanation to the nobles and rich people who complained, closely investigating for a time, primarily targeting these black market merchants.
Though they weren't caught, under such conditions, they couldn't continue doing business, so they came to the Grand Line to make a living.
Then, in Carnival City, they unexpectedly ran into the disaster star, Sage, again.
Hearing this, Sage sighed, "It's been tough for you. Hey, someone, pour him a drink; his glass is empty."
The hostess beside Link filled his glass; realizing he couldn't leave, Link simply raised the glass and drank it down, complaining:
"It's definitely tough. The Grand Line is nowhere near as stable for business as in East Sea. It's dangerous here, even Master Umit and Master Jibson can't claim dominance. For us little guys, it's even harder."
'Deep Sea Current' Umit, a representative in the underworld transportation industry.
'Stealth Master' Jibson, a representative in the underworld warehousing industry.
As black market merchants, they were usually involved in these two industries and naturally regarded these two as leaders, as did Link.
But they were only leaders; the underworld wasn't pirates or a kingdom. Only interests mattered, with no subordination.
Sage picked up his glass, had the woman serving him fill it, and chuckled, "To me, you're quite strong. Despite complaining so much, since you're here, your heart must know."
He raised his glass to Link, "I'm going to ask you for information about Carnival City."
Link also raised his glass, listening to Sage, and couldn't help but proclaim, "Of course, I'm the most qualified black market merchant. I've only been here seven days, but I know all the information. Getting intel from me can't go wrong, especially for you sea, sea..."
He paused, eyes suddenly narrowing, the drink he was about to swallow trickling down his lips, prompting the woman beside him to grab a napkin to wipe it off.
Slam!
But just before touching, Link heavily slammed the glass on the table, the force breaking the bottom, and he shot up, his face paling, lips trembling as he pointed at Sage.
"What do you want to do, Sage!"
"Don't be so jumpy, Link."
Sage downed half a glass, readjusted his posture, reclining on the sofa, mouth open for a piece of fruit fed by a hostess.
Chewing twice, he swallowed and grinned, "I'm a pirate, of course, I'll do pirate's work."
Upon these words, the hostesses nearby fell silent, a startled hostess dropping a slice of fruit forked with a fork.
"Hey, there are ordinary people here!" Link exclaimed.
"So what!"
Sage laughed boisterously, "I'm not afraid of anyone informing someone. Whoever wants my head, just come and get it, hohohohoho!"
He snatched a bottle from the stunned woman on his right, filling his glass, "Link, since we're destined to meet, it's what you call... a fated encounter!"
He pushed another glass toward Link, filling it in front of his stunned face.
"Since we're destined, better you than someone else. We're partners, why not discuss more business? This Carnival City... hmm, for half a day's Carnival City, what's your value on it? I'll sell it to you!"
"Impossible!"
Link said darkly, "Sage, don't you know? This city isn't that simple; it's both the terminus and starting point of the sea train. With its flourishing entertainment industry, everyone here is connected to the World Government. Government officials and Navy frequently vacation here."
"Right now, in this city, there are two Headquarter Vice Admirals! You should leave quickly; if you stay, you'll definitely be caught!"
Announcing himself as a pirate in front of these hostesses meant it wouldn't be long before he was discovered.
A bounty of 420 million, that head is surely valuable.
Moreover...
Link had always been paying attention to the Disaster Pirates after their big splash in Logue Town, and the bounties of other members had risen significantly, too.
Plus, now there's a stranger.
If he remembered correctly, that guy was 'Magician' Basil Hawkins, a notorious pirate with a bounty over two hundred million.
Sage had gotten stronger...
Regarding what he said, Link completely believed it.
This guy came here to rob Carnival City!