On the vast, boundless sea, a pitch-black warship was steadily approaching, its towering mast adorned with a bull-horn skull sail.
Wald sat cross-legged at the bow, his arms crossed over his chest, his gaze deep as he looked out at the distant horizon.
At this moment, the eastern sky was just showing the first hint of dawn, and the dim azure sky had a unique beauty.
Then, a blazing sun slowly rose, turning the ocean golden-red, its ripples shimmering with colorful golden light.
Wald gazed at the sun, feeling the salty sea breeze on his face, and a smile involuntarily touched his lips.
"Wald, good news! A War Kingdom has contacted us!"
Binjack walked out from the ship's cabin, speaking excitedly.
As he finished, he coughed violently, his breathing ragged, his face pale.
Wald turned and walked over anxiously, his gaze soft: "Big Brother, are you alright?"
Binjack said with a smile: "It's nothing serious, just an old problem. The coughing will stop after a while."
Wald gently patted Binjack's back, and Binjack's expression softened slightly: "Tell me about what just happened. Yesterday, I sent messages to several War Kings, spreading the news that we offer weapons at a low price. Just now, a War Kingdom contacted me!"
"Really?!"
Wald was pleasantly surprised, saying with a smile: "Big Brother, you are truly amazing! As expected, I can't do without you, Big Brother!!"
"Wald!!"
"This way, we can explain to Kaido, haha. It wasn't in vain that we worked so hard to transport twenty thousand firearms this time."
Wald was overjoyed. He had left Winter Island with a mission this time. In addition to leading two hundred subordinates, they also carried twenty thousand firearms and three hundred cannonballs on the ship.
This was their first time bypassing the middleman, the Ibis Family, to expand their business independently.
Although it was a bit unkind, what could they do?
They were pirates!
They were great pirates who committed all sorts of evil!
Pirates being kind to merchants?
Their brains must have been squeezed by a door.
Binjack said: "Wald, should we communicate with Kaido and tell him this good news?"
"Not yet."
"Ah?"
Binjack looked at him in confusion, stunned.
Wald smiled slightly, looking into the distance, and said: "The cooperation details haven't even been discussed yet. It's too early to tell Kaido now. Once we finalize the cooperation, then we'll tell him this good news."
At the same time, the Ibis Family.
Angry roars came from the old castle. Gute, the current head of the Ibis Family, had his eyes wide, bloodshot.
"How dare they bypass us and sell weapons to other kingdoms?!"
Gute was furious, his chest heaving, indicating he was far from calm at this moment.
The weapons Kaido provided each month were only one-tenth of his arsenal, but the other party actually wanted to bypass the Ibis Family, the middleman, and contact buyers directly. This action had completely enraged Gute.
This was a blatant provocation!
There was a reason why the Ibis Family could quickly establish itself in the Underworld; its developed maritime transport and extensive connections were unparalleled.
Gute said coldly: "Contact August of the Dorag Family. No matter what methods they use, I want them to disrupt Kaido's arms business. Pay three hundred million Berries upfront, and then seven hundred million Berries as the final payment after the job is done. I want Kaido to know the consequences of not cooperating with our Ibis Family!!"
Umit, standing below, reminded him: "Father, Kaido is not an ordinary pirate. If our actions push him too far, no one knows what he might do."
Gute was unconcerned, glaring at Umit: "Our Ibis Family's industries are spread across the world. What if we push him too far? Even the World Government and the Celestial Dragons have to cooperate with us. Umit, we are the middlemen of the gray areas!!"
Fuluo had intended to interject, but seeing Umit get a cold shoulder, he wisely dropped the idea.
The Dorag Family dealt in the business of collecting corpses from battlefields. It was by being able to personally experience battlefields and interact with various kingdom powerhouses that they secretly cultivated a group of assassins, specializing in various illicit tasks.
When August, the head of the Dorag Family, received the one billion Berries order, his mouth almost stretched to his ears.
"A one billion Berries order from Gute… to disrupt Kaido's arms trade?"
August's eyes flickered, and he immediately had someone bring Kaido's information.
The one billion Berries order was just to disrupt the other party's business. August smelled something unusual in it.
When his subordinate presented the intelligence, August frowned slightly.
"Winter Island, Oren Kingdom, Baloses Island, attacking Marine branch bases… It seems he's a reckless and quite influential pirate."
However, it was a one billion Berries order after all.
And it wasn't a direct confrontation with Kaido's forces.
August pondered for a moment and said: "Have Piekro contact the assassin with the highest mission completion rate in the group. We will give the assassin three hundred million Berries after the job is done."
Piekro was the next heir to the Dorag Family, cultivated by August, and he was quick-witted.
Piekro, upon receiving his master's order, paused for a moment. Unlike his master, he often paid attention to the situation at sea, and Kaido was a key figure he focused on.
The current mission was to deal with the business of that erratic monster who almost annihilated the Oren Kingdom?
Piekro pondered the possibility of success.
"It seems I can only go find Bolonga."
Bolonga was a Fishman who loved money and beautiful women. He was also one of the losers who was defeated by Rocks over a decade ago.
But undeniably, Bolonga was incredibly powerful. After losing to Rocks, he had been working as an assassin, doing very well.
The only problem was that Bolonga was independent and didn't choose missions without a challenge.
No challenge?
Was disrupting the business of the Super Rookie Kaido not challenging enough?
Piekro, with a feeling of unease, immediately dialed Bolonga's Den Den Mushi.
Hundreds of miles away, at a swimming pool on a resort island.
The breeze was gentle, and the sun was just right.
Bolonga was frolicking with a group of human beauties.
"Mr. Bolonga, you have a call!" a fluffy purple-haired bikini beauty shouted.
Bolonga stood up from the pool, and the water level of the entire pool dropped by nearly a meter.
He retained most of the shark's features, with jet-black skin, sharp fangs, a high dorsal fin on his back, and sharp fin-blades on his elbows.
He was over five meters tall, covered in bulging muscles, his entire body an inverted triangle, and he wore shackles and broken chains on his wrists.
As he walked, the two chains scraped against the ground, making a rustling sound.
"Hey, Piekro, you always call when I'm having the most fun. I'm very angry right now. If your matter doesn't pique my interest, the consequences will be severe, you know that, right?"
Former pirate, Man-Eating Shark, Bolonga, bounty five hundred million Berries.
He lay on a sun lounger in his swim trunks, enjoying the iced cola handed to him by a beauty.
Piekro chuckled, then said mysteriously: "Hehehehe, how could that be, Bolonga? I wouldn't bother you unless it was something big. I have a very challenging mission here, would you like to hear about it?"