A little here, a little there, overall large in volume, but dispersed so that not much actually reached each location.
This is also thanks to those counterfeit wine sellers. If it weren't for their fake wine, Sibia Green Grape Wine probably wouldn't have been able to enter other seas' markets so easily.
Ian looked at Zephyr and said with a smile, "This money should be enough for you to maintain your fleet, right?"
"Enough, enough, hahaha!"
Zephyr laughed heartily, nodded, and said, "I'm starting to believe what you said back in the Sibia Village. If this wine really sells across the entire sea, I might actually be able to build a force similar to Marine Headquarters! But..."
He looked at Ian with curiosity. "Why don't you expand the production? I heard there are still many people who can't get any. If they all got it, we could make a huge profit!"
"No need to devalue the brand; this is enough."
Ian shook his head in response: "Keep it at a certain quantity. Those who can't get it will always want it, and those who taste it will want more, sometimes even hiding it instead of drinking it!"
There was one more thing he didn't say.
He didn't care about these things.
From the beginning, he knew that strength was everything. No matter how rich you are, if you get defeated, everything you worked for can be taken by others.
But if you are strong enough and want to make money. Just like now... Even without popularity, you can create your own buzz and reap the benefits.
The current hype around Sibia Green Grape Wine is mainly because he defeated an Admiral.
Without that, even if the Sibia Green Grape Wine was sold once again, no one would have cared.
Zephyr: "...?!"
Hearing Ian's words, Zephyr furrowed his brows, as if he understood something.
Then he chuckled and said, "Enough about that. What do you plan to do next?"
"What do I plan to do?"
Ian raised his axe and smiled at Zephyr: "Go home and be with my wife and kids!"
With that, he ignored Zephyr and turned to leave.
Zephyr watched Ian with helplessness, yet still shook his head with a smile. "This kid!"
At such a critical moment, he still had time to be with his wife and... children?!
But that was exactly why he made this choice!
Zephyr's eyes showed a hint of admiration. Holding his hands together while looking at the sky, he furrowed his brows and murmured: "What the hell are those annoying hyenas up to?"
...
Meanwhile, in the capital of Water 7, inside a distillery.
"Lucci, do you really have a way to deal with that terrifying guy?"
"No way!"
Dressed in shipwright clothes, a man called Lucci shook his head. "The World Government doesn't even know what we're doing. The Marine Headquarters won't send an Admiral to help."
Kaku: "...?"
Kaku, who had not been expecting such an answer from Lucci, was suddenly confused. "Then you still..."
"We're just having the useful idiots help a bit."
Before Kaku could finish, Lucci shook his head with a meaningful tone: "No matter the final result... No, there was only ever one result. But in any case, we will successfully infiltrate Grado, even that so-called Umbrella Corporation, locate their position, and complete the orders given from above."
"Orders..."
Hearing Lucci, Kaku finally understood.
From the beginning, this so-called help was fake. It was just a way to create opportunities to infiltrate Grado or the Umbrella Corporation.
Not long ago, their superior had given them orders to search for any information on that West Blue rebel. It seems that from then on, Lucci had already decided on the plan.
"How do you plan to infiltrate?"
"Infiltrate? That's simple."
Facing Kaku's question, Lucci shook his head with a smile: "When the mafia in West Blue wins, they expand aggressively. Just like back then, when Grado defeated the Capone Mafia Family and became one of the new Five Major Families of the West Blue. Once the other four families are defeated, that's our chance to infiltrate them."
He was confident that with his ability and strength, he could gain recognition from those guys.
After all, the current Umbrella Corporation... Although strong, it was severely understaffed.
Hearing this, Kaku also understood Lucci's meaning.
However…
"What about here?"
Kaku looked at Lucci seriously. "Are we giving up on our current mission?"
"This...?"
Hearing Kaku, Lucci fell silent, then shook his head: "We're not giving up. Kalifa and the others will handle this. We've locked on to the target. We'll continue to lurk until we obtain the blueprints. And even if we do, deciphering them will require that orphan from Ohara."
Yes, this time it would be a multi-pronged operation: investigating the blueprint while locating where those guys are hiding.
In fact, he preferred to get the blueprint first, but that foolish superior had issued this order to earn credit.
As a CP9 member, he had no choice but to comply.
Gaining the West Blue rebels' trust would still require more careful planning.
"Purururu!"
While he was thinking, the Den Den Mushi on him rang.
Lucci answered, and upon hearing something, frowned, then hung up.
After finishing all the drinks, he stood up and said to Kaku: "Let's go! The real show has begun, and we're heading to the West Blue!"
…
"Mr. Gini, have you told Mr. Ian about this?"
"I already told the boss."
Watching Ace devour meat in large bites, Gini, also in a suit, smiled. "The boss even said he would come here personally!"
"What's Mr. Ian coming here for?"
Hearing Gini, Ace looked up, puzzled. "Those guys, the two of us can handle them. If it comes to it, I can pull that guy, Enel, over. Do we really need Mr. Ian to come personally for those guys?"
"Those guys aren't important, but the people behind them are extremely important. I received intelligence, they've already found someone who can hold off the boss."
Gini removed the cigarette from the corner of his mouth, flicked it, then put it back in while rubbing his forehead with a headache. "That kind of monster isn't something we can stop. I don't even know where they found it."
"A monster that can stop Mr. Ian?"
120 more chapters on my Patreon/SweetestDeath