Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 39 Nami: Crocodile really deserves to die!

"I really underestimated Crocodile. No wonder he always looked down on Doflamingo," Bane clicked his tongue.

Of course, Bane didn't think that Doflamingo was inferior to Crocodile in some talents.

After hearing this, Nico Robin nodded and said, "That's true. There is a lot of competition in business, and Crocodile looks down on Doflamingo's bowing down to the Four Emperors of the New World. So he has rejected Doflamingo's cooperation intentions many times and driven many of the Donquixote Family's businesses out of the first half of the Grand Line."

"What kind of competition is this in business?" Bane asked casually.

He had a general idea of ​​Baroque Works' intelligence, but when it came to the more crucial details, he could only make some guesses.

Nico Robin didn't hide anything and quickly explained, "Baroque Works' main business is within the underworld. We basically monopolize all related businesses in the first half of the Grand Line, including intelligence gathering, smuggling, trafficking in contraband, assassinations, bounties, and so on. We do everything that exists in the underworld."

After a slight pause, Nicole Robin continued, "This is also why those executives are willing to pay donations. Because our Baroque Works has access to a vast network of channels, and these channels are open to executives according to their rank and contributions. At the same time, having the status of an executive in the organization can reduce a lot of unnecessary trouble."

Bane listened to this and couldn't help but admire Crocodile. The Donquixote Family under Doflamingo was the most famous middleman in the underworld, mostly doing brokerage business and also involved in smuggling. But from their methods, it was still clear that they had joined the underworld.

Crocodile's methods were obviously more sophisticated. He directly carved out a piece of the dark world, treating the market in the first half of the Grand Line as his own. Then he created a framework where you could only enter the market if you paid money and became a member; otherwise, he wouldn't open up any higher-level channels to you.

What if you're not willing to pay? Didn't Robin just say that there would be some unnecessary trouble? Crocodile also has a group of henchmen who are considered quite influential in the first half of the Grand Line. I guess their daily work is to deal with troublemakers who are unwilling to join the underworld "World Trade Organization" led by Crocodile.

Then, Bane suddenly realized and said, "So you practically monopolize all the profits of the dark world in the first half of the Grand Line?"

"In the early years, it was just a matter of gradual encroachment, but in the last two years, it has almost reached a stable situation," Robin replied modestly.

"Approximately how much profit can we expect each year?" Bane asked again, this time with some excitement in his voice.

"Excluding all expenses, the net profit is about 400 billion Berries," Nico Robin said after thinking for a moment.

Before Bane could even speak, Nami, who had been listening to the conversation, slammed her hand on the table, her voice filled with jealousy and resentment: "Damn it, Crocodile is truly despicable!!!"

"With a surplus of over 400 billion Berries a year, Crocodile must have trillions in his hands now! He's that rich!?" Bane was stunned.

He seemed to have already envisioned his future of becoming incredibly wealthy.

However, before this fantasy could even fade, Nico Robin poured cold water on it, saying, "No, so far this year, up until I left Alabasta to come to Little Garden to find you, our Baroque Works' profits totaled only a little over 20 billion Berries."

"Huh?" Bane was dumbfounded, gritting his teeth as he asked, "How could this guy be so wasteful?! What has he done?!"

"Over the years, he has been constantly instigating unrest within Alabasta and has been funding many rebel leaders. As far as I know, he has already funded 400,000 rebels this year alone. According to his plan, he intends to completely seize power in Alabasta this year, and most of the funds he has saved up in the past have now been spent on this," Robin explained.

There are some left over, which Crocodile uses to win over the various nobles in Alabasta, and also for some private lending businesses, such as the loan Crocodile gave to Bucky in the original story.

Bane now understands. Crocodile originally had a lot of reserve funds, probably around three or four trillion Berries. But this year, he started his grand plan to take over Alabasta, so he used all his money to fund the rebels in Alabasta.

Good heavens, he single-handedly raised 400,000 rebels. This guy is ruthless.

However, upon further reflection, Bane's mood improved considerably. If Baroque Works could maintain this level of profitability after he took over Crocodile, then funding Zephyr, the Navy's "rebel leader," should be no problem at all.

Four hundred thousand is an exaggeration, after all, the navy is not the army, but even if you raise tens of thousands of new navy personnel, he would still be a big shot in this world. If he stomped his foot, the sea would tremble!

If they can eventually achieve sustainable development, they'll make more and more money, build a larger and larger team, and conquering Mary Geoise will be just around the corner!

"What a talent! He's truly a talent. If I didn't know very well that, given his personality, he would never submit to me and be of use to me, I really wouldn't have been willing to kill him," Bane exclaimed.

Nico Robin echoed, "That's right. Crocodile is arrogant, even extremely arrogant, and very self-centered. He's not someone who will easily submit to others. Moreover, even if you forcefully subdue him, you must always be wary of his backlash."

Bane nodded, not commenting further on Crocodile, and casually asked, "Besides Baroque Works, doesn't he also own a casino? The one called Rain Banquet, I heard it's the most luxurious casino in the first half of the Grand Line."

"That's right. This casino provides Crocodile with a considerable amount of money every year. However, this casino has always been used by him to win over elites from all walks of life in Alabasta. He controls and runs it himself. He usually lives in the underground of the casino, so I don't know much about its revenue," Nico Robin explained.

"It's alright, we'll find out once we take him out and check the accounts." Bane didn't care.

"In addition, Crocodile also holds shares in many joint ventures, such as Carnival City and Golden City," Nico Robin added.

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

Bane vaguely remembered things like Carnival City, but not much. The mention of Golden City really piqued his interest, and he sat bolt upright, asking, "Is the Golden City you just mentioned Gild Tezzolo's Golden City?!"

"Yes, the world's largest and most luxurious entertainment city." Nico Robin nodded and said, "Tesoro and Crocodile also have some connections. Crocodile owns 3.6% of Golden City."

At first, Bane was somewhat surprised, but then he realized that this was to be expected. Tezzolo was the real richest man in the world, controlling a quarter of the world's cash flow and was known as the "Golden Emperor".

Moreover, the entire Golden City is the only mobile neutral zone in the world, where all sorts of miscellaneous forces, such as pirates, revolutionaries, marines, Celestial Dragons, and the CP organization, exist without interfering with each other.

So the question is, does Tesoro have the power to suppress everything? Is he qualified to enjoy such wealth all to himself?

Obviously, that's impossible. He doesn't have that kind of power. He may be the leader of Golden City, but there must be various shareholders behind him!

The World Government is certainly indispensable, and Crocodile, as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, has a huge influence in the dark world of the first half of the Grand Line and is also a super-rich man, so he is indeed qualified to take some shares of Gold City.

Many big shots probably have some of those, which is why Golden City can get by in various fields!

(End of this chapter)