One Piece: Blue Scale Admiral

“That’s true, you’re all monsters of the New World. My men! Let’s celebrate Shanks becoming… the fourth Emperor of the Sea!” Yasopp laughed and raised his glass.

"Whoa! Emperor of the Sea!"

Just then, dark clouds rolled and gathered in the sky, and a thunderous roar resounded between heaven and earth.

A massive azure dragon emerged from the pitch-black clouds, its winding body swooping down as it looked below.

"coming!"

Shanks finished his drink with a smile, stood up, drew his rapier Griffin from his waist, and looked up at the giant dragon in the sky.

"Kaido!"

...

...

A few days later, a news story that shocked the world spread like wildfire.

The fourth Emperor of the Sea in the New World has been born, and his name is 'Red-Haired' Shanks!

Chapter 76 Tyrant and Dragon [Two-in-One]

South China Sea, the Kingdom of Sorbe.

A large ship adorned with a red dragon is sailing towards the royal city island that is faintly visible ahead.

On the spacious deck, bags of food were piled up, and soldiers in green uniforms stood on the ship's side, holding long guns and vigilantly patrolling the surrounding sea.

At the bow of the ship, a tall man, shrouded in a long black robe, stood upright. The sea breeze blowing across the water made his robe flutter wildly.

Suddenly, a crisp popping sound rang out in the air, like a balloon being punctured.

The next instant, a figure as tall as a small mountain appeared abruptly on the ship, startling everyone standing on the deck. They instinctively raised their spears at the suddenly appearing figure.

But when everyone saw who it was, smiles appeared on their faces, and they put down the spears they had been holding.

The man who suddenly appeared was nearly seven meters tall, with a robust and imposing physique, and was dressed in black and white clothes.

He was wearing a hat with bear ears on his head and holding a Bible in his right hand.

"Bear, it's been a long time."

Dorrag lifted his hood, revealing a weathered face, and a rare, genuine smile appeared on his face.

"It has indeed been a long time, Dragon."

On Xiong's otherwise serious face, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

Despite its enormous size, it speaks in a very gentle voice.

"I heard that the Kingdom of Sorbe is suffering from a locust plague, so I made a special trip to the North Sea and obtained some food from Ilya. Perhaps that will help us get through this difficult time."

Dorrag pointed to the sacks of grain piled on the deck and said with a smile.

The bear earnestly expressed his gratitude to him, then took out a few pieces of paper from his pocket and bent down to hand them to Dorrag.

"What's this?" Dragon took the paper with some surprise.

"It's inside intelligence about the coup in the Kingdom of Prince, which I obtained from the World Government."

"A coup in the Kingdom of Prince?" Dragon frowned, then sighed. "Did Ilya still make a decision?"

As he spoke, he was about to look down and flip through the pages.

Just then, a revolutionary soldier standing in the watchtower at the top of the mast suddenly shouted anxiously:

"Commander Dragon, Lord Bear, a pirate fleet has been spotted in the waters ahead, consisting of five pirate ships! They are heading towards the Sorbet Royal City!"

"Pirates?"

Upon hearing this, Dorag put down the paper in his hand and turned to look in the direction the soldier was pointing.

Sure enough, five hazy ship silhouettes appeared on the distant sea.

Upon seeing this, a strong killing intent instantly appeared on Dorag's face.

But then he looked at Kuma with some confusion, "Kuma, aren't you already one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea? Why are there still pirates daring to invade your country?"

“That’s normal, Dragon.” Kuma’s face was calmer than Dragon’s. “The most intimidating sea area for the Seven Warlords of the Sea is the first half of the Grand Line. Most of the pirates there have experienced storms and have a clear understanding of this sea, so they naturally develop awe for the strong.”

"The New World is a paradise for the strong. Even the Seven Warlords of the Sea are nothing there."

"Those rookie pirates who haven't yet ventured out to seas lack a clear understanding of their own strength. Most of them, like the people in front of us, are arrogant and look down on everyone."

His eyes gleamed faintly beneath the brim of his hat as he sighed softly. "Otherwise, why do you think I'm called a tyrant? I don't even know how many pirates I've killed who tried to attack the Kingdom of Sorbe. They're like the locust plague currently plaguing the kingdom; once one group is wiped out, another quickly gathers."

As he spoke, Xiong took off the black glove on his right hand, revealing a hand with a fleshy ball.

"Don't rush, bear, let me see."

Dorrag gazed at the distant ship's silhouette, his tall figure and flowing robes billowing, causing the surrounding air to swirl rapidly and soon a gust of wind to rise.

The powerful Observation Haki, amplified by the raging winds that swept across the land, covered an area spanning dozens of miles of sea, including the entire capital of Prince.

Soon, everything that happened on the pirate ship in the distance was reflected in Dragon's mind.

...

On the pirate ship sailing at the forefront of the fleet, Badramonson, who had just announced the formation of his pirate crew, had a smug smile on his face. Listening to the praise from his many subordinates, he experienced a thrill that a merchant could never get.

He was originally a maritime merchant from the Kingdom of Zidila in the South China Sea.

After earning his first pot of gold by transporting a batch of grain for the kingdom, his maritime business grew smoothly and steadily.

In just a few years, his net worth skyrocketed from several million pegories to hundreds of millions of pegories.

Meng Song was originally quite satisfied with his career.

As shipping routes expanded, factories were built one after another.

At this rate, in a dozen years at most, Badrámson will become the richest merchant in the Kingdom of Zidila.

But a chance encounter led him to meet Imitoxtin, the most notorious human trafficker in the South China Sea, and from her he learned what a truly lucrative industry was.

The price of a normal adult human slave is around 500,000 Berries. Beautiful women cost even more.

Rare races other than humans, such as the Dwarfs, the Long-Armed, and the Long-Legged, start at 700,000 Berries each.

Giant slaves are even scarcer, with male giants starting at 5000 million and female giants starting at 1000 million.

There are even more expensive mermaids; a mermaid slave is worth at least 7000 million Berries.

If this were in the Sabaody Archipelago, and you were lucky enough to encounter a world-class noble who spends money like water, you could easily earn hundreds of millions of Berries by selling just one mermaid!

A single slave can be worth hundreds of millions of Berries!

Badrmontson couldn't imagine it.

He spent five or six years going out to sea every day, enduring harsh weather, encountering pirates and bandits, and bribing nobles in various kingdoms to gradually accumulate a fortune of hundreds of millions of Berries.

That unremarkable woman, Imitoxtin, could easily acquire a mermaid slave that would be worth more than all his years of hard work.

Monson, who had been depressed for several days because of a remark by Kerstin, finally took a desperate gamble during a sea voyage and kidnapped civilians from a small island, then sold them to Kerstin.

In the South China Sea, although you can't catch mermaids worth a fortune, ordinary civilians are everywhere.

Moreover, there is no danger in catching them.

Although Kirsten only paid him one-third of the purchase price, the sale of more than 300 commoner slaves brought him a profit of more than 50 million Berries.

Having tasted success, Badrmontson became unstoppable.

He began frequently abducting people during sea voyages and selling them to Kirsten, earning a great deal of money.

Because he was a legitimate merchant of the Kingdom of Zidila, none of those kingdoms or the South China Sea branch navy linked the disappearance of people to him.

This allowed Monson to earn in just three months what he previously earned in five or six years.

A single, risk-free human trafficking operation can yield profits ten times greater than a normal maritime shipping business.

Moreover, the time required is not long, and there is no need to bribe those detestable nobles.

The thrill of making a fortune captivated Meng Song.

He gradually became dissatisfied with being Kirsten's subordinate.

Why should Kirsten so easily take the lion's share of the slaves he painstakingly captured?

Monsong wanted to abduct civilians himself, sell them, and earn more money.

However, highly profitable businesses such as arms trafficking, human smuggling, illegal drug trafficking, and even organ trafficking all require powerful military force to protect them.

Without sufficient military force, even a ruthless slave trader like him would encounter an even more ruthless pirate gang at sea.

A month ago, during a slave smuggling operation, Monsong encountered a group of young pirates who easily defeated all the guards he had hired at great expense.

He had been living in fear and anxiety, and the huge fortune he had accumulated over the past six months was gone in an instant.

This experience finally made Badramonson realize that simply being a businessman was not enough to reap the huge profits from these illegal businesses.

He wants to build his own power, establish a pirate crew, and recruit a large number of powerful pirates.

With powerful military force, he could abduct people more recklessly without worrying about encountering arrogant pirates like that red-haired brat again.

They can also abduct a large enough population at once to earn more money.

Sooner or later, he, Badrmontson, will become a slave trader like Imhotep.

No, even surpass her!

"And that brat Kidd! Once I've made enough money in Sabaody and climbed the social ladder among the world's nobles, I'll make him pay!"

Meng Song smiled as he listened to his subordinates' flattery, but inwardly he was seething with rage.

He has a keen business sense and knows that targeting the high-end market is the best way to make quick money.

Therefore, he planned to plunder enough people in the geographically remote Kingdom of Sorbet, and sell them at the Grand Market to earn enough Berries.

Then, with that money, they ventured into the prosperous Sabaody Archipelago, building a larger fleet and power, and began targeting the high-end market, attempting to capture slaves of rare races.

"If I could catch a mermaid, with my intelligence, I'd be absolutely certain I could use it to climb the social ladder and become one of the world's elite. Then..."

Just as Monson was silently planning for his future, a quick-witted pirate beside him reminded him, "Captain Monson, I've heard that the former king of the Sorbet Kingdom was Bartholomew, nicknamed the Tyrant, and he's also a powerful pirate. If we rob the civilians of the Sorbet Kingdom, will he target us?"

"Bartholomew's Bear?"