Hachinosu Island, Harbor.
The Groudon Ship raised its sails.
On the shore below, the division commanders wiped away tears, wailing as they waved goodbye.
"Brother Gurd, you must come back and drink with us again!"
"Hahahaha, I will!"
Gurd chuckled as he waved back.
These were all division commanders, yet they were crying like children over a farewell.
Good—he liked that!
"Set sail!"
"Ooooh!"
Soon, Hachinosu Island disappeared from view.
"Ugh—bleeeh—"
Gurd leaned over the ship's railing, painting the ocean with rainbows.
He had completely forgotten about his seasickness.
"Who's steering this thing? Can't you keep it steady?!"
Gurd flipped off the sea with a middle finger, grumbling as he staggered back to the cabin, wondering if renaming the ship the Kyogre might help ease his nausea.
No way!
How could he accept protection from that fat-headed fish?!
"Gu Jiang!"
Inside the cabin, Ulti and her brother were waiting.
Both wore serious expressions as they demanded, "We've left Hachinosu Island. Now, can you finally tell us why we're collaborating with Whitebeard?"
They had been utterly baffled by Gurd's actions, unable to even explain it clearly when reporting back to Oni Island.
It made no sense!
They knew Gurd loved buying land and building houses—he had been obsessed with it back in Wano Country. But now, working with Whitebeard under the banner of the Beasts Pirates? They needed answers.
Otherwise, how were they supposed to explain this to Kaido?
Gurd sat down, draping his arms over the back of the sofa.
"Want to know?"
"Of course!"
The two nodded vigorously.
They felt like complete idiots.
Gurd grinned, realizing he did owe them a proper explanation. If even his own people were clueless, how could they muster the enthusiasm to join him in real estate?
"The answer is simple. Just like when you two went on expeditions to claim territory, I'm doing the same—just in a different form!"
"Eh???"
The siblings tilted their heads in unison.
Could he be any vaguer? How was this anything like an expedition?!
Gurd's expression turned more serious.
"Let me ask you this: With the strength of our Beasts Pirates, how much of the New World could we realistically control?"
"A quarter?"
Ulti sounded uncertain.
"Not even close."
Gurd shook his head.
The New World's power structure was already set. Beyond the Four Emperors, the underground rulers had carved out their own shares—like the Pleasure District they were heading to now.
These underground kings specialized in specific industries, growing powerful in their niches. Their expertise made it hard for the Emperors to interfere, forcing them to share the pie.
And then there was the World Government!
Many resource-rich islands in the New World belonged to them, and even the Four Emperors struggled to take those.
Not to mention the allied nations.
The Beasts Pirates controlled vast stretches of sea, but the actual islands they owned were far fewer—maybe a tenth at best, and most were poor places that couldn't even join the World Government.
Gurd rephrased his question.
"Let me test you again. If we somehow took over the entire New World, could we hold it?"
"No way."
This time, it was Page One who answered.
Unlike his sister, he wasn't naive.
Forget the endless stream of rookies—just the existing pirates in the New World wouldn't stand by and let the Beasts dominate everything.
Not even the World Government could pull that off, let alone the Beasts!
"Ulti, Page One."
Gurd spread the nautical chart on the table, pointing to the edge of the Beasts' territory: "Currently, our Beasts have expanded to the limit. Any further expansion would require an enormous cost."
"Hmm."
The siblings nodded.
Having participated in the expedition, they were well aware that if the Beasts wanted to expand further, they would have to compete for territory with other Four Emperors crews.
The risks far outweighed the gains!
"Then let me ask you this."
Gurd smirked playfully.
"Does the construction site on Hachinosu Island belong to our Beasts?"
"It does!"
The siblings' eyes lit up.
That's right—thinking about it this way, they had taken a bite out of Whitebeard's territory, and the juiciest piece at that.
Gurd took out a handful of small flags and began planting them one by one on the islands of the New World, soon covering the entire region.
"If we build a Beasts Community on every island in the New World, do you know what that would mean?"
"Gulp!"
The siblings swallowed hard simultaneously. Even with their remarkable intelligence, they now realized the feasibility of Gurd's plan.
The Beasts' flag would be planted across the entire New World!
Ulti clenched her tiny fists, stomping her feet excitedly.
Wow! Gu Jiang is so amazing!
Page One frowned.
"Would the local Pirates just stand by and do nothing?"
"Of course they'd be envious. That's why we need to share the profits—otherwise, why would I give the Whitebeard Pirates 30% of the earnings?"
Gurd shook his head with a laugh.
A strong dragon cannot crush a local snake.
To grow and thrive, sharing profits is essential. By yielding a portion of the benefits appropriately, the local snakes, acting in their own interests, would become their protectors instead.
Just like the Pirates on Hachinosu Island—even if they weren't under Whitebeard's command, they would spontaneously defend the island if the Marines invaded.
It concerned their vital interests.
Page One still didn't fully understand.
Even if they dealt with the local forces, what about the roaming Pirates? Many Pirates were transient, not staying in one place for long.
And then there were the reckless newcomers.
"Brother-in-law, what about the other Pirates?"
"Little Page, if we occupied a large number of islands, we'd inevitably face a united attack. But we're only taking a tiny, tiny piece of land—not even the size of a village."
Gurd's eyes burned with intensity.
"If you were plundering an island, faced with numerous targets to choose from, would you risk your life specifically to steal from the Four Emperors?"
"No!"
Page One suddenly understood.
Right—they were only claiming a small plot.
"And that's not all."
Gurd picked up four more flags and placed them in the four seas—a forbidden zone where the Four Emperors couldn't tread.
The Four Emperors could visit casually without issue; the Marines would turn a blind eye. But if the Four Emperors tried to occupy islands in the four seas, the Marines would mobilize their forces without hesitation.
The four seas were the World Government's foundation.
The New World was where the Four Emperors belonged.
Gurd's gaze turned cold: "When the time is right, our Beasts Community construction could even take root in the four seas!"
"Impossible!"
Page One blurted out.
"The Marines would never allow it!"
"Of course I know that."
Gurd crossed his legs, his eyes mocking.
"That's precisely why our company needs a legitimate identity—one officially recognized by the World Government!"
"I've even thought of a name."
"We'll call it the Groudon Real Estate Company!"
With Celestial Dragons in charge, the World Government's corruption was plain to see. They even dared to secretly trade with the Beasts, selling research results.
Starting a legitimate company was nothing major.
As it happened, the Queen of the Pleasure District was a member of the World Government.
Local forces, outsiders, and the authorities—all three were obstacles to his grand real estate ambitions, but there were corresponding solutions for each.
"Page One, how much money do we have left?"
"Less than 1 billion Berries ."
Nearly all of Ebisu Town's food had been sold to the Headliners within the crew, squeezing their own people dry to scrape together the startup funds.
"That's enough!"
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