Chapter 1048 - 629: Garp?
"Oh...?"
Sage emitted a meaningful sound, "Your plan is rather good."
"Just like we used to say..."
Crocodile confidently declared, "I guarantee your plan won’t have any unexpected issues, and you guarantee my plan goes smoothly. Sage, when it comes to brains, I’m not inferior to you."
Just like the Navy’s new description when they placed a bounty on him, powerful conspiratorial skills are another sort of force comparable to his own Logia-type abilities.
Sage nodded, "Very sincere, alright, I agree. You’re so straightforward, I won’t let my partner suffer losses. The underground world’s business is just too petty and wastes your organization’s strength."
"Treat it like regular business, the discount remains the same as before. As long as you secretly open up the Red Earth Continent, the amount of business on the Grand Line depends entirely on your own capability!"
The world is vast, and Sage’s business only occupies 20%, with the bulk being weapons.
His production capacity hasn’t significantly increased from before, because the initial scope was huge, and although the annexed islands expanded production, the excess was consumed by his internal demand.
The Disaster Pirates, numbering over seventy thousand, couldn’t possibly swim empty-handed in the sea against foes, could they?
The first half of the New World nominally belongs to him, but there are always some fame-seeking reckless pirates attacking his territory, the farther from O’hara, the more so.
Adding some populous Magnetic Field Islands, including the security officer of the O’hara headquarters, also require weapons.
Guns aren’t banned within Sage’s domain, ordinary people also purchase a couple for protection just in case.
The increasing population and his newly acquired resources, in and out, consumed by internal demand.
Precisely because of this, Sage becomes increasingly insatiable.
In the sea, his business is only thriving within his own territory. Compared to the entire world, his business share is too small, only the weapon sales are slightly better.
Ships?
These things are the most expensive, selling well but belong to high-value products; the output isn’t really high.
Big Mom was heartbroken when Kid sank three of her ships, not to mention the ones constructed by Renadia, which are of exceptional quality.
And this share is absolutely unacceptable to Sage.
But the geopolitical condition is here, despite efforts to expand to the West Sea and North Sea, so far only at the edge of the Calm Belt, some countries have developed.
How many resources and population do those small islands have? Plus dangerous sailing conditions, forcing Seastone onto the keel could still lead to accidents.
Eluding capture while walking along the river is rare, frequent freedom on the sea encounters Sea Kings.
Those intelligent creatures aren’t blind, once close enough, spotted means capsized, especially close to the Calm Belt, lair of Sea Kings.
Current North Sea and West Sea are not considered fruit atop the cake for Sage, just tiny sesame seeds on food, currently for embellishment.
One can only say the future is promising.
"Then I’ll take it!"
Crocodile grinned, "Sage, my plan will not fail either, but I need your cooperation..."
"Make a bit of commotion, right?"
Sage grinned viciously as well, guessing Crocodile’s plot, "Relax, even if I don’t want to, those people wouldn’t let me succeed!"
"Exactly, make some noise, shift the focus. As for time, half a day is enough. Leveraging Everton’s ability, first establish a refuge, then use traps outside to mask entry, creating a trap-stone door, then slowly we will select a covert location..."
Crocodile exhaled smoke, "Dino."
"Alright, President!"
Sango swiftly stood, his hands melting wax solution, spreading swiftly on Sage’s table, the wave-like solution resembling the sea, and stacked on top forming a miniature model of the Red Earth Continent, including the indentation Red Harbor was blasted into and the whirlpool still swirling beneath it.
"Different from the Lulucia Kingdom..."
Boa Hancock glanced at the whirlpool in the model, then at Sage, "Is it because you attacked the main body of the Red Earth Continent?"
"Hmm... Lily?" Sage looked at Lily.
"Pluton is different, it’s an energy weapon emphasizing ’total destruction.’ If hit, it will disintegrate physically, as for the harm caused, it’s not the eternal whirlpool in Lulucia Kingdom but will trigger an apocalyptic tsunami, and behind this tsunami..."
Lily thought for a moment, furrowing her brow, "The rest I don’t really understand, these were all said by Vegapunk. He’s still researching, mumbling about continental shelf, seabed, crust dissolution, mass conservation and such..."
She’s not illiterate, well-versed in literature, but literary cultivation and technical matters are two different things.
When technology becomes sufficiently advanced, for laypeople it’s akin to mythology.
"In any case, set that aside for now. Just understanding the power is enough."
Crocodile’s eyes deep inside revealed a hint of envy.
In some sense, his ideals, if replaced by Sage, would have already been realized.
"The current issue is we haven’t yet decided on the location as the passageway point."
Crocodile moved the gold hook on his wrist over the waxen white waves beneath the Red Earth Continent model, "This area is the Grand Line, outside is the Calm Belt, can be ignored."