Rocks's treasure
The merchant saw the confusion in Nicholas's eyes, he smiled and explained, "Mr. Nicholas, Macabaka has important matters to attend to and has entrusted me to receive guests before leaving. He has also informed me of the details of our cooperation, so you don't need to worry."
With that, he began to search inside his blue cloak.
"Ah, here it is."
Then, the Black Flag merchant pulled out a ledger from the cloak.
As he flipped through the ledger, the merchant read aloud, "Mr. Nicholas, according to our records, the total assets obtained from your cooperation with Macabaka amount to approximately 30 billion berries. According to our previous agreement of a 70-30 split, we are entitled to 9 billion berries. Including the handling fees for liquidating those assets, it amounts to 10 billion berries. This means we owe Nicholas a total of 20 billion berries."
Nicholas immediately spoke up: "You Black Flag folks should have storage services, right? I'll have my assets temporarily held by you. Is that alright?"
"Mr. Nicholas, of course, no problem," the Black Flag merchant replied promptly.
After some arrangements, Nicholas received a card made of gold and gemstones.
"Mr. Nicholas, as long as you hold this card, you can withdraw funds at any of our Black Flag bases. However, for exceptionally large amounts, the base may not have the capacity to pay immediately, and you may need to wait for a while. Also, here are the locations of our bases worldwide. I hope you remember them," said the merchant in the blue cloak with a smile.
"Sure thing," Nicholas replied as he accepted the card. "By the way, do you happen to know much about the Celestial Dragons?"
"Huh, those guys have only been on top for a short time. Except for some old folks and a few promising ones, the Celestial Dragons in Mariejois are pretty much kept like pigs in a pen," replied the merchant, showing disdain for the Celestial Dragons.
"Mr. Nicholas, based on your good cooperation with us, I can offer you a piece of advice. History often repeats itself, and even if it briefly takes another path, it will eventually return to its original course," said the merchant cryptically.
Exiting the hidden location of the Black Flag merchants, Nicholas pondered the merchant's words. Finally, he could only curse in his mind, "Damn it."
Meanwhile, on an unnamed island in the New World, a beautiful woman and a man in his fifties looked bewilderedly at the seemingly ransacked island.
"Sis, do you think someone got here before us?" the strangely aged man asked the woman.
The woman, puzzled by the question, replied, "How would I know?"
Thinking about their late arrival, the woman couldn't help but recall the numerous figures who might have preceded them.
"But how can we achieve our family's revenge without this fortune?" The visibly aged man sank to the ground, almost on the verge of tears.
"Quiet! Stop bothering me with your thoughts!" The woman snapped at the man sitting on the ground, lost in thought.
Suddenly, from afar, a dragon's roar echoed, and simultaneously, a colossal figure soared rapidly towards them from the sky.
The newcomer was Kaido, who, after much toil, had learned the location of the Rox Pirates' treasure. Hindered briefly by some foolish pirate crews on his way, he hastened here, only to encounter two familiar faces.
"You two got here so early? Where's the treasure? Hand it over," Kaido demanded, his dragon-like gaze fixed on the pair.
Back in the New World, a massive fleet sailed across the ocean. Witnessing this sight, smaller vessels fled in haste, even if they were pirate ships.
Everyone in the New World knew this fleet and its admiral, Captain John. They raided merchant ships, towns, and even dared to attack some small kingdoms. Most of the captains in this fleet were of mediocre strength, yet collectively, they posed a significant threat. This group, led by Captain John, was known as a formidable plundering force.
"Captain John, our losses this time are quite severe. Many of my crew members perished," one pirate captain solemnly reported.
"My ships were sunk twice, and I lost hundreds of men," another lamented.
"To stop the Marines, I even tied bombs to my favorite wife and tossed her onto their ship," confessed a distraught pirate.
"What's the meaning of this? Hiccup~" John, inebriated, looked at his crew members with bewilderment.
"I mean, we need more money," said one of the pirate captains, dead serious.
"Exactly, more money. We were supposed to get rich, but ended up getting beaten up by the Marines," another chimed in.
"We need more money for new ships and supplies," yet another added.
"Quiet down! Once we get our hands on the treasure left by Rocks, we'll have ships, weapons, women, and crews." With John's words, the ship erupted into celebration as the crew imagined the prosperous life awaiting them after obtaining the treasure.