Chapter 5 The Kingdom of Hidden Wealth: Unraveling the Enigma of the Dragon Kingdom
"My lord, the munitions from the Suzerain Kingdom of One of the Five Elders has arrived at the port! However, the price is 20% higher than the last time."
"What? Why is it so expensive?"
"The leader of the team mentioned that it's because this month is Lord Ju Peter birthday."
"Ah..."
"My lord, what should we do now? The treasury doesn't have enough funds."
"We have no choice but to impose additional taxes on the citizens."
"But... their taxes are already very heavy! It will be difficult for them to come up with more money."
"If it's difficult for them, it's difficult for us too. Follow my orders, mobilize the royal army, and execute anyone who resists on the spot!"
"Yes!"...
The story proceeds with a battlefield to suppress the civilians.
"Sell several coastal cities to pirates and grant them noble titles! A duke with 100 million berries, a marquis with 50 million berries!"
"Your Majesty, that's absolutely impossible. If pirates become nobles, ordinary people's lives will be unbearable! They act without laws, and those cities will be ravaged and left empty!"
"I understand your loyalty, Will, but for our kingdom to progress, we need money! Only with the help of the Kingdom of St. Vinus, with its abundant heavenly gold, can I hope to become a new Celestial Dragon! So, go ahead and do it, and I promise you'll be rewarded generously!"
"The Celestial Dragons are beyond our reach!! No one has been promoted to a World Noble in years!! Your Majesty, please wake up!"
"Nonsense!! Others may have failed, but I will definitely achieve it. Our country is one of the wealthiest in the world. If we pay enough money, nothing is impossible! If you won't do this, I'll find someone else who will!"
"Since that's the case, I can only demonstrate my determination even if it means risking my life, in the hope of awakening His Majesty!"
"Sell several coastal cities to pirates and grant them noble titles! A duke with 100 million berries, a marquis with 50 million berries!"
"Your Majesty, that's absolutely impossible. If pirates become nobles, ordinary people's lives will be unbearable! They act without laws, and those cities will be ravaged and left empty!"
"I understand your loyalty, Will, but for our kingdom to progress, we need money! Only with the help of the Kingdom of St. Vinus, with its abundant heavenly gold, can I hope to become a new Celestial Dragon! So, go ahead and do it, and I promise you'll be rewarded generously!"
"The Celestial Dragons are beyond our reach!! No one has been promoted to a World Noble in years!! Your Majesty, please wake up!"
"Nonsense!! Others may have failed, but I will definitely achieve it. Our country is one of the wealthiest in the world. If we pay enough money, nothing is impossible! If you won't do this, I'll find someone else who will!"
"Since that's the case, I can only demonstrate my determination even if it means risking my life, in the hope of awakening His Majesty!"
The kingdom was in chaos.
The people were starving and children were being traded for food.
The nobles and royal family lived a luxurious life, while the rest of the kingdom suffered.
The kingdom was divided into two worlds by a wall.
The rich lived on one side, while the poor lived on the other.
The rich people controlled the kingdom's money and used it for themselves.
Even though only a portion of the money was used for personal gain, it was still a lot of money.
[Kingdom wealth ranking NO.2, the main source of wealth is heavenly gold, arms... Estimated annual net income: 110 billion Baileys! ]
People were angry when they saw how much money the rich had.
They felt despair and suffocation because they knew that the money could have been used to help the poor.
[Kaido: Uhhhhhhhhh! It seems the World Government will always find ways to make money! War is indeed a highly profitable venture! It's just that there are so many private interests involved!]
[King: The bounties of our entire pirate group are estimated to be only one-tenth of the kingdom's annual income!]
[Marine A: Impossible! This can't be true! The wars of so many countries were triggered by the gold of Celestial Dragons!]
[Marine B: Does the justice we have been upholding truly exist?!]
[Rocks: The World Government is the biggest pirate group! I admire your honesty!]
[Whitebeard: The World Government has never been a benevolent entity. My homeland was also oppressed by Heavenly Gold back then!]
....
The Marines knew about the arms trade, but they were shocked by how many countries were involved.
Elders saw this and knew that they had to do something to stop it.
.....
[One of the Five Elders: The heavenly gold we collect is within a reasonable range, and we have also helped these countries resist pirate invasions. If there were no pirates, we wouldn't have to charge such a high amount of heavenly gold. Many kings have their selfish motives, which is the wrong approach in the kingdoms below. Pirates are the biggest curse, please don't be misled!]
[Whitebeard: Such a convenient excuse to justify their actions!]
[Spandam: The Five Elders are right! It's all the pirates' fault!]
[Law: It's ridiculous. How did the pirates end up here? Weren't they forced out by your actions?]
The World government wasn't as bad off as before.
A new topic came up and everyone started talking about that instead.
[Smoker: It appears that the second and third fortunes are built on bloodshed! I wonder how much blood is behind the first fortune?]
[Ace: Can't there be a cleaner source of money in this world?]
[Blackbeard: You're still so naive, Captain Ace! There has never been peace in this world; everything follows the law of survival of the jungle, whether it's money or power! They are all built on a foundation of suffering!]
[Aokiji: The focus is now on the so-called Dragon Kingdom! The video indicates that the source of their wealth is genuine. But how can this relatively unknown Dragon Kingdom surpass the wealth of the other two kingdoms?]
Everyone was curious about this country.
They were also puzzled because it was not as well-known as the other two countries.
The video zoomed in to show a bustling, clean, and tidy country with magnificent buildings.