Arceus's Pirate Journey

Chapter 155: Chapter 154: The Second Son of a Down-and-Out Merchant - Kojiro

However, Queen’s wanted poster didn’t attract much attention. After all, he didn’t even know why his bounty increased, especially so suddenly.

He couldn’t figure out that some intelligence agents considered him to be the true implementer of capability empowerment, so they raised his bounty along the way.

His bounty is actually higher than Zeraora’s, and from the Navy’s perspective, his impact seems greater than Zeraora as an individual, considering he also has certain suspicions surrounding him now.

This time, Shaina’s mood was quite normal. Although ”Concealer” wasn’t a particularly serious title, looking at the information on the wanted poster, Shaina felt much better as it was far better than the jerk who created the last poster.

In the pirate world, few worry about their wanted posters, as most see them as a form of honor.

The higher the reward for their boss, the more excited these underlings become. Seeing Arceus’ bounty also break the billion mark, they were even more thrilled than Arceus himself.

The prior 5,000 Belly wanted poster was seen as a disgrace, but the updated wanted poster was considered an alternative form of ”honor.”

As for Setsuna, she lived in Zou until she was seven, knowing little about the outside world. After arriving outside, she was first kidnapped by an organ trafficking and assassination group, then joined the Hundred Beasts Pirates, so her cognition was also influenced by the Hundred Beasts’ environment.

She believed a high bounty was a certification of strength, and this time the photographer took an awesome photo of Zeraora. The standing fur, the surrounding thunderbolts, and the electricity-filled eyes perfectly matched the Fur Race’s aesthetic views.

”So cool, Zeraora. Take me with you next time!”

”No way, unless you can last five minutes under me.”

”Then... let’s go on the day of the full moon next time. I can last five minutes with the Moon Lion form! Besides, I can support you remotely; my specialty is archery.”

Setsuna was always very confident in her archery skills, and she had the capability to back it up. She couldn’t use guns; even with shotguns, she couldn’t hit anything as she regarded herself as a master of body contours, but her archery was perfectly accurate, with no misses within hundreds of meters.

The craftsmen of Wano Kuni were also helping her make a longbow. There were many similar craftsmen in Wano Kuni, and although they couldn’t compete with machine-made products in terms of quantity, their handmade items were sometimes even better than machines in some aspects.

Mandfeish was still exploring the mysterious underwater regions of Wano Kuni, while the world’s development continued. The Golden Lion used numerous pirate heads to prove to the world that although he was defeated by Roger, it didn’t mean he had become weak.

Within Wano Kuni, the development of the Hundred Beasts continued. Exclusion was a fundamental issue in Wano Kuni, and solving it short-term was difficult, so the Hundred Beasts were recruiting some locals to join the Hundred Beasts Pirates.

It wasn’t to turn them into pirates or merely for them to work on plantations and orchards under the Hundred Beasts, but rather to become local partners in another way.

Kurozumi Orochi showed no interest in such trivial matters; his mind was filled with revenge, so the Hundred Beasts were searching for other suitable people, though they hadn’t found anyone after waiting for a long time.

Being hired to herd for the Hundred Beasts was acceptable to them, as it was simply working, but partnerships were not the same, and most of the wealthy locals and merchants of Wano Kuni chose to refuse commercial cooperation with the Hundred Beasts.

This somewhat related to Orochi too. Although his target was the persecution of all people, it primarily focused on ordinary civilians. He didn’t touch the Daimyo or the wealthy, as his interests were linked with theirs.

Moreover, the Hundred Beasts’ actions made him suspicious of whether this cooperative entity could achieve his goals, so he wasn’t planning on expanding cooperation beyond what had already been established.

Because of Wano Kuni’s isolation, Gold Coins circulated domestically only, meaning these people’s funds moved within a closed loop heavily influenced by Orochi.

If Orochi changed a few policies, those wealthy individuals might go bankrupt, as he was the nominal Acting General after all.

So, many obeyed Orochi’s commands, and given Wano Kuni’s national circumstances, they showed no interest in trade with the Hundred Beasts.

Moreover, the Hundred Beasts’ trade itself hinted at interfering with Wano Kuni’s economy. Although they could forcibly intervene with power, doing so would lead to economic collapse in Wano Kuni, which wasn’t in the Hundred Beasts’ interests.

Thus, the Hundred Beasts needed to break this closed-loop economy, allowing foreign funds from the Hundred Beasts to flow into Wano Kuni.

The Hundred Beasts lacked no commodities; everything from outside could be sold in Wano Kuni, but they missed having a local merchant.

People from Wano Kuni were rather peculiar—when the Hundred Beasts went directly to sell things, they refused to buy, but if it was a local from Wano Kuni, they eagerly bought those goods, making the Hundred Beasts first change into local clothing to start selling.

Being pirates, they lacked such skills—bargaining and sales pitches posed difficulties for them.

They could easily use force to coerce a merchant, but it would defeat the original purpose.

However, not everyone refused the Hundred Beasts. No matter where, there’s always the first person to take the plunge.

That day, a man with short purple hair rowed alone to Ghost Island in a small boat.

Currently, construction at Ghost Island was complete, and each worker had returned to their homes. People from Wano Kuni, except those assigned to transport supplies here, rarely ventured to Ghost Island voluntarily.

So seeing this person, the Hundred Beasts members were quite surprised.

”This guy can’t row a boat; who rows a boat like that?”

”It’s normal for people from Wano Kuni not to know how to row a boat, but should we help him? If he drowns here, it’ll ruin the Sacred Beast Lord’s plan, right?”

”Not really. There are no winds or waves here. How could he capsize?”

Just as he said this, he witnessed the man capsizing his own boat.

”What did you just say?”

”I said hurry and rescue him!”

...

”Thank you both for saving me. I am Kojiro, the second son from a regular merchant family in the Flower Capital. I’m here seeking cooperation; I’m willing to sell goods for the Hundred Beasts Pirates in Wano Kuni’s mainland.”

Without even a chance to change his clothes, he was taken directly to Shaina.

”Big Sister! There’s a merchant willing to cooperate voluntarily!”

”What’s the reason? Why are you willing to accept our cooperation?” After searching so long without finding anyone, someone has now delivered themselves, so she naturally asked this question.

”This is how it is, ma’am. I was born into a merchant family in the Flower Capital, a wealthy family, but after General Sukiyaki died, Kurozumi Orochi was appointed as Acting General.

Our biggest competitor allied with Kurozumi Orochi to destroy our family business. Both my parents died from depression due to this, and the family declined. I need a chance to rise again and take revenge on them.”

”Orochi? You should know, it was Orochi who brought us in.”

”Yes, ma’am, I am aware of this, which is why I came now. I believe that your dealings with Kurozumi Orochi are not as close as it appears; your actions fundamentally contradict Orochi’s goals.”

These are his speculations. Even though he lacks solid evidence, he had already run out of options. In Wano Kuni, no one was willing to help him, leaving him with no choice but to pin his hopes on outsiders.