The arms trade in the Wano Country has not been abandoned. Most of this business is conducted through the underground black markets of the New World. The underground industry of the New World has long been divided, and no one else can join it except for Beasts Pirates who joined it back then.
Warehousing and shipping has dedicated merchants, so all the Beasts Pirates need to do is to deliver goods.
As the business expanded, they ended up earning even more by giving up a portion of their profits to middlemen.
However, for some new customers, they would have the Beasts Pirates deliver the goods on their own, such as those located in the first half of the Grand Line.
With the increasing influence of the Great Pirate Era, various countries, forces and pirate crews were becoming more reliant on weapons. Just adding a bit of Drunken Iron Ore powder to a sword could make it sharper.
Adding some Drunken Iron Ore powder to the barrels of firearms also increased their service life and durability. Therefore, the weapons produced by the Beasts Pirates continued to dominate the high-end market.
Standard weapons leaked from the Marines and those produced by the Beasts Pirates remained the most popular types. This trip, Mandrell was going to meet their new client.
Shikkearu Kingdom, a nation on Kuraigana Island in the first half of the Grand Line, was a non-allied kingdom member. At this moment, the island was engulfed in flames of war, with the kingdom’s army and rebels engaged in battle.
The war had started not long ago, and the cause was taxation. Two years ago, King Sekai V ascended to the throne. Despite being of royal blood, he was not content. He desired to join the World Government and become an allied nation, ultimately becoming a Celestial Dragon.
But one strict requirement for joining the World Government was the payment of additional heavenly tribute. To make up for extra heavenly tribute, he began targeting taxation. Within a year, the Shikkearu Kingdom had seen all sorts of bizarre taxes.
However, it was far from enough. Even bribing others wasn’t enough. There were so many countries in the world, and getting a recommendation to join the World Government wasn’t easy. They wouldn’t recommend just anyone for free, so they had to pave the way with Berries.
In this situation, he chose to continue increasing taxes. The original taxes had made life difficult for the people, but they could still manage to survive, so no one had chosen to become a rebel.
However, by doing so, he pushed the patience of the citizens to the limit. When a family was arrested for being unable to pay taxes, the conflict finally erupted.
The kingdom experienced its first uprising, initially aimed at demanding the cancellation of taxes. However, a certain genius minister gave him an outrageous suggestion: if the commoners were still able to resist, it meant the taxes weren’t high enough. They should continue increasing taxes until the people had no strength left to resist.
Thus, in this situation, the protest groups transformed into a rebel army. Since they were going to be heavily taxed regardless, they decided to raise money and buy weapons from passing merchant ships.
In the Great Pirate Era, weapons were worth more than gold, so eight out of ten merchant ships carry weapons. This was how the rebellion in Shikkearu erupted completely.
One side had greater numbers, while the other side possessed superior equipment and training, leading to a stalemate to appear in Shikkearu.
As time passed, both sides contemplated how to deal with the other, and the rebels began searching for better weapons. Eventually, they succeeded in finding the Beasts Pirates.
However, this had little to do with the Beasts Pirates. When they sell weapons, they don’t check identities. Mandrell was here to deliver this batch of weapons simply because they offered a high enough price.
“Boss Mandrell, we’ve arrived!”
“I can see that, but it’s really lively. Where’s the person who is going to receive the goods? It would be embarrassing if we delivered to the wrong party; reputation is still important.”
This chaotic situation was not to their advantage. If they accidentally delivered the weapons to the enemy of the owner of the cargo, they would become a laughingstock.
“They said they’re waiting for us at the harbor on the east coast.”
“Lower the sails, we’ll go over in the evening. Their battle has nothing to do with us.”
Mandrell had no intention of getting involved in their battle. Beasts Pirates offer mercenary services, but that came with an extra charge. If they encountered enemy forces during the day, they would have no choice but to fight them, but Mandrell had no intention of letting the other party freeload on their strength.
At nightfall, Mandrell and a few others landed first on the eastern harbor of Kuraigana Island.
“Who goes there!”
The moment the boat docked, several armed figures appeared from the shadows. Mandrell could sense that there were a few more people hidden in other places who hadn’t shown themselves.
“We’re here to deliver weapons. Is Seph your man?”
Mandrell mentioned the consignee’s name, but the other side didn’t relax their guard because of it. Instead, they asked for the agreed-upon password.
After getting the correct answer, they were taken to the base of the revolutionary army, as they referred to themselves, but in the kingdom’s eyes, they were simply a rebel army.
“Ammunition, swords, we’ve brought everything you need. What about the payment?”
“It’s here, but it’s only half… the rest will have to wait until we defeat the enemy. Our funds are a bit tight right now.”
“Hey, old man, are you kidding me? Do you think this business allows for credit?!”
When Mandrell heard there was no money, his expression immediately changed. In this line of business, extending credit was out of the question; once that door was opened, it couldn’t be closed.
“You don’t think I’m easygoing, do you? Your funds are your problem. If you can’t pay the remaining amount, we won’t refund the deposit.”
Having the money was what made a customer, not having it meant they were being fooled.
“We suffered a major loss at the front line, losing a lot of supplies, so…”
“That’s not my concern! I’ll ask one thing: do you have the money or not?!”
Saying this, Mandrell punched the table in front of him. In his view, with this punch, the table would definitely shatter, but a tremendous counterforce nearly twisted his hand.
“Wait, Boss Mandrell!”
One of his subordinates suddenly grabbed Mandrell, which left him somewhat dissatisfied.
“What’s the matter?”
“Boss Mandrell, look at that… it seems to be… that thing.”
Although it hadn’t shattered, under the force of Mandrell’s strength, the items on the tabletop had been sent flying, and the tabletop now lay on the side, distinctly resembling the shape of a plate.
Beasts Pirates has a very simple test to see if something is a plate or not: if they couldn’t break them, they were genuine. Mandrell had some confidence in his own strength, and looking at the undamaged tabletop, he realized he had struck gold.
“Cough, don’t be nervous, everyone. I was actually putting on a show. You’re new customers, so we can offer you a small discount. Anyway, this stone is pretty sturdy. Would you mind if we take it with us?”
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