Gold has an extremely high density, with the same volume of gold weighing 19 times more than water.
A “ton” may seem like a large unit of measurement, capable of easily crushing someone, but when it comes to gold, it’s just a cube with sides of around 30 centimeters.
Hmm, it’s still enough to crush someone.
Person: “What did I do wrong?”
Inside the tomb chamber, gold bricks piled up like mountains. The workers estimated that there were at least seven thousand tons!
That’s seven… thousand… tons!
So when Rowen said he couldn’t use his Thunder Metallurgy’s unscientific abilities to bring it out, it was almost as if Tesoro himself had intervened.
Buzz… Buzz… Buzz…
That night, as expected, the Den Den Mushi rang.
Rowen had just finished dealing with the workers’ various demands to please them and returned to his tent, feeling depressed as he took out the Den Den Mushi.
It’s said that trouble always comes knocking when you least expect it.
“Hey, Rowen, did you really find gold?!”
Sengoku’s frog-like spectacles were extremely conspicuous, and as soon as the call connected, his loud voice rang out. Rowen quickly moved the Den Den Mushi a few centimeters away from himself and adjusted his ear.
“Was it Vice Admiral Comil, who told you? Yes, that’s right!”
“How much is there?”
“Seven thousand tons…”
Thud!
Sengoku’s face disappeared from the Den Den Mushi, and at the same time, there was a sound of tables and chairs clashing from the other end. After a moment, Zephyr’s voice came through.
“Rowen, it’s me!”
“Hang up quickly! Sengoku, that shameless guy, wants to rob you of your money!”
Rowen: “…”
“Oh, you dare to intervene?!”
Zephyr roared angrily, and just from the sound of the wind, Rowen could imagine the scene of chaos in the Fleet Admiral’s office, thousands of miles away.
No wonder Zephyr was so agitated.
Using the currency value of Belly, as recognized by Oda, which was roughly equivalent to the Japanese Yen, and disregarding purity considerations, the price of gold in the One Piece World was significantly cheaper than on Earth but still averaged around 3000 Belly per gram.
One ton equals a million grams, which means 1 million multiplied by 3000, which is 3,00,00,00,000 Belly!
7000 tons would be 21 trillion Belly!!!
In Zephyr’s eyes, this belonged to his disciple who found it, naturally belonging to Rowen. Sengoku’s talk about temporarily borrowing it sounded nice, but could he really repay it?
If Zephyr had known in advance that Rowen had found so much gold, he would never have agreed to be a mediator.
Rowen rolled his eyes, considering whether he should hang up the phone. But with so much gold, it was impossible to keep it a secret, so he chose to endure.
When he heard the calm voice on the other end of the Den Den Mushi, and Sengoku’s swollen, old face appeared, Rowen preemptively spoke, “So it’s just 21 trillion? The Gold Emperor is much richer than me! Look how excited you all are…”
Here’s a funny thing.
As the “Gold Emperor” Gild Tesoro had encountered extortion more than once in his lifetime.
There were those from pirates, and even from high-ranking government officials.
Under normal circumstances, ordinary people encountering individuals like Tesoro would surely try their best to protect their own wealth, but Tesoro was rich and generous. Regardless of who you were, as long as you made him feel that dealing with you was troublesome, he was willing to pay to avoid trouble.
The reason was simple…
The highest price they demanded among them was only 10 billion Belly!
People always said the Gold Emperor was very rich, so 10 billion should be easy for him to come up with, right?
That’s probably the kind of thinking they had.
Their imagination was limited by poverty.
There was a certain pirate who was quite proud of his several hundred million bounty, and he was even more extreme, asking for only a billion Belly. Then, he was fooled by Tesoro into being his enforcer for five years, under the guise of mutually beneficial cooperation.
However, as the man who controlled 20% of the Belly in the entire world, 10 billion was really not much money!
The pile of gold that Rowen found was worth 21 Trillion, so how much was the gold in “Gold City” Gran Tesoro worth? And how did all his wealth add up?
One government official, who happened to know exactly how much Tesoro had earned from a certain black market business, was even afraid that his asking price was too high and would be rejected. He promised a bunch of benefits to make Tesoro happy.
Yes, yes, I’ve been cheated!
Little did he know that just the privileges promised by him would increase Tesoro’s annual income by three parts, worth trillions!
In response to this, all Rowen could say was that besides Tesoro, everyone else in this world had such small minds when it came to “being rich,” and their understanding of wealth was too shallow.
Hmm, ultimately, it’s because of poverty!
Their imagination of how personal wealth could be “rich” lacked breadth.
Including this group of Marines…
As Rowen’s light words fell, there was silence at the other end of the Den Den Mushi.
Including Zephyr, who had just spoken up for Rowen, the group of people looked dumbfounded, staring at the Den Den Mushi.
21… Trillion?!!!
This was much more impactful than “seven thousand tons”!
“Oh my god! If we convert it into Belly, could it submerge the entire Headquarters fortress?!”
Tsuru, the staff officer, struggled to swallow her saliva as if she could see that scene.
No wonder she was in such a plight.
How much did the government allocate to the Marines for military expenses each year? Excluding the funds needed for each branch and the essential items that couldn’t be touched, the total operational funds that Headquarters could mobilize for a year were only about 20 Billion.
As a Vice Admiral of Headquarters, Rowen’s annual salary was only 2 Million!
Why did the scum of the Marines want to make money?
Because the Marines were really poor.
At least when evenly distributed among each leader, it was the case.
Rowen happened to hear this sentence and answered without thinking, “How is that possible? How big is a single Belly?”
“…It could flood up to the third floor.”
Three floors…
Well, you’re rich, you’re right!
Sengoku’s mouth twitched, and he cleared his throat. “Ahem, well, that Rowen, or rather, Vice Admiral Soryu.”
Facing the “bold and vigorous” Rowen, Sengoku’s tone inevitably softened a bit.
“I’m sure you’re also aware of the recent situation in the New World. War is all about money. As long as the BIG MOM pirate group doesn’t retreat, we can’t stop spending money…”
“Enough talk, Fleet Admiral, how much do you need?” Rowen interrupted.
They all knew that the likelihood of BIG MOM retreating was approaching zero, and the fact that Headquarters was tight on funds was also true… or was it just tradition? When it came to the big picture, Rowen naturally wouldn’t be stingy.
“Great! That’s generous of you, Rowen!” Sengoku exclaimed joyfully, then glanced at Tsuru, rubbing his hands together. “How about this, lend me 1 Trillion? Naturally, I’ll issue an IOU, considering it as Headquarters owing you personally!”
1 Trillion?
Rowen chuckled, “How about I give you 10 Trillion?”
“10 Trillion? Have you thought about how to report this to the Gorōsei (Five Elder Stars)? They might think you’re rebelling with the money!” Sengoku almost blurted out “I’ll take it.”
Then he snapped back to reality, his old face turning red.
Rowen’s words were somewhat disrespectful, but in this matter, he had indeed overthought it. The government controlled the Marines by allocating only a small portion of the military budget each year.
With this 1 trillion in hand, the Marine’s economy could be completely independent. Would the Gorōsei (Five Elder Stars) think they were plotting a rebellion or a rebellion or a rebellion?
“So, how much are you thinking?”
Realizing he couldn’t get too much money for himself, Sengoku lifted his hand and passed the ball to Rowen.
“It’s simple. Since we’re currently at war, I’ll provide as much money as Marines have spent in this war. I believe this way, the Gorōsei (Five Elder Stars) won’t have anything to say.”
For the sake of eliminating a Yonko pirate group, Marines contributed manpower and money. The Gorōsei (Five Elder Stars) couldn’t find fault with it, even if they needed to maintain balance.
“That’s it then!”
Sengoku’s face fell disappointedly.
He had hoped to become rich overnight, but it seemed nothing had changed after all!
“That’s enough. Thank you for your righteousness, Rowen,” Tsuru interjected, glaring at Sengoku. “You’re currently in Alabasta, right? We’ll immediately arrange for a battleship to come and assist you.”
“No problem.”
Rowen’s reaction to Sengoku was also speechless.
Clearly, this matter would cause him a lot of trouble, yet here he was, wanting to swallow an elephant in one bite. Rowen was sure that the special agents from the Gorōsei (Five Elder Stars) were already on their way here.
But he also understood that one’s position determined one’s mindset.
As Fleet Admiral, Sengoku had to oversee everything. With nearly 100,000 soldiers waiting to be fed, and money needed for everything, he had to tighten his belt and live frugally, feeling completely impoverished and wishing for more money.
Rowen couldn’t bring himself to hate him. He was a good Fleet Admiral; his greed was for the sake of the soldiers, not for personal desires.
“But I’m currently deep in the desert, far from the coast. It would be best to send a squadron of aircraft to help.”
Although Rowen was the overall Dictate of the Marine Aircraft Force, he was currently on vacation, without “Den Den Mushi” with him. The only force he could directly mobilize was the G-10 under Base Head.
The other Aircraft Forces followed orders, not individuals. Without “Den Den Mushi,” he couldn’t ask nearby branches to send aircraft over.
The phone wouldn’t even connect!
That Den Den Mushi was a special type that only accepted specific signals.
Tsuru also realized this and nodded, saying, “Understood. Then just wait there for a few more days. You’ll be back in time to resume your duties.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Rowen saluted and then hung up the phone.
(End of this chapter)
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