One piece: Establishing a Pirate Family

Chapter 493: Smuggling

All of these actions made it clear to those with insight that the Moria Pirates were nothing like those reckless upstarts.

To the Rockefeller Pirates, their attitude was simple:

As long as you don't provoke us, do whatever you want.

But today was different.

Sailing boldly through Rockefeller-controlled waters while flying the Moria Pirates' flag—

That in itself was a provocation.

Caesar's gaze turned cold.

He might be lazy, but when it came to those who dared provoke the Rockefeller Pirates, he never showed mercy.

His nickname said it all.

Demon Dragon Caesar—a name never mistaken, only feared.

"What guts. Are they declaring war on us?"

Caesar shed his lazy demeanor, staring at the slowly approaching ships in the distance.

"Do they think they're strong enough to challenge one of the Emperors?"

He scoffed at the three approaching vessels sailing straight toward them.

"Commander, should we signal them first?"

His lieutenant asked.

"Go ahead. We'll try diplomacy first. Wouldn't want anyone saying we don't follow the rules."

A flash of killing intent flickered in Caesar's eyes.

The playfulness was completely gone now.

The lieutenant nodded and signaled with a wave.

The signalman, seeing the cue, immediately raised the flags to signal the opposing ships.

Meanwhile, on the Moria Pirates' side…

There were only three ships flying the Moria flag.

But Moria himself was not aboard.

"Captain Rog, the Rockefeller Pirates are signaling us. They want to know what we're doing here."

A sailor rushed over and reported.

Captain Rog, standing arrogantly at the bow, sneered at the sight of the Rockefeller fleet.

"What we're doing? What business is it of theirs? I serve under Lord Moria himself! The Rockefeller Pirates can't do a damn thing to me. Ignore them!"

Rog dismissed the Rockefeller warning and ordered the fleet to sail on.

Rog had been tasked with transporting a batch of weapons acquired from one of the rulers of the Dark World, returning them to Moria's main base.

But nearly every part of the New World had already fallen under the control of the Three Emperors.

And in order to increase profits, each of the Emperors had established checkpoints throughout their territories to collect tariffs from passing merchant ships.

This idea had actually been proposed and first implemented by Charlotte of the Rockefeller Pirates.

War consumed resources faster than even a gold mountain could supply. Charlotte needed a new source of income, and thus—

Tariffs were born.

The result?

Merchants relying on gray or black-market trades found themselves helpless in the face of the Emperors' dominance.

No one dared to refuse a toll backed by overwhelming force.

Even merchant ships affiliated with the Whitebeard and Big Mom Pirates had to pay.

When Whitebeard and Big Mom saw what was happening, their reactions were:

"If Charlotte can collect taxes, so can we."

And thus, the Three Emperors all began collecting tariffs within their territories.

This didn't bother most merchants—especially those who had backing from the Emperors.

Only the ones without protection suffered.

It didn't stop there.

Even small pirate crews squeezed between the Emperors' territories started copying the tariff system.

They'd claim a random island, hoist a flag, and declare themselves "customs officers."

These petty pirates had no concept of moderation.

Whenever they spotted a "fat sheep," they'd rob it completely, leaving nothing behind.

Because of this, ambitious groups like the Moria Pirates, who needed to import vast amounts of supplies from outside, were constantly exploited.

That's why smuggling became rampant within the Emperors' territories.

Given a choice, merchants preferred risking the Emperors' waters over being fleeced in the so-called "neutral zones."

At worst, the Emperors might demand a fine.

They at least had some discipline—unlike the smaller pirate crews.

And so, smuggling flourished across the Emperors' territories—especially in Rockefeller-controlled seas, where it was most intense.

Charlotte had issued a decree:

Anyone wishing to sail through Rockefeller waters had to pay a passage fee.

It wasn't outrageous—one million Berries per ship.

In exchange, the ship received an official Rockefeller flag, valid for one month.

With this flag, you could sail freely through most of the New World.

No one dared offend the Rockefeller Pirates over such a small fee.

This policy caused the Rockefeller Pirates' income to skyrocket.

Never underestimate merchants. Even if there's only a sliver of profit, someone will take the risk.

And the New World was never short of war.

The moment conflict erupted somewhere, supplies became scarce.

Hundreds of ships would swarm the warzone with cargo to sell.

This supply-demand loop greatly affected pirate crews trying to rise to Emperor-level power.

The Moria Pirates, despite all their bluster, had not yet challenged the Three Emperors—

Because of logistics.

After being chased into the central New World by Sengoku, Moria had no choice but to absorb nearby factions to grow his strength.

He fought daily, expanding relentlessly.

Make no mistake—Gecko Moria, despite being forced into the center of the New World, had never given up his ambition to become Pirate King.

But he understood clearly—

Compared to the Three Emperors, he was still not ready.

So rather than charge in headfirst like a fool, he built power gradually—devouring one small pirate crew at a time.

But this required massive amounts of resources.

And his resources mostly had to be imported.

The pirate groups scattered across the New World drained him at every step.

To Moria, these leeches were thorns in his side.

Right now, the Moria Pirates were frantically attacking the other four rising pirate crews, hoping to break open a proper supply route.

Daily shipments were being brought in from the outside world.

The fastest route?

Sailing directly through Emperor territory.

Usually, this just meant paying a fee and lowering your flag—nothing serious.

Moria allowed this.

But Rog?

He thought the Moria Pirates were already strong enough to challenge an Emperor.

That Lord Gecko Moria was on par with the Three Emperors—just too busy to launch a war.

To Rog, Moria's fame may have been modest, but his power was not.

At first, he had been cautious.

But after three or four successful round trips without issue, Rog's arrogance swelled.

What he didn't know—

Was that this sea zone was now under the command of Esdeath.

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