One Piece: The True Codex

The secretary of the trading company wiped his cold sweat with a handkerchief, feigning a look of confusion to flatter the vanity of the important figure before him. "What do you mean, sir?"

"What's the name of that guild again?" Arcadio pondered for a moment.

The secretary cautiously reminded him, "Flash Gold Guild."

"Look at that name," Arcadio chuckled disdainfully. "A bunch of provincial upstarts huddling together for warmth. These insignificant little people are most useful when they toil to pave the way for those in power, saving us the trouble."

"I let these petty individuals, fit only for trivial affairs, scurry about in the provinces to build a trade network. Then, I'll simply pluck the ripe fruit they've prepared."

The secretary cursed inwardly at Arcadio's cunning but outwardly praised him. "Visionary indeed! As expected of a statesman of the kingdom, your perspective has always been leagues above those who can only muddle through local affairs."

He then asked, "So, will you personally reach out to the guild members and have them serve as an auxiliary to our trading company?"

Arcadio raised an eyebrow. "Do you even know what it means to be a noble? When necessary, you only need to command others to act. There will always be small people eager to curry favor and do the work for you. Those who meddle in trivial affairs every day—what kind of 'noble' are they?"

At the docks of Kalmar City, Sassarian was inspecting goods in a warehouse rented by his guild, accompanied by the guild's directors.

Kalmar City's own production capacity was insufficient to meet the needs of its growing population. The city operated like a giant beast, daily absorbing vast quantities of goods transported from various places via its bustling docks.

The Flash Gold Guild was composed of various local merchants from different industries. Their aim was to sell their products, aligning perfectly with the needs of a metropolis like Kalmar.

Under Sassarian's persuasion, these merchants agreed to band together to form the guild, hoping to collectively break into the capital's market.

So far, their efforts seemed to be paying off, Sassarian thought with satisfaction.

Bang!

Just as Sassarian felt content, the warehouse door burst open with a loud crash. A group of fully armed soldiers stormed in, entering the warehouse in a single file.

Several guild members tried to step forward to inquire, but the leading officer rudely shoved them aside. He scanned the area before loudly demanding, "Who is the owner of this warehouse?"

Having dealt with bureaucrats for years, Sassarian assumed the officer was here to extort a bribe. He signaled to the directors beside him and cautiously stepped forward. "That would be me—"

Before Sassarian could finish his sentence, the officer interrupted, scrutinizing him from head to toe. "You're the president of the Flash Gold Guild, Sassarian?"

The officer's tone felt off, causing Sassarian to sense trouble.

Just as he was about to utter some flattering words, the officer waved his hand at the soldiers, who were as fierce as wolves. "Arrest this tax-evading scoundrel!"

The storm arrived in an instant, pouring down torrential rain.

In Arcadio's room, the trading company secretary and Eaton had already left, but new guests arrived one after another.

Arcadio sipped his tea leisurely and addressed the men seated across from him on the sofa. "Arresting just the president isn't enough. I need to teach them a painful lesson. Taming people is much like taming dogs. If you don't hurt them enough to show them who holds absolute power, they won't understand who their master is."

"What do you plan to do?"

"I've heard their ships have a few notable individuals who've repelled some low-level pirates, ensuring smooth transportation. In the East Blue, doing business depends on ships, and even more so on the sea. I want them to understand that without my approval, their goods won't even dare leave the docks."

At that moment, Eaton entered the room carrying a stack of documents. A flash of lightning outside illuminated the room, casting a stark light on the faces of the men across from Arcadio, making their complexions appear ghostly pale and startling Eaton.

It was no surprise Eaton reacted this way. The two men seated across from Arcadio were utterly out of place in the lavishly decorated room and among its opulent host, whether in appearance, attire, or demeanor.

The man sitting farther from the door was as burly as a grizzly bear. He wore a slightly yellowed white shirt under a black vest, the tight fabric barely containing his massive frame. The buttons were only half-fastened, revealing a chest covered in thick body hair.

He wore a black tricorn hat that seemed too small for his oversized head and thick, unruly red hair. The hat barely concealed the wild red locks and half of his skull beneath it.

His red beard, matching his hair color, covered nearly half his face. Despite his overall scruffy appearance, his beard was meticulously groomed and gleamed with oil. The long beard extended down to his chest.

His face bore several deep scars from severe injuries, and his left eye was covered by a black eyepatch. His left hand was fitted with a silver prosthetic limb ending in an iron hook.

The tricorn hat, eyepatch, hook hand, and bushy beard made him resemble the archetypal pirate captain from the stories Eaton had heard as a child.

The man seated beside the "pirate captain" wasn't as flamboyantly dressed but was equally terrifying in appearance.

Like the "pirate captain," he was tall and burly but significantly heavier. His shabby, discolored shirt was half-open, unable to conceal his hairy, protruding belly. What drew the most attention was his face, half of which was covered in severe burn scars, giving him a grotesque yin-yang appearance—one side with messy red hair and the other bald and cratered.

The burned side of his face also had sparse, uneven facial hair, twisted into a barely recognizable goatee.

This fearsome-looking man grinned at Eaton as he entered, revealing a mouth full of yellowed teeth—a sight as horrifying as it was unsettling.

Though Eaton had met these two men before, their presence never ceased to unnerve him.

Damn pirates! Eaton cursed in his mind, though outwardly he dared not show any sign of disrespect. Behind Arcadio stood several armed guards, two of whom carried weapons tipped with Seastone. These guards hadn't been present when Arcadio was meeting the trading company secretary, indicating that even Arcadio was somewhat wary of the two men before him.

Suppressing his earlier fright, Eaton bowed to the man in the tricorn hat. "Mr. Barbarossa."

He then turned to the scarred, overweight man and bowed again. "Mr. Hayreddin."

The two men nodded casually in response.

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