Pirate: Hades! ( One Piece)

**Chapter 314: The Crazy Kurozumi**

The news of Zephyr's promotion to Marine Admiral didn't last long.

Great battles subsequently broke out between Roger 'The Demon,' Shiki 'The Golden Lion,' and Edward Newgate 'Whitebeard.'

The battlefield was an island in the middle of the New World.

This news was exclusively reported by the World Economic Journal, which even recorded some combat footage, allowing everyone who purchased a Visual Den Den Mushi to see it.

With the Sword Tournament over, these matters had nothing to do with Hades.

After seeing Redfield off, his main energy was focused on the development of the Chronos Kingdom and the management of the Pluto Sea Area.

The Chronos Kingdom was a key link in the important trade chain proposed by the World Government.

After all, the Chronos Kingdom and the World Government had already reached a reconciliation.

And this matter could also bring greater benefits to Chronos.

The Four Seas and the New World were the main markets for the Chronos Kingdom's trade.

Trade volume was relatively small in the First Half of the Grand Line.

Even though the Chronos Kingdom had reached an agreement with the World Government, the trade volume was not large.

They needed business partners and needed to save costs as much as possible.

The formation of the trade chain required the joint effort of all parties and couldn't be completed in just a few months.

Superpowers like the Hilton Kingdom and the Landis Kingdom would also join in.

However, ultimately, it still depended on the World Government.

If the World Government wanted to profit from it, they had to show their capability.

If the Marines couldn't clear out a safe Shipping Route, then the plan itself was empty talk and meaningless.

Next, the Marines' mission remained arduous.

With the expansion of the Marines, in addition to establishing Marine Bases near Member Nations, they also needed to establish Marine Bases around this trade chain.

The Marines must have sufficient military strength and forces to protect this trade chain.

Next, they would be quite busy.

If everything remained unchanged, the Marines would officially become the Ruler of the Seas, the Uncrowned King, after the downfall of the Rocks Pirates.

Unfortunately, there were no 'ifs.'

Four months had passed since the end of the Sword Tournament.

The time came to Sea Calendar 1488.

The situation in Wano Country was of great concern to Hades.

Just as Hades had expected, after a period of calm, the Kurozumi Family couldn't help but start their operation again more than a year ago.

The peaceful state of Wano Country only lasted for a year and a half.

The Kurozumi Clan had huge expenses.

Originally, with only a few hundred people, they could still manage.

But now, the army size on Black Snake Island had reached 160,000, all of which required a large amount of funds to support.

Purchasing grain through Wano Country was too easy to attract attention, so for safety, the Kurozumi Clan often purchased grain and supplies through the Pluto Pirates' channel.

And the value of this grain and these supplies was far higher than the market price, which also included transportation costs.

Logically speaking, through human trafficking, metal ore trade, and weapon trade originating from Wano Country, the Kurozumi Clan had obtained over 30 billion Beli in funds from the Pluto Pirates.

Such funds should have been enough to maintain the Kurozumi Clan's current strength for decades.

But they couldn't resist the expansion of their ambition, secretly developing their Faction in Wano Country, spending lavishly, corrupting, and winning over local officials in Wano Country.

They expanded their Intelligence Force, wanting to use it to monitor the entire Wano Country.

In addition to securing a fallback for the Kurozumi Clan, building family bases on several islands in the distant sea, and developing their strength.

To resist Wano Country, which might discover them, besides constantly raising troops, Black Snake Island was even built into a Military Fortress by the Kurozumi Clan.

The city walls were 40 meters high, and artillery was placed every 50 meters.

The Kurozumi Clan frantically purchased 800 artillery pieces from the Pluto Pirates.

Including cannonballs, the artillery alone cost nearly 3 billion Beli.

The Military Fortress itself was fine; many ore materials could be obtained directly in Wano Country.

With a sense of impending discovery by Wano Country, the Kurozumi Clan frantically armed themselves.

It was as if they suffered from "Fear of Insufficient Firepower"!

The Kurozumi Clan even thought of employing a batch of ferocious pirates in the Black Market.

It was precisely because they were aware of Wano Country's strength and the vast difference in strength between the two sides that the Kurozumi Clan had such a strong sense of crisis.

One could only say, is this truly characteristic of these people?

The speed at which the Kurozumi Clan spent money surprised even Hades.

Although the Chronos Kingdom spent more money, the scale of the two sides was completely incomparable.

Perhaps it was because they felt that making money was easy that they were so extravagant.

After all, they only needed to sell people, and money would pour in.

They also helped themselves to some of Wano Country's resources and precious ore.

The Kurozumi Clan also realized that their money was being spent a bit fast, so they couldn't help but resume human trafficking with the Pluto Pirates.

60,000 people every three months, which is 240,000 a year.

As the Kurozumi Clan's Faction grew, they could do more.

To continue the human trafficking with the Chronos Kingdom, the Kurozumi Clan had been preparing for over a year.

They allied with some local rich merchants and nobles in Wano Country, promoting the human trade business in Wano Country, and secretly obtaining a large number of slaves.

The Kurozumi Clan also secretly supported a large number of mountain bandits, who plundered merchant caravans, plundered wealth, and plundered the population.

They became a major scourge in Wano Country, causing considerable trouble for the Shogunate and several Daimyo.

In terms of strength, the mountain bandits certainly couldn't compare with the Shogunate and the various Daimyo's Estates, but in terms of mobility, they were inferior.

With the support of the Kurozumi Clan's Intelligence Force, as soon as they received information, these mountain bandits would hide in the Deep Mountains and old forests, or move to another place to continue plundering.

Although the Shogunate cleared out a batch of mountain bandits, the number of mountain bandits seemed to be increasing.

The existence of the mountain bandits tied up the attention of the Daimyo and the Shogun.

The domestic situation in Wano Country became chaotic, coupled with the Kurozumi Clan's secret manipulation, more and more people lost money, lost their wives, and lost their land, and more and more people became mountain bandits.

A large number of Human Traffickers appeared, and children, especially girls, became their target.

By relying on the internal human trade within Wano Country and the population plundered by the mountain bandits.

The Kurozumi Clan's plunder of the local population in Wano Country became more secretive, more covert, and difficult to detect.

Within Wano Country, there were also some Factions with related interests and connections providing cover for such dark business.

After all, money came too fast this way.

It was also because of this that the Kurozumi Clan could provide so many people to the Pluto Pirates.

And the Kurozumi Clan always hid behind the scenes, secretly influencing.

(end of chapter)