Chapter 208: Beneath Elbaf’s Skies: Deals, Ambitions, and Shadows

“By the way, about those merchants before…” Karl trailed off, but his eyes and gestures made his intentions clear.

He wanted to know how Oden planned to deal with those merchants who had been so underhanded.

Karl also wondered if he should intervene if those traders kept trying to do business with the giants.

Now was definitely not the time for troublesome merchants stirring things up.

Karl was especially keen to become Elbaf’s exclusive trading partner. Only by controlling the trade could he gradually weave his influence throughout all of Elbaf.

Of course, if anyone else tried to get in on this business, they’d have to see if their fists were up to the challenge.

“If any of those merchants dare show up again, I’ll sink them on the spot.” Barton said, still seething.

He hadn’t expected the merchants to be so ruthless, squeezing the price as low as possible and taking advantage of the gap on both sides.

It was one thing if he didn’t know, but now that he did, he was determined to make them pay.

Plus, Barton had just learned that the Rocks Family was one of the New World’s most dominant powers these days.

Doing business with them meant both safety and trust were guaranteed.

At that point, the other merchants had basically become irrelevant.

“No need to go to such extremes.”

“Wouldn’t that hurt the giants’ reputation?” Karl asked, a touch uncertain.

Did Oden really not see where that kind of action would lead?

Or did the giants simply not care about their reputation at all?

“Karl, my friend, you don’t need to worry about that.”

“Relax, it won’t affect our deal.” Oden waved it off, then turned back to drink with Karl.

Seeing Barton’s mood, Karl let the matter drop and joined the drinking party.

The next day, Dorry and Brogy, acting as guides, were to take Karl deep into the island to the Elbaf Kingdom’s outpost.

Although Karl had downed plenty of booze the night before, the Titan Physique kept him from suffering. By dawn, not a trace of alcohol was left on him.

He was wide awake before sunrise, already pondering how to handle the giants’ brutal Blood Trial.

“Karl!”

“Today we’ll show you Elbaf’s kingdom,”

“And you can catch up with some old friends as well.” Brogy called out to Karl early that morning from outside his room.

They weren’t here for pleasure. Building up the Giant Pirates as quickly as possible was their top priority.

And of course, they hadn’t forgotten their promise to Karl.

“Alright, give me a second—I’ll be right out.” Karl called back when he heard Brogy’s voice.

He tidied up and straightened his clothes before stepping outside.

Right at the door he saw Brogy, Dorry, and the others. Even Oden and the three young men from yesterday were there, plus a few more who looked like freshly recruited crew members.

“You all don’t waste any time!” Karl grinned, throwing out a compliment to Brogy and the rest.

Then, glancing at Oden, who was also ready to head out, Karl asked, puzzled, “But if you’re leaving too, Oden, who’s handling the business?”

Karl clearly remembered last night—his family was supposed to send someone to handle the trade, but contacting Oden would be tough if Oden set sail with them.

Was he supposed to call Krell?

“Hahahaha!” Oden laughed, then explained, “I already made all the arrangements last night. The call went through, and someone from the village has it covered. I’m setting sail with Captain Brogy.”

He even gave his axe a wave as he spoke.

Karl blinked, a bit surprised at how efficient Oden’s people were. Hadn’t they only just talked last night? And the call already went through?

Could this have been Charlotte Linlin’s doing?

Either way, it was good news for him.

“Then let’s get moving,” Karl replied with a smile.

What Karl didn’t know was that the reason the arrangements happened so fast was because Charlotte Linlin was eager to partner with the giants.

She’d been waiting for this day a long time. The moment Karl passed her the message, she called Krell, who was still on the island, and put plans into motion.

Krell didn’t disappoint. He prepared the ship, loaded it with supplies, and was already en route from Cake Island to Elbaf.

It was Krell who’d called Oden, letting him know they’d reach Elbaf in seven days.

Oden had already arranged for someone from his side to handle communications—they were just waiting for the visitors to arrive.

The crew set off deeper into the island. They’d started with just five people, but now the group was fifteen strong. Word even spread that dozens of giants in Warrior Village were building their own massive ship, waiting to set sail once the others got back.

Guess it’s true—those Warrior Village giants really are born fighters.

No wonder Saul used to say all of Elbaf’s warriors are reckless brutes.

Meanwhile, on Cake Island, Charlotte Linlin sifted through the files Perospero had forwarded to her.

“Mama-mama-mama!”

“Seems people have forgotten how fearsome the Rocks Family can be when we stay quiet too long.”

At first, Charlotte Linlin assumed the World Government was handling everything, and with top minds like Vegapunk in play, that made sense. But to her surprise, other parties had gotten involved as well.

“Brr-brr!”

“Hello? This is Charlotte Linlin.”

“Spread the word to all our forces—starting now, wipe out every faction under Rufid, the King of Loan Sharks. I want him erased from this world.”

She hung up, a trace of anger in her eyes. But then, with a sudden smile, she turned and headed toward the nursery.

Very soon, the intelligence network on Cake Island relayed her orders to the mafias in the Four Seas, as well as Davis, Ledfield, and the others who were out handling business.

“Is that so? Got it.” Farther inside the New World, Davis and his team got the news and turned to look at the shopfronts bearing Rufid’s name.

Their journey had two aims: one, to seek out the giant elephant Zou—after all, the Mink Tribe was a force to be reckoned with—and two, to find the legendary Thunder Island, since Karl hoped the lightning there might help him unlock deeper levels of Daoist Thunder Magic.

“Alright, folks, looks like we’ve got work to do.” Davis waved his hand, and Notty and the others grinned fiercely as they strode toward Rufid’s store.

Thanks to Charlotte Linlin’s orders, the clean-up operation reached everywhere—not just the New World, but the Four Seas and the first half of the Grand Line as well. Every shop with Rufid’s name, and all factions under his banner, faced a swift purge.

It all unfolded so fast that even the Navy didn’t have time to figure out what happened before it was over.