One Piece: Mandala Swordsman

Chapter 25 Integrating into the Merchant Guild

The noisy tavern, though dimly lit, couldn't contain the clamor of people.

The burly, vigorous man chugs down glass after glass of wine, eventually picking up the bottle and chugging it straight away. People around him can't help but clap and cheer, while the hostess beside him smiles radiantly, having just received a very generous tip.

The glistening liquid was poured down his throat like water, first with a spicy kick, then a blissful sensation that coursed through his limbs, making him feel intoxicated. Even so, the burly man didn't forget to pour a few drinks for the hostesses, taking the opportunity to grope them. The people around him were telling trendy jokes, creating a lively and enthusiastic atmosphere.

The bartender is mixing drinks. Normally, he doesn't need to; most customers just use what's in stock. But today, it seems like a group of unusual customers have arrived.

There was a faint smell of blood, which was coming from that group of people.

Having discovered this, the shrewd bartender lowered his head without making a sound, disappearing completely into the shadows if one didn't look closely.

"One Bloody Mary, ten barrels of rum."

"Okay, it'll be right away." The bartender immediately stopped what he was doing and started getting the drinks.

"Sir, would you like my services?" The voluptuous hostess approached with a smile, but quickly ran away after sensing the man's imposing aura.

The bartender still had a clear view of everything, but his hands continued to display exquisite bartending skills.

He wasn't someone who hadn't seen the world; fights and murders were commonplace in taverns, and ruthless people could be found everywhere. But this time, the person in question seemed to be someone of extraordinary importance.

Don Quixote Doflamingo, with his signature flamingo coat and red sunglasses, is a recent rising star who is quite ruthless and whose target seems to be the black market in the North Sea.

Although the bartender had met even more powerful figures before, the endless malice he felt from Doflamingo was something that could devour a person. Without a strong will, he too would be destroyed by this malice. It all depended on how he managed to control it.

"Dover, that bastard Sadar is dead? Looks like even the heavens are on our side," Torrebol said happily.

“But we don’t know who did it yet. I don’t remember there being such a powerful figure in the North Sea. After all, the bounties on Shada and his men were removed at the same time. It was a complete sweep.” Vergo was obviously thinking deeper, but the rice ball stuck to his face made him look comical.

"Well, even if he doesn't die now, Dover will take care of him." Diamanti took a sip of wine and shifted into a more comfortable position.

Pica disliked his own voice and generally didn't speak unless necessary.

A few days ago, Dover was about to make an arms deal, but Sadah intercepted it halfway through and then ran away. Apart from him and four core members, the other members all went to deal with the matter.

As a result, Shada died a few days later.

"Well, in that case, we should probably make some new moves." Dover didn't care whether Sadah was alive or dead, but he had a new perspective on this matter.

Their intelligence was insufficient, and they didn't know where the news leaked, which led to them being hunted by the navy. Although the North Sea branch navy was not strong enough, it still caused some trouble, so Shada intercepted them.

Now that Shada is dead, they have no idea which navy attacked them. If they want to develop the Donquixote family in the future, the lack of key intelligence is a fatal weakness.

Dover was well aware that every business deal he made was on the Navy's red line. Even though he considered himself quite capable, he knew that there were still many real monsters in the Navy.

Should we place our own people in the navy?

……

“Sada is dead.”

"Oh, you found out too?"

"Who did this?"

"I don't know."

"Is it some important figure from above?"

"Who cares? It's a good thing some demon died."

"That's true."

Although some people did not believe that Sadah had died so easily, the public's emotions began to boil after the Navy withdrew the bounty on him, and the people who did not know the reason began to sing praises to the government.

Of course, Roman didn't know about this, and even if she did, she wouldn't care.

The Navy gave them over 200 million Berries. What's wrong with them wanting some fame? Money talks.

Moreover, for Roman now, being famous is not a good thing; her background cannot stand up to scrutiny.

Although Hartel believed her and chose a town long ago destroyed by pirates as his birthplace, and assumed someone else's identity, who knows if there will be any problems?

There aren't many clever people on the high seas, but there are some.

What's worse is that if the old lady finds out, she'll definitely kill her.

Therefore, Roman believes that being burdened by fame and fortune is extremely unwise, at least not for her.

As for Hartle's young trainee crew members, they listened with great excitement to Roman's heroic tales of killing enemies. Although everyone agreed not to publicize the fact that Roman had wiped out the pirate crew because of the contraband incident, they, being far away on the merchant ship, hadn't really seen how Roman made her move, so they all hoped she would tell them the details.

A valiant swordsman—though it can't be said outright, with a few tweaks, it becomes another topic of bragging.

Roman really had nothing to say about this. After all, she finished quite quickly.

To say that Shada lacks strength is too dismissive; it's more accurate to say that his intelligence simply couldn't keep up with his abilities.

He used the most economical but foolish method for defense; elementalization is no different from an ordinary person facing a giant dinosaur compared to Armament Haki. Moreover, Sadah's Devil Fruit ability clearly hadn't been mastered to a high level yet; if he were strong enough, her Haki might not have been able to harm him.

Of course, there was a special reason why Roman was able to kill Sadar, mainly because Roman was born in the New World.

The New World is a stronghold of pirates, and Haki is a basic requirement for any slightly famous pirate captain. Once you enter the New World, you'll acquire some Haki after a few years of training.

Even if she's only half-baked at it, she can still easily dominate the first half of the Grand Line. And she's part of the highest-ranking Imperial Crew in the New World.

At the same time, the first half of the Grand Line is the main territory of the Navy. Although the Age of Exploration has caused the Navy to lose some control over the first half of the route, it has not been seriously damaged.

Once pirates have developed their strength over time, the New World will inevitably become their next destination.

Of course, meeting her was truly a stroke of bad luck for Shada.

Although Roman felt contempt for Shada's evil deeds, she did not dare to completely underestimate them.

Sarda's only downfall was his youth. He only needed four months at sea to become a supernova. If he had been allowed to grow freely, he would definitely have become a regional overlord.

However, his presence actually helped him, and integrating into the merchant group seemed like a natural thing to do.

Rules can bow to the strong.