Right now, the power balance in the underground world was still far from settled. But across the major industries, powerful new forces had already begun to emerge.
There was the entertainment sector with its pleasures, gambling, and amusement parks; the money trade with loan sharks and rare materials; the transport business dominated by maritime logistics; and the commodity sector handling raw materials and storage.
Then there was the slave trade — human trafficking and assassin services — and finally, the information business, ranging from newspapers to Den Den Mushi breeding and sales.
Each of these industries had ties, more or less, with the reigning pirate crews, operating between the worlds of light and shadow, connected to both the Grand Line and the Four Seas.
Most of them were family dynasties, unlike the pirate empires that shifted every few decades. As they said — ironclad families, flowing empires.
And the New World was no exception. Ironclad underground clans, flowing pirate overlords.
Take the Lu family, for example. Generations of moneylenders, running massive underground banks. Before the rise of the so-called Golden Emperor, they were the richest of all the dark clans. The notorious loan shark king and one of the Six Underground Emperors, Lu Feld, hailed from their line.
Then there was the Drug family, specializing in assassination, organ trafficking, and slavery. One of the future Six Emperors, Drag Peclo, came from their bloodline too.
These two were the oldest families in the underworld, their legacies stretching back centuries. They were the industry leaders.
At present, the transport, storage, and entertainment sectors had yet to be monopolized — several evenly matched factions were still fighting for dominance.
Meanwhile, Mortomas’ World Economy News was carving out its own place in the intelligence business, establishing a foothold in the New World’s dark underworld.
Seeing that the underworld hadn’t stabilized yet, Brook figured it was time for him to get a foot in the door. The dark world was about steady business — long-term, slow and steady. The ruling pirate crews, on the other hand, relied on force — raids, protection rackets, and bleeding their territories dry.
Often, the Underground Emperors were even richer than the pirate overlords. Well, Vesper was the exception — not only was he powerful, but he also had a head for business. His Vesper Pirates were filthy rich.
Brook reckoned that besides supporting Mortomas and the information trade, he should also invest in other industries — especially transport. After all, the saying went: if you want to get rich, build roads first. In the pirate world, that meant securing the sea routes.
Given the Grand Line and New World’s brutal weather, it had taken these transport clans years and countless resources to chart safe passages and weather schedules — the very lifelines of sea trade.
And conveniently, that Pocket Devil Fruit user happened to be tied to this sector. Brook needed to decide whether to support their faction... or wipe them out.
Right now, with the Rocks Pirates on the verge of launching a fresh assault, the Hell Pirates couldn’t afford to leave the New World to chase after that Castle-Castle Fruit in the West Blue.
But dealing with the local underworld? Brook had time for that. Mortomas, after all, was still feeding them fresh intel from the dark circles.
"Brook, even though we’re going the elite route, we have to keep recruiting crew and allied pirate groups. Right now, the dozen islands in the Bristol Sea — we’ve got no one solid guarding them!"
"We’re just holding them on paper. I rounded up some local thugs to watch things, but we haven’t stationed any real officers or allied captains to properly defend them!"
Shiki the Golden Lion, who Brook had put in charge of managing these territories, was clearly stressed. He’d been working hard to prevent rival crews from snatching their holdings.
He’d scraped together some halfway-decent men from Skypiea and the remnants of Edward’s forces to garrison the islands.
As for the ronin and swordsmen they’d brought back from Wano... he didn’t want to use them. Those fallen samurai just didn’t fit with the outside world — their customs, their speech, their whole vibe was off. They were definitely not cut out for governance.
"Recruiting’s tough right now," Shiki continued. "The Vesper Pirates and Rocks Pirates are both on a mad recruiting spree — they’re even press-ganging people now. It’s got the freebooters spooked. Most of them have gone into hiding!"
Brook wanted to recruit too. But even he couldn’t find anyone — some pirate crews had even fled the New World altogether.
At this rate... he figured it was time to call in the Roger Pirates for a little friendly support.
No sooner thought than done. Who knows — it might just work.
Brook pulled out the Den Den Mushi number for the Roger Pirates. They’d swapped contacts back on Gunner Island, though he hadn’t revealed his real identity in the phone call group chat.
Come to think of it, Roger still owed him two Devil Fruits. Time to remind them.
Brook grabbed a regular Den Den Mushi and dialed.
"Moshi moshi — who’s this?"
A loud, carefree voice came through, the kind that instantly put you at ease.
"Yo! Brook, what’s up?"
On the Oro Jackson, Rayleigh and Gaban exchanged glances, curious why Brook was calling. The Hell Pirates were making waves lately, caught in the middle of the Great Overlord struggle. Could he be trying to rope them in?
"I heard you guys have entered the New World. How about swinging by my turf for a visit?"
"Brook, we just wanna adventure freely. We’re not looking to join any fights or pick sides. I hope you’ll understand."
"Yohoho! You’re overthinking it. I’m just inviting you to have some fun, nothing more. Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to fight."
"I’m officially inviting you to tour my territory — all expenses paid. Free lodging, free meals. I’ll even throw in a copy of a Poneglyph rubbing. My goal’s simple: while you’re sightseeing around these islands, maybe keep an eye out for any troublemakers or invading crews. If you spot any, just shoo them away. If not, enjoy yourselves."
"Trust me, with my flag flying over these islands, you won’t run into much trouble."
Brook chuckled, though in his heart, the plan was clear: lure them over first. If anything went down, having Roger’s crew around would be a huge backup.
After all, Roger, Rayleigh, and Gaban were no pushovers. Their strength wasn’t far off from Shiki’s, and all three were top-class fighters, masters of Haki even without Devil Fruits.
"Poneglyph rubbings, you say? Alright, I’m in — but remember, it’s gotta be all-inclusive: food, lodging, free sightseeing, and no getting dragged into any Overlord war. If things go sideways, we’re pulling out, understood?"
Roger agreed right away, ignoring Rayleigh and Gaban waving their hands at him. Truth was, the lure of Poneglyphs was too tempting to resist.
"Welcome aboard! Don’t worry — no Overlord conflicts will touch you."
Brook hung up with a smile. Another layer of insurance secured. With the Roger Pirates around, even if trouble came knocking, they could handle a few invading captains. No need to worry about leaving the territory exposed.
"Brook... this Roger guy... why does that name sound so familiar?"
Shiki’s ears perked up at the mention. Hearing the name Roger stirred something deep in his bones — an itch for battle, a primal sense of destined rivalry.
+188 Chapters on p@treon/tambeerg