"What's going on?" Blue veins bulged on Rosinante's forehead.
Heavens above, he was just indulging in a bit of fun—taking over a small kingdom to play at being king. How had things spiraled into this? Even BIG MOM was getting involved?!
"Your Majesty, not long ago, the Big Mom Pirates ordered a batch of iron ore from the Kingdom of Joromia. Although they didn't pay much, it was the Big Mom Pirates after all—one of the most powerful crews in the New World. The former king didn't dare refuse them. They agreed to deliver it within half a month. But shortly after Big Mom left, the Jack Pirates started attacking us. No one had the time or energy to mine. After Your Majesty defeated Jack, we were barely surviving—let alone mining. I only remembered this matter after looking through the documents…" explained Felost with a trembling voice.
Honestly, this couldn't be entirely blamed on Felost. He had just been a vice-captain of the royal guard. Matters should've been handled by the ministers or nobles. But when the royalty and nobles fled, the ministers bolted too, leaving no one to manage these affairs. How could a mere vice-captain think of such things?
Yet, no matter how many excuses he could give, the Big Mom Pirates weren't the kind of people who listened to reason. In their eyes, Joromia had broken a promise to Big Mom. Worse, it could be seen as insulting the Big Mom Pirates.
In the New World, only a handful—Whitebeard, and once upon a time, the likes of Golden Lion and Roger—could afford to ignore Big Mom. For anyone else, breaking faith with her meant disaster.
Upon hearing this, Rosinante nearly abandoned the entire kingdom and fled solo.
"I really gotta hand it to you people… You forgot about Big Mom? How many days until the deadline? How much ore is missing?" Rosinante asked coldly.
"We're short by a third. The deadline… is tomorrow," Felost whispered miserably.
"Any nearby kingdoms that could sell us the remaining ore?" Rosinante asked.
"Recently, the seas have been in turmoil. All nearby kingdoms have had their iron ore reserves bought out. It's almost impossible to get what we need," Felost replied helplessly.
"Great… Just great. Looks like a war is inevitable," Rosinante muttered with a dark frown.
He hadn't even been in the New World long, and he was already going up against one of the future Four Emperors. Even though the Big Mom Pirates hadn't yet reached the peak of their power, they were likely not far from it…
"W-we're going to war with the Big Mom Pirates?" Felost's face turned pale as a sheet, his voice trembling.
"No way. Absolutely not. That's the Big Mom Pirates! One of the strongest pirate crews in the entire New World!" he cried out.
After Golden Lion's flying fleet lost more than half its ships to a storm and Roger's crew disbanded, Big Mom rose as one of the top forces in the New World.
Even when Roger's crew was active, the Big Mom Pirates were never inferior. Big Mom had clashed with the Roger Pirates, the Flying Pirates, and even Whitebeard's crew—yet still stood firm in the New World.
Now that Roger was dead and Golden Lion was locked up in Impel Down, the New World belonged to Whitebeard and Big Mom. The Big Mom Pirates were undeniably one of the most powerful crews in existence.
"Whether we fight or not doesn't depend on us anymore. Unless you can cough up the ore Big Mom wants, get ready for war," Rosinante declared grimly.
"But... but what can we possibly do against them?! Your Majesty may be strong, but surely not even you can take on Big Mom herself!" Felost exclaimed, nearly in tears.
"You think a tiny kingdom like Joromia is worth Big Mom coming in person? No. We'll be facing her subordinates. Who came last time to collect the ore?" Rosinante asked.
"Her eldest son, Charlotte Perospero, and one of their combatants—Baron Tamago," Felost replied.
"So, our first opponents will be Charlotte Perospero, the Lick-Lick Fruit user and eldest son of the Charlotte Family, and the Baron," Rosinante murmured thoughtfully.
"But... Perospero's bounty is 510 million! That's a real monster!" Felost cried, trembling.
In the Navy's eyes, a pirate's bounty roughly reflects their strength and threat level. There are three major tiers: 100 million, 500 million, and 1 billion.
Don't be fooled by Jack's 450 million bounty—it might seem close to Perospero's 510 million, but the gap between the two tiers is massive.
Pirates under 100 million can usually be handled by Navy commodores or captains. Between 100 and 500 million, a vice admiral is required. But for bounties above 500 million, the Navy must dispatch an admiral—or at least multiple vice admirals—to have a chance.
As for those with billion-berrie bounties… Even admirals might fail to capture them. To the Navy, billion-level pirates are considered strategic-level threats—akin to an admiral in power.
So while 510 million and 450 million may look close, they're worlds apart.
That said, Rosinante knew that with Jack's ferocity and potential, he'd surpass Perospero one day. Jack would go on to become a billion-berry pirate. Perospero, for all his current edge, had grown up with immense resources and privilege as Big Mom's son. His faster rise was only natural.
"Felost, like I said… whether this war happens isn't up to us. Do you really think Big Mom's going to sit down and negotiate? All they'll see is that Joromia dared to blow them off. If they don't make an example of us, others will start thinking they can make excuses too. This war can't be avoided. Win, and Joromia might survive. Lose, and we're finished," Rosinante declared.
"Send the word. Prepare for war!" he ordered.
"Yes, right away!" Felost said, forcing himself to sound resolute.
Not long after Felost left, Rosinante picked up a Den Den Mushi.
"Hello, hello? What can I do for you, Your Majesty?" came Hemmie's respectful voice.
Although he had been unwilling at first—forced into submission by Rosinante's silencing seal—after a few battles at sea, Hemmie had come to realize the sheer value of that power. A near-immortal body? In a world as dangerous as the New World, that was more precious than any treasure. He had fully submitted to Rosinante.
"Where's Jack and the others?" Rosinante asked.
"They're having a blast fighting right now," Hemmie replied. In the background, explosions and roars echoed.
"Abort the mission. Return at once," Rosinante said solemnly. "War is coming…"