One Piece : Admiral Falcon is Pissed off again today!

Michael was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter.

This seemingly rough and burly King Riku was actually quite a clever man.

Why?

Because upon realizing that Dressrosa, whether in terms of geographical location or overall positioning, was in direct competition with Fish-Man Island, his first thought wasn't "competition" but "cooperation."

Because he knew full well...

They stood no chance in a competition.

Just the name "Fish-Man Island and New World Gateway Joint Front" alone was enough to seal their defeat.

A place jointly protected by the Marines and the Whitebeard Pirates—who wouldn't be curious about it?

This alone gave them an overwhelming advantage in publicity and public opinion.

So King Riku decisively chose to "seek cooperation."

"I must say, your wisdom is completely at odds with those muscles of yours."

"Muscles are meant to protect wisdom from being exploited by others," King Riku replied calmly.

"After all, in these seas, people are more inclined to claim others' intellectual achievements as their own."

"Let's save the philosophical discussions for later," Michael shook his head. "Business should be conducted like business... What can Dressrosa offer to make Fish-Man Island choose to cooperate with you?"

Business is business.

At times like this, Michael wouldn't let his relationship with Cobra influence his judgment.

And King Riku clearly understood this too—emphasizing their connection was merely a stepping stone to propose cooperation.

"As for Dressrosa's specialties, I assume you're already aware, so I won't elaborate..." King Riku said seriously.

"Beyond that, beneath Dressrosa lies an underground port, specifically used for the distribution of goods... and that is the foundation of my proposal for cooperation."

An underground port in Dressrosa?

Michael thought for a moment before recalling—it was the same place Doflamingo used in the original story to store and transport contraband.

That was indeed a great location!

If it could handle the transportation of contraband across the entire New World, it could certainly serve as a hub to distribute Fish-Man Island's goods throughout the region.

Wasn't this the legendary logistics hub!?

Fish-Man Island truly needed such a transit point right now.

After all, Fish-Man Island was only so big.

If they were just exporting goods, it wouldn't be an issue, but their resources were constantly circulating...

Thus, Dressrosa's role was absolutely essential.

Following this logic, Michael would also need to select a location in "Paradise" to serve the same function as Dressrosa...

No need to overthink it—Sabaody Archipelago was the obvious choice!

Gion and Robin had been struggling to figure out how to revitalize Sabaody.

As the mandatory stop before reaching Fish-Man Island, its foot traffic had already returned to its peak—if not surpassed it.

Taking on the role of a logistics hub would also allow the economy to continue recovering, replacing previous gray income streams with legitimate economic revenue.

Perfect!

"King Riku, I really must thank you. If you hadn't proposed this cooperation, it might have taken me much longer to come up with this solution," Michael said excitedly, shaking King Riku's hands up and down before continuing.

"On behalf of the Fishman Island Neutral Trade Zone, I promise our cooperation... Come visit Fishman Island soon. I'll have the person in charge meet with you there."

King Riku's mouth fell open...

Was it really this simple?

With just a few words, Dressrosa had hitched a ride on what was currently the most profitable venture in the entire world?

Dressrosa was about to take off!

As a wise and beloved king who truly cared for his people, King Riku even felt tears welling up in his eyes at this moment.

This way, not only could Dressrosa's original industries regain vitality...

But the surplus labor force could also be redirected to the underground port!

It didn't take a genius to realize that after securing cooperation with Fishman Island, the manpower needed for the underground port would multiply.

In fact...

He even thought about discussing with the Tontatta Tribe.

Enough with all that sneaky thievery!

Port logistics was where it's at!

******

After the cooperation was settled, King Riku tactfully excused himself.

After all, apart from Michael, everyone at this table was just a child.

In a way, it wasn't really the right setting for serious discussions.

That's why Michael had suggested he go to Fishman Island to negotiate with the person in charge.

"Tsk, Jack, have you never been full in your life?" Michael propped his chin on his hand, watching Jack devouring food after food with curiosity.

"You've been eating non-stop for two hours now."

"Not really," Jack lowered his head, looking almost shy. "Before eating the Devil Fruit, I could hunt in the sea and get full..."

Michael nodded.

So ever since eating that damn Devil Fruit and losing the ability to hunt for extra food underwater, he'd never been truly full?

Honestly, for fishmen, the negative effects of Devil Fruits usually outweighed the benefits.

After all, fishmen and merfolk naturally lived underwater.

"...So you grew this big even while being underfed for a long time?"

"Heh, honestly I think I've gotten too skinny recently..."

Too skinny.

Michael and all the young ones at the table turned to stare at Jack.

Meaning this massive body wasn't even his peak? He could grow even bigger?

Michael's lips twitched.

Even among fishmen, Jack was in a league of his own as a monster.

Just as Michael was considering whether to send Jack to Vegapunk for dissection and research, Bellemere and Stella returned.

"Ugh, dealing with royalty is such an unpleasant task," Bellemere sighed as she sat down, rubbing her stiff facial muscles from maintaining a fake smile.

"Ah, it seems I'm becoming more hypocritical by the day... All this diplomacy and pretense."

"It seems the recent lessons from Alabasta's scholars have been quite effective. Even an illiterate like you has started using idioms."

"Are you looking down on me?" Bellemere rolled her eyes, then ruffled Nojiko and Nami's little heads.

"I learned them while sitting in on their beginner lessons with the scholars."

"...You learned idioms from beginner lessons?"

Michael wiped cold sweat from his brow.

He'd truly underestimated these elite scholars!

"By the way, have you seen Crocodile?"

"She left the banquet hall with His Majesty Cobra just now."

Hearing this, Michael abruptly stood up and headed for the door.

Cobra...

Was he planning to confront her now?

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