If a Four Emperor steals something from Queen, Queen might choose to tolerate it, but if they steal his Mochi Red Bean Soup, he becomes even more reckless than Ulti. As someone who dares to compete with Charlotte Linlin for food, Queen has an extraordinary obsession with eating.
Because of a few bananas, to this day, he still holds a grudge against Perospero.
This merchant spotted this weakness.
In the New World, most merchants have some dealings with the Hundred Beasts, which is an unavoidable mountain in the New World.
Queen himself also doubles as the director of external trade for the Hundred Beasts; some people have long figured out Queen's preferences to secure better deals.
"Address."
"What?"
"Huh? Are you an idiot? Don't you know where you are? Why do you need a mercenary then!"
"H-Hive Island... I'm willing to pay double, please get here fast... I'm wearing a suit from Hey Panda with a Prisoner brand hat..."
Hey Panda is a famous brand in the East Sea, considered a luxury in clothing stores, with a special panda as its logo. The Prisoner brand is from Fishman Island, designed by Starfish Pappag, with a scarred starfish as its logo.
To prove his identity, he tried his best to describe his characteristics.
"Are you an idiot? What if someone else wears your clothes? Forget it, the code is 'Handsome Queen.' Remember this phrase."
For sweeter Mochi Red Bean Soup and double commission, Queen rarely gave some instructions and then began checking the Hundred Beasts' power information to see who was nearby.
"Hey, Olga? Are you at....."
"Sister Olga is at Amazon Lily soaking in hot springs. Please don't disturb her for the next half month, Queen. You're always looking for people to work; women will dislike that."
On the Rotom screen, there was no sign of Olga, just a steamy bathroom with the sound of water and several people playing from the camera angle.
"A master like me is super popular with women! You punk, don't you understand? Tch, such a cocky guy, even more arrogant than that woman Shaina."
Seeing the call abruptly hung up by Rotom, Queen casually complained but didn't care. His survival thus far depended on his big heart and knowing whom to offend and whom to tolerate.
Perospero belongs to the BIG MOM Pirates, so it doesn't matter much if they offend him. As long as Kaidou is around, he won't allow Charlotte Linlin to bully the small.
However, anyone related to their own cadres should be left alone. Hancock at least isn't targeting him alone; she treats all unrelated people that way.
"Asie's days won't be easy from now on. Let's see who else is nearby... it's decided, it's you."
Hive Island is considered one of the most dangerous areas in the New World outside of the Sea Emperor's territory. To be safe, Queen needs to find some competent cadres.
If he couldn't find the right person, he would have to bring gifts to ask Zeraora for help with the fieldwork. Fortunately, he found a suitable candidate actively operating nearby.
"Hey, Jack? I have a task for you... Where's Jack?"
The screen showed an Alcremie holding a matcha ice cream.
The Rotoms in the two Rotom Phones were in sleep mode, temporarily losing the Pokemon translation, leading to a communication barrier between Queen and Alcremie.
Alcremie gestured and spoke for a long time, but Queen didn't understand it. Seeing this, Alcremie swallowed the ice cream and then started typing on Rotom's keyboard.
"D...iving, fishing? Forget it, as long as you understand my point. Tell him there's a mission on Hive Island to rescue someone; the code is 'Handsome Queen.' I've sent the details over, notify Jack soon."
"Woo~"
Alcremie waved to indicate it understood Queen's message, then left the cabin with the Rotom Phone. Along the way, all the pirates made way for it, including Drake, who had finally mingled into Jack's crew.
After some observation, he discovered something outrageous: the second-highest authority on this ship wasn't a person but that unassuming pet.
Its status seemed even higher than Jack's because Jack often went out of his way to accommodate its mood with unconventional actions.
But for some reason, this Alcremie never liked him, which put Drake in an awkward position. Although his strength was quite good, he was merely the ship's top combatant.
Fortunately, the promotion system of the Hundred Beasts gave him hope for advancement.
Within a few minutes, Jack jumped out of the sea again, and seeing Queen's instructions, he immediately ordered his subordinates to change course towards Hive Island.
Although he was now on the same level as Queen in terms of disasters, Jack still respected the original Three Disasters and executed their orders as before.
...
"Boss, are you sure this will work?"
"Just wait patiently. In this Underworld, reputation is the most important thing. If the mercenaries lose their reputation, it will be difficult for them to do business in the future.
Besides, we have enough benefits to make them take action. These mercenaries are more reliable than the Navy. For decades, Hive Island has been the pirates' territory, and the Navy won't raise a big fuss over just a few people like us.
The pirates won't attack us immediately, but it will definitely be uncomfortable for a few days."
"By the way, boss, you offered double the price... that's also quite a huge expenditure."
"I'm spending this money willingly. Even if I burned the money, I wouldn't want to give it away like this. This bunch of bastards forced me. I'll see how they deal with the mercenaries of the Hundred Beasts."
His general idea wasn't necessarily wrong, but he made one mistake: some people are still worth the Navy sending people for.
As time passed, Jack's team had already reached the vicinity of Hive Island, but before that, a Navy warship had quietly arrived nearby and deployed some inconspicuous personnel into merchant ships to infiltrate Hive Island and explore the situation.
It seemed a bit absurd, but as a gathering place for pirates, Hive Island was also frequented by merchants. The materials looted by pirates needed to be fenced, and these people specifically targeted those goods. Some merchants actively contacted island pirates to interfere with competitors' goods.
After all, Hive Island also needed materials, so these merchants were considered allies in the eyes of the island's pirates, and they wouldn't attack these people.
"Sir, Ensign Coby has been infiltrating for two days but still no news..."
"Don't worry. As long as we can get that noble's relative out, other problems are easily manageable. Has there been any word from the top?"
"None yet, but sir, according to the surrounding intelligence, the Red Heart Pirates entered Hive Island yesterday... and a Hundred Beasts Pirates' ship appeared in the nearby waters, seemingly targeting Hive Island as well..."