As the saying goes, money isn't everything, but without money, you can't do anything.
The City in the Sky would be a fantastical metropolis surpassing the world's largest entertainment city, Gran Tesoro. To achieve this, El had to ensure the City in the Sky held appeal for everyone—men and women, old and young. Making that possible required vast sums of Belly, which was one reason he entered the arms business.
El, possessing endless iron resources, was equivalent to owning a treasure greater than even the City of Gold.
Simply realizing the value of these iron resources could fund not just one City in the Sky, but multiple.
Therefore, after the Flying Pirates were officially established, he began flying into outer space daily to seize control of meteorites and bring them down.
Standing on the edge of the Island of Dreams—the new name for the main island—El sent iron meteorites flying toward Dressrosa. Mid-air, the meteorites liquefied and condensed into various shapes.
The rule-based ability of the Float-Float Fruit was a weapon factory in itself. Were it not for lacking other materials for making weapons, he could produce both firearms and bladed weapons alone. But even if he could manufacture weapons himself, the process was too troublesome just to earn Belly. Compared to such black-market dealings, El preferred to build the world's first City in the Sky.
Not only could it generate revenue, but it would also be a source of entertainment.
After delivering the first batch of iron to Doflamingo, he also received two Den Den Mushi from him, along with a contract and a secretary.
These two Den Den Mushi were for contacting Kaido and Mary Geoise, respectively. The contract outlined the shareholding and profit-sharing agreement.
Each month, El only needed to provide a certain amount of iron to receive 30% of the profits from the arms business.
Don't underestimate that 30%. The Beast Pirates—responsible for forging, technology, and weapon factory bases—also received only 30%. The Donquixote Family—responsible for sourcing other materials and sharing profits with Mary Geoise for special treatment—also got 30%.
The remaining 10% profit was shared with the rest of the underworld—for example, those who helped transport goods also got a piece of the pie.
That Kaido and the others were willing to give up a share of their profits showed they regarded El as an equal.
Of course, they weren't actually losing money. With endless iron provided by El, they no longer needed to purchase iron or develop islands to mine ore.
In the past, they monopolized most of the New World arms business. In the future, they might completely monopolize it while extending their reach into the first half of the Grand Line and the Four Blues.
Thus, not only did they not lose money, but their profits would increase substantially.
In addition to the two Den Den Mushi and the contract, the secretary El received from Doflamingo was the secretary of Caesar Clown from the manga—the "Snow Girl," Monet.
Now, Monet had become El's secretary and an informant to monitor Violet's every move, while also serving as the liaison between the Flying Pirates and the Donquixote Family.
Surrendering Violet to El and assigning Monet as secretary was a tacit understanding between El and Doflamingo, though unspoken.
Doflamingo understood clearly that once El had Violet, he would certainly use her Devil Fruit ability.
Just as El disliked being spied on, Doflamingo equally didn't want anyone spying on him.
Monet was tasked with monitoring Violet, as well as observing El.
Doflamingo paid a hefty price for this cooperation: first losing the Glare-Glare Fruit user, and now the Snow-Snow Fruit user, all to avoid being spied upon.
If not for Monet's loyalty to him, Doflamingo would have been truly reluctant to send her as a spy.
Doflamingo's boldness also gave El a favorable impression. Though a spy was placed beside him, El wasn't angered—he had allowed it.
If he wanted Doflamingo to earn vast sums for him, he had to let him operate without worries. This so-called spy's primary duty was to monitor Violet; if El didn't wish it, Monet wouldn't obtain any important information at all.
El could treat her as a subordinate and command her at will. With her strength far inferior to his, she naturally had no grounds to resist.
Therefore, Doflamingo sending a Logia-type Devil Fruit user was a truly bold move. With Monet unable to leave the City in the Sky until their cooperation ended, she was effectively half a member of the Flying Pirates.
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