Chapter 50 – The Grand Chef Has Arrived, From Now On the Laborers Won't Need to Pay for Food!
"Doflamingo, stop spacing out. Start working."
"Y–Yes! O-of course, Lord Akira!"
"Go. Give every one of our new employees a clear division of labor."
Akira's voice was cold, leaving no room for refusal.
"And also," he continued.
"Fix all their loan contracts."
"Interest rate, payment schedule, guarantors… write everything down. Whitebeard included."
"Nothing must be overlooked."
"Let them spend the rest of their lives as peaceful laborers in Dressrosa."
"..."
On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Doflamingo's entire body trembled in excitement.
"Fufufufu! Incredible! The entire Whitebeard Pirates becoming laborers?!"
But he quickly forced himself to calm down.
"L–Lord… Lord Akira…"
Doflamingo wiped cold sweat off his forehead and asked shakily:
"They… they're Whitebeard's division commanders."
"One by one… they're all monsters."
"I… I'm afraid I won't be able to control them…"
This was not false humility.
Assigning him the job of managing monsters like Jozu or Vista?
Even Doflamingo wasn't reckless enough to feel confident about that.
"What are you afraid of?"
Akira dug his ear impatiently.
He lifted his chin, gesturing toward the distance—
Toward the colossal figure being transported carefully by members of the Donquixote Family, using a specially reinforced stretcher from the Dressrosa Royal Medical Center.
"Their father is lying right there."
"His life… is in my hand."
Akira smirked coldly.
"Even if you gave them a hundred times their courage, they wouldn't dare act rashly."
"Besides…"
His tone shifted into absolute certainty.
"As long as I'm here, they won't be able to stir even the smallest wave."
"Go."
"Milk every last drop of value from them."
"If any of them dares to let me catch them resting, we'll see if they're brave enough to keep breathing."
"Y–Yes!! Right away!!"
Doflamingo swallowed hard under Akira's freezing gaze, his whole body shaking.
He no longer dared to show a hint of doubt.
He accepted, wholeheartedly and pitifully, his new life as the Chief Overseer.
…
While Doflamingo "enthusiastically" began explaining the details of "working 007 shifts to pay off debt" to the Whitebeard division commanders—
Out at sea near Dressrosa…
A massive fleet with an absurdly whimsical appearance cut through the waves.
The ships looked like they came straight out of a fairy tale.
Their hulls were made of biscuits.
Their masts were chocolate sticks.
Their sails were layered wafer sheets.
And the air was filled with a sickeningly sweet aroma.
Standing at the bow were three towering figures.
The main combat force of the Big Mom Pirates—
The Sweet Commanders!
"H-hey… hey…"
Cracker rubbed his eyes in disbelief, gripping his famous sword Pretzel.
"That's… Dressrosa?!"
"Why is it… split into several pieces?!"
In his view—
The island that was once prosperous now looked as though the gods themselves had struck it.
Shattered into fragments, drowning in destruction.
Countless skeletal remains of buildings rose like gravestones from the crushed earth.
"What terrifying pressure…"
Charlotte Smoothie—
the only female among the three commanders—
furrowed her brow.
Her long legs tensed slightly.
The hand she usually used to squeeze juice froze mid-motion.
"A Yonko-level battle definitely happened here not too long ago."
"This lingering Conqueror's Haki… there's no mistaking it."
The man in the middle finally spoke.
Charlotte Katakuri.
His face, hidden behind a large scarf, showed no emotion.
But his extraordinary Observation Haki—
Had already seen glimpses of what occurred on the island.
"Katakuri-nii."
Smoothie's expression showed fear for the first time.
"Something is wrong."
"We… we should retreat and reassess."
"Mother only told us to capture Doflamingo and Akira—she didn't order us to risk our lives."
"That's right!"
Cracker nodded vigorously.
"That Joker warden is definitely finished!"
"This island is basically a disaster zone now!"
"…"
Katakuri fell silent.
He closed his eyes.
He was "looking."
Seconds passed—
Then he opened them again.
"No."
His voice was deep and steady.
"Mother's interests in Dressrosa must not be harmed."
"Besides…"
Katakuri remembered Big Mom's warning before they set sail.
"If Joker can no longer fulfill his role—"
"Mother ordered us to bring Akira back."
He suppressed every doubt in his heart.
"We're going ashore to assess the situation."
"If things are truly impossible, then we retreat."
His red eyes swept over his siblings.
"If the three of us work together…"
"Even if we face a Yonko or a Marine Admiral…"
"We can still hold our ground."
His confidence—befitting the strongest of the Sweet Commanders—washed over Smoothie and Cracker like a wave.
"Alright."
"If Katakuri-nii says so…"
The two nodded.
And so—
The ridiculously sweet fleet carefully navigated through the debris and ruins of the shattered island.
Slowly approaching the main port of Dressrosa.
…
Meanwhile—
Inside the newly rebuilt "stone palace"…
Akira sat with one leg crossed over the other.
Before him lay a neat stack of loan contracts for the entire Whitebeard Pirates, freshly delivered by Doflamingo.
"Hm… good."
"Jozu, repayment period: fifty years."
"Vista, fifty years."
"Ace…"
"Shachi…"
…
When he reached Whitebeard's astronomical medical bill, a pleasant smile bloomed on Akira's face.
He was enjoying the numbers—
until suddenly—
His Observation Haki, which covered the entire island, pulsed lightly.
"Oh?"
Akira raised an eyebrow.
"New guests?"
His Haki immediately locked onto the harbor.
Three powerful auras descended from the candy-like ships.
"Heh."
Akira's expression shifted to surprise.
"Members of Big Mom's crew?"
"The Sweet Commanders?"
"Katakuri, Smoothie, Cracker…"
"Big Mom herself didn't come?"
"She looks down on me that much?"
"Just sending a few small fry?"
He paused for a moment.
Then—
A pure, delighted smile spread across his face.
"Ahahahahaha!"
He couldn't hold back his laughter.
"If I wasn't looking, someone brought it right to my doorstep!"
With a heavy thud, he slammed his feet onto the table.
He had just remembered something very important.
"I've seriously been troubled!"
"The Mingo Construction Group, the Whitebeard Construction Team, and the hundreds of thousands of slaves in Dressrosa…"
"How much do these hundreds of thousands of mouths eat every single day?!"
"And I'm the one who has to pay for all of it?!"
Just moments ago, he'd been calculating the overwhelming "operational cost."
But now—
"Look at that! The best chefs in the world came to me on their own!"
Akira's eyes flashed with a dangerous brilliance.
He "saw" the three commanders stepping cautiously onto Dressrosa's soil.
His gaze turned blazing.
"One can produce unlimited biscuits!"
"One can produce unlimited juice!"
"And Katakuri… if I remember right, he can produce unlimited mochi?!"
"Perfect! Absolutely perfect!!"
Akira made his decision on the spot.
"From now on, all food for the laborers on this island…"
"Will be FREE!!"
"And all the money saved… goes straight into my pocket!!"
The more he thought about it, the more ecstatic Akira became.
He even devised an "eco-friendly plan" in his mind.
"Come to think of it—they can turn anything nearby into food…"
"Doesn't that mean…"
A spark of genius lit up his eyes.
"From now on, waste-processing facilities, sewage treatment, even septic systems…"
"We don't need to build any of them?!"
"Just let the three of them turn everything into food, and feed it back to the laborers as recycling!!"
"This is too perfect!!"
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