— — — — — — —
After a brief observation, Joey sent a message.
[Charlotte Patriarch: Slave Merchant! I'm very interested in the batch of goblins you have. Let's talk business!]
The batch meant 10,000 individuals—a standard unit in the trade.
[Slave Merchant: Charlotte Patriarch! Your interest in my goods is fascinating! I assure you, this batch of goblins is top-tier, no joke. Each one has exceptional talent. But the key point is—!]
[Slave Merchant: This tribe once produced a demigod-level alchemist and a demigod-level engineer. You know what that means, right?]
"Hmm."
Joey understood exactly what the slave Merchant was implying.
He was trying to jack up the price.
But the problem was that Joey was still extremely interested even knowing that!
A goblin tribe that had given birth to a demigod-level alchemist and a demigod-level engineer?
That was like saying—
This tribe had once produced an existence on the level of a Diamond-ranked being!
By conversion, Diamond rank was roughly equivalent to demigod level across various worlds.
A true god would be at Diamond Rank 9. Not much difference in power.
Of course, in weaker worlds, things were different.
Some so-called "gods" couldn't even shatter a small mountain with a full-power strike.
Those worlds followed different standards.
The slave Merchant continued his pitch.
[Slave Merchant: Charlotte Patriarch! You understand value well. This batch is of the highest quality, carrying the legacy of engineering and alchemy! Many buyers are offering deals for them!]
[Slave Merchant: And! The goblins have a complete internal hierarchy.]
"Heh heh heh—"
A sleazy-looking man stroked his beard, his face full of glee. He was the Slave Merchant.
This time, he was going to make a huge profit.
The other buyers' offers?
That's BS. He wasn't even interested.
Devil Fruits! That was the true premium currency.
They contained a little piece of real laws from the world!
Owning one meant you had the potential to knock on the door of divinity—The chance to become a god!
Without a Devil Fruit or the equivalent items, reaching godhood required comprehending laws from scratch.
Who knew how many centuries that would take?
Not to mention—Countless geniuses had hit a dead end at this exact step.
[Ding!]
A new message arrived.
[Charlotte Patriarch: 20 Devil Fruits, take it or leave it! You're right—this batch of goblins is outstanding, but at best, they're worth 20 fruits. Rare as they are, similar specimens can still be found in various worlds.]
[Slave Merchant: Deal! Consider it a friendly exchange, Charlotte Patriarch. If you're satisfied with this batch, there won't be any issues.]
[Charlotte Patriarch: Let's trade then.]
[Slave Merchant: Let's trade!]
As the deal concluded, Joey looked at the card in his hand, his eyes gleaming sharply.
His smile deepened.
[Ding!]
[Slave Merchant: Charlotte Patriarch, if you're interested in any other races, just let me know! I can start looking for them in advance.]
Joey saw the message and thought for a moment.
[Charlotte Patriarch: I'm interested in Night Elves, Blood Elves, and other rare races.]
[Slave Merchant: Got it! They're all high-value goods, but I'll keep an eye out and slowly acquire them. Looking forward to our next trade.]
[Charlotte Patriarch: Looking forward to it.]
With the deal sealed, Joey toyed with the card in his hand, murmuring to himself:
"A goblin tribe of this caliber... this will be a huge boost for me!"
Wizardry or other powers? He had plenty of that already. All he could get with his current abilities.
What he needed most now was technology.
Combining technology with alchemy—That was the key to fully transforming Totto Land.
After all—His goal was to turn Totto Land into a divine kingdom.
Or even beyond that.
But that was a long-term objective.
"With this batch of goblins, the transformation can begin! The Dark Trade will develop faster."
"Additionally, weapon enhancements will proceed without issue. Combining alchemy with engineering... I should also acquire other systems, like magic arrays and formations, and merge them all."
He thought carefully.
These were all things he needed to obtain.
Once secured, he could let the goblins handle the research.
After all, the slave contract was already signed at the time of purchase.
Still, since the slave Merchant was selling them in bulk, this meant one thing: He had already copied all their knowledge.
That was just business as usual.
This wasn't a game. This was the real multiversal economy.
Joey wasn't particularly concerned about this. It was an inevitable part of trading. There was no need to dwell on it.
For now, he stored the goblins away. No rush!
Then, lifting his head, Joey commanded, "Daifuku, Oven, bring me one of the Longarm Tribe."
"No problem!" His two brothers quickly dragged a Longarm Tribesman and tossed him in front of Joey.
"Ugh!" The Longarm grunted upon hitting the ground.
Joey smiled warmly and said, "Hey there, tell me what you know. If you do, I might just let you go."
Without an ounce of pride, the Longarm quickly blurted out, "Sir! Sir! What do you want to know? I'll tell you anything!"
Daifuku and Oven were stunned. They had never seen someone this spineless before.
Joey, however, didn't care. A coward like this would be more useful for extracting information.
After organizing his thoughts, Joey asked, "Tell me about the current state of the Tehna Gehna Kingdom."
"Huh?" The Longarm was briefly dumbfounded.
Immediately, the Longarm continued, "Sir! The current king of Tehna Gehna Kingdom is trash—just a ruler obsessed with pleasure. The country is on the brink of collapse, divided among 17 factions. However! The three most powerful factions are the ones truly in control."
Joey nodded. "Go on."
"Yes, sir!" The Longarm hurriedly explained, "The kingdom is at constant war. One of the three major factions is led by Elder Vemin, who commands the smallest force. However! She aims to lead the Longarm Tribe out of the kingdom to settle elsewhere."
That piqued Joey's interest. "Elder Vemin? Tell me more!"
"Elder Vemin is one of the 20 elders of the Longarm Tribe. Though she holds the title of 'Elder,' she was actually a minister of the Tehna Gehna Kingdom. But ever since the king became incompetent, the ministers split into different factions. Elder Vemin leads 400,000 Longarms who wish to leave. The other ministers control much larger numbers."
"I see."
Joey asked several more questions, and the Longarm obediently answered.
Once he had all the information he needed, Joey dismissed him.
Squinting thoughtfully, he mused, "We should reach out to Elder Vemin. She controls 400,000 Longarms and wants to leave the kingdom. This is a golden opportunity."
Daifuku and Oven agreed.
But Oven hesitated. "Big brother! Even if the information is accurate, we still need to be cautious. The kingdom is in utter chaos. We have to proceed carefully."
Daifuku nodded. "Yeah, big bro! The situation in Tehna Gehna Kingdom is too unstable. We have to be careful."
Joey, however, remained composed. "You're right; there are risks. But this is the best opportunity we've had. In fact—" A sharp glint appeared in his eyes.
Sitting nearby, Cornstarch asked, "Big brother! Are you planning to take over the entire Tehna Gehna Kingdom?"
"Exactly!" Joey confirmed. "The kingdom is in turmoil. If we can absorb all two million Longarms—no, even if the number dwindles to just one million after the conflict—it would still mean the entire Longarm Tribe falls under our control."
Moscato nodded. "If we integrate the Longarm Tribe into Totto Land, any Longarms wandering the seas in the future will have no choice but to join us. Otherwise, they'd be without a homeland."
Cornstarch and Moscato, though young, analyzed the situation clearly.
This was a rare opportunity.
The Giant Nation of Elbaf and the Mixed Martial Arts Alliance, some places like them were nearly impossible to control. Even Fishman Island was like that.
Although Fishman Island had close ties with Joey, they wouldn't just hand over their people.
But now? This was different.
Aside from the Fishmen, the Longarm Tribe and Longleg Tribe were the largest humanoid races. If they could fully integrate the Longarm Tribe, Totto Land's influence would skyrocket.
Right now, Totto Land's authority came from the Black Market's Gene Fruit trade and Big Mom Pirates' strength. But in other areas, it still lacked dominance.
"This..." Daifuku and Oven scratched their heads.
Bang!
Joey knocked on the table and declared, "Let's not overthink it. Find a place to dock, preferably somewhere secluded. We'll wait for Compote to arrive. If we really want to make a move on Tehna Gehna Kingdom, our current force won't be enough."
How would they even fight?
The kingdom had over a million Longarms. Even with Vemin's support, that wouldn't be enough.
These were Longarms—there were definitely powerful fighters among them.
As a closed-off kingdom that no one could enter, Tehna Gehna was undoubtedly strong, even if it was poor. Just like Wano.
A starving camel is still bigger than a horse.
Before the Kurozumi Clan took over, Wano could field an army of 30,000 samurai with ease. And that was a force even the strongest pirates, like Edward Newgate, Shiki, or Big Mom, would think twice about challenging.
In some battles, sheer numbers could be overwhelming.
"Phew—" Exhaling deeply, Joey murmured, "What a hassle. Taking over the entire Tehna Gehna Kingdom won't be easy."
Indeed, it was a complicated issue. But it wasn't impossible.
After all—Skeleton legions were cheap. Buying a million of them wasn't out of the question.
Still, that was a plan for later.
For now, they needed to focus on docking.
As night fell, a small boat slowly approached their ship.
Compote had arrived.
.
.
.