The Days of Being the Richest Man in the Ninja World

[V3] - Chapter 1. The Rebel Army Has No Future

---

This is an endless sea, filled with countless strange islands and unpredictable weather!

Legend has it that anyone who sails forward along the Grand Line will eventually reach the final island—Raftel, where they will obtain the legendary great treasure [ONE PIECE], and become the next Pirate King!

Ever since the last Pirate King sparked the Great Age of Pirates with his final words before death, countless people searching for the legendary treasure have taken to the seas to become pirates. The entire ocean...

...has entered the great pirate era!

…

At this moment.

The Hero of Alabasta, Crocodile, looked somewhat annoyed as he stared at the small cup in his hand with the words "Yuto Milk Tea" printed on it.

When did this start?

How could something like this appear in Alabasta?!

In less than a month, it had nearly spread across the entire Alabasta.

Though his base of operations—Rainbase—didn't yet have it, this little thing had already seriously threatened his secret plan.

You know... he had spent years corrupting Alabasta's inland river—the Sandora River—using the illegal substance Dance Powder to secretly disrupt Alabasta's climate. As a result, except for Rainbase, it could no longer rain anywhere else in Alabasta, leaving all underground rivers dried up.

But now—

What the hell?!

What was the deal with this Yuto Milk Tea shop?

Where was all this water coming from?!

Crocodile's face darkened as he gripped the milk tea cup tightly and looked at the flyer on the table...

[Yuto Milk Tea – Grand Opening! Buy One, Get One Free! Entire Store 15% Off!]

By this calculation, you could buy two milk teas for under 1,000 Berries—about the price of ten newspapers.

And if you were just buying water, it was even cheaper—just 100 Berries for two cups. In Alabasta, where water was as precious as gold… this was practically a giveaway!

However—

Just these simple cups of milk tea had instantly sabotaged his operation in Alabasta.

"Have we found out anything?"

As he spoke—

"Based on information gathered by Baroque Works' outer agents..."

Standing before him in a tight black skirt that showed off her graceful figure, Vice President of Baroque Works, Nico Robin, unfolded a file and said with a slight frown, "Yuto Milk Tea appeared in Alabasta about a month ago, specializing in all kinds of milk tea, fruit tea, herbal tea, shaved ice, and ice cream. As soon as it opened, it was wildly popular with the people. Even the King of Alabasta personally granted them a tax exemp—"

"Wait a second!" Crocodile pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and cut her off. "Just get to the point! I only care about the person behind this! Who the hell has the nerve to ruin my plan?!"

If it turned out to be just an ordinary businessman—

His eyes narrowed with a terrifying gleam. "Then don't blame me for being rude!"

As for the rest...

Who cares what he sells!

"The one behind it?" Robin paused, flipped through a few more pages, and continued, "Yuto Milk Tea is a subsidiary of the Yuto Group, which also includes internet cafés, dance halls, cinemas, car factories… and even smartphones—industries that people don't fully understand yet. After investigating, we found that the man behind it is someone named Uchiha Yuto. His strength is unknown for now, though there are rumors he once slapped a pirate with a 30-million-Berry bounty to death. But the details are... still unconfirmed."

"Uchiha Yuto, huh?" Crocodile frowned slightly at the name, then relaxed, lit a cigar, took a puff, and said with disdain, "It looks like this businessman who disrupted our plans came from outside Alabasta. Not afraid of death, is he?!"

As for that nonsense about slapping a 30-million [big] pirate to death... to Crocodile, it was laughable. A 30-million-Berry pirate? Just some fool playing pirate games on the Grand Line near East Blue.

Trash!

Sure, his own bounty was only 81 million, but at his level, bounties didn't mean anything anymore.

Crocodile pondered for a moment. "It seems like he's pretty capable! And with money-making skills like that... can we recruit him into Baroque Works?"

"We've already tried. But he turned us down." Robin shook her head helplessly. "We haven't even seen the boss in person. Every outer agent we sent was beaten and thrown out! And he said... 'their boss only wants to run an honest business and absolutely won't associate with pirates!'"

"Hmph. Interesting! Honest business? Aren't the Seven Warlords of the Sea clean enough?" Crocodile sneered and couldn't help but pick up the milk tea, stab the straw in, and take a sip. "If he just wants to do business, then let's make it impossible for him to do business."

After one sip, he looked down in surprise at the milk tea.

[Why am I drinking this?]

Was he... thirsty?

In any case—

He didn't dwell on it. It was just a cup of milk tea. His expression cold again, he said, "Let someone pose as kingdom soldiers to tax them and then smash their shops, and say it's by royal decree! At the same time... draw the attention of those rebel forces. We'll take this chance to fan the flames and have them all fight each other!"

And then—

Once the royal family of Alabasta was abandoned by the people, he could seize full control of the country and, without anyone noticing, secretly dig up the legendary ancient weapon—Pluton, and gain the power to conquer the seas.

Finally—

Re-enter the New World!

However—

Just as he finished speaking—

Robin hesitated. "Actually, there's no need to go to all that trouble to attract the rebels."

"Follow my plan!" Crocodile frowned and said coldly, "Don't tell me you're planning to betray me now... Devil Child?"

"That's not what I meant!" Robin didn't get angry, only shook her head with a bitter smile and said, "I just meant... there's no need to attract them. The rebel army..." At this, her expression turned a bit strange. "...actually disbanded a while ago."

"???" Crocodile froze, his voice filled with disbelief, rising in pitch. "Didn't those rebels say they were going to overthrow the king and save Alabasta? They just disbanded?! What are they doing now? What about their dreams?!"

"Uh~" Robin hesitated, her eyelid twitching slightly. "They're all... working under Yuto Group now... selling milk tea."

"???"

What the hell?!

…

Being a rebel can't save Alabasta!

Only selling milk tea can!

Selling milk tea is the only way out!

Koza once again remembered that black-haired young man… who suddenly appeared in front of him with a serious face and said this.

At first, he refused. But later... the boss told him that as long as he helped sell milk tea, they would be provided with drinking water, high wages, and even full benefits—social insurance, housing fund—giving them a stable job and high income. And even if they couldn't keep up the work, they were free to quit.

This was too important for the rebel army.

Especially the salary...

Just like he said, even if the milk tea business failed later, they could still use the money they earned to regroup and rearm the rebel army.

And honestly—

Ever since the Yuto Group arrived, Alabasta really did seem a lot more stable. Many people started working in the Yuto Group's factories, earning decent wages, getting free drinking water, and even receiving heat allowances.

After work, they'd head to the milk tea shop... buy a cold drink and chug it down, wrapping up a satisfying day.

How comfortable is that?!

And with stable jobs, comrades who had once been rejected by their families for joining the rebellion were now welcomed back again. Their families no longer had to live in fear of being arrested by the king.

Meanwhile, the king also seemed to highly approve of the Yuto Group, issuing tax exemption policies in its favor.

Everything was heading in a good direction.

So, no matter what... Koza felt he had to work hard and sincerely thank Boss Yuto.

However—

Today, his luck didn't seem to be going well.

A boy wearing a cowboy hat ordered a ton of items, but had no money and seemed to be preparing for a dine-and-dash.

Of course, that wasn't the main issue. What was worse was just as he was about to stop the guy from skipping the bill… a group of Royal Guards suddenly rushed in, planning to trash the place, shouting, "By the king's orders, no shops are allowed to operate here!"

What a joke.

You know, the same king had previously issued a tax exemption certificate to the Yuto Group, and now he's saying no shops?

"That king is really going too far!" a nearby worker spat angrily on the ground and said, "He's toying with us again! Why don't we gather all the workers and revolt? So many stores have already been trashed—everyone's pissed off!"

He is smashing their rice bowls like this!

He might as well take their lives!

However—

"Shut up! Tell everyone not to act rashly! Boss said as long as we do our jobs well, we don't need to worry about anything else!"

Koza frowned and fell into thought.

When did it start?

The king started acting strange, constantly going back on his own decisions.

Just then—

Noticing something, he coldly glanced to the side at the boy with the cowboy hat who was trying to sneak away. "You're not leaving until you pay!"

"Hahaha~" Ace scratched his head awkwardly and laughed, "I don't have any money! How about… since I helped you guys out, you treat me to the meal?"

"I didn't say I'd treat you to anything!" Koza rolled his eyes and signaled someone to keep an eye on him. If he didn't pay, he'd be dragged to the back to clean the kitchen—that's what Boss Yuto said. No matter who it is... no dine-and-dash allowed. He hesitated a bit, then pulled out the Den Den Mushi. Once the call connected: "Hey, Boss! Something just happened over here."