"What the hell is going on?" Rosinante's forehead twitched with a bulging vein.
For heaven's sake, he had just taken over a small kingdom to indulge in playing king — how did things escalate to the point that BIG MOM herself got involved?
"Your Majesty," Frost explained, "not long ago, the Big Mom Pirates purchased a shipment of iron ore from the Kingdom of Joromia. Although they didn't pay much, they're the Big Mom Pirates — one of the most powerful pirate crews in the New World. Even the previous king didn't dare to refuse them. They agreed to deliver the goods in half a month. But soon after Big Mom left, the Jack Pirates attacked, and no one had the heart to continue mining. After Jack was defeated by Your Majesty, everyone struggled just to eat, let alone mine. I only remembered this matter when I read through the kingdom's documents."
To be fair, it really wasn't Frost's fault. He was originally just a vice-captain of the royal guards — responsibilities like this should've fallen to ministers or nobles. But when the royal family fled, the ministers ran off too, leaving no one to handle such critical affairs. A mere vice-captain like him had no way of knowing about this.
But regardless of how many excuses there were, the Big Mom Pirates weren't the kind of people who listened to reason. As far as they were concerned, the Kingdom of Joromia had broken a promise — or worse, disrespected Big Mom herself.
In the New World, only Whitebeard, and in the past Golden Lion and Gol D. Roger, could get away with breaking promises to Big Mom. Anyone else would be crushed without mercy.
Upon hearing Frost's report, Rosinante nearly gave up on the kingdom altogether and considered running for his life.
"I really have to admire all of you. You actually forgot about Big Mom's deal? How many days do we have left? And how much are we short?" Rosinante asked.
"One-third of the shipment remains. And… the deadline is tomorrow," Frost answered softly.
"Can we buy the remaining ore from nearby kingdoms?" Rosinante asked.
"There's been chaos at sea lately. Almost all the iron ore from nearby kingdoms has already been scooped up. It's nearly impossible to find the amount we need." Frost replied helplessly.
"This is seriously turning into a mess… Seems like there's no avoiding war now." Rosinante frowned.
He never imagined that he'd just set foot in the New World and already have to face off against one of the future Four Emperors, the Big Mom Pirates. Even if they weren't yet at their peak, they probably weren't far from it either.
"A war… with the Big Mom Pirates?" Frost turned pale and trembled.
"No way, absolutely not. That's the Big Mom Pirates we're talking about — one of the strongest forces in the New World!" Frost cried.
Ever since Golden Lion's flying fleet was mostly destroyed by storms, and Gol D. Roger disbanded his crew, Big Mom had become one of the most dominant powers in the New World.
Even back when Roger was still active, Big Mom's crew was never considered weak — she was the only pirate who had clashed with the Roger Pirates, Golden Lion, and Whitebeard without being wiped out. She held her ground in the New World.
Now, with Roger gone and Golden Lion imprisoned in Impel Down, the New World had become a battleground dominated by Whitebeard and Big Mom. The Big Mom Pirates were now undeniably one of the most powerful crews in existence.
"Whether or not there's going to be a war isn't up to us," Rosinante said coldly. "Unless we can deliver the iron ore she wants, we'd better get ready for battle."
"But… even if Your Majesty is strong, surely you can't be a match for Big Mom herself?" Frost said.
"You think Big Mom would personally show up for something like this? The Kingdom of Joromia is too insignificant. We'll only be dealing with her crew. Who came last time to request the ore?" Rosinante asked.
"Her eldest son, Charlotte Perospero, and one of her combatants, Baron Tamago." Frost replied.
"So, our immediate opponents will be Big Mom's eldest son — the Lick-Lick Fruit user, Charlotte Perospero — and Baron Tamago," Rosinante said thoughtfully.
"But even Perospero has a bounty of 510 million Berries! That's a major-league pirate!" Frost still trembled.
In the Navy's eyes, bounty levels usually reflected strength and threat level. Generally speaking, there were three major thresholds: 100 million, 500 million, and 1 billion.
Even though Jack's bounty was 450 million, and Perospero's was only slightly higher at 510 million, the difference was enormous. Pirates under 100 million could usually be handled by rear admirals or lower. Between 100 million and 500 million, a vice admiral would be dispatched. But above 500 million? The Navy often needed to send an admiral or multiple vice admirals just to have a shot at capturing them.
And once a pirate's bounty reached a billion, even an admiral might struggle — such pirates were considered strategic-level threats, on par with top-tier military force.
So although the gap between Jack and Perospero seemed small, they were in completely different leagues.
Still, Rosinante knew that with Jack's wild strength and insane resilience, he would eventually surpass Perospero — after all, Jack would one day become a billion-berry-level pirate.
The only reason Perospero currently outmatched him was because he had grown up as Big Mom's eldest son, with access to vast resources. His development had simply been faster.
"Frost, I've told you — this battle isn't up to us. Do you think Big Mom will reason with you? No, they'll think the Kingdom of Joromia is being dismissive. If they don't use Joromia as an example, other people will make excuses and try to cheat them too. This war is unavoidable. If we win, the kingdom has a chance to survive. If we lose, the kingdom will be destroyed." Rosinante said.
"Understood. I'll send word immediately." Frost said, forcing himself to stay firm.
Not long after Frost left, Rosinante picked up a Den Den Mushi (transponder snail).
"Hello? Your Majesty, do you need something?" Hermi's respectful voice came through.
Although Hermi and the others had initially resisted Rosinante's control, they had become completely loyal after experiencing the benefits of the Silence Seal. Its near-immortality effect had completely won them over.
In the dangerous and chaotic New World, what could be more desirable than near-immortality?
"Where's Jack?" Rosinante asked.
"Jack's still in the middle of a fight — having a great time!" Hermi replied. Explosions and roars could be heard in the background.
"End the mission and return. A war is coming…" Rosinante said, his expression turning grim.