Business

Ozymandias pov

I walk through the streets of Loguetown and notice several houses and buildings being built or being renovated. Due to my company and its geographic location right at the beginning of the Grandline, Longuetown has become an economic hot spot. Attracting people from all over the East Blue and other Seas, making the city expand more and more to accommodate the growing flow of immigrants.

Finally, I arrived in front of my factory. The factory was large, by far the largest building in all of Longuetown. The factory was made entirely of gray concrete with several chimneys expelling smoke into the atmosphere without stopping, near the entrance gates on the largest wall was written in red 'HellFire Corp' with a logo of a black gear on fire.

At the entrance, I could see my secretary already waiting for me at the door. The news of my return must have already reached her. She had short red hair, and blue eyes and was wearing a black feminine suit, and was holding a clipboard... And she was also wearing that beautiful killer look that she gave me every time I did something reckless, like abandoning everything and going on a criminal hunt.

(pic)

"Hana! My darling! My sweet coconut! My ice lady! My darling fairy! My..." I gesture dramatically with each compliment

"Ozymandias-san Stop it before someone sees you. You are the President of a respectful company, behave as such" Hana gives me the icy look she always gave me. She was famous for her cold and professional attitude, but that didn't stop me from trying to get a smile from her, which I always failed at.

"You have three important meetings today, stop acting like a child, and let's get to work" She says in a cold voice

Hana was saved by me when I started being a pirate hunter with Daddy. I found her on a pirate ship that transported slaves, she was going to be sold in Sabaody. She caught my attention because she was the only one among the people who were being arrested, who didn't show fear while I killed that pirate crew, instead I saw the purest gratitude in her eyes.

I didn't care at the time and left those survivors behind. Only to find out later Hana in front of my factory under construction, She found out who I was and came to Longuetown. She said she owed me her life and would do everything to repay me. I wasn't convinced at the time and I told her to leave, only to find her every day at the door of my factory.

It didn't matter if it was raining or cold, she was always there, waiting for me, I hope that one day I will accept her. I became convinced of her loyalty after she was malnourished from hunger.

I learned later that those pirates had killed her entire family.

Hana wasn't a fighter, and she knew it. But she was very intelligent and diligent, and with her help she made my company grow enormously. She had an incredible talent for business, making deals, planning finances, and managing staff, she excelled at all of this. I confess that if it weren't for her, Hellfire Corp wouldn't be as prosperous if it weren't for her. She's practically the unofficial president of my company taking care of all the shit I get bored with

"Is there any way I can "Avoid" these meetings?" I asked as we headed inside the factory

"No. These meetings are crucial for the company and require the presence of the company president, you cannot miss them." She said as she looked at me looking for any sign on my face that I was going to run away.

"Very well, I will go to the meeting... but why are these meetings so important?" I sigh in defeat, I can't disappoint her or she might kill me in my sleep

"You have three meetings, which are already waiting for you. The first is with the President of East Blue Transport Mr. Axolotl, the second is with the Mayor of the city, and the third is with a man who did not want to indemnify himself but seemed very serious... he was accompanied by several people in black suits, and he told me that you would regret it if you didn't meet him." She said the last part worriedly as we entered the factory

The factory was full of heavy machinery and assembly lines, which was already new in this world. I stole Henry Ford's idea of the assembly line and applied it to this world. The central idea was to divide the production process into simple, repetitive tasks, allowing workers to specialize in specific tasks.

In addition to cutting costs, it greatly increased production speed. The factory manufactured everything from steam engines to medical equipment to sewing machines. Except for steam engines, I sold everything to everyone around the world

The factory was noisy and full of people going here and there, all working in their respective fields. Other companies were unable to compete with our production speed and closed their doors, giving me a monopoly in several economic sectors.

To ensure that no industrial espionage from other companies takes place, security was very strict. The factory was full of Den Den mochi cameras placed at various strategic angles along with several guards.

"Several people in black suits, eh? They must probably be from Cipher Pol.." With this revelation, Hana became apprehensive. Everyone knew that you couldn't joke when the subject involved Cipher Pol. This was engraved in people's minds after the Ohara Incident. 

"I'll put you in the first meeting right away then..." Hana said as she wrote on her clipboard

"Don't do that! They arrived later so they will wait their turn. If you do that, they will know that we are scared of them. Leave them at the appointed time" I said seriously and Hana nodded in understanding

Then I'll take a look at my factory to make sure everything is in order. We then headed to my office, which was on the penultimate floor of the factory.

The office resembled Mr. Burns' office. with a red carpet and a bookshelf along with a view of the entire factory, with a red armchair in front of the table with two smaller seats. But instead of a statue of a polar bear, there was a statue of a Red Fin Elephant Tuna fish, rarer than the blue one. The office was also sound-proofed, so no one could hear what was being said inside, as well as keeping out the noise from the factory.

I sit in my armchair and look at Hana

"Send the first one in"

She obeys, and in the meantime, she leaves. I lit a cigarette and read the report she gave me about the information from the first meeting with Mr. Axolotl, our main competitor in the East Blue cargo business.

Knock! Knock!

"Come" I say, Hana enters with an ugly chubby man with blond hair full of jewels on his fingers, he tries to hide that he is nervous but I noticed and Hana must have noticed too.

"Mr. Axolotl, welcome, I hope your journey here was easy and peaceful, please have a seat" I say as he sits down facing me and Hana takes the position next to me.

"So what can I do for you?" I said while crossing my hands

"Stop acting like a fool Ozymandias, you know why I'm here. I came to buy the steamships" He spits

Steamships were very useful in the area of naval cargo transportation. In addition to their incredible speed compared to conventional sailing ships, they had cargo capacities well above sailing ship standards and were also fast enough to evade most conventional pirates.

"If you came by the steamships then you know that I don't sell them, so you can forget it. But we can form a 'partnership' with East Blue Transport, what do you think? We will both benefit..." After I said this he understood that I wanted to buy his company, and he turned red with anger

"Damn you Ozymandias. You know about our situation." In fact, I knew about the current 'Situation' of East Blue Transport

East Blue Transport was the largest cargo transport company in the entire East Blue before Hellfire Corp emerged, they 'had' a commercial naval fleet of hundreds of ships and dominated the freight transport market.

"Mr. Axolotl, you offend me. I propose a business to you that could very well be considered the salvation of your entire heritage, and you treat me like that?" I let out crocodile tears while pretending to be offended

"You bastard... I- I won't sell my company!... not for less than fifteen billion Belly!..." He said the last part almost whispering

"You see Mr.Oxolotl... your company had 120 Caravels and 63 Gallons which were worth fifteen... but due to pirate attacks and the situation of inevitable bankruptcy of your company you now only have 60 Caravels and 31 Gallons, which makes the value of your company drop considerably Mr.Oxolotl" I said as I placed the papers I was reading in front of him.

His company was experiencing difficulties due to the appearance of Hellfire Corp, and the constant pirate attacks on its ships. I may have accelerated his company's bankruptcy by hiring pirates to destroy his ships... but he doesn't need to know that.

"Let's see...I can offer you five billion Belly for your company, what do you say?" As soon as he heard the value of five billion he turned red as a tomato

"IS THIS A JOKE? My company is a century-old company, it was created by my grandfather and then passed on to my father and now it's with me. I would never sell it for that price!"

"You are right, Out of respect I have for your East Blue Transport I will offer you 4 billion Belly" I said while crossing my hands

"I'M LEAVING" He said as he headed towards the door furious

"A shame... Well, good luck finding someone to buy your company. I feel sorry for the poor guy who is going to buy a bankrupt company and at the same time compete with us..." I say and he starts to walk more slowly but It still doesn't stop, I think I'll have to make the final move.

"Hana, dear. Could you send this report to the newspapers? The business world will go crazy knowing that East Blue Transport went bankrupt" I say while handing the papers to Hana

"Certainly"

"W-Wait don't do that..." He turns around with fear in his eyes, Scared of losing all his money. After all, the worst nightmare for a spoiled fatty like him is living in poverty.

I hold out my hand and Hana passes me some papers, which I place on my desk calmly take a pen and tap the paper while looking at it.

He sits down and starts looking through the papers before sighing in defeat and starting to sign.

"Great decision, Mr.Axolotl. With Four Billion Belly you can live comfortably for the rest of your life. Better than most people, do yourself a favor and retire somewhere safe and enjoy your life" I said while Hana took the papers he just signed and checked if everything was ok

Hana then takes him away

Knock! Knock!

"Come"

Hana enters again but this time it's with the city Mayor and his secretary

"Mayor, Mayor, Mayor. Good to see you Mayor, please have a seat" I said as I pointed to the vacant seats in front of my desk.

"So... Mayor, what can I do for you?"

"They...They're going to find us out! It's only a matter of time now! We're going to be sent to prison!" The mayor said with concern in his voice

"Mayor! Calm down. Who's going to find out what?" I ask while clapping my hands to get his attention.

"The Marines who arrived recently! They are now searching the city hall documents right now as we speak. They will find our entire scheme! The documents of my candidacy's donations! They will know that the election was rigged! And when the people find out I will I'm going to get kicked out of city hall."

I sigh and open the bottom drawer of my desk take out a bottle of imported wine and three glasses, and serve them.

"Here have a drink, so you can calm down." So we drink and after a while I say

"Mayor, the truth is that you're in deep shit... there's nothing I can do." With this statement, the office becomes deathly quiet

"What do you mean by that? You know if I fall you will too"

"Is that right? As far as I remember there is nothing to prove my involvement in your schemes, they can link me with you but they won't be able to prove anything."

"Ozymandias, are you that foolish? They'll have me! I'm living proof of all your schemes" The mayor said while laughing mockingly.

"Mr. Mayor... he is dangerous" The mayor's secretary, who had been quiet until now, spoke for the first time in fear. She must have recorded our first meeting very well in her memory.

"Relax woman. He can't do anything, he can't kill us he would be the main suspect!" Said the mayor while taking a sip of wine

His plan must be to hide under the navy's skirts at all times, since the navy is camping in the city hall, killing him directly is almost impossible without being discovered.

"As I said, mayor, I have nothing to do with your schemes" I told the mayor, who didn't even think twice and ran out of my office with his secretary as quickly as he could.

"Sir... Shouldn't we do something? He might actually frame you" Hana said with concern in her voice

"He must be heading to city hall right now, he must be taking the paths with as many people as possible. He will probably spill the beans as soon as he arrives at city hall. Killing him stealthily in this short window of time without any plan in place is almost impossible" I said while sighing

"Sir, what should we do then? Should I prepare a ship for our departure? There should still be time to escape"

Hana is visibly worried now, which was a rare sight to see. In all the time we had together, she always had this professional and cold attitude

I stand up and put my hands on her shoulders

"Calm down Hana, I said 'Almost' Impossible not impossible" Saying that I go to the balcony and open the window

Then I stuck two fingers down my throat and vomited all the wine I had drunk, after vomiting all the wine. I close the window and grab a tissue to wipe my mouth

Hana stares at me in disbelief

"Be a love, and bring the last meeting"