After days of continuous searching in the forests of Sorbet, Marco returned to Pablo with a different look on his face. There was sothing in his eyes, sothing like excitent.
"I found sothing."
Pablo looked at him. "What?"
"A cave. Huge. Inside a mountain in the center of the island. Co and see for yourself."
Pablo did not waste ti. He followed him with so of his n through the dense forests. They walked for hours. The trees were tall, blocking the sunlight from reaching the ground. The air was humid. The sll of dirt and decaying leaves filled the place.
Then they arrived.
Pablo stood before the mountain. It was not an ordinary mountain. Its height was equivalent to several buildings, and it was completely covered with trees and green vines, as if nature had swallowed it. From the outside, no one would know there was a cave here. But Marco had discovered a small gap behind a thin waterfall, hiding a narrow entrance.
They entered one by one.
The inside was completely different.
The space expanded amazingly. The ceiling of the cave was very high, almost invisible in the darkness. Its width was enormous, enough to accommodate hundreds, even thousands of people. The rocks were natural, ford over thousands of years to create massive pillars supporting the ceiling. The air was cold but pure. There was no sll of mold or excessive humidity. There were signs of natural ventilation openings at the top of the cave, allowing air to circulate.
At the back of the cave, Pablo heard a faint sound. He walked toward it. The rock layers sloped slightly to reveal a small river flowing from inside the mountain. The water was clear and cold. It flowed gently and then exited through a narrow opening in the other wall, heading downward, toward the port.
Pablo looked at Marco. He didn't say anything. But his eyes were speaking.
"Here." he said finally. "This will be our headquarters."
They left the cave. Pablo stood in front of the mountain. It was completely hidden. No one would find it. No one would know they were here.
"This place is perfect. Close to the port via the river. And hidden from everyone. We will start preparing it imdiately."
His n began moving supplies and weapons into the cave. Wooden boxes, water barrels, weapons, ammunition. Everything disappeared inside the mountain. Within days, the cave beca a habitable headquarters. Designated sections: a sleeping area, a food storage area, a weapons area, and a small room Pablo used as a command room.
The Pablo Family had a foothold in Sorbet.
---
While the n were settling into the new headquarters, Pablo focused on the most important goal: a source of inco. Without money, he couldn't stay here. Without money, he couldn't expand. Without money, he would be forced to return to Naraka empty-handed.
He began a new tour in the south. But this ti, he wasn't just wandering. He was looking for an opportunity.
Everyone he spoke to said the sa thing: herbs. Herbs were Sorbet's wealth. They were the only reason this small kingdom was able to join the World Governnt. They were the only reason they could pay the Heavenly Tribute.
Pablo knew what he had to do.
He decided to compete with the royal family and the nobles in the herb trade. He didn't want to monopolize it. He just wanted a piece of it. A piece enough to establish his presence here.
He went to one of the farrs in the fields. He was an old man, his back bent, his hands wrinkled, his legs barely carrying him. He was harvesting green herbs with great care.
"I want to buy your harvest." Pablo said directly.
The man stopped. He looked at Pablo with frightened eyes. He looked around to see if anyone was listening. Then he whispered:
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because we are not allowed... we are not allowed to sell our harvest to anyone."
Pablo stepped forward. His voice was calm but sharp.
"Who prevents you?"
"The royal family... and the nobles. They buy everything. They set the price. We have no right to sell our harvest to anyone else. It's the law. Whoever violates it... is executed."
Pablo was silent.
He didn't expect the situation to be this bad. He knew the nobles exploited the poor. But that selling was completely forbidden to the poor... that was beyond what he imagined.
"How much do they give you for your harvest?"
The man lowered his eyes. "Almost nothing. Just enough to pay the taxes and buy bread. No more."
Pablo looked at the vast field. At the precious herbs growing there. At the old man who had worked all his life to earn scraps.
This was the law.
A law that protected the rich and crushed the poor.
A law that made Pablo angry for the first ti in a long while.
He thanked the man. He left so coins in his hand without anyone seeing. Then he returned to his headquarters.
---
In his cave, Pablo sat with Marco and Shigo. They lit a small fire. Shadows danced on the cave walls.
"The legal way doesn't work." Pablo said. "The nobles monopolize everything. The poor are not allowed to sell their harvest to anyone else. That's why they stay poor."
Marco looked at him. "So what will we do?"
"We will take the way we know."
Shigo raised an eyebrow. "Stealing?"
"Stealing." Pablo said simply. "We will hit a convoy. Kill all the guards. Leave no witnesses. No trace of us."
Marco looked at him. "Isn't that dangerous? An army of six thousand soldiers will look for us."
"They won't know who did it. The convoy will disappear in the night. The guards won't return. The goods will disappear. The mystery will remain. They will be afraid. They will send more guards. But they won't know who is threatening them."
Shigo smiled. "That's your way."
"I don't want them to know I exist. I want them to wonder. I want them to fear a ghost they cannot see."
He opened a map of Sorbet on the ground. He pointed to a road passing between fields and warehouses.
"This is the road the nobles use to transport herbs from the south to the north. The carts are loaded with crops. The guards are few. These nobles think their fear is enough to protect their goods."
"They were wrong."
Pablo began explaining his plan.
"We will hit the first convoy we see. Kill everyone in it. Leave no one. Take the goods and disappear."
"But we can't sell the herbs ourselves." Shigo said. "The law forbids it."
"We won't sell them in Sorbet. We will send them to Naraka. There, no one cares about Sorbet's laws."
Pablo took out his Den Den Mushi from his pocket.
"We will use Arthur. He will prepare smugglers from Naraka. He will send them here. We will hand over the herbs, and they will smuggle them out of the kingdom and sell them. The profits will be split between us."
"Tell Arthur to send trustworthy n. I want smugglers who know how to move in the darkness."
Pablo called Arthur. He gave him the instructions. Arthur promised to prepare everything within a week.
Pablo hung up. He looked at Marco and Shigo.
"Now, we wait for the first convoy."
---
In the following days, Pablo's n spread out on the roads between the south and the north. Watching. Recording. Waiting.
It wasn't long before the news ca.
"A convoy is coming. Six carts. Twenty guards. Lots of goods."
Pablo gathered his n in the cave. He explained the plan to them.
"We will strike in the middle of the road. Where the forest is dense. There's a blind spot where the guards can't see anyone coming from a distance."
He paused. He looked at their faces one by one.
"No witnesses. Everyone in the convoy dies. The guards, the drivers, anyone there. We don't want anyone to know we are here."
The n looked at each other. So had killed before. So hadn't yet. But no one objected.
"After we finish, we take the goods and move them to the river. From there, by small boats, we take them to the headquarters. The smugglers from Naraka will co in a few days. They will handle getting the goods out of the kingdom."
"And finally..." Pablo looked at their faces one by one. "This is our first operation in Sorbet. If it succeeds, we will have a foothold. If it fails... we will be forced to return to Naraka and start over from zero."
He paused for a mont.
"Do not disappoint ."
The n left the cave behind Pablo. Each knew his task.
Pablo walked at the front of the n. His eyes were steady. His hand on his pistol.
He was ready.
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