Chapter 405: Terms
Chapter 405: Terms
"Don't get angry, Sage."
In the air, Yellow Monkey transformed into a beam of yellow light and appeared before Sage, pointing at Hwang Mu, "I'm here to take him back."
"He's my spoils of war."
Sage grinned menacingly, "You think you can just take him? Your influence isn't that great."
"Oh~ What a scary expression."
Yellow Monkey chuckled, "But even if I let you have him, Blackbeard wouldn't do this. He's in the process of solidifying his power, and he won't easily offend us. After all, this is a Naval Admiral we're talking about."
This didn't sound like a lie; that guy, Tich, was indeed a gambler, but he also had a keen understanding of the situation. He wouldn't dare transfer the power of an Admiral and risk the Navy's retaliation.
"Moreover, I'm here on behalf of the higher-ups. Didn't you agree to our terms?"
He took out a small Communication Bug, placed it in his palm, and a connected sound came from within. The Communication Bug's image transformed into an aged figure with a scar on his left eye.
"Catastrophe Norton Sage, greetings."
The Communication Bug emitted a calm voice, carrying a sense of disdain for everything.
Hearing the voice, Sage was taken aback and looked at the Communication Bug itself.
"Although your status is not yet worthy of hearing my voice, I will grant you leniency. Compared to your sister, you, as an Ohara survivor, have been doing well, and you haven't delved into forbidden matters."
"According to our agreement, you thwarted Kai Hai's plan, so this matter is settled. No one will trouble you for what you've done in the New World."
"Oh?"
Sage smirked, "Who's talking so arrogantly? It's you guys, isn't it? Which one of you is speaking? Which star?"
There was a pause on the other end of the Communication Bug before it spoke, "It seems you have some knowledge about us. As you've guessed, I am one of the Five Elders, the God of Science Defense, Saturn, Jaygoslia Satan. You should address me as Saint Satan."
"I'm not one of your World Government's allied nations, so I can't call you by some holy title."
Sage replied, "I'm a bloody pirate, not your subordinate. Don't talk to me in that tone."
There was silence on the other end for a moment before the voice said, "As expected of the most notorious pirate in recent years. Never mind, since you haven't encountered me and don't know my strength, I can overlook your rudeness."
"Since you agreed to the terms, we will honor them. Green Ox must be brought back. A Naval Admiral is not someone you can humiliate. Of course, we will provide compensation."
"You can't become an allied nation, but we will purchase your resources at a premium. You should have realized that Doflamingo is working for someone. We can bypass him and deal directly with you."
"Hahahaha!"
Before the Communication Bug could finish speaking, Sage burst into laughter as if he had heard a hilarious joke.
"Allied nation? You want me to pay tribute? Listen up, Marika, they don't care about the Celestial Dragons at all. Isn't that right?"
"It seems so."
Marika approached from a distance, smiling, "Not even the Celestial Dragons matter? I wonder what the World Government truly cares about."
Since its inception, the World Government had always prioritized the Celestial Dragons in all matters of law, but now they seemed to be indifferent. This was surprising.
"Those terms you mentioned hold no value for me. I'm a man who values contracts. Doof is my partner, and as long as he stands, so will I. Forget about those conditions you mentioned."
Sage waved his hand, "I'm not like you rats in the gutter, making promises with hidden agendas. Since this old monkey has come, we'll fulfill the agreement."
"This guy is full of tricks. What does he mean by not following Doflamingo's lead and offering a premium purchase? Isn't this clearly giving up on their collaboration with Doflamingo?"
"That would make Sage break his word, right?"
"He wouldn't stoop to something like that."
"According to our agreement, as long as my influence hasn't expanded to a certain limit, we'll leave each other alone. I won't interfere with the Four Seas, and you won't cause trouble in my territory."
"But this doesn't include his price."
He pointed at Hwang Mu, who had fainted due to Yellow Monkey's arrival and the subsequent relaxation of his guard, and said, "I'm a pirate. Of course, I'll need something extra for the excess."
"What do you want?" The Communication Bug asked in a low voice.
"A lot."
Sage laughed. "The most important thing is population. Just like the Cloud Mountain Kingdom, I want those people that the Allied Nations don't need. But I don't want to pay for them. What do you think?"
"Oh? Do you, as a man of your status, need such a burden? Well, this is also beneficial to us, so we can agree to your request."
Yellow Monkey slightly lowered his head at the Communication Bug's words, and a strange light shone from behind his sunglasses, as if deep in thought.
For the World Government, this matter was undoubtedly advantageous. Sage had taken in the famine-stricken people, and with more people, they could produce more goods, which the World Government would then acquire through various channels. There was no downside to this arrangement.
They weren't part of the Navy, and in the eyes of the World Government, as long as they didn't break any taboos, no one could be considered an enemy.
"Second, the Valpo Alloy."
Sage continued, "I know that a new Valpo Alloy has been developed, but the control over it is extremely tight. We want access to this channel, and of course, we'll pay for it. It's not like we're asking for it for free."
That alloy was in such high demand that even Doflamingo couldn't secure a large share. If Sage wanted more, he'd have to open another channel.
"Agreed," the Communication Bug replied.
"Third."
A smile crept onto Sage's face. "The control rights to the Pacifists, the highest level, the first-level control rights!"
"Oh~"
Yellow Monkey instinctively pouted, "You know about this? How strange."
"Impossible, Catastrophe!"
The Communication Bug flatly refused, "Although I don't know how you learned about these control rights, it's absolutely impossible!"
"Don't rush me. I'm not asking for everything. Before Zeifa left, didn't he take a batch of these? I want that batch!"
Sage spread his hands and laughed, "Otherwise, I'll go and ask Big Mom myself! You wouldn't want anything to happen to him at this time, would you?"
The Pacifists were like a transformed version of the Shipgirls, with a production cost as high as that of a large warship, and their strength was equivalent to compressing a warship into a human form.
While they might not be impressive enough for high-level combat, they were more than sufficient for defending against pirate raids within the islands.
Sage was well aware of their fourth-level permissions.
The fourth-level permission chip granted control to whoever held it.
The third level was probably held by Yellow Monkey's disciple, but he couldn't quite remember.
The second level was Big Mom.
And the first level...
After eliminating Zeifa, Sage learned from intelligence that the old man had taken a batch of Pacifists with him, but their whereabouts were unknown.
He didn't know their location, but the World Government would surely be able to find out. He was after that very batch.
In any case, the World Government had probably already written off that batch as a loss and didn't bother searching for it, as no one could make use of it anyway.
Since they had nothing better to do, they might as well give it to him.
This batch would be very useful for clean-up operations.
(End of Chapter)
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