After Ortolan and the others took their seats, the atmosphere became slightly awkward, especially for Kaido, who sat there for a moment unsure of what to say and kept scratching his head.
Even Ortolan was a little unsure of the situation. After looking around, he awkwardly took the lead in greeting, "Hey, it's been a long time!"
However, after he finished speaking, he saw that everyone looked like they didn't know how to respond, which made him even more embarrassed.
"Ahem..." Ortolan forced a cough, then said, "Well, it seems like no one wants to reminisce, so I'll get straight to the point. I'm here today mainly to do some business with your Beasts Pirates."
These words seemed to finally break the awkward atmosphere. Kaido composed himself and said, "The business of Seastone, is that right?"
"That's right." Ortolan nodded, then said, "To be honest, I currently have a great demand for Seastone, and your Beasts Pirates have a great advantage in this area. Wano Country can produce a large amount of Seastone, and I hope to reach a long-term and stable Seastone trade with you in this regard."
After a slight pause, Ortolan continued, "Since you, Boss Kaido, are willing to meet with me, you must not have any objections to this business... right?"
Charlotte Linlin had been trying to arrange a meeting with Kaido for a long time before Kaido agreed.
This already implies a lot; if he really didn't intend to do business with Ortolan, then there was no need for them to meet.
"Let's put aside the Seastone issue for now. We were almost finalizing a deal with the World Government in the arms market, but you ruined it all. Don't you plan to give me an explanation for this?" Kaido sneered, his gaze carrying a hint of oppression as he looked at Ortolan.
"Competition is what drives motivation, right? I see that your Beasts Pirates are still doing quite well in the arms market, with orders coming in one after another..." Ortolan laughed and chuckled.
Kaido remained silent, but Kui spoke up, "That's only the current situation. After you seized the Lead-Platinum Ore, we've gradually begun to fall behind you in many high-end weaponry areas. In a few years, I'm afraid our competitiveness will be completely wiped out by you..."
"So, they really are going to bring up Lead-Platinum?" Ortolan thought to himself.
Before coming, he had considered many factors for communication and negotiation. Among them, he felt that the Lead-Platinum were essential factors that the Beasts Pirates would definitely discuss. As long as Kaido wasn't stupid, he would definitely use this as an excuse to make a fuss.
Moreover, Ortolan was very clear that as soon as they brought up the matter of Lead-Platinum would inevitably be linked to Seastone!
If he doesn't budge on the Lead-Platinum lead, Kaido will absolutely not agree to the Seastone deal.
There was no need to test this, because it was completely unnecessary. So, after a brief silence, Ortolan said, "So you want to trade me Lead-Platinum Ore using Seastone?"
Kaido's negotiator seemed to be this guy, Kui, who said with a smile, "That's right, isn't this a win-win situation?"
Ortolan remained silent, and the atmosphere grew quiet and even somewhat oppressive.
The campfire crackled softly, and after about two or three minutes, Ortolan spoke again, "You're right, it's a mutually beneficial arrangement. In that case, let's talk about how to trade Seastone with you using Lead-Platinum."
"Three to one!" Kaido his hand on the table and said in a deep voice, "For every three portions of Lead-Platinum, we'll exchange them for one portion of Seastone of the same quality!"
"Isn't this price a bit too much? These days, Lead-Platinum is more expensive than Seastone on the market!" Ortolan retorted without hesitation.
Because Flevance is now on the verge of collapse, Lead-Platinum has essentially ceased in the market. Of course, Doflamingo and Moria have actually begun small-scale trial mining of Flevance's Lead-Platinum Ore, but they still don't intend to release these into the market. They plan to keep them in their hands and watch the prices of Lead-Platinum and lead rise so they can make more money.
Therefore, the price of Lead-Platinum mortisestone has increased several times over, far exceeding the price of Seastone mortisestone.
"If we stop exporting Seastone, the price of Seastone will rise to a level comparable to that of Lead-Platinum and lead in a very short time. So what you're talking about market price is of little significance to those of us who control the source of the goods, isn't it?" Queen retorted with equal reason and evidence.
Both Lead-Platinum and Seastone have high scarcity attributes. Lead-Platinum can only be produced in Flevance, while Wano Country is currently the largest producer and exporter of Seastone. If they were to stop exporting Seastone, although other regions could also produce some Seastone, the quantity would be too small to be of any use. The price of Seastone would indeed rise rapidly in a very short period of time, which is the same principle as with Lead-Platinum.
"Even so, a three-to-one ratio is too outrageous." Ortolan shook his head. "I need a large amount of Seastone, and you need a large amount of Lead-Platinum. If I don't have Seastone, many of my plans will be limited, but if you don't have Lead-Platinum, in two or three years, you will fall behind in the arms trade in terms of technology. This will be fatal for both of us. Therefore, in this business, no one has more power. Cooperation benefits both sides, while conflict harms both!"
At this point, Ortolan paused for a moment. "So if we're going to talk, let's not waste time on meaningless platitudes. Since we're all sitting here, let's all show our sincerity!"
"Two for one!" Kaido slammed his fist on the table. "But I also want the artificial Zoan type Devil Fruit production technology from the Big Mom Pirates!"
After hearing the conditions, Ortolan asked with slight surprise, "This technology wasn't exactly a secret within the MADS research team, was it? Didn't Queen have it?"
Queen looked slightly embarrassed upon hearing this and said, "My research wasn't focused on this area at the time..."
Queen wasn't lying. His research focused on two main areas: various weapons technologies and attempts to crack the black technology Judge's genetic superpowers.
Currently, Queen hasn't figured these things out yet, but judging from the original story, at least a decade later, Queen will have completely conquered Germa's genetic superpower technology.
He transformed himself into a weapon with multiple superpowers!
In other words, the Beasts Pirates didn't continue their development and were defeated by Luffy. Otherwise, Queen's technological breakthrough, combined with the Beasts Pirates of strange and weak artificial Zoan type users, might have really led to some amazing feats.
The combination of an artificial Zoan type Devil Fruit user and this superpower technology would likely result in combat power that is far more than simply one plus one equals two.
Just then, Charlotte Linlin sneered, "Even if you were given the opportunity, you couldn't create one. The technology for Artificial Devil Fruit requires certain environmental factors, and you Wano Country are already turning into barren lands heavily polluted by military factories..."
"Whether we can build it or not is our business, it's none of your concern!" Kaido responded firmly.
Ortolan glanced at Charlotte Linlin, since the technology was currently in her hands and required her approval. Of course, if Charlotte Linlin disagreed, Ortolan had other options; he could simply try to obtain it from the Science Unit. After all, Punk Hazard definitely possessed the technology; it was just less convenient for Charlotte Linlin.
Seeing that Ortolan was looking over, Charlotte Linlin shrugged. "Whatever."
Ortolan then laughed and looked at Kaido: "One to one, we'll give you this technology, and in return, your Beasts Pirates' territory must open up to us..."
"What are you talking about?" Kaido frowned.
"Just like our G-5's cooperation with Totto Land Totto Land, we will import a large amount of various supplies from the North Blue and sell them in Totto Land Totto Land. During this period, the Big Mom Pirates will guarantee the safety of all merchants flying our flag and their priority in sales..." Ortolan said.
As these smuggling businesses gradually expand, Ortolan also needs to expand his market in the New World Warcraft. Although Totto Land Totto Land Cake Island market still has great potential to be tapped, if the Beasts Pirates can also be included in this dumping operation, it will undoubtedly cause the market profits to rise by more than one level.
Before Kaido speak, Ortolan said with a smile, "This kind of cooperation is very beneficial to both of us. You don't want your territory to be constantly plagued by shortages of various resources, making everyone's lives miserable, do you?"