He brought a chair out of the cabin, sat down with his legs spread wide, and said, "Now we can talk about our problem, Miss Reiju. I'm curious—what threat does this weakling called Vinsmoke pose that made the people of Germa 66 come all the way here to capture him?"
Reiju turned her head away without answering.
"Not saying? Then I'll ask this guy." He hauled Vinsmoke, who looked as lifeless as a corpse, upright, pried open his eyelids, and directly controlled him with genjutsu, turning him into a puppet without a mind of his own.
"Well then, Mr. Vinsmoke, tell me why the Vinsmoke Family is hunting you."
Vinsmoke's eyes were dull and his expression vacant. "Because I was once a scientist who researched biotechnology alongside Vegapunk and Vinsmoke Judge. To prevent me from exposing his research and taking my technology, Vinsmoke Judge tried to hunt me down. I didn't want to cooperate with the World Government, so I could only wander the seas."
"Snap!"
With a snap of his fingers, he dispelled the genjutsu, and Vinsmoke's body collapsed again. Rodney grinned and said, "Looks like I got lucky. I've run into a big fish. Tsk, Miss Reiju, thanks for delivering this researcher to me. I'm claiming him now. Also, pay the ransom."
"Ransom?" Reiju was stunned.
"Yes." Rodney smiled like a fox, crossing his hands over his knees. "Two agents of Germa 66, the scientifically modified humans Poison Powder and Winch Green. Hmm, if we calculate it according to pirate bounties... Let me see. Two hundred million Beli each. That's already a friendship price."
"You're robbing us!"
"I'm not, Secretary. Do you think I'm robbing them?"
"Sigh, no, Captain. You're only negotiating a business deal. I wonder whether Miss Vinsmoke would be willing to make an exchange with