When Blackbeard sent troops to attack Dressrosa, quite a few nations along the way had indeed offered "protection money" in exchange for peace. Unfortunately, some countries were lucky enough to escape disaster, while others were destroyed in the end despite paying a great deal of money.
Now that Uchiha Hikaru had defeated the Blackbeard Pirates and gained such a terrifying increase in strength, countless nations saw his enormous potential and were moved. They immediately came flocking to join him.
Some of them had even rejected Uchiha Hikaru when the alliance was first being established.
Kuzan fell silent. He had also deeply experienced the ugliness and treachery of human hearts, and he was no stranger to these opportunistic politicians. They stood by and watched when danger came, then joined the victors once the war was won. Such practices had existed since ancient times.
"Reject them!" Hikaru said to Riku King, who stood nearby. "Let this serve as a warning to everyone else in the New World first. Our alliance does not accept just anyone. We will not hesitate to reject those who fail to meet our requirements. Even if that country is incredibly powerful, I will not think much of it!"
Riku King nodded. After Uchiha Hikaru defeated Blackbeard, Hikaru had become almost godlike in his eyes.
"What's happening on the Navy's side?" Hikaru asked.
There had indeed been a reason why the Navy had not sent troops to help Uchiha Hikaru back then. One of the Four Emperors, Charlotte Linlin, wanted to reclaim her children and had planned to attack the Navy, forcing Akainu to pull back his forces for defense. But after so much time had passed, it was impossible for the conflict between the two major powers to remain this quiet.
"They've only had small-scale clashes." Kuzan knew