Meanwhile, on Pirate Island, in the Blackbeard Pirates' territory.
Though Blackbeard and Shamrock could not stand each other,
one saw the other as a vile pirate, while the other saw him as an arrogant "noble,"
both understood that the forces they represented and their meeting at this moment had clear objectives.
Their current animosity did not rule out an exchange of interests or the possibility of cooperation.
Blackbeard waved a hand and dismissed every officer present in a tone that brooked no argument, including Kuzan, Samuel, and Shiryu.
Van Augur stood guard at the door like a statue.
Soon, only Blackbeard and Shamrock remained in the hall.
Shamrock had no intention of even sitting down.
He simply stood in the middle of the hall, straight-backed, undisguised disgust in his eyes, as though breathing another lungful of the air made him uncomfortable.
He could not be bothered to linger in a place he considered steeped in pirate filth and chaos. He went straight to the point, his voice icy.
"Name your terms."
"Oh?" Blackbeard sneered, leaning his massive body back against his repaired seat.
His fingers drummed on the armrest. Rather than answer Shamrock's question immediately, he countered with a mocking question of his own.
"Before we get to my terms, what I really want to know is..."
"What exactly does the World Government-or rather, that bunch hiding up on the Red Line behind you-want me to do now?"
He grinned, showing the gaps in his teeth. "After all, your own asses are on fire right now, aren't they?"
"The seas have changed overnight. Two Emperors fell, Red Hair went down, the Revolutionary Army Leader went down, and the Navy's gone independent and is still picking up steam...
"You desperately need to put a 'piece' with some real weight on the