Negotiating with the Navy

A day had passed since the incident in Dressrosa, but the repercussions of what had happened that day had yet to end.

Inside Dressrosa's Royal Palace.

Kalifa walked in from outside the palace, holding a Den Den Mushi.

"Captain, it's the Fleet Admiral. He wants to discuss the captured Marines."

Yesterday, Satoru Gojo had already sent word to Marine Headquarters through the Navy's intelligence agents in Dressrosa about ransoming the prisoners.

Today, it seemed they were ready to negotiate with Satoru Gojo.

"Oh?"

"Bring it here!"

Kalifa handed the Den Den Mushi to Satoru Gojo.

"Hello! Fleet Admiral Sengoku? This is Satoru Gojo!"

"Satoru Gojo, you've already occupied Dressrosa. The World Government will pursue the matter no further. If you want to rule the country, we won't interfere."

From the sound of it, the World Government wasn't going to cripple itself just to eliminate the Jujutsu Pirates.

And the civilians of Dressrosa had already witnessed the Navy abandoning them. They had lost faith in the World Government.

The World Government could no longer win over the people of Dressrosa, which was why it wouldn't interfere with the Jujutsu Pirates ruling the country.

That was what Satoru Gojo thought.

"But in exchange, you must release all our captured Admirals, Vice Admirals, and other Marine soldiers!"

The World Government had clearly abandoned Dressrosa because it believed it could no longer control the country, yet now it wanted to use that as a bargaining chip to get the captured Marines back.

It looked as though the Navy was making a concession, but it would actually lose nothing while getting all its captured personnel back.

He certainly lived up to his position as Fleet Admiral!

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, do you think that's possible? If you want your captured Marines back, pay a sufficient ransom. Otherwise, there's nothing to discuss!"

"You're nothing but a pirate. I'd advise you not to push your luck!"

Satoru Gojo's unyielding attitude infuriated Sengoku.

"Hahaha! Those mere pirates you speak of captured all Three Admirals your Navy is so proud of!"

"You...!"

The Jujutsu Pirates had defeated the Navy's Three Admirals. That was a fact Sengoku couldn't deny.

After a moment of silence, Sengoku asked helplessly:

"How much do you want to release them?"

"Uh, let me think. Five billion Beli per Admiral makes fifteen billion for three. Two billion Beli per Vice Admiral makes ten billion for five. Let's call the remaining soldiers two billion Beli. That comes to just twenty-seven billion Beli altogether."

"I'm sure that's pocket change for your Navy!"

With that, Satoru Gojo immediately held the Den Den Mushi away from himself.

Smack!

Sure enough, the sound of a hand slamming a desk came through the Den Den Mushi.

"Satoru Gojo! Don't make such outrageous demands! Twenty-seven billion Beli? Why don't you just rob someone?!"

The Navy could certainly come up with twenty-seven billion Beli, but paying that much would seriously strain its resources!

Of course Sengoku couldn't agree so easily.

"The price is already very fair!"

"Your Navy's Buster Call practically bombed Dressrosa into rubble! Rebuilding the buildings, compensating the civilian casualties and their families, and so on will all cost a fortune. Asking you for just twenty-seven billion Beli is already letting you off lightly!"

The number of buildings destroyed by the Buster Call in Dressrosa wasn't large at all. Repairs wouldn't even cost a few hundred million Beli, and not a single civilian had been killed or injured in the Buster Call.

Sengoku had already learned all this from the Navy's intelligence agents in Dressrosa. Satoru Gojo was outright extorting them!

"One billion Beli. Not a Beli more!"

"Twenty-seven billion Beli, and not a Beli less. If you refuse, your Three Admirals and five Vice Admirals can stay right here!"

"Don't worry. I guarantee they'll enjoy the finest prison food Dressrosa has to offer!"

Satoru Gojo had no intention of backing down.

"Aren't you afraid we'll mobilize the Navy's full strength to wipe you all out?"

It had always been the Navy putting pirates behind bars. Now a pirate actually wanted to put their esteemed Admirals and Vice Admirals on prison rations. This was an insult to him! And an insult to the Navy!

"If you can do it, you're welcome to try!"

Satoru Gojo had nothing to fear. With him there, it wouldn't matter how many people the Navy sent. Besides, the Three Admirals were already prisoners. Unless the Navy wanted them killed, it certainly couldn't attack now.

"You!"

The Navy had actually been pushed this far, threatened by a mere pirate crew. When had the Navy ever been in such a miserable position? Not even Pirate King Roger's crew had managed this. Sengoku could barely contain his fury!

Just then, Vice Admiral Tsuru spoke to Sengoku on the other end of the Den Den Mushi:

"Agree to it! Otherwise, he won't let the matter rest!"

With even his old friend Vice Admiral Tsuru saying that, Sengoku had no choice but to compromise. Through gritted teeth, he said:

"I accept your terms!"

"Wouldn't it have been easier to do that from the start? Oh, there's one more thing I'd like you to agree to!"

"Satoru Gojo! Don't push your luck!"

"Don't worry. It's nothing unreasonable."

"What is it?"

"You must recognize the Dressrosa Kingdom's legitimacy and acknowledge Dressrosa as an independent nation!"

Recognizing Dressrosa's legitimacy and acknowledging it as an independent nation was of little consequence.

They could agree now and find an excuse to withdraw that recognition if it became a threat later. Only the two sides knew about it anyway.

"I agree!"

"Hahaha! A pleasure doing business with you, Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"

Click!

Sengoku hung up the Den Den Mushi outright.

Satoru Gojo handed the Den Den Mushi to Kalifa and said:

"The Navy has agreed to our terms!"

Esdeath asked, "Then what do we do next?"

"Sasuke, did you get all the information from Doflamingo about his connections on both sides of the law, his trade channels, and so on?"

"I did. He was tight-lipped when I first questioned him, but with my Rinnegan genjutsu, he told me everything! Still, he certainly lives up to being a Conqueror's Haki user. Unless I keep reinforcing it, the genjutsu can't control him!"

"His connections are what matter most. If you can't control him, leave it at that!"

"Lucci, sort through the information Sasuke obtained, then bring all of Doflamingo's connections and other resources under our control!"

"Yes!"

"Also, has King Riku arrived?"

Kaku said, "He's already waiting outside!"

"Let him in!"

Kaku went outside and escorted King Riku in.

"King Riku, have you made a decision about what I told you?"

Satoru Gojo had already told King Riku that he intended to rule Dressrosa and hoped King Riku would help him ascend the throne. After all, only by having King Riku pass the throne to him would Satoru Gojo become the legitimate king.

"I'm very grateful to all of you for saving Dressrosa. I'm not a capable king. If you can lead Dressrosa to greater prosperity and give its people good lives, I'm willing to accept your terms!"

"Rest assured, I'll make Dressrosa the world's strongest nation and give its people happy lives!"

"I hope you will keep your promise!"

"I will!"

Satoru Gojo made his solemn promise.