"What is that now?"
"A golden Buddha!"
"What a powerful shock wave! It's actually no weaker than Natural Disaster Zesi's!"
On the distant World Government warship, some World Government personnel could not help exclaiming in surprise when they saw a golden Buddha appear in the air behind Zesi.
"Idiots, that's Marine Admiral Sengoku!" the high-ranking Cipher Pol official snapped.
"Sengoku the Buddha!"
"Sengoku the Strategist!"
The Cipher Pol members shouted.
"Wonderful! Marine Admirals are the Marines' greatest fighting force, and Sengoku is one of the best among them. He has the Mythical Zoan Human-Human Fruit, Buddha Form, which is even rarer than a Logia. He's the man known as Sengoku the Buddha!" the high-ranking Cipher Pol official said with a smile.
"That's Marine Admiral Sengoku the Buddha!" Jason said in shock as well.
"An Admiral from Marine Headquarters? Only an Admiral-level fighter could deal with a monster like Natural Disaster."
"Marine Admiral Sengoku is one of the Marines' greatest fighters, someone who can stand against Pirate King Roger, Whitebeard, and Golden Lion. With him here, we might be able to take down Natural Disaster Zesi."
"Yo, long time no see, Marine Admiral Sengoku. Your Buddha Form is as dazzling as ever. Want to fight?" Zesi said, looking back with a smile.
"Zesi, let Sakazuki go. Let's talk this over!" Sengoku said calmly, withdrawing his attack.
Although Sengoku pulled his palm back, he kept it ready to attack at any moment. If Zesi made even the slightest suspicious move, Sengoku would strike.
But at such close range, even Sengoku was not confident he could save Sakazuki. After all, his opponent was the monster known as Natural Disaster.
However, he had not come here to fight Zesi.
He understood very well that if they were to go to war with Zesi, they would have to be absolutely certain they could kill him.
Because if they failed to kill Zesi for good, his retaliation would be a disaster for the Marines.
With his Vibration Fruit powers and mobility, Zesi could easily wipe out most of the Marines' branches in the New World.
He could even extend that to the Four Blues and the first half of the Grand Line, crippling the Marines outright.
That was the deterrent power of Natural Disaster.
But Sengoku knew that being absolutely certain of killing Zesi would require at least three Admiral-level fighters or more.
"You want him alive? No problem. First, your Marines and the World Government's Cipher Pol invaded my home without cause and robbed my family, causing tremendous destruction in the process. The Celestial Dragons must compensate me with ten billion Beli. Second, these people are all my prisoners now. If the Marines and Cipher Pol want them back, you need to pay fifteen billion Beli in ransom. Third, because your actions have severely affected the Brunei Family's business, you must pay us ten billion Beli in compensation. Once the thirty-five billion Beli arrives, I'll release them immediately!" Zesi said calmly.
"Zesi, don't push your luck!" Sengoku said angrily.
"Sengoku, don't you think you're the ones who have gone too far? With a single order, the Celestial Dragons wanted to seize our family's distillery and leave us unable to do business. When the Brunei Family refused, the World Government sent people to take it by force. Sengoku, don't you think this world is strange? It's been six years since I joined the Roger Pirates. In those six years, I've never seen the Roger Pirates rob a single civilian. All their wealth came from adventures or pirate crews they defeated. People like that are called pirates, yet you people who proclaim your justice act like bandits. Don't you think the World Government deserves to be called pirates more than they do?"
"Sengoku, offering you terms is already giving you face. If you can't meet my demands, then let's go to war!"
After hearing Zesi's words, Sengoku's face darkened, and he remained silent for a long time.
"I can't make the decision on this. I need to consult my superiors!" Sengoku said.
"No problem. I'll give you time to consult them, but I'm not very patient, so don't keep me waiting too long!" Zesi said calmly.
"A few of you, come cuff them. Oh, and use Seastone Handcuffs on this one," Zesi called out.
Hearing Zesi's call, several members of Shadow Wings immediately appeared, carrying handcuffs and preparing to cuff Sakazuki, Jason, and the others.
Sakazuki could not resist while under Zesi's control, but Jason and the others were not restrained.
Jesse in particular had lost a finger, but it did not affect his movements.
Jason and his two companions were now filled with regret. Why hadn't they left earlier?
Why had they stayed here to see how things would unfold?
Now, neither resisting nor submitting seemed like an option.
"I suggest you don't resist. If the World Government pays the ransom, I'll naturally let you go back. Even if they don't pay to ransom you, you won't have to die. But if you resist, I guarantee you'll lose your lives. The result will be the same even with a Marine Admiral here!" As though he had guessed the concerns of Jesse and the others, Zesi spoke.
Hearing Zesi's words, Jason immediately gave up resisting.
Better a miserable life than a good death. Even CP9 members were not all ready to face death without fear.
At that moment, someone from Shadow Wings cuffed Sakazuki with Seastone Handcuffs.
Seastone was not uncommon in the New World. Once the Seastone Handcuffs were on him, Sakazuki, a Devil Fruit User, immediately became utterly weak all over.
"Heh, did you ever imagine that one day you'd become a prisoner?" Zesi asked Sakazuki with a smile.
"I imagined that one day I might die at a pirate's hands, but I truly never thought I'd become a pirate's prisoner. I'll remember this humiliation well. You'd better kill me now, or sooner or later, I'll pay you back for it," Sakazuki said with a sneer.
"You're welcome to come avenge this humiliation anytime. After all, you're worth ten billion Beli. I'd have to sell quite a lot of liquor to earn that. With a few more people like you, I could get rich without selling any liquor at all," Zesi said with a smile.
"I hope you can still be this composed when the time comes!" Sakazuki sneered.
"Believe me, I'll always be this composed!" Zesi said with a faint smile.