[65] Negotiations

[2300 Words]

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The Grand Line, Paradise.

Marineford, inside Fleet Admiral's office.

"What did you just say?!"

Before Sengoku and Tsuru could react to Ren's words, Garp had already shouted.

"Calm down, Garp! Let me handle this," when Sengoku saw his old friend shouting, he quickly calmed him down.

Garp gripped his fist tightly and gritted his teeth while staring at Den Den Mushi.

"Is what you're saying true?! Did you capture Ace?"

Ren heard Garp's voice coming from the Den Den Mushi, so he guessed that Garp was currently in Sengoku's office.

"Hmm? Is this Vice Admiral Garp? Nice to meet you," he said calmly, a faint smile drawn on his face.

"Answer my question!" Garp shouted.

"Garp, quiet!" Den Den Mushi was taken from Garp's hand, and he was about to speak to Ren, but the latter's voice came:

"Yes, I captured Fire Fist Ace, and I intend to hand him over to the Marines, I suppose you want him badly, don't you? And why are you shouting, Marine hero? That's suspicious,"

Ren pretended not to know the reason for Garp's shouting and concern when he learned about Ace's capture.

While Tsuru was calming Garp down, telling him what happened had happened, Sengoku spoke again, and there was no anger in his voice: "We can negotiate about that..."

"Rhahahaha... Fleet Admiral Sengoku is indeed a smart man,"

Ren laughed when he saw the change in Sengoku's tone.

"What do you mean?!" Sengoku tried to control his anger and ignore the mockery of the rogue pirate.

"Oh, nothing, What do you think about discussing the deal now?"

"State your terms for handing over Ace." Sengoku sat at his desk and regained his composure.

They had been tasked with capturing Ace for a long time, after government spies revealed his identity as the son Pirates King; he was always on the WG and Marine's hit list.

They wanted to capture him and execute him, of course, after exposing his identity to the whole world.

But there was another goal----to Kill The Whitebeard.

Everyone knows how he cares for his crew members and calls them his sons, so there's no doubt that Whitebeard would come to rescue Ace if he were detained by the Marines.

And when he comes to Marineford... he won't leave again!

Minutes passed as Ren and Sengoku negotiated; Garp was in a very bad mood, and his carefree mood disappeared.

"Ace...this kid...!"

Garp muttered with an ugly expression, tightening his fists with force, and anger rose in his heart.

He was angry at Ren, but it's unlikely he could do anything to him.

Why? Because negotiations with Sengoku were going well, even though Ren had killed Vice Admiral, he would still get the position of Warlord.

Everything was at the World Government's discretion, If the World Government wanted to give him the position of Warlord, Sengoku wouldn't dare to oppose.

"I'll hand over Fire Fist Ace and the detained Marines, In return, I want the position of Warlord and 500 million 𝕭," Ren smiled slowly as he mentioned his demands.

In fact, he initially asked for double that amount, but Sengoku sternly refused while restraining his anger; this pirate dared to blackmail them!

"Hmph...Stay on the line; I'll inform you of the decision," Sengoku snarled coldly and angrily as his words reached Ren.

He took another Den Den Mushi; this Den Den Mushi was golden and distinctive, indicating that the recipient's identity must be distinguished.

"What do you want, Sengoku?" A voice of an unknown man came from the Den Den Mushi.

Sengoku kept his composure as he replied to the Five Elders and said: "I want to report some major incidents that have recently occurred..."

In Mary Geoise.

In the Room of Authority, five men of different shapes sat listening to Sengoku speaking through the Den Den Mushi.

"So, the son of that evil pest has finally been captured..."

"This is a perfect opportunity to end the lineage of evil."

"I agree completely; we must execute him."

"Alongside his second father, 'Whitebeard'."

"What do we do with this pirate called Ren?"

"We just have to give him what he wants."

The five elders discussed among themselves, brought joy by this news and saw an opportunity to strike two birds with one stone.

"There's still the issue of Crocodile... this scum has betrayed our trust..."

"What do you suggest we do with him?"

"Of course, he must spend his life in Level 6 of Impel Down."

"We must interrogate him before that..."

"Was his only goal the royal throne? If it were another country, perhaps we would have believed it, but in a Fucking country like Alabasta... undoubtedly, his motives are deeper than just that."

Their expressions became serious as they talked about Crocodile and his goal; Alabasta was one of the 20 kingdoms Who Created the World Government, and it knew many things, at least it used to be like that in the past.

Poneglyphs...the legendary weapons...

These were forbidden things in the World Government's dictionary, so Crocodile's fate had already been determined.

Sengoku hadn't received any response yet; he knew the Elders might be discussing something, so he didn't dare to speak.

Ren was still in front of Hina in the cell, occasionally bothering her.

Then, Sengoku's voice came again through the Den Den Mushi: "Your terms have been accepted."

He chuckled lightly; of course, he knew the World Government wouldn't refuse him; they were in desperate need of Ace.

They wanted him alive; if Ace died, he would lose much of his value, so they decided not to play any tricks with Ren, fearing he might kill Ace.

"Very well. Remember, 500 million 𝕭 and the position of Warlord."

"I know!" Sengoku shouted upon hearing Ren's reminder through the Den Den Mushi.

Garp looked at all of this with a grim expression, "Tsk..."

"Oh, I forgot one more thing," Ren said, drawing Sengoku's attention once again.

"What now... Please, no more surprises from hell!" Sengoku prayed in his mind.

Even Tsuru and Garp listened with different expressions to what Ren was about to say.

Their curiosity didn't last long as Ren quickly spoke: "I've captured a pirate named...Monkey D. Luffy."

"...."

"Damn..." Sengoku cursed with a dark expression, casting a glance instinctively at Garp.

Tsuru had heard about Garp's grandson from Sengoku before, so she looked at him to see his reaction.

The person in question, Garp, trembled with anger upon hearing Ren's words.

The news of Ace's capture had already angered him greatly, so learning that his own flesh and blood grandson had also been captured left him on the edge of madness.

With trembling hands, he took the Den Den Mushi from Sengoku, who allowed his old friend to do as he pleased, and spoke: "Have you laid your hands on him?"

His voice carried a touch of anger and coldness; one could guess that Ren's answer would determine his fate.

If he answered yes, he would die.

If he answered no, he would live.

At this moment, Garp, a legendary man, a relic of the past, a hero who would remain immortal in history, was prepared to kill this pirate called Ren if he found out he had harmed his grandson.

Hina was already trembling upon hearing the tone of Garp's voice; despite the distance, she sensed deep anger in his voice, unlike the cheerful and carefree Marine hero she knew.

"Rhahaha This is scary, Vice Admiral. What will you do? Will you kill me from afar or what?" Ren wasn't Afraid from Garp's anger; on the contrary, he felt angry because Garp seemed to have murderous intent towards him.

What had he done to him? He had brought back his runaway grandson, who had been ranting about becoming the Pirates King!

For Ace... he must die for the sake of the world peace! Cough , I mean... the world government's peace.

But Ren knew that Garp cared more about Luffy than Ace, and that was evident from his exaggerated reaction upon learning what happened to him.

"This Fucking..." Sengoku cursed upon hearing Ren's words; was this lunatic still provoking the furious Garp?

Sengoku remembered that he had never seen Garp angry like this in all the years of their friendship.

For instance, when he fought alongside Roger against the Rocks, when he had to protect the Celestial Dragons...

"Answer my question."

Garp remained unfazed by Ren's provocation and said coldly.

Ren cracked his neck a bit and then said, "I had doubts about the relationship between Luffy and you when I Know his full name, and it seemed my doubts were justified... Your grandson is fine; I didn't kill him."

Ren fabricated a story that he doubted the connection between Luffy and Garp from the name alone to avoid raising suspicions; otherwise, how would he explain that?

He still acted as if he didn't know Ace's true identity as the son of the Pirates King.

As Sengoku and the others assumed, Ren considered Ace only as bait to lure Whitebeard and didn't know his other identity.

Currently, only a select few knew Ace's true identity; it would be suspicious if Ren were one of them, a mysterious unknown pirate.

Ren still remained suspicious, and the World Government's intelligence searched for any useful information about him, but to no avail.

"Hooof..."

Garp let out a sigh of relief when he knew his grandson was safe; this eased his bad mood a little. But when he remembered Ace...

'This child doesn't deserve what's happening to him...'

On the other hand, Ren decided it was time to end this call, but there was still something to be done, so he quickly said, "If you want Monkey D. Luffy, bring me 3 Devil Fruits of each type, in addition to 1 billion 𝕭."

"What?! Are you A Fucking crazy?!!" Sengoku shouted upon hearing Ren's demands.

"This person is greedy and cunning..." Tsuru narrowed her eyes, fearing what was coming.

What made it worse was that she knew Garp would accept; his grandson's life was more important above all else.

Garp's expression was dark, but he thought of Luffy—his smile, his laughter, his cheerfulness, his foolishness...

"I accept, but it's better not to find any scratch on him!"

Ren replied from the other side, "Rhahaha, rest assured, Vice Admiral."

"Garp! There's no need to agree to his terms; we can make him hand over Luffy directly. Don't forget he'll be a Warlord!"

Garb was about to respond to Sengoku, but Ren's voice interrupted him:

"And what if I become a Warlord? Does that mean I must willingly surrender pirates to the Marines? Rhahahaha, I don't know who you're trying to fool here, Sengoku." Ren's tone turned cold as he finished speaking.

Then he quickly added, "According to my humble memory, there's no such condition in the agreement. Besides, Luffy was the one who attacked me, so I should receive both monetary and moral compensation...Be thankful I didn't harm him."

No one was given a chance to speak, and he said, "Don't forget to contact me, Sengoku, when everything is ready. And don't forget my conditions for retrieving the Marines and Ace, As for you, Marine hero, your grandson will stay with me, and I'll wait a call from you."

*Ca-Tcha~*

"...."

Absolute silence fell over the Fleet Admiral's office. Then, after several seconds of this silence, Sengoku sat at his chair and sighed.

Tsuro sighed and shook her head, "What a deep scheme..."

"This Fucking pirate...Tsk," Garb muttered in a low voice, staring at the ground with a frustrated expression.

"Are you sure about this, Garb? We can always find a way to retrieve Luffy without any material losses," Sengoku reassured him.

Before Garb could speak, Tsuru shook her head and said, "That's not true, Sengoku. This person will soon become a Warlord, and it won't be my right to harm him. Besides, there's no agreement to surrender Warlords to pirates to the Marines."

Garb nodded in agreement, 𝕭 added, "I'll also pay 1 billion Beli from my personal expenses, and I'll find a way to obtain the Devil Fruits. I have some in my vault anyway."

"That's good as long as you're convinced," Sengoku sighed, beginning the procedures to appoint Ren as one of the Warlords.

He coordinated with the World Government, which said it would send the CP9 members on a mission to conclude the agreement with Ren, and the HQ would also send Marines who would transport Crocodile and Ace to Impel Down.

Meanwhile, Garb decided he would go himself to retrieve Luffy.

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Alabasta.

In the royal palace.

Ren had been out of prison for several hours now, and he was now invited to a feast prepared by King Cobra specifically for him and his girls.

The large, long dining table was filled with various types of food, drinks, and wine, The fruits placed on the table were the most beautiful and of the highest quality, whetting one's appetite just by looking at them.

Ren and Cobra talked about various things while eating, while the girls chatted among themselves. Vivi laughed happily, seeming carefree.

"By the way, what happened to Crocodile's partner, Ren-san?" Cobra inquired.

"She died," Ren answered casually.

We all knew he was lying; Robin was currently heading to the royal capital on his orders.

'This is annoying... I hate that this girl remains hidden in the shadow.' Ren muttered, remembering Robin.

"By the way, I will become a Warlord," Ren announced.

"...."

The lively dining table became very quiet, and Ren's crew members and King Cobra looked at him with different expressions

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Author's gossiping.

In the next chapter, exciting rewards he received after all he did will be revealed, stay tuned.

If we reached 200 power stone = Bonus chapter.