On the broken reef, Silas and Rona sat facing each other, separated by only a few meters.
"I did not expect you would really dare come alone."
"Why would I not dare?"
Compared to when they were in front of Marines and pirates, with just the two of them, Rona's posture was obviously much more casual. She even stretched lazily, as if completely unafraid that Silas might suddenly attack.
"Although you are a pirate, your moral standards are higher than many Marines. Besides, your strength is not that much greater than mine. A sudden attack would only anger us without any benefit."
"Speaking of which, this is the first time we have talked face-to-face like this without fighting, is it not?"
Rona looked at Silas, her gaze somewhat distant.
She had originally thought that when she could have such a conversation with Silas, it would definitely be in Impel Down's great prison, after she personally captured him.
She never imagined that Silas would use sheer strength to force the entire Marines to bow their heads.
Hearing Rona's words, Silas also smiled.
"Yeah, I never thought that little girl from back then would grow up. Now you are almost becoming an old lady."
Click!
As soon as Silas finished speaking, he felt the atmosphere around them change. A killing intent struck, making Silas suspect that Rona would disregard her Marine Admiral status and forcibly turn hostile with him.
"Just kidding, just kidding."
Silas quickly waved his hands. Actually, he did not dislike Rona, just as he actually appreciated Kong. For Marines who performed their duties conscientiously and never oppressed ordinary people, he always showed respect.
"For girls, you cannot joke around like that."
Girls...
Silas thought about it. Although Rona was a generation younger than him, their first meeting was over twenty years ago. Rona was at least in her forties, possibly approaching fifty.
Could this be considered a middle-aged girl?
"Old man, I get the feeling you are thinking something very rude."
As a Marine Admiral, Rona's Observation Haki was extremely sharp. She detected Silas's thoughts that seemed malicious yet not quite malicious almost as soon as they emerged.
"I am still in my prime! In the last Marine popularity poll, I ranked first. Do not be ungrateful, you bastard old man!"
Rona admitted she was getting older, but compared to herself twenty years ago, she was at most just more mature.
Marines' basic salary was not high, but there were performance bonuses!
As long as they caught pirates, part of the pirates' bounties became their commission. Thanks to this, Rona had never been stingy about maintaining her skin.
Though they had always been enemies, when actually sitting down to talk, Rona discovered she could not muster much hatred toward Silas.
Marine Admiral Sebastes had died at Silas's hands.
Logically, she should be angry.
But in reality, she was not as sad as she had imagined.
Though both were Marines, in Rona's heart, Sebastes's past actions made him inferior to Silas, who was a pirate.
As for achievements in capturing pirates?
Was it not natural for Marines to catch pirates?
But Silas was ultimately just a pirate.
The casualties he had caused the Marines this time were truly enormous.
"Speak up."
No longer joking around with Silas, Rona's expression became serious.
"What do you want?"
Bluntly speaking, if not for the large number of Marine soldiers trapped on Sphinx, even after their defeat, Silas would not have the qualifications to negotiate terms with them.
But the entrapment of seven thousand Marine soldiers meant that even she, a Marine Admiral, had to travel thousands of miles to reach Sphinx.
Because the problem was too serious, even Kong, despite his strength and Vice Admiral rank, could not shoulder this responsibility.
Only she could!
"Very simple."
Silas smiled, holding up two fingers.
"I can give you two choices."
Silas's words made Rona frown, but she did not interrupt directly.
"The first choice: you can pay one million Belly ransom for each Marine soldier, double for field officers, and double again for general-rank officers. Then compensate Sphinx with five billion Belly for reconstruction costs."
"Impossible!"
Before Silas could finish, Rona cut him off directly.
"Seven thousand soldiers, even if all their ranks are below field officer level, that is still seven billion Belly, plus the additional five billion Belly."
"Silas, twelve billion Belly. Do you think that is possible?"
The Marines' annual fiscal expenditure was already tight. The responsibility for the stolen Heavenly Tribute would definitely be blamed on the Marines. If they gave out this twelve billion Belly, would they even pay wages for the second half of the year?
So Rona was certain that Silas's so-called first choice was simply preparation for his second choice.
"Right now on Sphinx, there are not as many as seven thousand Marines. Without sufficient medicine, large numbers of wounded soldiers could die at any moment."
"What is the second choice?"
Interrupting Silas's words, Rona's expression was grim. She took back her previous thoughts. Silas was an outright villain!
"The second choice is simple."
Seeing Rona's expression, Silas smiled. "I want Sphinx to join the World Government, become a member nation, and for the next hundred years, not have to pay Heavenly Tribute!"
This was Silas's true purpose!
Originally, just repelling the Marines would never have forced them to this extent. But with the help of his former crew members, Silas held a card the Marines could not ignore.
Two thousand lightly wounded Marine soldiers, three thousand severely wounded Marine soldiers.
Unless the Marines no longer wanted soldiers to risk their lives, otherwise, they had to ransom back these five thousand-plus Marine soldiers.
Yes, not seven thousand, but five thousand.
Silas was not joking. Sphinx's medicine supplies were limited. Besides Marine soldiers who had already died in battle, a considerable number were on the verge of death due to worsening wounds.
If not for this world's generally robust vitality, many severely wounded patients would not survive even a second day without proper medicine.
Rona's expression showed internal struggle.
Obviously, she could not easily agree to either condition.
But Rona was very clear that compared to the first condition, headquarters agreeing to the second was much more likely. They would just continue haggling over the terms.
It was just a World Government member nation title.
You had to know, to collect Heavenly Tribute, the World Government constantly coerced and enticed non-member nations.
Moreover, if Sphinx became a member nation, then the Marines invading Sphinx would have legitimate justification. With some maneuvering, they could minimize this operation's failed impact.
But if this title was really given out, it meant the Marines had to protect the safety of civilians living on Sphinx.
That alone would be bad enough.
The problem was that all of Sphinx was currently under Silas's absolute control.
If he wanted, he could even issue resident certificates and merchant licenses to pirates.
Pirates outside, merchants inside.
All of Sphinx would become a natural sanctuary for pirates.
As long as they entered the island, Marines could not possibly invade a member nation's territory just to capture pirates.
But perhaps this was the best choice.
The Marines would not have to pay enormous ransoms, the World Government would gain another member nation, Silas would get territory safe from Marine attacks, and pirates would have their own habitat.
A world where everyone stayed unharmed was complete!
But Rona was certain Silas definitely had schemes she did not know about.
In April, large quantities of emergency medicine were imported from the Marines, alleviating the conditions of severely wounded Marines and even many pirates.
The Marines did not immediately agree to Silas's demands.
Faster than the Marines' response was a new bounty issued from Marine Headquarters.
White Wolf Pirates Captain, Norse Silas.
Bounty: 560 Million!!