As a Devil Fruit user, coming into the deep sea to negotiate with Nereus with nothing but a single bubble coating for protection was already what Loki called sincerity.
This was the price of a Devil Fruit. Even Nereus himself could only isolate himself from its effects through biological abilities, rather than simply ignore them.
No matter how powerful a Devil Fruit user was, once the bubble coating burst, the result of facing Nereus would be the same.
Even his own father, who had been willing to compromise, had chosen death over submission when the World Government attempted to enslave Elbaf.
Loki did not believe that Nereus could truly be content with the status quo. Even if it was only based on a few suspicions, he still dared to say such things outright.
Loki raised his fist before Nereus. Not long afterward, two fists of vastly different sizes collided. Beneath the quiet depths of the sea, an alliance unknown to the world had already been formed.
Although the truth had been buried, Jarul was still alive. This Giant was practically a living fossil in Elbaf and possessed extraordinary prestige. When the time came, clarifying the truth would be easy.
Loki had not revealed anything yet because he did not want to undermine Harald's efforts. He intended to preserve the status quo for the time being and wait until he had fully mastered this Devil Fruit before dealing with anything else.
From the moment Imu chose to personally step in and micromanage matters, Elbaf had irreversibly placed itself in opposition to the World Government.
Loki's giant warship did not linger for long. It soon headed toward the first half of the Grand Line, continuing on with what Loki wanted to do.
Meanwhile, Arlong and the others, who had also set out, arrived in East Blue after some time and were currently docked at a harbor to rest.
"Jack, remember to restrain yourself. We didn't come out here to fight. Those Marines may be annoying, but we can't just sink them here, understand?"
"Mm."
Unlike the Grand Line, the Four Seas all had fixed shipping routes and supply points.
Aside from pirates, ordinary ships generally would not risk taking detours and instead traveled along established routes. Therefore, encountering a Marine ship at a harbor suitable for resupplying was nothing unusual.
After personally experiencing Jack's "straightforwardness," Arlong carefully looked into his history and unexpectedly found a record of Jack single-handedly beating down an entire squad of Marines at the Sabaody Archipelago.
Clashes like that were not unheard of. As long as things did not escalate, neither the Marines nor Nereus would intervene. Small-scale armed scuffles of that sort fell within an acceptable range.
But sinking one of the other side's ships outright for no reason could easily upset the current balance.
"Nyuuuuu, Boss Arlong, is it really okay for us to waste time here? There aren't many suitable deserted islands in East Blue. Shouldn't we go inspect them in person?"
Hachi was making takoyaki aboard the ship, all six of his arms moving busily. Fish-Men did not care much about such things. Hachi's dream was to open a takoyaki shop after retiring, and he was quite skilled at making it.
The aroma drifting through the air even attracted a few bold sailors.
"This isn't wasting time, Hachi. Let me ask you, why did we come to East Blue?"
"To establish suitable places to live, strengthen the ties between the Ryugu Kingdom and several countries in East Blue, and expand our influence."
Hachi freed one hand to scratch his chin while his remaining five continued turning the takoyaki on the iron griddle without stopping.
"Right, that's more or less it. Then let me ask you another question. Why are deserted islands deserted?"
"Uh..."
"Lack of freshwater resources, infertile land, frequent natural disasters, harsh environments..."
While Hachi was still struggling with the answer, Jack gave one from the side. Although Jack was not good at thinking flexibly, he was fairly good at rote memorization and had forcibly memorized quite a few terms from books.
"Ahem... You don't need to say that much. Simply put, they're not suitable for people to live on! If we find a place that's uninhabitable and doesn't even have a single person living there, how are we supposed to strengthen any ties?"
Arlong's academic level...
It could only be said that Arlong did not want to hear Jack reciting terms like that. It gave him an indescribable sense of defeat.
No matter how much combat strength Jack displayed, Arlong could accept it. But if Jack actually started becoming smart as well, Arlong would find that a little hard to bear.
"But everywhere people live already belongs to some other country, right? Are we supposed to just seize it by force?"
"Idiot! What would happen to our reputation if we did that? We can't do that even to a non-affiliated nation!"
It was legal on these seas for affiliated nations to plunder territory from non-affiliated nations. Quite a few war-loving countries used this method to seize wealth, and the World Government would not even bother with the empty gesture of telling them to stop.
That was also one of the reasons so many countries wanted to join the World Government. If they lacked the power to change the system, becoming part of it was their best option.
"Exactly. So what are you planning to do, Boss Arlong? Is someone really going to voluntarily hand over land for us to use?"
"Hmph. This is one of the more prosperous port towns nearby. What do you think I've been staying here for?"
"To go play at the amusement park next door?"
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Arlong nearly choked and almost became a "Red Shark" Fish-Man before calmly explaining, "You think I went there to play? I was handling serious business."
Before anyone else could ask another question, a lavishly dressed man suddenly arrived below the ship and specifically asked to see Arlong.
"Oh, if it isn't my old friend! Long time no see!"
To Hachi and the others, Arlong's enthusiasm looked almost exaggerated, like he was overacting. Yet the man who had arrived seemed to enjoy it, warmly exchanging greetings with Arlong.
"When did Boss Arlong get to know this human?"
Hachi patted Kuroobi on the shoulder beside him and asked in confusion.
"No idea."
It was only natural that they did not know. After all, Arlong had only known the man for three days. Yet within those three days, Arlong had managed to solve a major problem.
"With this village as the center, all the land within this circle and everything along the coastline will be yours to use for the next fifty years. Here's the agreement. Take a look and see if there are any problems."
Arlong's "old friend" took out a contract, and its contents were clearly a lease agreement.
They could not seize land by force, but they could "lease" it.
As for how Arlong had convinced the other party to agree, he had his own methods. During their stay, he had successfully found out which minister in the nearby kingdom was particularly greedy while also wielding considerable authority.
Arlong had brought ample funds on this trip, including all kinds of gold and jewels. With a little maneuvering, he quickly resolved everything on the legal side.
And from the minister's perspective, selling out his country's interests in exchange for personal benefit had long since become routine. He could not have been happier to welcome someone rich like Arlong.
This was also one of the reasons Arlong had been sent out. In the original timeline, he had likewise used bribery and a series of other methods to conceal everything he had done in East Blue.
When it came to tactics like these, he was far more capable than Tiger, Jinbe, and the others.
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