In the projected video, both Garp and Kizaru were fighting with full force.
They had no idea they were now being broadcast live. This left Sengoku momentarily at a loss for how to respond.
Since the Raiden Shogun could produce such video evidence, it was clear that woman Ayame had long known about the disturbance their Marines were causing elsewhere.
Yet she had only produced these evidence after the Raiden Shogun arrived. What a cunning fox!
Yuriko: I feel somewhat offended.
"Whether it's Kuri, Udon, or even the Flower Capital here, these are all places in Inazuma where overseas personnel are strictly prohibited from entering. Yet your Marines not only trespassed without authorization, but also clashed with the daimyo of Kuri and Udon. How do you explain this?"
Ren asked coldly.
"Th-this… I think they must have gotten lost and accidentally wandered into restricted areas. You know we're Marines, so it's perfectly reasonable to have no sense of direction on land and take a wrong turn."
Sengoku said shamelessly.
"Got lost?"
"You're saying that six of you just happened to get lost in three different directions, and also happened to clash with my subordinates?"
Sengoku nodded with difficulty: "Yes!"
Hearing his answer, Ren almost wanted to laugh. Getting lost—how could the Marines even say such a thing with a straight face.
"I don't care whether you got lost or what. Since it's happened, we can't just let it go. My demands aren't high—just compensate us for our losses and that will be enough."
Hearing Ren's words, Sengoku actually felt relieved. Just compensation for losses—that wasn't too serious. Surely Garp and Kizaru knew this wasn't real combat, so the damage should be…
Damn it, Kizaru, what are you doing?!
On the cinema's live broadcast screen, the camera suddenly zoomed in on Kizaru. The man had gone all out, and countless light bullets shot down hundreds of Ruin Guards in the sky!
Seeing this scene, Sengoku's heart went cold.
Stop!
Stop right now!
Kizaru, you bastard!
Do you know how much those machines are worth?!
Sengoku had never imagined that Kizaru, who always liked to slack off and not exert himself, would be so energetic this time. But if he wanted to be energetic, the Marines would have to pay for it!
And those machines—weren't they usually pretty durable? Why were they shattering at a single touch today? Were they pulling some kind of insurance scam?
Sengoku felt his heart bleeding. These were hundreds of Ruin Hunters! The Marines couldn't buy that many in an entire year. Kizaru's operation had just wiped out their annual military budget in one go.
And that wasn't even counting the losses from Garp's side.
It was over. Everything was over. The Marines were truly going to be out of supplies this time.
Just as Sengoku was despairing, Ren delivered another heavy blow.
"For the damaged Ruin Guards and Ruin Heavy Machines, I'll calculate them at their original price—500 million Berries each. I hope your Marines can deliver the compensation to Ritou within six months."
"What! You're saying 500 million each?!"
Sengoku's eyes widened and he jumped straight up.
Looking at his current spirited state, he was like a different person from the nearly dead expression he had moments ago. The Raiden Shogun was truly a divine doctor.
"500 million each—absolutely unacceptable! The current market price for Ruin Guards is less than 100 million Berries, yet you want us to pay 500 million per unit. Raiden Shogun, this is too greedy!"
The more Sengoku spoke, the angrier he became. Ren's profiteering face reminded him of the past—back then, when the Marines first went to purchase Ruin Guards, they had been heavily ripped off, buying a batch of machines at prices far above market value. And now it was happening again. Did they really think the Marines were suckers?
"Don't agree? Fine, I won't force you." Ren said in a reasonable tone, making both Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru confused.
Who knew, he then continued:
"But I can't say whether one day I might get lost and wander into Marine Headquarters, or… onto the Red Line. After all, I am a pirate, so once I come ashore, getting lost is inevitable."
Hearing this, Sengoku was left speechless.
As the Rumble-Rumble Fruit user, the Raiden Shogun—if he occasionally harassed Marine Headquarters or Mary Geoise, there would be few who could hold him back.
Moreover, though both places had strong military forces, they also had many Marine families or powerless Celestial Dragons. If Inazuma launched a lightning raid, that would be disastrous.
So Sengoku became troubled. Fortunately, he had an excellent solution to his troubles.
—Pass the buck!
"I can't decide this matter. I'll have the Five Elders talk to you." Sengoku directly passed the headache to those five old geezers.
In the end, the one paying was still the World Government anyway. The Marines' own finances were also provided by the World Government. Passing this headache along was perfect.
So Ren's conversation partner changed to the Five Elders. After passing the buck, Sengoku felt refreshed all over. He took Vice Admiral Tsuru and directly found a shop to enjoy a bubble bath.
Ah, Inazuma was truly a wonderful place!
Finally, lying in bed enjoying a massage, Sengoku sighed.
Talking with the Five Elders was even more troublesome than talking with Sengoku. These five senile old fellows were used to being domineering and had never seen someone as arrogant as Ren.
But today they had.
After some back-and-forth, the World Government agreed to compensate for the losses at 250 million Berries per unit. Of course, this was only for the Ruin Guards. Other models like the Ruin Drake: Aerial, Ruin Hunters, and so on were still hot sellers. Their prices were naturally higher.
Thinking of this, they hated Kizaru a few degrees more.
This spendthrift—if Kizaru hadn't been a genuine product of the Marine training camp, the Five Elders would have suspected he was an infiltrator sent to cause trouble for the Marines.
All told, the total compensation from the Marines and World Government this time was approaching 100 billion Berries. For an organization of the Marines' scale, though it wasn't life-threatening, it was still extremely painful.
Under these circumstances, Sengoku's dream of paid leave was naturally impossible. The next morning, all six Marine officers slunk away with their tails between their legs.
And what made it worse was that their salaries this year would likely be gone…
Before leaving, Ren was very happy and even specially came to the port to see them off.
"Welcome to come again next time!"
Come? Come my ass!
Come to give you more money?
Sengoku was speechless. If he ever came to Inazuma again in this life, he'd be a dog!
"Mr. Sengoku, you're very welcome to come to Inazuma next time to discuss the specifics of movie promotion with me." Ayame said.
Sengoku: "Alright! I'll be there next week!"
[
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