Two days later, the negotiations concluded.
Despite Tsuru's best efforts, she still couldn't persuade Reddy to abandon his original demands.
After all, she had almost no bargaining chips.
In the end, the two sides reached an agreement.
The World Government would redeem the captured 50,000 elite Marines in batches, with the total amount set at 1.5 trillion Berries.
Reddy had no objections to this.
A ransom in the trillions was no small sum.
Even the Celestial Dragons couldn't produce that much cash on hand.
Moreover, he also had to guard against the World Government resorting to desperate measures like overprinting Berries, using worthless paper to exchange for the prisoners.
Though the likelihood was small.
Therefore, apart from one-tenth of the ransom being paid in Berries, the rest would be paid in gold.
Gold was a hard currency that could be exchanged for Berries at any time.
At the same time, he was also preparing to establish a monetary system exclusive to Utopia.
As for whether the World Government could produce such a large amount of gold, Reddy didn't bother worrying about it.
"Dr. Reddy, please treat Garp Vice Admiral well."
Having completed the negotiations, Tsuru made a complicated request to Reddy.
Garp wanted to slack off, and while she didn't support it, she understood her old friend's difficulties.
Reddy was stunned, only then remembering that he had habitually forgotten about Garp, who was locked in the underground prison of the Punk Hazard research facility. He quickly asked, "You don't plan to redeem Garp Vice Admiral?"
Garp was a non-Devil Fruit user.
He had already collected enough genetic samples.
Out of respect for Garp, he had even granted him some freedom. But keeping an old man like him around wasn't suitable for him.
Tsuru, "..."
Seeing Tsuru's speechless expression, Reddy shook his head and laughed. "Do you think I'd keep him here until one day he suddenly decides to wreck my territory?"
People were fickle!
He had given Garp some freedom, but that didn't mean he would unconditionally trust him.
Though he had already taken precautions—aside from Mon, the head jailer, he had also assigned Shadow, Invis, and Control, three clones, to the prison—there was always a chance of the unexpected.
As his territory expanded and the creation of Utopia was put on the agenda, connecting the various islands became an urgent issue.
The best solution to this problem was the Mirror-Mirror Fruit.
He was already planning an operation to attack Whole Cake Island.
Once the war against Whole Cake Island began, Mon and the other main fighters would inevitably have to leave with him.
At that point, keeping Garp at Punk Hazard wouldn't be appropriate.
Garp was a non-Devil Fruit user with immense strength. Ordinary seastone shackles couldn't restrain him.
If he destroyed the research facility, it would cost a fortune to rebuild, and it might not even be restored perfectly.
After all, some equipment was already under strict control by the World Government.
Even through the underground black market, it might not be possible to obtain it.
Thus, exchanging Garp for funds was the best course of action.
"How much to redeem him?"
Tsuru had originally thought Reddy would never release Garp, a top-tier combatant. Now that Reddy had brought it up himself, she couldn't help but ask curiously.
"One billion Berries."
Reddy readily gave a figure.
Tsuru was speechless.
It wasn't that the ransom was too high, but that Reddy's asking price was too low.
One billion Berries could redeem five vice admirals.
But the influence of five vice admirals wasn't even half of Garp's.
"Fine."
Tsuru couldn't help but smile wryly.
That old man wanted to slack off, but Dr. Reddy didn't want to keep him around.
"Now, let's discuss the next transaction."
After settling the matter of redeeming Garp and the 50,000 prisoners, Tsuru changed the subject and proposed a new deal. "The second-generation Activator, as well as the Artificial Devil Fruit Serum. Name your price."
Reddy thought for a moment and finally remembered Hill and the others' work on improving the Activator.
Hill and the other researchers hadn't been idle during this time.
The refinement of the Activator was just one of their projects.
The cloning of Activator donors seemed to be progressing smoothly, with more genetic fragments successfully integrated to enhance the Activator's effects.
However, the Activator he had used to heal Garp was a system product, which was why its effects were so remarkable.
It was a beautiful misunderstanding.
At least for him.
Reddy shook his head with a smile. "The second-generation Activator is impossible..."
Hearing this, Tsuru couldn't help but feel disappointed.
But Reddy abruptly changed his tone and said with a grin, "How about a monkey version of the Activator?"
The so-called monkey version was the new-generation Activator developed by Hill and the other researchers, which could be considered a second-generation Activator.
However, its effects were one grade lower than the system-produced Activator.
But it was definitely better than the first-generation Activator.
"Agreed."
Tsuru didn't understand what "monkey version" meant, but her intuition told her it was something good—at least better than the first-generation Activator the World Government had.
She didn't plan to request funds from the World Government for the purchase of the new Activator. Instead, she intended to use the Marines' budget as a trump card against pirates.
"50,000 Berries per dose."
Reddy cheerfully raised his butcher's knife.
Tsuru gave him a deep look. "The current cost of the first-generation Activator is only 10,000 Berries."
"You don't have to buy it."
Reddy shrugged indifferently. "The second-generation Activator will be sold publicly... You might not understand, but scientific research is very expensive."
"I can agree."
Tsuru's expression changed slightly, and she immediately made a request. "As long as you promise not to sell the second-generation Activator to others."
"An exclusive purchase, huh..."
Reddy hesitated for a moment.
It wasn't impossible for the Marines to monopolize the second-generation Activator, but he felt his earlier quote had been too low.
"100,000 Berries per dose."
Reddy didn't consider himself a business genius, but did this kind of monopoly deal even require talent?
Of course not!
Tsuru was speechless.
But on second thought, if the Marines couldn't monopolize the second-generation Activator, once it was publicly sold, it would inevitably be snapped up by various forces.
Especially the Big Mom Pirates and the Beast Pirates.
If these two Emperor-level crews obtained the second-generation Activator, their overall strength would undoubtedly surge again.
At that point, it would be very difficult to suppress Big Mom and Kaido's ambitions.
Tsuru sighed. "Marineford doesn't have much funding. We'll probably have to apply to the World Government."
Hearing this, Reddy's expression turned strange.
As expected of you, still trying to play the pity card at this point.
I see through it, but I won't take the bait.
Reddy remained silent, while Tsuru patiently rambled on like an ordinary old lady, trying to evoke Reddy's sympathy.
"Fine, I agree."
Seeing Reddy's unmoved expression, Tsuru realized her pity play was useless and reluctantly accepted the extortionate price. She then brought up the transaction for the Artificial Devil Fruit Serum.
"This one isn't for sale."
Reddy refused without hesitation.
The production cost of the Artificial Devil Fruit Serum wasn't high, and the related technology had been developed by Beal and the other researchers.
But the Marines, as a source of profit, had already been milked dry and weren't very competitive.
Once the Marines fattened up again, he could hold an auction for the Artificial Devil Fruit Serum and reap a huge profit.
If nothing else, the bidding war between the Marines and the Beast Pirates would surely get vicious.
Watching Tsuru leave with her female soldiers in a complicated mood, Reddy was very satisfied with the gains from this negotiation.
With all the trivial matters handled, it was time for the enjoyable research period again.