"Truly, you're as young as the rumors say," Chin Jao spoke first.
At this moment, he looked at Lancelot with rare seriousness.
Unlike the isolated Wano Country, the Kano Country and the Happo Navy paid close attention to information from the outside world.
They were well aware of Lancelot, the Marine who had recently risen to prominence.
He even knew about that Four Seas Exchange.
Naturally, he also knew why Lancelot had come to the West Blue this time.
Lancelot grinned lightly: "You flatter me!"
Chin Jao's face darkened: "I wasn't complimenting you."
Sai immediately stepped forward: "I suggest you go back where you came from... Otherwise, don't blame us for being impolite."
The smile on Lancelot's face widened.
"Why the rush... Why don't we sit down and have a proper chat? Perhaps we'll find ourselves quite like-minded!"
Boo: "You've been shipping weapons to Sakura Country—how could we possibly be like-minded?"
Hearing this, Lancelot waved his hand: "No, no... You've misunderstood."
"Huh? What do you mean? Don't tell me you didn't ship them?" Chin Jao, Sai, and Boo all looked astonished.
But Lancelot said: "I did, and I shipped quite a lot."
"Are you mocking us?" They were furious!
Especially Chin Jao, the old man, who was impulsive by nature—how could he tolerate being made a fool of?
Seeing this, Lafitte immediately grew alert, his hand already resting on his sword-cane. He assumed a stance ready to attack at any moment.
Lancelot, however, waved his hand again: "Calm down... We're here to discuss business, not to fight."
Then, he said to Chin Jao, Sai, and Boo: "I'm not like Doflamingo. They only sell weapons to your enemy, Sakura Country. But as long as you pay in Berries, I'll sell weapons to you as well."
"!!!"
At these words, Chin Jao, Sai, and Boo couldn't help but widen their eyes.
After all, given the strength of their Kano Country, they could have easily overpowered Sakura Country long ago.
Even if they couldn't completely destroy it, they could have crippled it.
The main reason they hadn't been able to conquer it was that Doflamingo and his crew exclusively supplied weapons to Sakura Country.
No matter how many Berries they offered,
Doflamingo wouldn't sell them a single gun or bullet.
Even in the entire underworld, few were willing to sell to them.
They knew this was also Doflamingo's doing.
His goal was to prevent them from conquering Sakura Country, so that the war between the two nations would drag on.
That way, he could continue profiting from the conflict.
But now, this person before them was saying that he could also sell weapons to them.
What did that mean? How could the three of them not understand?
"Gulp..."
They couldn't help but swallow hard, because this might very well be the turning point in the war between Kano Country and Sakura Country.
They exchanged glances, each seeing the excitement in the others' eyes.
After a moment, they confirmed: "Are you telling the truth?"
Lancelot nodded: "Of course... However, in the East Blue, I am the Naval Governor. But here in the West Blue, aside from my identity as a Rear Admiral, I am also a businessman. As a businessman, profit comes first. So, you must agree to two conditions."
Without a second thought, Chin Jao said: "Speak..."
Lancelot: "First, from now on, your Kano Country's transportation to and from the Grand Line must be handled by our Four Seas Exchange."
After a moment of deep thought, Chin Jao nodded: "Fine, but whether we deliver to Whiskey or your merchant fleet handles the pickup—we'll discuss the specifics as needed."
Hearing this, Lancelot's eyes lit up: "It seems you're already familiar with the rules of my Four Seas Exchange."
He inwardly praised the intelligence network of Kano Country.
Then he nodded: "Agreed. On this point, you may choose freely."
After all, this wasKano Country, possessing extremely powerful military strength.
It was completely different from the Goa Kingdom in East Blue.
Regardless of which world, only those with strength had the right to speak.
"Second, you must publicly declare to the entire West Blue that you support the Four Seas Exchange. Any merchant convoy of our Four Seas Exchange attacked within your Kano Country's waters will be considered a declaration of war against you."
Upon hearing this second condition, Chin Jao, Sai, and Boo all looked astonished.
The first condition not only brought them no harm but even offered considerable benefits.
It was important to know that to prevent them from reaching Sakura Country, Doflamingo and the entire underworld, along with many kingdoms and forces throughout West Blue, had participated in blockading their Kano Country.
Many of these weren't formally coordinated, but they shared a unified goal.
That was to prevent Kano Country from taking over Sakura Country and thus dominating the entire West Blue.
Therefore, they faced numerous difficulties regarding various supplies.
For example, their own country's goods were hard to sell abroad.
The things they needed were equally difficult to obtain.
With Lancelot's Four Seas Exchange, they could simply deliver goods to Whiskey Peak, receive Berries in return, and then purchase whatever they needed through the Four Seas Exchange.
It was like manna from heaven!
So for this second condition, they had already prepared to make sacrifices.
After all, agreeing to sell them weapons was already an enormous benefit.
Now, with trade directly opened up, their domestic economy could prosper and strengthen.
The benefits were so great they could hardly believe it.
Moreover, he had said it himself - businesspeople prioritize profit.
Surely he couldn't just give benefits without seeking gains!
Where in the world would you find such a good person?
Especially someone working for the Celestial Dragons?
Therefore, when they heard the second condition, they almost doubted their own hearing.
What kind of condition was this?
From another perspective, this was another great benefit!
Because this would effectively announce to the entire West Blue that they were now on good terms with the Celestial Dragons' Four Seas Exchange.
They could buy everything they wanted now.
So, everyone should think carefully.
Should they continue standing with Sakura Country, openly or covertly targeting Kano Country?
If they were sensible, after dealing with Sakura Country, they might turn a blind eye to those who hadn't gone too far.
For the more excessive ones, they might just teach them a lesson to vent their anger and extract substantial compensation, then let the matter drop.
After all, they didn't want to make enemies of the entire West Blue.
But if anyone continued to oppose them, they could await their country's destruction!
These two conditions left Chin Jao, Sai, and Boo somewhat stunned.
They tentatively asked: "Are these really the only two conditions?"
Seeing their reaction, Lancelot couldn't help but laugh.
"This is business between organizations... But personally! I'm somewhat interested in your Happo Navy's Hasshoken. If you're willing, I'd like to learn it..."
"That's it?"
Chin Jao, Sai, and Boo looked at each other in surprise.
Indeed, Hasshoken was their foundation, the very root of the entire Happo Navy.
But when placed before the overall interests of the Kano Country, it was no longer a significant matter.
They decisively agreed.
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