"Fleet Admiral, it's been a long time since we last met. I wonder if you've heard the saying, 'Long time no see, I miss you dearly.' That's exactly how I feel right now," Yamato said, answering the call with something completely unrelated to the situation.
On the other end of the line, Sakazuki sweated heavily. He knew this person was nothing but trouble.
"Onihime, I don't have time to waste with you. State your conditions, quickly," Sakazuki said in a deep voice, sounding extremely impatient.
"Fine, fine, the Fleet Admiral is so busy. If you want to take Aramaki back, then pay up to ransom him. I want 3,000,000,000 Berries. Surely a Marine Admiral is worth that price? Besides, Admiral Aramaki's Devil Fruit ability can be used for afforestation; it's extremely precious. How about it? I'm right, aren't I? Buy back Aramaki for 3,000,000,000 Berries; you won't be losing out, and you won't be getting scammed. With his ability, he can help you earn back that money in no time," Yamato said eloquently.
Nearby, the stationed Marines were completely dumbfounded. Was this really Onihime, the great pirate who rivaled the Yonko? Why did she sound exactly like a traveling salesperson?
Hearing Yamato's words, thick veins popped on Sakazuki's forehead. "Are you joking with me? 3,000,000,000 Berries? Do you think that kind of money is just fish in the sea, there whenever you want to scoop it up?"
"Hey, hey, hey, don't be so hot-headed. That amount is indeed a lot, but it's not that much, is it? Look at the bounties you set for pirates; they are easily in the billions. You must be able to come up with it, right? Otherwise, why set such high bounties? I trust you Marines so much, more than anything else. Besides, you have the World Government standing right behind you, and they are the richest people in the world. Never mind 3,000,000,000 Berries, asking them for 10,000,000,000 Berries would be a total piece of cake. So, Fleet Admiral, you know what I mean, right?" Yamato raised her eyebrows playfully.
Black smoke practically rose from Sakazuki's body. If he hadn't managed to cling to his remaining reason, the transponder snail in his hand would have been crushed to death.
"Onihime, do you actually want to negotiate or not? If you want to negotiate, change your terms. We Marines cannot come up with 3,000,000,000 Berries, and it's impossible for us to do so," Sakazuki growled in a low voice. It was obvious that he desperately wished he could instantly appear in front of Yamato and strangle her.
Yamato held the transponder snail a bit further away from her ear. "You guys are being too much. He is your Admiral Aramaki, after all. Is he not even worth that much? You're not even willing to pay 3,000,000,000 Berries to ransom him back. If Admiral Aramaki knew about this, he'd be totally heartbroken. Aren't you afraid that he might just jump ship and become a pirate because of this?"
Sakazuki did not say a single word. However, the face simulated by the transponder snail looked absolutely terrible. His breathing became incredibly heavy, which was very frightening to hear over the receiver.
The surrounding Marines saw this and swallowed hard. Who on the great sea would ever dare to speak to their Fleet Admiral like this? Only the fearsome woman standing right in front of them.
"How about I take a loss? I won't ask for the full amount. I'll give you a discount. How about 20% off? 2,400,000,000 Berries. For just 2,400,000,000 Berries, you can take Admiral Aramaki straight home," Yamato said very generously.
"Young Miss, the way you're putting it..." Haruko was really struggling to hold back her laughter. It was a real shame their Young Miss did not go into business; her sales pitch was one smooth line after another.
"Are you messing with me? What's the difference between 2,400,000,000 and 3,000,000,000 Berries?" Sakazuki roared.
"How is there no difference? That's a whole 600,000,000 Berries less! Don't tell me you think this discount isn't enough? No, I'm saying you, as the Fleet Admiral, are a bit too greedy, aren't you? Are you really a cheapskate?" Yamato pouted.
Sakazuki suppressed the powerful urge to crawl through the radio waves and end her life. "If you still want to negotiate, give me a condition we can actually accept. Otherwise, let's stop talking right now and prepare for war with our Marines."
"Sure, let's go to war then. I'll wipe out this Marine Branch right now, and then I'll go wipe out the others," Yamato agreed without a second thought.
When the surrounding Marines heard this casual declaration, they shivered violently, their faces turning completely pale. No way, the negotiations fell through just like that? If it fell through, it fell through, but why wipe them out? Were they not innocent bystanders?
"You... stop it, that's not what I meant," Sakazuki quickly backtracked. He had not expected Yamato to agree to a war so easily and immediately changed his tone.
"Then what do you mean, Fleet Admiral? Anyway, my condition is simple: I want money. You decide what to do. Otherwise, I'll just send Admiral Aramaki to dig mines and become a common miner," Yamato suddenly became tough.
Haruko and some of the surrounding Marines couldn't help but laugh out loud. The threat really sounded a bit funny.
"Your asking price is simply too high. We cannot give you that much money," Sakazuki said in a low voice, exuding an air that suggested there was no more room for negotiation. If the Marines really paid that much to ransom Aramaki, it would be a massive loss. By then, not only would the Marines' reputation be entirely ruined, but their military budget would also be drained dry.
"Well, we can still negotiate, can't we? I didn't say we couldn't. But the premise is that you can't squeeze the price too hard, otherwise I won't bother talking to you anymore. Anyway, I won't suffer any losses, but you Marines will really be down one Admiral," Yamato's tone started to soften again.
How could Sakazuki not understand what Yamato meant? His brow was furrowed tightly enough to crush a rock. After considering his options for a while, he finally spoke up. "1,500,000,000 Berries at most. I cannot pay any more than that."
"Hey, who does that? Cutting it in half directly? Do you think Admiral Aramaki is a Chinese cabbage on the side of the road that can just grow anywhere? 1,500,000,000 Berries is way too low, we can't negotiate with that. Don't think I don't know that you Marines are, after all, the largest military organization in the world. Your annual budget isn't in the billions, it's in the tens of billions! I asked you for 3,000,000,000 Berries and you didn't agree, fine. But you only want to pay half? An Admiral is only worth this tiny price? Don't you feel guilty saying such things? I think we should just stop talking. Anyway, I'm not exactly short on money. Your Admiral Aramaki can just stay with us and be a gold miner. He'll have food and drink every day, so he won't starve," Yamato's attitude suddenly turned ice cold.
Sakazuki did not expect Yamato's reaction to be so intense. Since she was speaking the absolute truth about their finances, his face felt a bit awkward. "Ahem, I can add a little more. 1,600,000,000 Berries."
"2,000,000,000 Berries," Yamato countered directly.
"No, that is too much. 1,700,000,000 Berries. I'll add another hundred million," Sakazuki disagreed.
"Then take off a hundred million. 1,900,000,000 Berries," Yamato continued to bid.
"Still too much. Alright, 1,800,000,000 Berries. If that's not enough, then there's no point in talking anymore. Prepare for war," Sakazuki gritted his teeth and firmly stated his bottom line.
"Fine, 1,800,000,000 Berries it is. I'll take a loss," Yamato agreed without a second thought.
Hearing Yamato agree so cheerfully, Sakazuki breathed a heavy sigh of relief. But soon, he sensed something was very wrong. Why did the other party seem to agree so quickly, as if she nodded without even thinking about it?
"Fleet Admiral, since we've agreed on the price, I'll take Admiral Aramaki back with me now. When you send the money over, I'll send him straight back to you," Yamato continued.
Sakazuki's train of thought was sharply interrupted, and he immediately remembered another crucial issue. "There is one more strict condition: you are not allowed to spread word of this incident."
"Okay, don't worry, I understand. I will keep the news about Admiral Aramaki under complete control," Yamato promised. Anyway, her main goal had already been achieved, so she could agree to anything he asked.
"Alright, the matter is settled. Let's go to Islande Island to wait for the news," Yamato returned the transponder snail to the terrified Marine.
Then, Yamato took a separate communication transponder snail from the Marines and led her people away from the base.
After watching the pirate ship leave the dock, the Branch Chief immediately ordered his men to completely seal off the news. "Whoever dares to blab about today's incident will be dealt with strictly by military law!"
"Yes, sir!" the soldiers shouted in unison.
On the other side of the ocean, Yamato and Haruko were heading steadily towards Islande Island.
"Young Miss, do you think Sakazuki will really send the money over?" Haruko asked suspiciously.
"Fifty-fifty. He might pay, he might not. Anyway, the price has been negotiated, and there were so many Marines present watching the whole thing. If he has the thick skin to go back on his word, then so be it. By then, we'll just spread the news far and wide and see if he still cares about his precious reputation," Yamato had already thought of the follow-up measures.
Haruko thought that made a lot of sense. "In my opinion, it is highly likely that Sakazuki will keep the agreement. After all, he is the Fleet Admiral. If his word doesn't count for anything, it will still have a massive negative impact, even towards pirates."
If Sakazuki were still just Admiral Akainu, he might not have had so many political scruples.
"The Marines are incredibly busy right now. The Seven Warlords of the Sea are enough to keep them constantly worried. Akainu still wouldn't dare to go to an all-out war with us Yonko. After all, he couldn't possibly send the remaining two Admirals to deal with us just for this. Plus, with Admiral Aramaki as a hostage in our hands, he would dare to act even less. He has to take this heavy loss, whether he likes it or not," Yamato chuckled.
"That Fleet Admiral probably isn't in a very good mood right now," Haruko laughed.
Just as Haruko said, Sakazuki was sitting silently in his office at Marineford with a terribly gloomy face. He wanted to get violently angry but did not know how to vent his frustrations.
"Aramaki, you absolute idiot. Causing so much trouble for me, and now forcing me to bow down to filthy pirates," Akainu slammed his magma-infused fist heavily onto his desk, scorching the wood.
This time, he really didn't dare to act rashly. After all, Aramaki's life was directly in the other party's hands.
"Hoo, Aramaki, you just wait to be severely punished," Akainu took a deep, calming breath. No matter what happened, the top priority right now was to get Aramaki back safely; everything else could be dealt with much later.
Meanwhile, in the New World, on Islande Island.
This was a massive uninhabited island with undulating terrain and complete vegetation coverage. More than half of the entire area was a dense forest, inhabited by quite a few dangerous wild animals and giant beasts.
The center of the island was the highest point, resembling a massive inclined ladder. From left to right, the slope wasn't very steep, measuring roughly around forty to fifty degrees. Furthermore, right behind the slope, there was a beautiful clear lake that was over a hundred meters wide.
Before long, everyone from the main fleet of the Beasts Pirates arrived at the shore, preparing to establish their new headquarters on this uninhabited island.
"It's very fortunate that it's spring right now, which makes construction much easier. It wouldn't be nearly as convenient if we arrived in winter," King observed as he looked around after stepping onto the grassy shore.
"First, we need to completely figure out the specific situation on this island, especially regarding the wild beasts. It's best if we can tame them first to use as guards; if we can't tame them, then we'll just slaughter them all," Queen said while puffing on his cigar.
"Leave this to me. Men, follow me! Let's take a full inventory of all the beasts on this island," Jack called out loudly to his subordinates.
"Yes, Lord Jack!"
Then, several thousand pirates faithfully followed Jack deep into the island and immediately began to eliminate any potential hazards.
"Let's get started on our side too. Measure the terrain, then see exactly how we should start the construction. We need to come up with a solid plan," King said to the other executives.
"Lord King, it's absolutely no problem for me to fight, but asking me to use my brain for this kind of complicated thing is just making it entirely too difficult for me," Sasaki spread his hands helplessly.
"I don't understand these boring things either, so don't call me to help," Ulti also refused flatly.
Page One scratched the back of his head. "None of us really have this kind of ability. It's much better to leave it to the actual professionals."
Seeing their completely uneducated appearances, King's mouth twitched under his mask. He had almost forgotten that not many of the top brass in the Beasts Pirates were actually educated in logistics. Back in Wano Country, the massive construction inside Onigashima was entirely entrusted to the skilled Wano Country craftsmen. Now, they had to rely entirely on themselves to rebuild a proper headquarters from scratch, which was truly quite a difficult task.
"With so many men under our command, I don't believe there aren't at least a few who understand this stuff. If all else fails, we'll just wait until the Young Miss comes back," Queen suggested.
King thought for a brief moment and nodded in agreement. "That's all we can really do for now."
Unknowingly, the crew sometimes subconsciously felt that their Young Miss knew absolutely everything. They believed that as long as there was a tough problem, she could always figure out a way to solve it.
"Wouldn't it be perfectly fine to just find some civilian craftsmen from the nearby islands? Do you really think that brat Yamato knows everything about building a base?" Kaido walked over, carrying his giant club.
"Uh, Big Brother, I strongly advise you not to underestimate the Young Miss. She is truly very smart," King and Queen looked at each other nervously.
"Hmph, that's just petty cleverness. I highly doubt she even understands this kind of architectural thing. Alright, I'll go check out the rest of the island first," Kaido snorted dismissively. He then immediately transformed into his massive azure dragon beast form and flew high into the sky, heading directly toward the center of the island.
Watching Kaido's departing figure, King and Queen both had complicated expressions that were hard to describe. "He is so stubborn."
"Pei-chan, let's go check out the island too! Charge!" Ulti suddenly jumped onto Page One's back, riding him exactly like a horse.
"Don't choke my neck! Do you want me to die, older sister?" Page One yelled, but he ran off into the forest anyway with Ulti clinging to his back.
Sasaki looked at King and Queen. "I don't know what to do either, so I'll just follow you guys and see what there is to do around here."
"That works, let's go. Let's head deeper into the island first to see the specific layout and make a detailed record of the land," King and Queen nodded. They then led their own groups of people into the dense island as well.
It took two full days for King, Queen, and the others to properly map out and sort the situation of the entire Islande Island. At the exact same time, Jack and his men had successfully cleared out all the dangerous beasts on the island, securing the perimeter.
"Queen, how is it? Are there any men in the crew who actually understand civil engineering?" King looked at Queen expectantly.
"Don't worry, out of at least ten thousand people, there are still some who understand this work. I found about a hundred or so. They should definitely be able to come in handy," Queen nodded confidently.
"That's good news. Let's discuss how to properly set up the headquarters first. It's best if we can determine one or two solid blueprints, then we can just ask for the Young Miss's final opinion when she returns," King said.
"No problem at all. I estimate the Young Miss won't be long before she returns," Queen readily agreed.