Vice Admiral Tsuru shook her head. The group walked over and sat at the table, while the marines behind her and Gion stood watch.
Sugar politely poured a cup of tea for the two Vice Admirals, then went back to the couch and happily continued munching on blueberries.
Ryuen had already promised her that her sister would join the Dream Exploration Team, so she wasn't in a rush to ask about it anymore.
She trusted Ryuen would take care of it!
Vice Admiral Tsuru glanced at Sugar, then said, "I remember she disappeared for a while. We thought she left the Dream Team, so we ended up taking down her bounty."
Ryuen acted surprised:
"Gasp!"
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, that's cold. You're seriously thinking of putting a bounty on a kid?"
Tsuru replied calmly:
"Don't think we don't know her real age. Back when Doflamingo held the Warlord title, she didn't have a bounty. But now? It's time to put one on her."
Hearing Doflamingo's name made Sugar's heart waver a little. After all, they had once been part of the same family.
Ryuen waved his hand with a casual look:
"Do what you want. Anyway, Vice Admiral Tsuru, let's save the catching-up talk for later."
"Right now, I want to hear what the World Government is offering. And just so you know, I've already passed the story to Morgans!"
"If you don't act fast, I won't be able to stop him from publishing it. You know how crazy he is about the news."
Vice Admiral Tsuru replied:
"Before we get to that, Ryuen, I want to know what you plan to do with the Kingdom of Magiatsuka. That's what concerns me most."
"Fufufu~"
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, no need to play around. I'll just tell you straight."
"Princess Angela has already made her decision. She wants to raise the Dream Team's flag in the Kingdom of Magiatsuka."
"And I've agreed to it," Ryuen said calmly.
"I figured as much…" Tsuru muttered.
She glanced behind her, and right after, a Marine pulled out a document from a folder and handed it to Vice Admiral Tsuru.
Vice Admiral Tsuru passed it straight to Ryuen.
After Ryuen took it, she continued:
"I know you like Berries. After all, the orphanages in East Blue always have big expenses, so the World Government is offering 3 billion Berries..."
"5 billion!" Before she could finish, Ryuen cut her off with a cold voice.
"Fifteen years. I won't go into details, but you know how much tribute the Magiatka Kingdom has paid the World Government every year."
"I want 5 billion. That's non-negotiable."
Just then, another Marine behind Vice Admiral Tsuru placed a new document on the table. Ryuen picked it up and looked through it.
"Looks like Sengoku knows you pretty well. He said if I started with an offer of 3 billion, you'd definitely ask for 5," Vice Admiral Tsuru said calmly.
"Hehehe~"
"Seems like that old man Sengoku really cares about my attitude. Not bad at all. I'm satisfied with this first condition."
"Now for the second one. The Marines can keep their base here, but I get to pick the base commander!" Ryuen stated the second condition.
"You really know how to ask..."
"We can agree to that, but I have a condition too!"
"We'll issue a public statement saying that the World Government is handing this country over to you because of how much the Dream Exploration Team has done for this sea."
"Ryuen, kid, this request isn't too much, right? After all, this way both sides can save face."
Hearing this, Ryuen and Hogg exchanged a glance. Even Sugar, who was eating blueberries on the sofa, paused for a second.
"What? Is there a problem?" Vice Admiral Tsuru frowned. Their reactions felt a bit off to her.
"No problem. Vice Admiral Tsuru, I can accept that condition."
"Now that the second condition is settled, let's move on to the last one..."
"I want Sugar's sister, Miss Monet, to be released. I don't think that's too hard," Ryuen said, picking up his tea and sipping it calmly.
Sugar instantly perked up—finally, they were talking about her sister!
"Hehehe~"
"You really care about your people. Releasing Monet isn't exactly hard, but still—she's a Logia-type Devil Fruit user."
"Just letting her go like that... not only the World Government, even Impel Down won't be happy," Vice Admiral Tsuru said, pretending to be troubled.
Sugar tensed up hearing that. Tsuru was right—her sister was a Logia user.
"Not my problem."
"These are my three conditions. I won't give up even one of them." Ryuen set his teacup down, expression unchanged. He wasn't afraid of Vice Admiral Tsuru refusing.
"Releasing Monet is possible. But I want to meet Morgans. That's not too much to ask, right?" Vice Admiral Tsuru laid out her own demand.
"Hahahaha~"
"So the World Government is getting desperate, huh? Let me guess—you've searched this whole sea and still can't find Morgans?"
"You're right. We couldn't find him."
"We even searched Skypiea, but looks like you moved him away before we got there," Tsuru admitted without hiding anything.
"Fine. You want to meet Morgans? I'm okay with that." Ryuen agreed without hesitation.
Tsuru's reason for wanting to see Morgans was clear—she wanted to confirm his current condition and what he thought of the Dream Exploration Team.
Ryuen understood that very well.
"That wraps up this negotiation."
"The 5 billion Berries will be sent by World Government officials. Monet is still in Impel Down—you'll have to go get her yourselves."
"One more thing—who are you planning to appoint as the base commander of the Magiatka Kingdom?" Tsuru asked at the end.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to let just anyone take that position. So, Vice Admiral Tsuru, I want Smoker to be the one in charge!" Ryuen gave an answer that caught her off guard.
Even Hogg and Sugar were surprised—they had thought Ryuen would choose someone from their own Marine faction under the Dream Team's control.
"If it's Smoker, that depends on whether Kuzan will let him go. Right now, Smoker is under Kuzan's command," Vice Admiral Tsuru replied.
"Just give Smoker the order. I'm sure Admiral Aokiji will agree," Ryuen said without any concern.
"In that case, let's leave it at that for now. We'll head back and report what we discussed," Vice Admiral Tsuru said as she stood up, ready to leave.
"Oh?"
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, Vice Admiral Gion, won't you stay for lunch?" Ryuen made a half-hearted attempt to keep them.
"No need. Both HQ and Mary Geoise are paying close attention to this incident. To avoid being eavesdropped on, I came in person. Now that we've reached a conclusion, it's time for us to go." With that, Vice Admiral Tsuru turned and left with her team.
Ryuen watched Vice Admiral Tsuru and the others leave, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.
On Tsuru's side, she felt something was off. The negotiation had gone too smoothly, and the price they paid was much lower than what HQ had estimated.
Something definitely didn't feel right.
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