Even in the New Navy's territory, Red-Haired Shanks remained calm and composed.
His demands and goals are different from those of the New Navy. Under the leadership of Zephyr, the New Navy hopes to inherit the will of Yoriichi Tsugakuni. Everything they do is to overthrow the rule of the Celestial Dragons.
However, there is indeed a huge gap between facts and reality. Without the new navy led by Ji Guoyuanyi, there is no way to suppress these powerful people in the new world.
Although the development of the new navy seems to be good in recent years, in fact they are restricted everywhere and are deeply trapped in the quagmire of the new world.
Shanks can even see the future of the New Navy clearly now. When Zephyr and Issho's generation grow old, if the New Navy has no successors, this huge force will probably be completely overturned in just a few decades.
However, problems like this will never happen to the World Government and the Navy Headquarters.
Shanks' understanding of the Celestial Dragons is even better than that of Zephyr and others.
Throughout the long years of history, the biggest reason why the Celestial Dragons have been able to maintain their status and suppress countless powerful people who tried to rebel against them is because the person leading the Celestial Dragons has never changed.
And it is this person hiding behind the Celestial Dragons who is one of the reasons why the World Government has always been strong.
Shanks once naively believed that a man like Yoriichi Tsugakuni would definitely bring great changes to the world.
But the ending ultimately disappointed him.
It was precisely because of the death of Yoriichi Tsugakuni that Shanks made up his mind. If that destined person had not appeared, he would continue to be active in this world as a pirate and would never show any intention of resistance from beginning to end.
When the destined person appears, he will come forward to help.
Although Shanks and Buggy did not board Raftel with Pirate King Roger, due to Shanks' special background, Shanks had given Roger some instructions before his death.
When Shanks thought of the innocent kid to whom he gave the straw hat, his eyes showed a strong anticipation.
"The territory captured by your Red Hair Pirates is under your control."
"Red-Haired Shanks, is this all you want?"
Zefa has a slicked-back hair and wears a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. His gentle appearance is inexplicably in line with his burly figure, exuding the temperament of a refined and wise general.
He spoke in a calm tone, neither hurried nor slow, and his words contained an inexplicable power.
Shanks was momentarily distracted when he heard Zephyr's words. He then turned his gaze towards the people opposite him, shook his head slightly, and said with a smile:
"Haha, of course it's not just that."
"The territory we captured is under the control of the Red Hair Pirates. This is a matter of course."
"If you want to cooperate with our Red Hair Pirates, you, the New Navy, will naturally have to pay other prices."
"We say cooperation, but I think both sides understand that it is your new navy that needs our help."
"How can you ask someone to do something for you without paying any price?"
Although Shanks has a free and easy personality, he made his position clear when he represented the Red Hair Pirates in negotiations with the New Navy.
Although his Red Hair Pirates is an elite pirate group, it does not mean that his power is limited to the crew of that ship.
Many forces in this new world, such as the giant Erubaf, have turned to the Red Hair Pirates, hoping to get their protection.
Shanks always welcomes those "weak" forces that come to him in the hope of seeking protection. The Red Hair Pirates even give back much of the wealth they have gained through robbing other pirates to some of the small countries under their control.
Their Red Hair Pirates are clearly one of the Four Emperors at the top of the New World, but the crew members on their ship are all dressed simply. It would be difficult for others to imagine that such a simple person is one of the Four Emperors.
If there is a chance to cooperate with the New Navy and make a fortune from it, Shanks will definitely not miss such an opportunity.
Unlike the forces and countries controlled by his Red Hair Pirates, the New Navy is also building the economy as much as possible in order to support their huge army.
Desolo, under the title of "Golden Emperor", was frantically making money. Except for the money he earned for his own needs, he basically used the rest to subsidize the new naval headquarters.
It is precisely because of Desolo's terrifying ability to attract money that the new navy can develop smoothly.
The head of the family, Zephyr, naturally knew that the money of the new navy was hard-earned. When he heard what Shanks said, he narrowed his eyes slightly and waited for Shanks' next words.
To the outside world, Shanks has always been a relatively mysterious person, and no one knows what their Red Hair Pirates are pursuing.
Zephyr is naturally no exception. He has not had any in-depth contact with Shanks and does not know what kind of person the other party is. Therefore, he has always been very vigilant when negotiating with the other party.
Shanks paused for a moment, and a look of nostalgia suddenly appeared in his eyes:
"Come to think of it, I used to have a friendship with Yunyi."
"I admire him very much. I even looked up to him at one point."
"I once thought he had given birth to someone who could change the world. Back in the East Sea, I even thought about helping him find a certain devil fruit."
"Haha. I didn't expect it. It's fate."
"Even men like him are dead."
A look of regret appeared on Shanks' face. When they heard him mention Yoriichi Tsugakuni, the faces of several members of the New Navy turned ugly.
The death of Yoriichi Tsugakuni was an unspeakable pain for the new naval leaders.
The looks of several senior executives when they looked at Shanks became somewhat dangerous. They didn't like anyone talking about Yoriichi Tsugikuni in front of them, especially when the other party was a pirate.
"I know much more than you can imagine."
"Even I know as much about Tsugikuni Yoriichi as you do."
"My goals differ from your new navy's, but generally speaking, they don't conflict."
"I just want to ask one thing!"
"How did Tsugikoku Yoriichi kill the Five Elders?"
"Kill Izambaron V. Nasujuro-sei!"
The people present were either high-ranking officials of the New Navy or core members of the Red Hair Pirates.
There are some things Shanks doesn't need to hide from these people.
After hearing Shanks' direct question, everyone present had different expressions. Some people in the Red Hair Pirates had never heard of the Five Elders, so they naturally didn't know the name Shanks mentioned.
The expressions of several senior officers of the New Navy also changed slightly. After looking at each other, their gazes towards Shanks became extremely solemn.
The existence of the Five Elders is not a secret in the New Navy, but those who know this name are basically generals with the rank of lieutenant general or above.
This is because their naval system is related to the World Government system. Apart from people in their system, there should be no way for anyone to obtain information about the Five Elders.
In particular, Shanks actually knew the specific names of the Five Elders. He even knew that Isambaron V. Nasujuro was killed by Tsugikoku Enishi.
In the battle that took place on the Island of Origin, the people present were either high-ranking officials of the World Government or high-ranking officials of the New Navy.
The other Five Elders who escaped and survived wouldn't be able to publicly announce the death of the Supreme Power after returning, right?!
Just as Shanks said, he knew much more than Zephyr and the others imagined.
“.”
At this moment, several members of the New Navy fell into silence, and everyone was thinking about the background and intention behind Shanks' words.
Could the news of the Five Elders’ death in battle have leaked from their new navy?
If it didn't come from their new navy, then it must have come from the mouths of the surviving Five Elders themselves.
Then Shanks' identity and position are worth pondering.
Zefa stared at the young man across the conference table, his hands clasped across his chest, his heart filled with wariness.
After a brief thought, he spoke decisively:
"I don't know what you're talking about, Red-Haired Shanks."
"We, the New Navy, can accept your previous conditions. The islands captured by your Red Hair Pirates can be controlled by your Red Hair Pirates."
"If you are willing to cooperate on this, then we can reach a cooperation agreement."
"As for the rest"
"If you, the Red Hair Pirates, have other ideas, we will not be able to continue our cooperation."
As he spoke, Zefa stood up from his seat, turned around and walked towards the door of the conference room.
Just as Zephyr opened the door and was about to leave, Shanks also stood up suddenly:
"Mr. Zefa, do you really not know or are you unwilling to tell?!"
"It's just a piece of information. Do we need to hold it in our hands?"
"Or do you not trust me?"
"If we can't even establish the most basic trust between us, then what's the point of so-called cooperation?"
There was a certain amount of coercion in Shanks' words, but unfortunately, he chose the wrong person to threaten.
Zephyr turned slightly, glanced at Shanks without saying anything, then pushed the door and left.
Shanks wanted to continue speaking, but Mihawk, who had been silent all this time, suddenly stood in front of Shanks:
"trust."
“The weak only need so-called trust when they seek partners.”
“We don’t trust our partners unconditionally, and similarly, we never ask our partners to trust us unconditionally.”
“The basis of cooperation is strength, not so-called trust!”
The senior leaders of the New Navy did not stay in this conference room for long. Aokiji and Issho followed Zephyr out one after another. After leaving these two sentences, Mihawk also left the conference room and disappeared from Shanks' sight.
Negotiations broke down
Shanks could tell from the attitude of the New Navy's top brass that the New Navy seemed to have no intention of continuing to cooperate with their Red Hair Pirates.
"What? These guys from the New Navy are so arrogant! They were the ones who were seeking our cooperation."
Jesus was somewhat dissatisfied with the attitude of the new navy's top brass, and his tone was full of complaints.
His words were obviously recognized by everyone, and Lachi Lu and others also echoed him, obviously unwilling to stay here and look at the face of the new navy.
Second Captain Beckman was much calmer, or perhaps he knew more than the ordinary crew members.
Seeing the senior officers of the New Navy leave, he approached Shanks and said with a smile:
"Shanks, you're still a little too impatient."
"I'm saying we should take it one step at a time. Without a foundation for cooperation, rashly asking such questions will inevitably arouse suspicion."
"What do we do next?"
Hearing Beckman's slightly teasing words, Shanks suddenly burst into laughter during a brief silence.
“Hahahahahaha!”
"That was truly a misstep!"
"Well~ there's nothing we can do about it. If that's the case, let's try to cooperate first."
"Those islands must be taken eventually. The waterway to Raftelu must be under our control!"
Shanks said to the crew members nonchalantly, and seeing his nonchalant look, the crew members burst into laughter.
The cheerful and open-minded Shanks has always been their backbone. If the captain doesn't mind something, they will definitely not mind it.
When the negotiations between the New Navy and the Red Hair Pirates "broke down", Yoriichi Tsugakuni and Oliva, who sailed from Pluto, were also "drifting" on the sea.
Sailing life is not boring for them. During this period of time, the two of them also went fishing and chatted, and their understanding of each other became deeper.
As time passed, the small boat they were riding on was getting closer and closer to the holy land of Marinjoa.
After sailing for about half a month, the Red Earth Continent appeared in the sight of the two.
The weather at sea was not good that day. The morning fog was thick and the red earth continent in the distance was looming in the clouds and could not be seen clearly.
Standing on the deck, Jiguo Yuanyi looked at the recording pointer in his hand slightly rising towards the sky, and he also understood that they were finally reaching their destination.
Along the way, Tsugikuni Yoriichi's food and accommodation were all on the boat. The few times he passed by the island to replenish supplies were also handled by Oliva, and Yoriichi never showed up.
Now, I can finally add some different experiences to my ordinary life.
"Oliva, after I leave, you don't have to wait here, go directly to the Sabaody Archipelago."
"After I leave the Holy Land, I will contact you using Den Den Mushi."
It was obvious that Tsugikoku Yuichi and Oliva had already made a plan. Hearing this, Oliva smiled and nodded: "Don't worry."
As he spoke, Ji Guoyuan's figure turned into a golden stream of light and shot directly towards the Red Earth Continent. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared from Oliva's sight.
Looking at the golden light disappearing from his sight, Oliva bowed slightly in the direction of Tsugikoku Yoriichi and whispered a blessing:
"I wish you good luck in fighting."
I (End of this chapter)
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