The tense expression on the World Government official's face suddenly relaxed, and he let out a long sigh of relief in his heart.
"No problem..." Adrian's voice had been enough to put him at ease.
As long as Adrian was willing to negotiate, he could talk about anything. While the World Government wasn't truly afraid of him, they simply had no means of checks and balances for the time being. If the two sides were to fight, it would likely cause third-party pirate forces or the Revolutionary Army to take advantage. That would be a hassle to deal with.
In line with the long-term plan of settling accounts after their face-off, preventing the further escalation of the situation was the main purpose of these peace talks. To that end, the World Government had already made preparations.
"Before we came, we already drafted and decided to pay compensation to the soldiers who died in the battle of Dressrosa," the World Government official said impatiently. "The warriors will be compensated based on the standards of a Marine Headquarters Warrant Officer. As for those who were injured and other losses, they will be completely liquidated with a one-time compensation of 200 thousand Berries."
It was obvious that the World Government had suffered the most serious losses in the conflict. Yet, they now had to pay compensation in return. This scene immediately reminded Adrian of a certain historical dynasty. Losing power and humiliating the country might refer to this very thing.
The faces of Bullet and the others all showed expressions of contempt. The people of the World Government were truly useless.
"Warrant Officer?!" Adrian's face darkened. "Are you looking down on the warriors of Dressrosa?"
"Your Majesty, the Warrant Officer is already the most advanced grade among the lower-level soldiers," the official began, his voice hesitant as he saw Adrian's face grow more and more ugly. "And it's a higher rank than ....." He didn't dare to continue talking. After pondering for a moment, he cautiously asked, "How much does Your Majesty think is appropriate?"
"Let's compensate according to the Vice Admiral's standard!"
"Ah? This... this is not acceptable!" The official's head suddenly shook like a rattle. He couldn't believe his ears. Have you never seen money before? Vice Admiral compensation? Are your soldiers made of gold? Why don't you just rob us?!
"Then there's nothing to talk about!" Adrian smiled, but his voice was cold. "Go back and tell the Five Elders that from now on, as long as Marine and World Government ships enter the New World, I'll see one...and destroy one! If you don't accept it, we can have another 'Dressrosa Naval Battle.' As long as you can beat me, the one who makes the conditions will be you!"
"The captain's right," Bullet said with a look of eagerness to fight. "I didn't get enough of a fight last time."
"Me too," Shiryu followed in a dark voice. "My sword haven't had enough action yet."
"Your Majesty, you're being a bit of a bully..." The official was almost in tears from the injustice. What kind of people are in this country? There's no good person from top to bottom. They're about to start a war at the drop of a hat. Do you see war as an opportunity to get rich?
If it had been in the past, when he was on a mission to other countries, he would have been the first to blow his top. Who dared to compete with the World Government? But here, at Dressrosa, facing the man who had killed Whitebeard with his own hands, even though the Five Elders assured him that Adrian wouldn't dare to kill him, he still couldn't get angry. This group of people was just too scary.
"Your Majesty, why not..."
Negotiations finally came to a successful conclusion. All of Adrian's requirements were met. This wasn't just because he was sure that the World Government wouldn't dare to start a second all-out war in the short term. It was also because Adrian had ordered Redfield in advance to sneak into the underground port and arrest several CPO members who had come with the officials to collect a list of smuggled weapons on the black market. As soon as these people entered Dressrosa, Adrian had already locked onto them with his heart network. The World Government was truly relentless.
In the end, Adrian received 13 billion Berries in compensation, and the World Government publicly recognized his legal status as the new king of Dressrosa. At the same time, he retained his legal marauding privileges as a Warlord of the Sea but no longer had to participate in the compulsory summoning. Furthermore, Marine and the World Government were not to interfere with any transactions between Dressrosa and the outside world, both in plain sight and behind the scenes. When Marine and World Government ships entered the waters near Dressrosa within 200 nautical miles, they had to give advance notice. Otherwise, they would be considered trespassers by Dressrosa and could be sunk.
In short, the World Government official was in tears when he left Dressrosa. After working in the World Government for so many years, it was the first time he had felt such humiliation.
At Marine Headquarters, in the temporary Fleet Admiral's office, Commander-in-Chief Kong notified the high-ranking officials of the results of the peace talks, and everyone was stunned.
"What, the World Government has compromised with that fellow Adrian?!"
This was outrageous. Their side had lost 50,000 soldiers and more than 100 warships, but in turn, Adrian was to be compensated for his battle damage.
"Commander-in-Chief, isn't this kind of treaty too lenient toward that kid?" Kizaru said in his characteristic sluggish tone. "If others follow suit, the situation will probably get completely out of control."
"This is a condition recognized by the Five Elders," Kong said, glancing at everyone. "Presumably, they must have been on guard..." He then asked with a cold face, "Why haven't Akainu and Aokiji come back?"
"Oh, they seem to be fighting over claim of the Fleet Admiral position," Kizaru said with a resentful face. "By now I think they've already started fighting in Punk Hazard." He then asked, "Commander, do you want me to forcefully recall them?"
"Never mind!" Kong shook his head, glancing at Chief of Staff Tsuru and Garp. He said in a deep voice, "I know you all support Aokiji, but the Five Elders believe that Akainu is more suitable for the position of Fleet Admiral, so... Let the two of them fight to decide the outcome!"
"Oh, that's right..." he continued. "Let's increase the bounty for that kid, Adrian. Let's make it 5 billion."
"What?!" The faces of the people changed again.
"Commander, increasing the bounty by 2 billion... This is a precedent that has never been seen in 800 years!" Kizaru exclaimed, his face extremely ugly.
If Adrian's bounty was directly adjusted to 5 billion Berries, then he would become the only pirate to reach the 5 billion mark after Gol D. Roger and Whitebeard. He would directly surpass Shanks's 4.0489 billion, Big Mom's 4.388 billion, and Kaido's 4.611 billion. He would become the person with the highest bounty on the sea today, with his 5 billion Berries he would surpass Whitebeard's with only 46 million. The only one who could widen the gap with him would be Gol D. Roger, whose bounty was 5.5648 billion Berries. However, Adrian was only 18 years old. It was inevitable that he would surpass Roger in the future.
However, before Kong could explain, Garp, who was holding a parasol, suddenly spoke.
"Instead of caring about the boy's bounty, it's better to consider whether he will attack Akainu and Aokiji..." Garp said. "With that kid's sinister and vicious personality, he wouldn't miss such a good opportunity, right?"
As soon as this remark came out, the office fell into a dead silence. Even Kong was shocked by Garp's words. After his sharp eyes quickly turned to the chief of staff, she nodded to him firmly.
"Kizaru, go and stop the battle between Akainu and Aokiji right away," Kong commanded. "The support fleet will arrive later. We must not let the two of them get into trouble again!"