Chapter 196: Nereus, I'm Here to Surrender!
"Princess Nanamo, there's news from the New World. That guy Ochoku has come to Fish-man Island."
"Hm? What? He's knocking on our front door? Is he really that bold?"
Woken up from her afternoon nap by Hermes, Nanamo's first reaction was that Ochoku had come to attack.
After all, that baffling provocation earlier was strange enough. Thinking carefully, if Ochoku was trying to lure the tiger from the mountain to sneakily cause trouble while Nereus was away from Fish-man Island, it wasn't impossible.
"No, I must be groggy from sleep. Why would I even think that..."
Rubbing her face, Nanamo dismissed her previous thought.
She had grown up on Hachinosu, so she had a decent understanding of the members of the Rocks Pirates. Ochoku's strength wasn't at the bottom on Hachinosu, but he could only be considered middle-tier.
Moreover, Nanamo's inherent impression of Ochoku was that he was a complete coward.
Whenever there was a major operation, Ochoku always cowered and didn't dare advance, usually staying behind to guard Hachinosu. For someone like him to proactively attack Fish-man Island, he either had someone backing him up, or he had gone completely mad.
"Princess Nanamo, Lord Nereus is not here, so you must be cautious. What if this guy is also bait? A small suggestion: choose a location neither too close nor too far from Fish-man Island. This way, if anything unexpected happens, it's convenient for you to fall back, and underwater, we don't have to fear him causing any trouble."
Hermes grabbed a fan nearby, gently fanning her while offering his counsel.
Babel was guarding the Sabaody Archipelago, Sebastian was on an expedition, and Nereus was outside observing the situation. Aside from Nanamo, the only top executive capable of operating in the deep sea left right now was Sunbell.
Allowing Ochoku to land on the island might trigger some uncontrollable variables.
"That's exactly what I was thinking. I don't care what he's here for; we'll treat him as an enemy first. However... Hermes, go notify Uncle Sunbell. Tell him to get ready for battle. I'll handle the ocean floor myself."
Nanamo left Hermes inside the island. As a Homie, Hermes wasn't inherently afraid of water—clouds, after all, could be considered a form of water.
But in the deep sea, Hermes's effectiveness would be severely reduced. It was better to leave him on the island to prepare for any other incidents.
Before long, Ochoku met the representative of Fish-man Island at the bottom of the sea. It was Nanamo alone.
Nanamo didn't bring anyone else. Too many people would only hinder her movements.
What made her curious, however, was that Ochoku had actually come entirely alone as well. Aside from Ochoku himself, Nanamo couldn't sense the presence of any other living soul on that pirate ship.
"Ochoku, what are you trying to do by coming here?!"
Nanamo didn't mince words. Back in the day, Ochoku and Nereus never really had any sort of friendly relationship. At this point, it was impossible for her to treat him like an old friend.
Being called out by his full name by the brat from the island back then left Ochoku feeling a bit resentful. However, recalling the earlier news, this little girl who looked like she had barely grown seemed to be even stronger than the "Demon Heir" on Roger's ship.
In the deep sea, he practically had zero chance of winning against her. Factoring in his actual purpose for coming here, Ochoku's expression didn't change in the slightest.
"Did you come alone?"
"What? Looking down on me? To deal with you, I'm more than enough. If you want to chat with the Old Man, he'll be paying a visit to Hachinosu later..."
Before she could even finish the word "visit," Nanamo noticed Ochoku's expression morph from cold detachment to... utter sycophancy.
"Y-You... what exactly do you want?! Why are you smiling so disgustingly?!"
"Ahem. Nanamo, I was on Hachinosu the day you were born. If we really count, we're actually old acquaintances. I came here today to prevent any unnecessary flames of war from erupting between Fish-man Island and Hachinosu.
"I came here alone to show my absolute sincerity. Furthermore... I brought these."
Ochoku yanked off a tarp behind him, revealing over a dozen chests of glittering, dazzling treasure.
He had asked if Nanamo came alone for no other reason than to preserve a tiny shred of his own dignity.
Admitting defeat was one thing, but admitting defeat in private versus admitting it in front of countless pirates yielded two entirely different outcomes.
This was also why he came alone. In case he bumped directly into Nereus, if it was just him, dropping to his knees and begging for mercy wasn't entirely off the table.
Having too many people around would only hinder his begging motions. If he was pinned by his own pride, he might very well lose his life.
Seeing that it was Nanamo who showed up, Ochoku was actually quite delighted internally. After all, she was a total money-grubber; it was much easier to sway her with treasure.
No matter what, she was still Nereus's daughter and ought to have some say in the matter. If he could persuade her, Nereus probably wouldn't make too much of a fuss.
"Your 'sincerity' does look quite decent."
"Of course..."
Ochoku felt his heart physically ache. His title as the Godfather of Pirates was genuine. Coupled with his control over Hachinosu, plenty of pirates passed through, and he made a hefty profit on regular days.
But suddenly shelling out such a massive fortune wasn't exactly painless.
"Some people usurped my name and did some extremely out-of-line things. I feel there's no need for us to resort to arms over something like this... So..."
Ochoku briefly summarized the previous events, repeatedly emphasizing that he had absolutely nothing to do with it.
Ochoku was terrified that Nereus would actually lose his temper and issue another absolute maritime blockade. He didn't possess a convenient escape ability like a Teleportation Fruit. If he was targeted by a monster like Whitebeard, he'd be in serious trouble.
"So that's how it is. I understand. I will relay your words to my father. My Old Man isn't exactly a warmonger; this conflict should definitely be avoidable."
Ochoku chuckled and nodded along, while secretly cursing in his heart.
Nereus isn't a warmonger?! That man is an outright battle maniac! The kind who perfectly executes exterminating someone's entire bloodline to the ninth degree over a single disagreement!
But he kept these thoughts strictly inside. To be able to avoid a war, and without many outsiders knowing, was already the most satisfactory outcome Ochoku could hope for.
After Nanamo accepted the batch of treasure, Ochoku was just about to steer his ship and leave when he heard a sentence that shocked him to his core.
"I have received your sincerity. So, where's the portion for Fish-man Island?
"Do you think mobilizing so many of our men costs nothing? Food expenses, military expenditures, emotional distress compensation—isn't all of that money? Besides, you're asking us for a favor. You can't just expect to use your mouth and not spend a single berry, right?"
Ochoku pointed at the treasure Nanamo had just accepted. In his mind, that was the compensation he was paying.
But according to Nanamo's logic, that seemed to have just become his private bribe to her.
However, Ochoku wasn't surprised. In fact, with utter confidence, he opened several more chests located further back.
If Nereus had been the one to show up, Ochoku would have displayed a completely different attitude and offered everything right from the start.
But since it was Nanamo, Ochoku activated his backup plan. He didn't pull out all the treasure at once, specifically leaving room for negotiation.
Even though Nanamo hadn't haggled, in a way, he had handled the situation perfectly.
☆☆☆
-> 30 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you