If possible, the Five Elders would rather not negotiate with Nereus at all. Even when Saturn previously questioned what Nereus had come here for, it was only because he couldn't understand why Nereus would launch an attack in the first place.
This was clearly not an opponent suited for negotiations. If talks dragged on, it might lead to endless future troubles.
But since their leader had spoken, they had no choice but to change their perspective and find a way to negotiate.
And for Imu to make such a decision was, in fact, normal.
In the original timeline, the Five Elders had maintained a good relationship with Harald. Harald had willingly worked tirelessly for the World Government, and many Giants had even joined the Marines as soldiers.
But Imu wanted more, and in one move forced Harald to the edge of a cliff.
Although the Marines still retained a certain number of Giant Vice Admirals, they lost Harald, a top-tier combatant. Overall, it was a disastrous loss.
Despite having known Imu for centuries, Saturn suddenly felt as though Nereus understood Imu better than he did.
[No… impossible. He doesn't know about the Boss's existence. This trip is only meant to force us to concede… just a lucky coincidence…]
Pushing that utterly impossible thought out of his mind, Saturn refocused on the negotiation before him.
Although the general framework had already been settled, many details still needed to be finalized.
Fortunately, this was a world where strength reigned supreme. Verbal agreements between the strong carried immediate effect. Otherwise, merely drafting and revising documents would have taken quite some time.
"Ryugu Kingdom, as a member of the affiliated nations, will have its rightful treatment restored. But how the world views you is not something we can control."
"That's something we'll handle ourselves. However, I want participation rights in the next Levely. This year, I already gave you face, I waited until the kings of every nation had left before launching my attack.
Otherwise, you would have had to watch this place be reduced to ruins right in front of all those kings."
Words and actions do not always align. Imu only instructed them to negotiate and approved the final outcome, but did not dictate the process.
That meant no matter how the negotiations proceeded, Imu would accept the result.
Thus, the Five Elders did not intend to interfere too much with Fishman Island. Nereus did not mind this at all and even changed his reason slightly.
The real reason he had delayed his assault by a few days was that he feared the kings might not be able to withstand the shockwaves of battle. The older ones might have dropped dead on the spot.
If that happened, it would truly become a worldwide terrorist incident, difficult to clean up afterward.
But that didn't stop him from using this excuse. After all, the fact that Nereus arrived only after the Levely had ended was an unchangeable reality.
"Participation rights in the Levely… that can be granted to you. Ryugu Kingdom originally had such a seat."
Saturn even had people retrieve some agreements from a castle that had not yet collapsed. They were contracts finalized over a hundred years ago. It was just that in recent years, Ryugu Kingdom's seat had been handed over to other nations.
As for who received it…
It was essentially auctioned off. Whichever nation paid more Heavenly Tribute got to attend the conference.
"However, the king of an affiliated nation cannot be a pirate. If word of that got out, what would become of the World Government's reputation?"
Warcury shifted the topic back to a matter of legal principle. The World Government was a very peculiar entity. You could say it abided by the law, yet in essence, its laws amounted to whatever Imu wanted to do.
When Imu was absent, that role fell to the Five Elders. If necessary, they could fabricate a brand-new law at any time.
And yet, the World Government could at times be considered trustworthy. Compared to pirates, who were steeped in betrayal most of the time, the World Government did often follow through on what it promised.
Take Bonney's case, for example. They had agreed not to lay a hand on her. Even when Blackbeard captured her, the one who went to take custody was Akainu, and Bonney was still able to leave unharmed.
Since they were negotiating with Nereus, they naturally had to steer the terms in their own favor.
"So regarding the position of king, you should…"
"You should just come up with a reason yourselves and erase the bounty."
"My point is, you could replace yourself with a puppet. With your strength, would controlling an ordinary person to act as king really be difficult?"
If they changed the king, at least they could communicate with Nereus through an intermediary. Should anything happen, they wouldn't have to face him directly. In the battle just now, the number of times they had been killed collectively was hard to even calculate.
Even if they could resurrect, none of them particularly wanted to confront him again at this moment.
"It wouldn't be difficult. But I refuse. I'm the one who came to negotiate, and I'll still be the one negotiating terms in the future. Letting someone else handle it would just be troublesome. If it can be dealt with, why not settle it once and for all?
Erasing a bounty, haven't you done that before?"
The Shichibukai system did not yet exist. Those whose bounties were erased were either captured or dead. It could be said that Nereus had just handed them yet another difficult problem.
"Perhaps we've been sitting too long. Maybe we need to stretch our bodies a bit?"
"…"
Seeing that Nereus seemed ready to resume fighting, Nusjuro quickly raised a hand to signal a pause.
The Five Elders ultimately understood Imu to some extent. If they disturbed Imu again over something that, which in Imu's eyes, could be resolved with a single word, yet they failed to settle it, the consequences would not be pleasant.
[Why bring this up in the first place?]
[It concerns our reputation, after all…]
[Boss wouldn't care about something like that. Agree to him, but don't actively erase the bounty. Just notify the Marine high command, how about that?
Bounty hunters and ordinary people don't have the ability to go after him anyway. That way, we can preserve our reputation.]
[And what about the Levely four years from now? We've already agreed to it. Once he shows up there, won't everything be exposed?]
At this moment, Nusjuro felt a strange sense of relief deep down. After all, in the earlier negotiations, he had been the one to create the issue of refunding 170 years of Heavenly Tribute.
Now Warcury had stirred up another problem, meaning he wasn't the only one at fault anymore.
Clearly, making a mistake alone was worse than everyone making one together.
That way, even if their superior pursued the matter in the future, others would share the blame.
If Saturn hadn't personally stepped in to handle things last time, perhaps the outcome would have been better.
[Looking at it from another angle, we actually have four years. We could do as suggested. Inform the higher-ups first, then wait a few years for the impact to fade before canceling the bounty.]
[And the justification?]
[He could render some meritorious service to the World Government, enough to offset his past actions. How about that?]
[That could work. But where would such merit come from? I don't think he would willingly work for us. How many people in this world possess strength comparable to his?]
[Isn't there… still Harald?]
At this very moment, Harald, still doing forced labor in the Florian Triangle, suddenly shivered, as though he had sensed an inexplicable chill.
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