Chapter 162: Can You Call It Stealing When It's the Marines?
Ren and the Marines couldn't possibly finalize a deal at one billion Berries per Ruin Guard—that price was absurd. Moreover, the Marines had moles in other factions, making it easy for them to learn what price Ren was offering to others.
Ultimately, the Marines placed an order for fifty Ruin Guards at six hundred million Berries each. That shameless Sengoku even insisted that Ren throw in some swords, guns, and cannons as freebies.
However, since it was a thirty-billion-Berry deal, Ren didn't care about such a trivial profit and agreed.
Garp and the others had initially planned to set out to capture Ren, Shiki, and John, so naturally, they hadn't brought much Berriy with them. After searching through all their ships, they couldn't even come up with enough money for a single Ruin Guard. This caused Ren to look at them with a strange expression.
Qiuyue, being unable to hold her tongue, said directly in front of them, "Lord Ren, are the Marines this poor? They can't afford even one but want to buy fifty. Don't tell me they plan to just rob you?"
Sengoku's face turned as red as a pig's liver as he gritted his teeth and said, "How can you call it robbing when it's the Marines?"
This was followed by some incomprehensible talk about "a gentleman in dire straits," "unpaid wages," and "the Marines have no surplus provisions."
Ren chuckled to himself, but he wasn't worried that the Marines couldn't actually pay up. After all, the Marines were an organization of that scale. Across the Four Blues and the Grand Line, the total number of Marines might even outnumber all the pirates in the world.
For instance, during the Marineford War, the Marines alone had one hundred thousand elite soldiers. But what about the Yonko who held sway in the New World? Their crews typically only numbered in the thousands.
When Shiki, John, and Ren fought this time, their combined forces only numbered eight thousand, and many of those were just cannon fodder to make up the numbers.
Three billion Berries might sound like a lot, but for the Marines, it wasn't an impossible sum to pay.
Besides, Ren would spend that money quickly anyway. Research and development was a money pit; no amount of funding was ever enough.
After being so bluntly insulted by Qiuyue, Sengoku and the others didn't have the nerve to stay longer. They said someone would come by later with the three billion Berries to discuss the business properly.
After all, Ren's battle had consumed nearly all of his Ruin Guard series, so he had no products to sell at the moment. Rather than waste time there, it would be better to go to the battlefield and salvage some Ruin Guard wreckage for research.
However, they were about to be disappointed. Ren had already had people collect all the wreckage. Even if there were any leftovers, it would be nearly impossible for the Marines to actually research anything useful.
There were two key components in a Ruin Guard: the modified technology of Pluton, and the electrical crystal that Ren had独创ly developed.
With those two safeguards, it wouldn't be easy for the Marines to make any significant breakthroughs.
Even if the Marines, with Vegapunk in their possession, managed to analyze the modified Pluton technology, it would only be scratching the surface. The real Pluton hadn't even been fully researched by Ren's own scientific team yet.
After seeing off the Marines, Perospero and Katakuri didn't plan to stay longer either. It was foreseeable that more factions would come to purchase Ruin Guards, and they would seem out of place if they were mixed among the big shots.
In the end, Perospero gritted his teeth and placed an order for ten Ruin Guards, spending five billion Berries at once—more valuable than Big Mom herself. Unlike the Marines, they had come with the intention of buying, so they naturally brought enough Berries, but they only paid a one-billion-Berry deposit.
"Alright, once the next batch of Ruin Guards is complete, Shutenmaru will deliver them to you."
Perospero nodded: "In that case, we'll use a Den Den Mushi to contact each other."
Just as Perospero had predicted, the number of visitors leaving the island didn't decrease; instead, they came in even larger waves. It wasn't just pirates, but some nations were also sending fleets to purchase them.
With these machines, they would be better able to defend against pirate incursions.
July thought for a moment. Perhaps in the future, when pirates attack a country, they'll dispatch Ruin Guards, and when the country defends itself, it will also dispatch Ruin Guards. This would evolve into a war between Ruin Guards.
Thinking about it this way, it seems the situation would return to the time when neither side had any Ruin Guards.
...
Wano.
Kurozumi Higurashi, disguised as Ren, once again arrived at the hidden port of Hakumai. This time, Shimotsuki Yasuie was standing beside him.
Looking at the man before him, Shimotsuki Yasuie always felt a sense of discord, as if this person was a bit different from the Daimyo of Kuri he had met last time.
But he couldn't quite put his finger on what was different. After all, they weren't familiar to begin with.
"Mr. Ren, are you really sure about your decision to set sail?" Shimotsuki Yasuie pushed that feeling aside and asked about something more important. The rental fees for the hidden port over the past two years had brought significant changes to Hakumai's finances. Looking at the bustling port now, he felt a hint of regret.
He shouldn't have rented out the hidden port at a fixed price. If he had taken a percentage of the trade as the fee, Hakumai might be rolling in Berries by now.
Even so, Shimotsuki Yasuie still had a certain resistance to the idea of setting sail.
In his eyes, opening the hidden port was already a huge step. But these were things that subordinates should handle. Ren, as the Daimyo of Kuri, was leaving his territory without authorization—who knew what could go wrong?
"Many matters overseas require my personal attention," Kurozumi Higurashi said with a stern face.
"But what about the administration of Kuri?" Shimotsuki Yasuie asked. He was worried that without Ren in charge, Kuri might return to its former chaotic state. The people had finally started living good lives; it would be a shame if things went back to the way they were.
"Don't worry. The security in Kuri is excellent. Besides, I have established the Three Commissioners. There are enough talented individuals to handle matters of administration, military affairs, and other areas."
"The Three Commissioners, you say?" Shimotsuki Yasuie nodded. He had heard a little about how Kuri was governed. The generals of the Three Commissioners were all direct confidants of Ren, completely trustworthy.
However, he heard that the generals of the Three Commissioners had been replaced in the past two years. Thinking about it now, they must have been sent overseas in advance.
Since "Ren" was determined to leave, Shimotsuki Yasuie wouldn't stop him. At most, he would just keep a closer eye on Kuri during his absence.
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Hey everyone,
I need to tell you what's actually happening.
I just got hit with mass cancellations. On top of being buried in academics until the 9th. I'm in deep financial trouble right now—like, genuinely don't-know-how-I-cover-next-month trouble.
I want to do more for you. I have another Naruto fic ready to drop the moment this academic hell ends. But I can't keep creating if I can't survive.
I'm not powerless about the work—I know I can deliver for you. But I'm powerless to stop the bleeding alone.
If you've ever thought about supporting, this is the moment. Not "someday." Now.
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