More money?
He actually dared to suggest more money?!
Vinsmoke Judge stared intently at the smiling young Marine, feeling his heart twitch.
A massive surge of humiliation rushed to his heart.
"Bastard... You are declaring war on a member nation of the World Government!" Judge's voice trembled with rage.
He grabbed a communication den den mushi and roared into it.
"I will lodge a complaint against your atrocities with the World Government!"
However, only a burst of "zizzy" static came from the den den mushi.
"Don't waste your breath." Tatsuki picked his ear with an innocent look on his face. "The signal in this sea area isn't very good."
"It's your doing!" Judge reacted instantly.
"How can you blame me for a bad signal?" Tatsuki spread his hands. "Maybe the weather is too cold, and the den den mushi just caught a cold."
Judge's face turned grim. He looked at the three monsters outside, then at his fleet, which was completely frozen and had its weapon systems destroyed. A sense of helplessness washed over him.
Technology?
Before these unreasonable Logia users, his proud technological army was as fragile as paper.
"What exactly do you want?" Judge suppressed his anger and asked in a raspy voice.
"Look." Tatsuki pointed at the devastated battlefield, then at Sakazuki's arm, which was still emitting smoke.
"To stop you, my colleague had to use a big move, which consumes a lot of stamina. Borsalino's glint is very hard on the eyes, and Kuzan freezing the sea makes it easy to catch a cold."
Tatsuki leaned in close to Judge, his smile as radiant as a demon's. "Add to that mental distress fees, lost wages, warship depreciation, and the medical fees for the psychological trauma caused by your intimidation just now..."
He held out one hand, spread his five fingers, and then flipped it over.
"The current price is one billion Berries. Of course, I accept payment in gold."
"One billion?!" Judge's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Why don't you just go rob someone?!"
"Am I not robbing someone right now?"
Tatsuki replied righteously, then sighed, his tone becoming compassionate.
"Look, I could have killed everyone here and scrapped all your junk metal ships to sell. But I didn't. Why? Because I am a peace-loving Marine."
"I've given you a chance to atone with money, you should be thanking me. Think about it: one billion Berries in exchange for the safety of your entire Germa Kingdom. This deal is a total steal."
Judge's chest heaved violently. He had never suffered such humiliation in his life.
What "total steal"?! And he had to thank them?!
He, the dignified King of Germa and the overlord of the North Blue, was being extorted at his own doorstep by a brat?
This was simply too much!!!
"What if... I refuse?" Judge gritted his teeth, squeezing the words out.
Boom!!!
Before he could finish, a wave of heat instantly engulfed the entire command room.
Sakazuki, who had been relatively "calm," now had half his body transformed into rolling, dark red lava.
"Tatsuki, I told you there's no need to talk nonsense with such evil." Sakazuki's voice was low and raspy.
He raised a giant lava hand capable of melting everything. The terrifying high temperature caused the surrounding space to ripple.
"Since he doesn't appreciate it, then let's wipe this place out completely. A family that brings chaos to the sea has no reason to exist anyway."
With his movement, the clouds in the sky that hadn't dispersed were instantly dyed blood-red, and countless massive lava meteors loomed within them. The scene looked like the arrival of the apocalypse.
"Oh my. Sakazuki is really angry now." Borsalino said it was scary, but his fingertip lit up with a blinding golden light.
"If you don't decide quickly, I won't be able to control this Laser Beam either. After all, slips of the hand happen often."
Judge looked at the apocalyptic scene above him, then at Sakazuki's eyes, which held no emotion—only pure killing intent.
At this moment, the North Blue overlord's psychological defenses completely collapsed. He realized that these people really dared to kill him.
To that lava maniac, one billion Berries didn't matter at all. Only that guy named Tatsuki was the only one who could save Germa's life.
Tatsuki's voice rang out again, tinged with amusement. "If you don't agree, I'll just have to watch with tears in my eyes as my companions completely erase you evil beings from this world."
"By then, forget one billion. You won't even be able to take a single Berry to hell."
Judge looked at the shadow of destruction overhead, his whole body turning cold. He had no doubt that if he said "no," the entire Germa Kingdom would turn into a sea of fire the next second.
After a long silence.
"...I'll pay."
Judge seemed to have all his strength drained in an instant, slumping dejectedly onto his throne.
Those two words had exhausted almost all the pride of his life.
"That's more like it." Tatsuki smiled and patted Judge's golden spaulder.
"If you'd cooperated sooner, we'd still be good friends. Forcing me to take action just ruins the harmony."
Half an hour later.
Dozens of large crates filled with Berries were carried out from the flagship's treasury by Clone Soldiers and carefully placed on the ice.
Tatsuki stepped forward personally, opened one of the crates, grabbed a handful of golden Berries, and looked at them under the sunlight.
"Hmm, good quality." He nodded with satisfaction, then looked at Judge. "Pleasure doing business with you, King Vinsmoke. I hope I don't see your fleet appearing in places they shouldn't be anymore."
After speaking, Tatsuki waved his hand behind him. "Withdraw! Let's go home for dinner!"
Sakazuki snorted coldly and retracted the lava filling the sky. Kuzan yawned and released the ice. Borsalino turned into a flash of golden light and returned to the warship.
Watching the Marine warship slowly depart, Judge's teeth were nearly crushed from clenching.
"Damn Marines... Damn Logias..."
"Just you wait. One day, I will tear you all into pieces."
Judge stared fixedly at the distant horizon, his eyes burning with a frenzied fire of revenge.
"Commander-in-Chief, we..." A commander stepped forward, at a loss for what to do.
"Pass down my orders!" Judge stood up abruptly, his eyes flashing with a mad light. "Invest all resources into the final phase of the 'Lineage Factor' modification plan!"
"I will not only give my children superhuman bodies, but I will also give them... the power of devils."
"Today's humiliation, I, Vinsmoke Judge, will repay a hundredfold!"