"Kaidou... you really made a mess of things..."
Not long ago, right when the news spread, Arceus quickly received the intelligence Shaina brought over. The wording was clearly from the Navy's official style.
What's certain is that Kaidou is fine; otherwise, the newspapers would have been loudly celebrating their victory.
Moreover, the photo's content was evident; the image of Kaidou retreating on the "Eight-Headed Evil Dragon" was quite clear.
In the past, Kaidou often stirred up trouble, but it was just minor skirmishes, at most sinking a warship and causing a ruckus in a branch. But this time, destroying most of the G-1 Branch had an entirely different level of impact.
War is a money-burning exercise, and at this time, the Hundred Beasts, for their future development, needed a substantial amount of funds. The Hundred Beasts Fruit was a significant financial tool, and with Kaidou causing such a ruckus, it could very well lead to some adverse effects.
It was around this time that Shaina brought some new news.
"Lord Arceus, Tesoro just sent a communication. He said World Government officials want to discuss something with him."
"Tell him to go without worry; nothing will happen. Give him that location. If things seem off, head there, and someone will assist him.
As for the content of the talk, he can accept anything he finds reasonable."
So Tesoro received the message, and he got a very special address. Before this, he had no idea what significance it held.
But he chose to trust unconditionally.
He wasn't nervous at all. Dealing with Kaidou's matters wouldn't involve him, and there was no news at all from the Heavenly Celestial Dragon side. Even if the World Government could restrain those officials, they couldn't control the Celestial Dragons.
Most Celestial Dragons wouldn't care about this kind of thing; they would prioritize their own interests first. Since there was no news from them, theoretically, this wasn't a major issue.
The address Arceus gave him was quite ordinary, but beneath it was a tunnel leading to a safe zone, a project originally done by Onix that the people above knew nothing about; an underground tunnel had already been dug on the Red Earth Continent.
They never imagined such a thing, like termites, where traces are hard to find until significant damage occurs.
Before long, Tesoro arrived at the meeting place upon invitation. Seeing an old acquaintance in front of him, his demeanor became more natural.
"Ahaha, isn't this our old friend? Why the long face? Isn't it better to relax a bit?"
This was the counterpart's private office, filled with many golden ornaments, all gifts from Tesoro. Seeing those golden objects, Tesoro's smile became genuinely sincere. If he wanted, those items influenced by his powers could instantly transform back into lethal weapons.
"Tesoro, let's cut the chatter. We both understand the situation behind this. The higher-ups aren't pleased this time, but there's not much I can do."
"Same here; I can't stop whatever the higher-ups decide to do. So, what do you mean by that...?"
Tesoro tapped his fingers on the table, and the official understood, revealing a smile.
"We're friends, after all. I vouched for you plenty in meetings. But your taxes will increase a bit this year due to the heavy losses."
"I see, got it..."
Breaking things during a fight requires compensation, treated quite lightly without further probing for specifics.
"Additionally, there's a verbal agreement you need to convey; he needs to tone things down."
He was referring to Kaidou, something everyone was aware of. The World Government didn't take the opportunity to demand some special technology. They had tried discussing it before, but Hundred Beasts never agreed to such transactions.
Earlier, Arceus' call had given him significant autonomy, and Tesoro, after weighing the situation, agreed to this request. However, there were no paper documents, and negotiations between the World Government and pirates were not uncommon.
The Op-Op Fruit transaction, Shanks entering and exiting the Five Elders' office, as long as one's status and position are enough, or they bring enough value, the World Government will be very cordial and friendly.
But they wouldn't leave any written evidence or leverage. Nobody could guarantee how long this verbal agreement would actually be effective; it was merely to keep everyone's appearances intact temporarily.
Ultimately, this issue didn't impact the Hundred Beasts Fruit and only reduced the year's income slightly. If the World Government had targeted the Hundred Beasts Fruit extensively, it would have affected their revenue much more, which Tesoro believed was currently the best outcome.
The matter only involved the Hundred Beasts and didn't affect the Hundred Beasts Fruit; the decision was all due to interests.
Because of these issues, Sengoku was puzzledly communicating with the Five Elders.
Even the Navy itself needs World Government's consent to fully engage in combat with a Sea Emperor. Such top-level military action requires Five Elders' approval.
Though newspapers glossed over the truth, the G-1 Branch attack was a blow to the Navy's reputation.
Sengoku originally thought there would be some actions taken, but he was surprised that the World Government made no arrangements and merely required existing plans to remain unchanged, not allowing strategic deployment of forces for combat.
This order left many loopholes, though without meaning, as without marshaling forces, a lone warship couldn't possibly defeat the pirates on their home ground.
"Saint Saturn, why? The injuries among the Navy in this battle were severe. Are we just going to do nothing?"
Before Sengoku was just one of the Five Elders, who had a scar on his face and a head full of hair tuft.
"This is the World Government's order; you just need to follow it."
"But... in this battle, Mouse was severely wounded, Bogard lightly injured, the G-1 Branch was destroyed in over half, and there were casualties..."
"Sengoku, the World Government isn't interested in these details. We've resolved this matter through negotiation. The funds allocated to you will be enough to reconstruct two G-1 Branches, and personnel compensation can be doubled.
The Government doesn't want the current balance disrupted; do you understand?"
Saturn's gaze turned hostile, with his tone escalating, directly stating the final stance.
No Heavenly Celestial Dragon was kidnapped, and although ordinary soldiers had significant casualties, the higher-ranked officers, for the most part, were unaffected.
Mouse himself was still alright, though he underestimated the poison of the Eight-Headed Evil Dragon and was severely injured and comatose. To the Five Elders, those ordinary soldiers were just numbers.
Subtract them, and then just add them back.
What they provided the Navy was just a portion, showing how much revenue the Hundred Beasts Fruit garnered annually. Neither the World Government nor the Heavenly Celestial Dragons' families were willing to let go of this pie, hence the "negotiations."
"Yes....."