At present, there were two vacant seats among the Warlords of the Sea.
For those two positions, Cavendish and Urouge had been stirring up trouble everywhere, trying to expand their influence.
Their benchmark was Ace, who had once received an invitation to become a Warlord of the Sea.
Under Ren's guidance, the two of them had basically been following the same path Ace once took.
Even so, they still could not shake Edward Weevil's overwhelming advantage.
He was simply far stronger than the others.
But several days had passed, and Weevil still had not agreed to become a Warlord of the Sea.
That was the information fed back from Stussy's side.
The reason was simple: bargaining.
Weevil himself definitely did not have the brains for that. The one making decisions was his greedy mother—Buckingham Stussy!
She looked exactly as rumor described: heavy red lipstick, sunglasses, a cane in hand, short in stature, face full of wrinkles, and dressed in a leopard-print coat.
Arrogant, domineering, and ambitious, she was an extremely money-loving woman.
In the original story, after Whitebeard died in battle, it was she who pushed Weevil into becoming a Warlord of the Sea and hunting down the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Her goal was to seize the wealth Whitebeard had left behind.
Though apparently, she did not know that Whitebeard's fortune had all been sent back to his hometown.
What was even more noteworthy was that she, too, was a Stussy.
That was right.
This woman was the original body of CP Stussy—the template from which the clone had been made.
Her former identity had been a scientist on the Rocks Pirates, and she seemed to have had some technical involvement with Vegapunk as well.
Even the origin of her "son," Weevil, was highly suggestive.
Kizaru once commented that Weevil possessed the strength Whitebeard had in his youth.
But it was also possible that Weevil was the young Whitebeard, in a sense.
It sounded convoluted, but once one connected CP Stussy, the current Bakkin, and cloning technology...
It became very easy to arrive at the conclusion that Weevil was most likely a clone.
Weevil was Whitebeard's son in terms of genetics, and she was Weevil's mother, which in turn made her Whitebeard's woman.
Thus emerged a bizarre yet oddly plot-consistent formula.
There was clearly a long story hidden behind it all.
But for now, she was merely a greedy old hag.
Whitebeard's side had never treated those two as family—he might not even have known Weevil existed at all.
Otherwise, given Whitebeard's personality, Weevil might not have ended up following Miss Stussy around.
It was worth mentioning that, on the surface, the name she currently used was Miss Bakkin.
And right now, that greedy old woman was speaking aggressively into a Den Den Mushi.
Only after the person on the other end fell silent did she slowly say, "If you want my son to become one of the Warlords of the Sea, you'd better be prepared to pay a suitable price."
"Then what is it you want?"
The person on the other end seemed to have been replaced. A calm, firm voice took over from the original negotiator.
"Well now..."
Miss Bakkin glanced at her son, whose face broke into a foolish grin.
She could not help but smile smugly. "Of course I want wealth! Only money matters! Understand, idiot?!"
As long as she held that bargaining chip, she would never agree unless the World Government bled for it.
After all, they were the ones asking her for a favor.
"I see. In that case, let's talk properly. We'll meet at the church on Beli Island."
"Oh? So you know where we are?Well, as expected of CP agents. Since you're sending someone over... fine. Considering how earnestly you people have been begging these past few days, I'll grant you a meeting. Just remember to bring a proper gift. Otherwise... heh heh."
Bakkin sneered and hung up, already resolved to squeeze out a fortune.
A massive shadow suddenly loomed over her.
"Mom, it feels like something over there is watching us."
The one speaking was Edward Weevil, whose appearance was, to put it mildly, grotesque.
He had a rough, brutish face and a long crescent-shaped white mustache that curled upward.
His body was huge and obese, with an upper half bloated with flesh while his legs remained absurdly thin.
His hair hung all the way down to his legs, and the hair by his temples was braided on both sides.
Most eye-catching of all were the three horrifying scars on his body.
It looked as though he had once suffered terrible injuries—his entire left arm and even his head seemed to have been slashed or nearly severed—yet somehow he had survived and healed.
"Idiot, that's because you look so mighty. Of course people will stare at you."
"Really? Hehehe... then does that mean I—"
"There's no 'does that mean' anything. Move it already!"
Bakkin impatiently cut him off and started walking forward with her cane. "Hurry up. We're going to meet that CP agent. This is the perfect chance to extort a fortune."
Under his mother's urging, Weevil obediently followed.
Beli Island was located in the New World. It was an island with a mild climate, and the surrounding sea was relatively calm.
Since no particularly terrible natural disasters had ever struck it, it had become a leisure destination for residents of the surrounding New World islands.
At the same time, it flew under Whitebeard's flag, so no pirates dared offend it.
Quite a few people were wandering near the church, likely there to enjoy the scenery.
After all, the area around a church was usually the most picturesque.
Bakkin brought Weevil to the church entrance, and his enormous frame and vicious appearance directly scared off quite a few tourists.
"Mom... they seem to hate me?"
"They're just a bunch of idiots. You're my most precious treasure."
"Mom!"
Weevil's face filled with emotion, but Bakkin did not pat her son as usual.
Because ahead of them, those tourists who had just fled suddenly came running back at astonishing speed!
"Hey, hey! No way! That person actually showed up here!"
"Is something huge about to happen on this island?!"
"Forget that—avoid the direction he's heading and run!"
Voices rose chaotically one after another, spreading panic in every direction.
More and more tourists began fleeing, putting as much distance as possible between themselves and the original direction.
"Has that person come?"
Weevil asked stupidly.
"Aren't all those CP people just cockroaches? Creeps who like hiding in dark corners. Why would they—"
Bakkin frowned and looked toward the end of the road.
Then, in the very next second, her pupils shrank.
A figure emerged and slowly walked down the road. Everywhere he passed, no one dared linger nearby.
He looked incredibly young, probably not even twenty.
Black hair. Crimson eyes. Delicate, handsome features. Fair skin with a healthy flush, as warm and lustrous as fine jade polished over many years.
He looked like some perfectly ordinary boy next door, harmless and unremarkable.
But...
That face had appeared in the World Economic Journal not long ago.
As someone involved in the underworld, there was no way Bakkin would fail to remember that face.
She instinctively lifted her head, only to see an endless blue sky.
There was no thunderstorm natural disaster?!
Could it just be someone who looked like him?
No—ever since he became one of the Warlords of the Sea, no one should have dared impersonate him!
But wasn't it said that whenever he appeared, natural disasters would always follow?!
"Mom... that person..."
"Shut up!"
Bakkin barked, forcing Weevil into silence as cold sweat trickled down her forehead. "Stay quiet. He probably isn't here for us."
There was no doubt about it—she feared that absurdly young man.
But anyone who knew Demon Ren would understand that he was worth fearing.
In the underground black market, information on Demon Ren's whereabouts had already reached a bounty of 100 million Beli.
The last time a price like that had appeared was long ago, for the Lunarian race.
But the Lunarians had been valuable because of their racial traits and their near-inconceivable talent.
Demon Ren, however, was sought after because of his own strength and abilities.
Everyone in the black market knew who had put up the money: the Beasts Pirates, one of the Yonko crews.
They were searching for Demon Ren.
If that were all, Bakkin would not have been so wary.
He might be strong, yes—but her son was not weak either!
That was, if the Beasts Pirates had not clearly treated him like a great enemy, and if a certain confirmed piece of information had not spread through the underworld.
Yonko Kaido of the Beasts had indeed gained an extra permanent scar on his body.
And the one who had left that scar was—
Demon Ren!
And in the end, Kaido had still failed to keep him there.
Only someone who truly understood what kind of monster a Yonko was could appreciate the weight of such an achievement.
Bakkin, who had once sailed on the same ship as Kaido and later crossed paths with him again, was one of those people.
What is a monster like that doing here... Is there something on Beli Island worth his attention?
Though now that I think about it, could I sell information on his whereabouts?
But without evidence, it won't be worth anything. Should I pretend not to recognize him and secretly take a picture...?
Bakkin's mind turned rapidly, only to circle right back to money.
But suddenly, Weevil took a step forward and gripped his massive naginata.
Bakkin froze. Just as she was about to scold him, a wave of killing intent as vast as the sea crashed over them head-on.
"You two... are pirates, aren't you?"
At some point, Ren had already approached. In his hand was a broken blade.
He looked calmly at the mother and son as though he were looking at livestock awaiting slaughter.
A suffocating pressure, accompanied by terrifying killing intent, washed over the entire area.
The nearby tourists had already long since fled. Only Bakkin and Weevil remained so glaringly conspicuous.
"You wanna fight, bastard?! Then come try it!"
Weevil raised his naginata with a ferocious expression. Simple-minded as he was, all he wanted was to kill the enemy in front of him.
But the next moment, he cried out in pain as Bakkin viciously jabbed his leg with her cane.
"Shut up, you idiot!"
"Mom... it hurts. Sorry."
Bakkin poked him several more times viciously, and Weevil immediately quieted down under the pain.
Then she quickly turned around, pulled out a Den Den Mushi, and began dialing while shouting, "Don't attack! We're on the same side!"
"..."
Ren said nothing. He merely tilted his head slightly and tightened his grip on the Cursed Blade Thousand Edge.
"I'm serious! Weevil is about to become one of the Warlords of the Sea! Warlords aren't allowed to fight each other, right?!And if that's not enough, I'll call the World Government right now! They can ver—"
Before Bakkin could finish, the Den Den Mushi on the other end began to go Buru Buru.
Ren expressionlessly took out his own Den Den Mushi, and his indifferent voice rang out both from in front of Bakkin and beside her ear.
"Were you looking for me? You could have just spoken to me directly."
At that instant—
Bakkin's entire body froze.
She had made the call.
So why was the one answering... the man standing right in front of her?!
(End of Chapter)