Chapter 156: Are You Declaring War on Me?
"I feel... this should just be a coincidence."
"A coincidence? I certainly hope it's a coincidence, but I generally don't believe there can be such coincidences in this world."
The arrival times of the ships were only given as an approximate timeframe. The World Government only issued general orders and didn't care about the details.
The detailed escort missions were carried out by the Marines.
"It seems there are still quite a few people in the Marines who are dissatisfied with me. Are they trying to make a joke out of this here?"
Nereus's voice wasn't loud; it was more like he was talking to himself. Yet, Harald heard it clearly. Originally calm, he almost instinctively gripped the giant sword at his waist.
If something major was really going to happen, Harald would still choose to stop Nereus.
"Don't be so tense. I'm not a child; I won't make a move on an occasion like this.
I'm just curious about what the Marines are thinking."
Although the Marines were an organization under the World Government's jurisdiction, it couldn't be said that they were of one mind from top to bottom. At least given the Marines' situation, the majority were dissatisfied with Nereus.
Having killed so many Marines, Nereus didn't find it strange that some within their ranks held hostility toward him; rather, he found it completely normal.
If it was a coincidence, it didn't matter. But if certain individuals in the Marines had deliberately arranged the routes to make things happen so coincidentally, Nereus didn't intend to play into their hands.
Although he himself indeed had some issues with Chaplin of the Doel Kingdom.
Back when the wanted poster for Harding was issued, Chaplin had similarly issued a condemnation in the newspaper.
The general gist was that Harding was a citizen of the Doel Kingdom, and even if he committed a crime, he should be dealt with by the Doel Kingdom itself. The Ryugu Kingdom's actions were unreasonable.
However, Nereus hadn't cared about what the other party said back then; a war of words in the newspaper was meaningless.
Now meeting face-to-face, Chaplin seemed to not have forgotten the matter. Even though he was wearing sunglasses, Nereus could feel that Chaplin's gaze had been constantly directed towards him.
But he likewise had no intention of lashing out. If a nation's King were to start a physical fight here in public, regardless of the outcome, it would easily become the laughingstock of the sea the next day.
"Dressrosa—King Riku has arrived!"
The arrival of a new ship broke this brief silence. The Red Port wasn't just one location; there were two. Whether it was on the New World side or the Paradise side, there was a port serving the same function.
Nereus was actually taking the New World side, which was why he encountered kingdoms from the North Blue and West Blue.
Under the Marines' strong escort, these ships naturally wouldn't charge straight into the reverse currents of Reverse Mountain like pirate ships; instead, they crossed the Calm Belt.
With the martial guarantee provided by the Marines' high-end combat power, this was not a difficult task.
After all, some countries were inherently located in the New World. They couldn't be expected to circumnavigate the entire Grand Line just to land on the other side.
"Nereus!"
"Yo, Dold. I told you we would meet again under different identities."
"I saw it in the newspaper earlier. Do you have any plans? I promised you before that if you raise any proposals at the conference, I will stand by your side."
King Riku Dold III wanted to touch base with Nereus first. Familiar countries often did this: I support your proposal, you agree with mine, exchanging some benefits with each other.
Understanding things in advance would save them from being caught off guard.
"Hmm... nothing particularly special. Just some maritime escort services, shipwreck salvage, or the mining of submarine mineral deposits, as well as some issues regarding the abolition of slavery."
Between nations, it was basically all about interests. In the face of sufficient interests, even some hatred could be temporarily shelved.
Aside from having attended the Levely a few more times than Nereus, Dold didn't actually have any advantages. The things the Ryugu Kingdom could achieve, Dressrosa fundamentally couldn't, nor did its geographical location possess the Ryugu Kingdom's uniqueness.
However, Dold's connections could save Nereus a lot of trouble. For example, Elizabello II of the Prodence Kingdom quickly became acquainted with Nereus through Dold.
Excluding Nereus and Harald, among the many Kings, Elizabello II was also one with top-tier combat power, bearing the moniker "The Fighting King."
His ancestral "King Punch" required accumulating power, but it was said that a strike unleashed at full power couldn't be withstood even by the Emperors of the New World.
Having two bubble elevators had an advantage: it could separate Kings who had conflicts. At the very least, the people from the Doel Kingdom and the Ryugu Kingdom didn't ride in the same elevator.
The propellers slowly pushed, and after a long climb, the gondola delivered the group atop the Red Line.
Harald came up from the side using his own method. The Red Line didn't have transportation vehicles sized for him, but this level of physical exertion couldn't stump him.
Nereus wasn't unfamiliar with this place either, but entering through regular means, rather than fighting or forcing his way in, was a first.
The elevator was just the beginning. After that, they had to traverse a long flight of stairs before truly arriving at Mary Geoise. This path wasn't easy for some pampered Kings.
But in order not to lose face in front of the other Kings, they gritted their teeth and endured, finally making it to the Social Plaza.
Before the conference officially opened, the Kings of various nations would have brief exchanges here.
"You are the King of the Ryugu Kingdom, the heretic from the bottom of the sea, right?"
At this moment, a discordant voice reached Nereus's ears. Looking toward the sound, it was exactly Chaplin of the Doel Kingdom.
"Heretic?"
"A non-human race like you setting foot on this land is simply an insult to it. Previously, you ignored my protests and, against my nation's citizen, Harding... Urgh..."
Before Chaplin could finish his words, his breathing suddenly became rapid. His body wouldn't obey him, and with a stagger, he fell directly to his knees in front of Nereus.
From beginning to end, Nereus hadn't taken a single step, though a faint red light flickered in his eyes.
If it weren't for the bad influence it would have at the Levely, Chaplin wouldn't have even had the chance to speak. Moreover, sometimes for this kind of person, losing face had a far greater impact than losing their life.
The strange noise coming from here attracted the attention of quite a few people. For those who didn't understand the inside story, they only saw a King inexplicably drop to his knees.
"It was your trick... wasn't it..."
His sunglasses blocked Chaplin's gaze, but it wasn't hard to hear the indescribable hatred mixed into his tone.
"That's not important. You'll learn in the future that merely losing face is an act of great leniency. I will ask you one more time right now: are you certain that guy Harding was your citizen?"
"Of course..."
"Excellent. You probably don't know that the person he attacked was not an ordinary Ryugu Kingdom citizen, but a soldier of the Neptune Army.
So, attacking my nation's soldier without cause... are you declaring war on me?"
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