More money?
He actually dared to ask for more money?!
Vinsmoke Judge stared intently at the smiling young Marine, feeling his heart convulse. An immense sense of humiliation surged through him.
"Bastard… You're declaring war on a member nation of the World Government!"
Judge's voice trembled with rage. He snatched the communication Den Den Mushi and roared into it.
"I'm going to report your atrocities to the World Government!"
However, only the "zzzt zzzt" of static came from the Den Den Mushi.
"Don't waste your energy." Kane cleaned his ear with an innocent look on his face. "The signal in this sea area isn't very good."
"This is your doing!" Judge realized instantly.
"How can you blame me for bad signal?" Kane spread his hands. "Maybe it's too cold, and the Den Den Mushi caught a cold."
Judge's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.
He looked at the three monsters outside, then at his fleet, which was completely frozen with its weapon systems utterly destroyed. A sense of powerlessness washed over him.
Technology?
In the face of these absurdly powerful Logia-type ability users, the technological army he was so proud of was as fragile as paper.
"What in the world do you want?" Judge suppressed his fury and asked in a hoarse voice.
"You see," Kane said, pointing at the devastated battlefield, then at Sakazuki's still-smoking arm.
"My colleague had to use his ultimate move to stop you, which is a huge drain on his stamina. Mr. Borsalino's flashes are very harsh on the eyes, and Mr. Kuzan can easily catch a cold from freezing the sea…"
Kane leaned closer to Judge, his smile as brilliant as a demon's.
"Add to that compensation for emotional distress, lost work time, warship depreciation, and the treatment fee for the psychological trauma you just caused me with your threats…"
He held up one hand, spreading his five fingers, 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 their sockets. "Why don't you just go rob someone?!"
"Aren't I robbing you right now?!"
Kane replied with righteous indignation, then sighed, his tone becoming compassionate.
"Look, I could have killed every single person here and dismantled all these scrap-metal ships of yours to sell for parts. But I didn't. Why? Because I'm a Marine who loves peace."
"I've given you a chance to atone for your sins with money. You should be thanking me. Just think about it, one billion Berries in exchange for the safety of your entire Germa Kingdom. That's a bloody good deal!"
Judge's chest heaved violently. He had never suffered such humiliation in his entire life.
A bloody good deal, my ass! And I have to thank you?!
He, the dignified King of Germa, the hegemon of the North Blue, was being extorted at his own doorstep by a mere upstart?
This was utterly outrageous!!!
"And if… I don't agree?" Judge ground out the words through clenched teeth.
"BOOM—!!!"
Before his words had even faded, a heatwave instantly engulfed the entire command room.
Sakazuki, who had been relatively "calm," now had half his body transformed into roiling, dark-red magma.
"Kane, I told you there was no need to waste words on this kind of scum."
Sakazuki's voice was low and raspy.
He raised his giant hand of magma, capable of melting anything, and the terrifying heat caused the very air around it to ripple.
"Since he doesn't appreciate the gesture, let's just erase this place completely. A family that brings chaos to the seas has no reason to exist in the first place! Meteor Volcano—"
As he moved, the dark clouds in the sky that had not yet dispersed were instantly dyed blood-red. Countless massive molten meteorites loomed within the clouds.
The scene was like the apocalypse.
"Ooh~ Sakazuki is really angry now~" Borsalino said, feigning fear, yet a blinding golden light also began to glow at his fingertips. "If you don't decide quickly, I won't be able to control this laser beam~ After all, my hand slips sometimes~"
Judge looked up at the apocalyptic scene above him, then at Sakazuki's eyes, which held no emotion, only pure killing intent.
At that moment, the psychological defenses of the North Blue's hegemon completely crumbled.
He realized that these people would actually dare to kill him!
To that magma maniac, one billion Berries meant nothing! The only one who could save Germa was the man named Kane!
"If you don't agree," Kane's voice rang out again, tinged with amusement, "then I can only watch with tears in my eyes as my comrades completely erase your sinful existence from this world."
"When that happens, forget one billion; you won't even be able to take a single Berry with you to hell."
Judge looked at the shadow of destruction overhead, his entire body turning cold.
He had no doubt that if he uttered a single "no," the entire Germa Kingdom would become a sea of fire in the next second.
After a long silence.
"...I'll pay."
As if all his strength had been drained in an instant, Judge slumped onto his throne.
Those two words had cost him nearly a lifetime of pride.
"Now that's more like it." Kane patted Judge's golden pauldron with a smile. "If you had just cooperated from the start, we could all still be good friends. Forcing my hand like this just hurts our feelings."
Half an hour later.
Dozens of large chests filled with Berries were carried out from the flagship's treasury by Clone Soldiers and placed carefully on the ice.
Kane personally went forward, opened one of the chests, and casually grabbed a handful of gleaming gold Berries, examining them in the sunlight.
"Mm, good quality." He nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Judge. "A pleasure doing business with you, King Vinsmoke. I hope I won't be seeing your fleet in places it shouldn't be again."
With that, Kane waved a hand behind him. "Pack it up! Time to go home and eat!"
Sakazuki snorted coldly and retracted the sky full of magma. Kuzan yawned and released the ice. Borsalino transformed into a flash of golden light and returned to the warship.
Watching the Marine warship slowly depart, Judge nearly ground his teeth to dust.
"Damn Marines… Damn Logia-types…"
"Just you wait! One day, I will tear you all to pieces!"
Judge stared intently at the distant sea horizon, a crazed flame of vengeance burning in his eyes.
"Commander-in-Chief, we..." a commander stepped forward, at a loss.
"Relay my orders!" Judge shot to his feet, a manic glint in his eyes. "Pour all of our resources into the final modification plan for the 'Lineage Factor'!"
"Not only will my children have superhuman physiques, but they will also possess… the power of demons!"
"For the shame of today, I, Vinsmoke Judge, will repay it a hundredfold!!"