Chapter 110: The Envoy Of Germa 66
Beneath the forest, in the hollowed-out mountain belly, there are interconnected caves. This is a branch base of the Revolutionary Army in the North Blue. The caves are half natural and half artificially modified. With enough supplies stored, they can accommodate nearly a thousand people living in these caves for a period of time.
A thousand people—this is the maximum capacity. In reality, there are not that many.
Currently, there are only over a hundred Revolutionary Army members permanently stationed in these caves. Even including companions like Sabo who are temporarily staying here, the number does not exceed two hundred.
“Hey, have you heard? The two people who just entered the meeting room with Lord Sabo are from Jermma 66!”
“Really? Are you sure it’s that Jermma 66?”
“Oh oh! The legendary evil army······ so impressive! I haven’t seen Jermma 66’s army yet. Do they really exist?”
“I don’t know if the legends are true or false, but I’ve seen Jermma 66’s army with my own eyes. Those soldiers all look identical, like monsters, and they don’t feel pain in combat······”
The stories of Jermma 66 are so deeply ingrained in people’s hearts, at least in this part of the North Blue. Even illiterate elders and children know the legends of the evil army Jermma 66. Even Revolutionary Army members cannot change the fact that they are people from the North Blue.
Sabo brought the prince and princess of the Vinsmoke family into the meeting room together.
At the same time,
Various rumors involving Jermma 66 immediately spread among the Revolutionary Army members stationed here. To be honest, the work of the Revolutionary Army isn’t all about dancing on the edge of a knife or practicing ballet on a tightrope every day. When there are no missions and they stay at the base to rest, it’s actually quite boring.
A new stone finally being thrown into the pond naturally created ripples.
In the meeting room,
Sabo was unaware of the heated discussion outside. His attention was focused on the sister and brother sitting across from him.
The small conflict outside just now did not escalate into combat. Vinsmoke Ichiji seemed arrogant and quick-tempered, but Reiju’s comment calling him an “emotionless machine” was quite accurate. He bore the mission of negotiating with the Revolutionary Army. If a fight broke out here, regardless of win or loss, it would be of no benefit to the subsequent negotiations.
Winning would hurt the Revolutionary Army’s face, and if the other side was petty, it would be even worse. Losing would diminish their own prestige and inevitably make the other side look down on them, equally unfavorable for future negotiations.
So,
There was no combat. The only ones who got a lesson were the giant snail that destroyed the forest and the habitual bickering between the siblings.
Three sets of tea sets were placed on the coffee table, with steam rising gently, but they could not obstruct Sabo’s gaze.
“Princess Reiju, Prince Ichiji, what business do you have with our Revolutionary Army?” After exchanging a few meaningless pleasantries and simply stating his name, Sabo got straight to the point and asked about their purpose.
Not long ago, intelligence from the Revolutionary Army’s informants placed across the North Blue reported that the Jermma Kingdom had come knocking, proposing a request to meet with the Revolutionary Army’s high-level leadership for a deal. Although they did not harm these intelligence personnel, they revealed a determination not to rest until their goal was achieved.
Dragon happened to still be in the North Blue. The intelligence reached the hands of the Revolutionary Army’s big boss. After thinking for half a minute, he agreed.
However,
The one meeting the envoy from the Jermma Kingdom was not him personally, but his disciple, Sabo.
“Sabo boy, our request is to meet with the Revolutionary Army’s high-level leadership! Can you tell your sister what position you hold in the Revolutionary Army?” Reiju asked with a smile. Although she was questioning that Sabo looked too young and didn’t seem like a high-level Revolutionary Army cadre, her kind and gentle tone made it impossible to feel any disgust.
“Secretary.”
The overly simple answer made Reiju raise an eyebrow.
How interesting!
“Secretary? Whose secretary are you?”
“Mr. Dragon has entrusted this meeting to me.” Sabo replied proudly.
This was not a lie, but the unadulterated truth.
He was fully authorized with the task of contacting the Jermma Kingdom. Originally, the work of liaising with the Eckmond Kingdom was also supposed to be handed to him, but their stay in the North Blue exceeded expectations, and cooperation with the Eckmond Kingdom could not be delayed, so the work that was originally his ended up on Max’s shoulders.
This left Sabo disappointed for several days!
He had prepared for a long time, ready to prove his growth to Mr. Dragon, but in the end, he didn’t get the chance to do anything. Fortunately, a new opportunity had arisen now.
Dragon······Mister?
Reiju’s smile stiffened for a moment. It was actually that world’s most dangerous criminal······ She originally thought meeting an army commander or the commander’s confidant would already be the limit, but unexpectedly, the Revolutionary Army’s leader popped up so abruptly.
It was a bit frightening, but it could also be considered a good thing.
Directly contacting such a high-level figure could greatly shorten the time wasted midway due to lack of decision-making authority and having to report layer by layer······
“Monkey D. Dragon, right? Good, I’ll get straight to it. Sell us your artificial dragon technology!” The eldest prince of the Vinsmoke family was a more complete modified human than his sister. He would not feel ‘pity or sadness’; even the fear of death was forgotten.
Even the world’s most dangerous criminal could not shake Ichiji in the slightest.
He bluntly stated what he wanted. “The artificial dragon technology—we need it. As exchange conditions, name your price. Whether Beli, Devil Fruits, or anything else, as long as the demands are reasonable, there are no issues.”
“Artificial dragon technology?”
Sabo’s eyebrows rose. This was······ unexpected, but upon closer thought, it made sense. The current Jermma Kingdom was a great power in technology. The clone army they produced—cold-blooded, ruthless, fearless of death, and absolutely obedient to orders—was a lingering nightmare for Jermma’s enemies.
The intelligence collected by the Revolutionary Army detailed the Jermma Kingdom’s fanatic pursuit of creating powerful soldiers. It was indeed reasonable for them to take a liking to artificial dragon production technology.
Unfortunately,
The Revolutionary Army did not have artificial dragon production technology. Even if they did, they would absolutely never trade such technology to a notorious country like the Jermma Kingdom.
“Sorry, we don’t have that.”
Sabo shook his head in denial.
“Others might not see the trick with those dragons, but they can’t fool our eyes. Those dragons are not natural creatures; they are artificial. You······ Sabo, right?” Ichiji leaned forward, closing the distance with Sabo, and issued a threat in a low voice.
“Don’t try to fool me with that nonsense excuse for idiots. The artificial dragon technology—we at Jermma are determined to get it. If you dare refuse, Jermma 66’s army is always ready for war.”
“I said, the Revolutionary Army does not have artificial dragon technology.” Unmoved by Ichiji’s threat, Sabo stood firm. Even the mighty World Government could not make the Revolutionary Army fearful—what was a mere Jermma Kingdom?
After all, he was not from the North Blue and could not understand the terrifying shadow that Jermma 66 had cast over this sea.
“Does that mean refusal?”
Ichiji’s question was as crude and direct as ever, his menacing tone suggesting he might resort to violence at any disagreement.
Sabo frowned.
What kind of situation was this? No one believed the truth—was this forcing him to lie?
“My answer is the same: the Revolutionary Army does not have what you want.”
“Then who does?”
Reiju smiled radiantly and asked softly.
Ichiji sat back properly, arms crossed over his chest. He did not fly into a rage as Sabo had feared. His face showed no trace of anger; his indifferent attitude was like unmelting ice.
“The Revolutionary Army does not have artificial dragon technology—so where do these dragons come from?”
Reiju pressed.
“This······ I cannot tell you two without the other party’s permission.” Sabo did not beat around the bush but stated directly that it was impossible.
Reiju’s eyebrows twitched slightly. She sensed how resolute Sabo’s attitude was. Words alone probably wouldn’t get more answers, but violence······ Before they came, their father had warned them not to use rough methods against Revolutionary Army cadres.
Ramming through with the giant snail earlier was already pushing the boundaries. The two of them absolutely could not strike first—at least, if a fight really broke out, it could not be them initiating it.
“We’ve been on the ship for so long; we’re a bit tired. Could we rest here temporarily?”
Reiju made a new request.
They had come fully prepared, anticipating various reactions from the Revolutionary Army and preparing corresponding countermeasures. For now, it seemed there was no room to continue the exchange. Rather than stalemating here, it was better to put it on hold temporarily—both sides needed time for internal discussions anyway.
Both sides were well aware that such a major matter could not be settled in one or two meetings.
There was still more haggling to do!
Sabo did not refuse the request to stay temporarily at this base and had someone take Reiju and Ichiji to the guest rooms to rest.
Once the two left, Sabo also got up and walked out of the meeting room. He turned a few corners in the mountain belly, arrived at the bathhouse, took off his clothes, carefully checked his body for anything suspicious like listening devices, then still jumped into the hot pool and soaked for a good while before climbing out and changing into another set of clothes.
After doing all this, he returned to his bedroom, took out the Den Den Mushi, and contacted Dragon, who was busy at another base, reporting the content of his conversation with the prince and princess of the Jermma Kingdom.
“······Artificial dragon technology? They’ve really set their sights on something troublesome!”
The Revolutionary Army’s supreme leader, Monkey D. Dragon, was in a bar on some small island, sitting in a secret room equipped with a white Den Den Mushi for anti-eavesdropping. He set aside the documents waiting for his signature in hand and focused his attention on the matter Sabo was reporting.
Jermma Kingdom,
This nation without fixed territory was nevertheless one of the foremost powerful countries in the North Blue, and also a World Government member nation—a rather troublesome influence!
Being entangled by such a local tyrant would bring no benefits to the Revolutionary Army’s development in the North Blue.
But he could not personally take action and destroy the Jermma Kingdom with martial power—that went against the Revolutionary Army’s style. If he did that, what difference would there be from the World Government or the Celestial Dragons? With the Revolutionary Army’s power, overthrowing the rule of dozens or hundreds of World Government member nations within the Four Seas was not difficult at all.
But that was not what the Revolutionary Army wanted.
Overthrowing old tyrants only to replace them with new dictators—such a revolution had no meaning.
Only through arduous and unyielding combat, making all the people realize they do not need a king and a group of nobles lording over them, shattering the Celestial Dragons’ sacred halo as self-proclaimed descendants of the creators, and establishing a world that may not be perfect but is at least better than now—this was the reason for their tireless struggle.
“Mr. Dragon, what next? Should we send the Jermma Kingdom’s envoys away?”
Sabo asked quietly.
He was somewhat frustrated.
He had originally been given full authority to handle contact with the Jermma Kingdom, but their demand involved the Black Prince monster, which exceeded his scope of responsibility. Not daring to delay major events due to his own petty thoughts, he contacted Dragon as quickly as possible.
“No, don’t rush. Let me think.”
Dragon closed his eyes in thought.
He racked his brains, pondering how to handle this matter to bring the best outcome for the Revolutionary Army.
“Black Prince······Jermma 66······” His low murmur was transmitted word-for-word to Sabo’s ear via the Den Den Mushi’s biological waves. Sabo held his breath, not daring to make a sound, waiting intently for Mr. Dragon to finish thinking.
About three or four minutes passed,
Dragon spoke again: “Sabo, tell them we can help contact the owner of the artificial dragon technology, but we are not responsible for the final result. Regardless of the outcome of the contact, as an exchange condition, the Jermma Kingdom must not take action against the Revolutionary Army in the North Blue. Also······ they are not to interfere in the wars of these countries.”
He named several countries, all kingdoms in the North Blue, without exception embroiled in large-scale civil wars where the king’s army and rebel army were fighting fiercely.
Then,
Dragon gave Sabo detailed instructions, telling him the final bottom line for bargaining, then handed the matter fully back to Sabo to handle.
“I understand.”
Sabo agreed.
