One Piece: Starting with Sign-in Naruto Character Cards

"You said it yourself earlier, I'm just a Vice Admiral. I have no authority over this matter right now!"

"So go deliver the message. I'm giving you half a day."

After Rikuya Kazama said this, he turned around without another word and walked straight into the tavern nearby.

Douglas Bullet and the others looked at each other, then hurriedly followed him in.

Once everyone was inside, Garp finally turned to Vice Admiral Tsuru.

"What now? Should we report this to the higher-ups?"

Tsuru couldn't make up her mind at that moment and instead asked Garp for his opinion.

"Let Sengoku know. If they really plan on making a move, then we'll just have to fight them head-on."

Garp sighed and shook his head.

He hadn't expected things to escalate to this point.

If he'd known Rikuya Kazama would be this hard to control, he would've joined Akainu and the others in defying orders from the start.

With himself, Akainu, and a group of Vice Admirals, no matter how powerful Kazama was, there's no way he could've escaped unscathed.

But now, having already driven Akainu and the others away, it was no longer realistic to call them back.

So if the higher-ups ultimately rejected Kazama's demands, Garp and Tsuru would have no choice but to face those four themselves.

What's more, Garp was still shocked that even after unleashing a fully charged strike, all he managed to do was crack that transparent barrier ball.

Unless absolutely necessary, he really didn't want to start a full-scale conflict with Kazama and his crew right here.

Tsuru quickly went to report the situation. Sengoku, upon receiving the message, wasted no time and immediately contacted the highest authority of the World Government — the Five Elders.

Meanwhile, in the tavern, the atmosphere was rather cheerful.

After all, they had just successfully forced back the Admiral-led unit and even made the Hero of the Marines, Garp, hesitate to act.

Even Bartolomeo, who had previously been disgruntled and resentful toward Rikuya Kazama, had now taken the initiative to massage Kazama's shoulders!

Kazama himself wasn't too surprised by the outcome. What bothered him, however, was that he didn't earn any reputation points from the fight.

The main reason was that neither side had taken any real damage.

Looking at the mere hundred thousand or so reputation points he had left, Kazama decided that in the future, if something could be done by his own hand, he'd do it himself. Letting others handle things was clearly getting him nothing in return.

After a half-hour secret discussion with the Five Elders, Sengoku finally received a decision.

With new instructions in hand, Garp and Tsuru returned to the tavern together.

Inside, Kazama and the others were sipping on rum. Upon seeing Garp enter, they all set down their glasses.

Garp slowly walked up to them.

"We got a reply. They think your demands are a bit much, but it's not entirely out of the question."

"Oh? So that means you're agreeing to our terms?"

Bartolomeo couldn't help but cut in.

"Hmph. Not that simple. The World Government says unless you take down the remaining Warlords of the Sea, there's no way they'll even consider sitting down at the table with you.

You're a smart man — you should know exactly what they mean."

Kazama smiled faintly upon hearing Garp's words.

He understood the message from the Five Elders perfectly.

If he wanted unprecedented privileges, he had to show real strength.

Even though he'd already brought Crocodile under his command, there were still six more Warlords of the Sea scattered across the world.

Only after proving overwhelming power would the World Government be willing to negotiate with him.

"Hmph. Take down the rest of the Warlords in a short amount of time? By the time that's done, the whole point will be moot."

Crocodile scoffed in displeasure at the proposal.

"Didn't you get taken down in just a few days?"

Vice Admiral Tsuru couldn't help but mock him right then and there.

Crocodile was left speechless.

It was true — he had been defeated by Kazama in less than a day.

Just then, Rikuya Kazama spoke up again.

"If you want to fight me, with that laundry-day Devil Fruit of yours, I promise I'll flatten you in three moves. Wanna bet?"

Seeing Crocodile mocked like that, Kazama stepped up — after all, he was the undisputed leader of this crew.

Hearing Kazama defend him, Crocodile felt a wave of warmth in his heart and began to hold genuine respect for Kazama.

"Enough chatter. Take down three more Warlords, and we'll personally escort you to Mary Geoise.

At that point, whether or not you can negotiate with the World Government — that'll depend on your abilities."

Seeing the argument going in circles, Garp laid the cards on the table.

In truth, this was the real message decided upon by the World Government and Sengoku. He just hadn't planned to say it all at once earlier.

From his perspective, he actually hoped Kazama could wipe out all six remaining Warlords in one go.

But Kazama and his crew weren't fools. Faced with such unreasonable demands, there was no way they'd agree.

"Hmph. You could've just said that from the start. Would've saved your partner from getting roasted."

Kazama sneered, then downed the rest of his rum in one gulp.

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