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The matter came down to the World Government's plans against Ikki. He hadn't let Dragon keep that fact hidden from Whitebeard. Only by laying out the full reasoning, he believed, could Whitebeard truly understand and commit to working with him. Without that honesty, there would be no cooperation with the Whitebeard Pirates at all.
"So that's how it is. The World Government means to move against Ikki. His actions were retaliation, then," Whitebeard said.
"Just as you say. Ikki does intend to strike back at the World Government," Dragon said.
"Now I understand how your Revolutionary Army came to ally with him. In a way, the two of you share an enemy. But if the World Government already has him in its sights, then he's mired in his own crisis. On what grounds does he make demands of us?" Vista sneered.
It would have made sense if Ikki stood on solid footing with Marine Headquarters and the World Government, still finding room to press the Whitebeard Pirates for something. But that wasn't the case.
Helping the Whitebeard Pirates was already going to cost Ikki his seat among the Shichibukai, and by Vista's reasoning, he stood to lose that seat whether he helped them or not. As far as Vista was concerned, Ikki had no standing to make demands of them at all.
The rest of the crew nodded along. What right did a man like Ikki have to make demands of a crew sailing under one of the Four Emperors? If anything, shouldn't it be the Whitebeard Pirates making demands of him? Their attack on Marine Headquarters would already be doing Ikki a favor, given his own troubles with the World Government. If anything, he owed them something in return, not the other way around.
"Ikki can help you rescue Ace. Is that not enough?" Dragon asked. "Or would you rather tell me your Whitebeard Pirates are confident enough to pull Ace out of Marine Headquarters, where most of the Marines' strength has gathered, without his help? And even if you succeed, can you bear whatever price comes with it?"
What was that supposed to mean?
"Damn Revolutionary Army, how dare you look down on the Whitebeard Pirates," someone shouted. "We're nothing like you people, hiding in the shadows. We don't even count the Marines as a real threat."
"Dad, don't waste your breath on him. Let's just be done with this," another voice called, and the crew took up the cry together.
"Quiet."
Whitebeard raised a hand and the crew fell still. He studied Dragon for a long moment before speaking, his voice low.
"Say that man Ikki is as confident as you claim. Once Ace is free, will we truly be expected to hand over the famous swords, mine and Vista's both?"
Dragon's mouth curved into a faint smile. He could tell Whitebeard was already leaning toward yes.
"Ikki believes the Whitebeard Pirates are men of their word. As long as he does his part at Marine Headquarters and Ace is free, he trusts that you'll keep your end of the bargain and hand over what he's asked for," Dragon said.
"Gurararara, what an interesting fellow."
Whitebeard's laughter rolled out across the deck. When it faded, he looked down at Dragon, his tone turning serious.
"Then here's how we'll do it. If Ikki truly helps us rescue Ace, I'll hand over the Murakumogiri myself. And if he doesn't hold up his end of it, I'll cut him down after."
Whitebeard had no doubts about his own odds of pulling Ace free. He wouldn't have called this war otherwise. If the odds had truly been zero, he would never have gone through with it, not even at the cost of his pride, because doing so would have meant throwing his other sons straight into the fire, and a father who valued his family the way he did couldn't stomach that.
As for the Murakumogiri itself, Whitebeard suspected he didn't have much time left in this life regardless. Valuable as the sword was, it wasn't so precious that he couldn't part with it. If trading it could buy Ace's freedom and cut down on the losses the crew would take fighting Marine Headquarters, he was more than willing to let it go.
"Don't worry. I believe Ikki won't let you down," Dragon said, then turned toward Vista, the flower swordsman standing at Whitebeard's side. "And you? Are you still willing to offer your sword in exchange for his help?"
Vista nodded firmly. If even his father had agreed to this, there was no room left for the son to object. It was only a pair of swords. Once they were gone, they were gone, and no one could take anything more from him after that. Losing a crewmate would hurt far worse than losing a sword ever could.
"Then it's settled. I'll take this back to Ikki. You can judge him by what he does at Marine Headquarters."
With that, Dragon rose into the sky and was gone from their senses before long.
"Dad, do we really have to go through with this? You're just handing your sword over to a stranger?" Marco asked, his expression grave.
"We don't need Ikki's help to win this, Dad."
"Vista, that sword's been with you for thirty years. Are you really going to throw it away?"
"Maybe we shouldn't be working with him at all. We can handle Marine Headquarters ourselves."
The crew argued back and forth among themselves until Whitebeard's laughter cut through it.
"Gurararara, that's enough out of all of you. My mind's already made up. Your lives matter more to me than my sword, or Ace does."
He looked over at Vista once his laughter died down. "Vista, I'm sorry to ask this of you, but I need you to give up your sword."
Vista shook his head immediately.
"No, Father. I'm not doing this because you ordered it. I mean to trade my sword for Ikki's help on my own terms. I've always thought there was more to that man than meets the eye. His help could matter more than any of us realize."
Whitebeard nodded at that, satisfied. For all that he carried himself like a brute, he was one of the Four Emperors for a reason, and he kept a careful eye on the currents of the sea. Ikki in particular had drawn his attention more than most, especially given that no word had ever surfaced of Ikki and Blackbeard clashing in that underground city.
"Then it's decided. We wait for the war with the Marines," Whitebeard murmured, setting the final word on the matter.
Time moved quickly after that. The next day arrived before anyone felt ready for it.
The moment Ikki woke, he wasted no time invoking his system privileges. The door to the gym swung open before him.
"Morning, Belo Betty. All by yourself in here?"
Ikki greeted her with an easy smile, finding her already running on the treadmill.