Thanks to Uncle Gaban's connections in Elbaf, plus Aus's own insane strength and status, the giants showed zero hostility. They even invited him to visit Elbaf again sometime.
Aus agreed instantly. He'd definitely go back eventually—just not now. Too much shit to handle first.
Under Dragon and Vegapunk's weird stares, Aus hit it off with the giants immediately. His social skills were off the charts, and soon he had Gerth chatting away excitedly.
Later, this wild female warrior actually pulled Aus into a bear hug, his entire head disappearing into the abyss. Nearly suffocated him.
Aus could've fought back.
But why the hell would he?
Since the giants were here on business though, Aus didn't waste too much time. Just left them with one message before saying goodbye:
"Tell Saul not to worry about little Robin. She's doing just fine."
...
After the giant meet-and-greet, Aus flashed back to Dragon and Vegapunk's side. Next to them stood a cold young man carrying a black blade.
"My bad, Hawk-Eyes. Forgot to bring you and the ship when I teleported over."
Mihawk just crossed his arms and closed his eyes. Couldn't be bothered arguing about it.
The group walked across what used to be Ohara, now a wasteland. Seeing the menacing duo of Aus and Mihawk, Dragon finally couldn't hold back:
"So... someone like you coming to find us—what's the deal?"
He stared hard at Aus's expression, looking dead serious.
"Just a small thing."
They reached a flat spot in Ohara's ruins. A massive boulder materialized behind Aus, and he plopped down casually, grinning:
"Heard one of your guys has a pretty interesting ability."
"You mean..."
"That's right—Okama King Ivankov!"
Hearing that name, Dragon suddenly got fired up, speaking with righteous fury: "Ivankov is my comrade! I'll never hand him over to you!"
Seeing Armament Haki instantly coat Dragon's hands and those blue-green wind wisps, Mihawk drew Yoru from his back, ready to unleash hundred-meter sword slashes at the first wrong move.
"Easy there..."
But Aus calmly waved them down.
"Never said I was taking him. Just got some things to clear up."
Maybe seeing Aus really had no hostile intent, or catching Vegapunk's meaningful look, Dragon backed down first, the power fading from his hands.
"I'm not some evil pirate. Relax.
Sure, I could beat you down if I wanted, but there's no point. Don't need to make enemies for nothing."
Then Aus smiled and snapped his fingers.
Treasure chests appeared everywhere—dozens of them, all wide open.
Inside: stacks on stacks of Belly, so bright it hurt to look at.
"This..."
Seeing Aus's casual "help yourself" gesture, Dragon's eye twitched hard. He glanced at the tongue-wagging Vegapunk and stepped forward.
He randomly grabbed a stack from one chest. All maximum denomination bills, brand new and reeking of fresh factory ink.
Kinda harsh on the nose, but to Dragon, this smelled better than gourmet food.
The Revolutionary Army was broke as shit!
Meanwhile, Vegapunk's eyes lit up too.
Sure, the World Government funded his research, but that came with strings attached. If Dragon's territory wasn't dirt poor, he wouldn't be doing black ops work for those bastards.
What scientist doesn't love unlimited funding?
Without money, even genius brains were useless. Can't cook without ingredients.
"I've got everything except money problems."
Seeing the hunger in both men's eyes, Aus's grin widened.
He crossed his legs as a thick wad of cash materialized in his hand, then casually tossed it into the wind without a care.
That scene made Dragon's eyes go bloodshot!
Goddamn it—that handful was at least several hundred thousand Belly!!!
He immediately used his powers to blow the scattered bills back.
Aus didn't give a shit.
Like he'd said—when you control the world's entertainment, gambling, funeral services, "special" services, transportation, media, lending, warehousing, arms dealing, brokerage... you discover something magical:
Money becomes a basically infinite number!
Even without controlling the entire underground world yet, just through Morgans, Sami, Doflamingo and others' industries and assets, Aus had become a solid trillionaire. Maybe more.
Once the remaining holdouts surrendered, that number would multiply several times over.
With the entire underground world's power, running out of money was literally impossible!
"Know you're broke, so consider these dozens of chests my investment."
Before Dragon could look happy, Aus crossed his legs with that "money means nothing" attitude and said slowly:
"But I've got conditions."
Snap.
Dozens of treasure chests slammed shut, locks clicking tight.
Of course there was no free lunch. If there was, it definitely had rat poison mixed in.
Dragon seemed to expect this, quietly waiting for the rest.
"I want Ivankov banned from doing gender surgery on anyone without my permission. And he operates on whoever I send him, no questions asked."
Hearing that condition, Dragon froze.
No... it wasn't unacceptable. It was too acceptable.
That's it?
He was actually thrilled. Ivankov's ability, which seemed pretty unremarkable to him, could pull in this much investment for the Revolutionary Army?
"I can agree to that for Ivan!" Dragon rushed to accept, like he was afraid Aus might change his mind.
Not only money but connections with someone this powerful—pure upside for the Revolutionary Army's future!
"Don't celebrate yet."
Aus squinted.
"Course, if I find out he did secret surgery on someone, the consequences will be nasty. Disbanding your little group would be getting off easy."
On the sidelines, Vegapunk watched everything with helpless eyes, tongue hanging out.
Dragon was still too young.
Let someone else control your economic lifeline—enjoy the short-term benefits, pay the long-term price...
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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