Novel Chapter
"Looks like your mission went pretty smoothly, Lord Aus."
Sami couldn't hide her excitement as she clasped the Pure Gold-embedded necklace around her neck. A smile tugged uncontrollably at her lips.
She wasn't young anymore, so the side effects Aus and others might face—stunted growth or halted development—weren't her concern.
All she wanted now was to preserve her youth. Delay aging.
"Work hard for me, and you earn the right to share this wealth."
Aus smiled as he pressed a Pure Gold-embedded bracelet into the little maid's hand.
He had more than enough to spare. A fist-sized chunk of Pure Gold, used sparingly, could grant eternal life to hundreds—even thousands—of people.
Naturally, Aus gave it to those closest and most loyal to him.
And the old mayor, of course...
Aus leaned back, crossing his legs, mentally checking if he'd missed anyone. His Observation Haki suddenly picked up several oddly dressed figures entering the hotel.
White robes cloaked their bodies. Strange masks covered their faces.
"Interesting... noses sharper than dogs."
He crooked a finger. Several figures instantly appeared before Aus.
"This is..."
The newcomers froze, startled, then quickly realized what had happened as their eyes fell on Aus.
"Who sent you?"
Aus reclined on the sofa, legs crossed, two little maids hanging off him, fresh juice in hand. His gaze gleamed with amusement.
Like he was watching a pack of dogs.
"Mr. Aus, we're here on behalf of Saint Roland to negotiate a trade..."
"Wait."
Hearing that unfamiliar name, Aus cut them off mid-sentence. The CP0 agents' mouths instantly sealed shut by some invisible force. They couldn't make a sound.
"Saint Roland? I don't recall any of the Five Elders having that name."
Only after Aus finished speaking could they open their mouths again.
"That's correct..."
Before they could finish, their mouths sealed again.
"So... from the Holy Knights?"
"Saint Roland is not..."
"I see. Just an ordinary Celestial Dragon then?"
Hearing that, Aus finally lost interest. He drained his juice in one gulp.
Snap—
A finger snap. The white-robed figures slowly crumbled to dust and drifted out the window.
"World Government people..." Sami sounded a bit worried. "We have a good relationship with the World Government right now. A lot of our income comes from them. If this causes conflict..."
"Just a pack of dogs. Dogs that obey a bunch of pigs."
Aus had no idea where that Celestial Dragon he'd never met found the audacity to send CP0 demanding things from him.
If the Five Elders or Garling had come, maybe...
The thought barely formed when—
"Buru buru buru..."
Click.
"Aus..."
"Some guys claiming to be CP0 just showed up wanting to do business. Was that your idea?"
Hearing this, inside the Room of Authority—
The Five Elders exchanged glances.
Clearly, they all thought one of the other old bastards had privately gotten greedy and wanted Pure Gold for their descendants.
But looking at each other's expressions—none of them had?
Very quickly—
Their faces darkened. Sending their underlings to negotiate with Aus...
That kind of behavior—
Was like Aus calling them, getting through, and having some red-light district hookers answer and start trying to negotiate business with the Five Elders.
Not just disrespectful—downright insulting.
"Must be some arrogant Celestial Dragons from the Holy Land."
"Think they're hot shit because they're not completely useless and have some authority to mobilize CP?"
"Idiots!"
The Five Elders cursed internally but still had to placate Aus on the surface.
"Our subordinates did this. Just a few dogs."
"Aus, that wasn't our intention."
"Do whatever you want with them!"
Aus glanced at the empty spot where the CP0 agents had turned to ash. He smirked.
"So... why'd you call?"
After that little incident, the Five Elders felt they'd lost the upper hand.
Ever since learning Aus was searching for Pure Gold, World Government spies embedded with Umit had been watching that intel.
Sure enough—a sudden massive bounty and Aus disappearing for a few days made them realize:
Aus had probably gone after Pure Gold. And actually found it.
Getting this news, the Five Elders hatched a plan.
Though they didn't need it, Pure Gold was still an invaluable treasure. Even gifting it to supremely loyal subordinates would strengthen the World Government's foundation.
So they prepared to pay a hefty price.
But they hadn't expected their dogs' offense to put them at a disadvantage in negotiations.
"Let's cut to the chase, Aus."
"That legendary Pure Gold from two hundred years ago—the one that scientist created to grant eternal life—you've got it, don't you?"
Aus didn't deny it. He never planned to hide it like some precious treasure anyway. He got it to use for himself and his people.
"Your intelligence network's impressive."
"Let's keep this short, Aus. We want to trade for Pure Gold from you."
"You're already immortal. Why do you need this?"
The Five Elders jolted. Just how much did Aus know?
"We have our uses. Name your terms."
"Hmm... but I don't need money..."
Even so, that didn't mean Aus wasn't interested in other things. Everything in the world had a price. Just a matter of whether it was enough.
And the Five Elders knew one thing Aus was interested in.
"If you're willing, we can trade Devil Fruits."
"That generous?"
Aus raised an eyebrow. The World Government really had deep pockets.
What followed was a back-and-forth negotiation. After haggling, both sides agreed to compromise.
One Logia or Mythical Zoan for one gram of Pure Gold.
After all, this was Pure Gold—supposedly able to buy the world. But its rarity meant it'd never reach ordinary people's hands.
So while the description was exaggerated, it wasn't that absurd.
If you had to put a price on it, you could.
And the World Government's stockpile clearly wasn't as massive as imagined. They couldn't just pull out a hundred-plus Logias and Mythical Zoans.
In the end, Aus only traded for three Logias and two Mythical Zoans.
Logia: Earth-Earth Fruit. Logia: Air-Air Fruit. Logia: Cloud-Cloud Fruit. Zoan: Mythical Zoan - Gale Bird Form. Zoan: Mythical Zoan - Boulder Mammoth Form.
Average quality. Decent for his collection.
But just before the call ended, Aus brought up the CP0 incident again to cause more trouble.
This gave the Five Elders a headache. They could only agree to one additional condition from Aus—as long as it wasn't too excessive.
"Next year's the World Government Council meeting, right? For the Duramos Kingdom's escort ship, I want to designate the Marine escorts.
And the New World's dangerous. Sending a few extra isn't unreasonable, right?"
"Who?"
"Marine Vice Admirals: Kuzan, Sakazuki, Borsalino!"
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