After Ortoren and the others took their seats, the atmosphere grew slightly awkward. Kaidou, in particular, sat scratching his head, seemingly unsure how to start the conversation.
That uncertainty rubbed off on Ortoren as well. Glancing around, he broke the silence with a slightly embarrassed smile. "Hey, it's been a long time, hasn't it?"
But once he spoke, everyone just looked at each other, unsure how to respond, which only made things feel even more awkward.
"Ahem…" Ortoren cleared his throat and continued, "Well, since no one seems too interested in small talk, I'll get straight to the point. I came here today to discuss a business deal with your Beast Pirates."
That finally broke the tense silence. Kaidou adjusted his posture, his voice rumbling as he asked, "Seastone, right?"
"Exactly." Ortoren nodded. "To be honest, I currently have a huge demand for Seastone. Your Beast Pirates have a clear advantage in that area—Wano Country can produce it in large quantities. I'd like to establish a long-term and stable Seastone trade with you."
After a short pause, he added, "Since you agreed to meet me, Kaidou-sama, I'll take that as a sign you're not opposed to this deal… am I right?"
Charlotte Linlin had been trying to arrange this meeting with Kaidou for quite some time before he finally gave his answer. The fact that he agreed to meet at all already spoke volumes—if he truly had no intention of doing business with Ortoren, there would've been no need for this meeting.
"Forget the Seastone for now. Back in the arms market, we were just about to close a deal with the World Government. Then you came along and wrecked it for us. Don't you think you owe me an explanation for that?" Kaidou snorted coldly, his gaze sharp and heavy as it fixed on Ortoren.
"Competition drives progress, doesn't it? From where I'm standing, your Beast Pirates are still doing quite well in the arms trade—orders keep coming in," Ortoren said with a casual laugh.
Kaidou didn't respond, but Queen spoke up instead. "That's just for now. Since you secured the Amber Lead mines, we've been steadily losing ground in high-end weapons manufacturing. Give it a few more years, and our competitiveness will be completely flattened by you."
"So they brought up the Amber Lead after all," Ortoren thought to himself.
Before coming here, he had carefully considered all the possible directions the negotiation might take, and he knew the Amber Lead issue would definitely come up. Kaidou wasn't the type to miss an opportunity like that.
And Ortoren understood perfectly well—once Amber Lead was on the table, it would inevitably be tied to Seastone.
If he refused to budge on the Amber Lead, Kaidou would never agree to the Seastone deal. There was no need for guesswork; it was obvious from the start.
After a brief silence, Ortoren finally said, "So, you're planning to trade Seastone for Amber Lead ore?"
Kaidou's apparent negotiator, Queen, grinned broadly. "That's right. Mutual benefit, isn't it?"
Ortoren didn't answer right away, and the air grew still—quiet and heavy. The campfire crackled softly, filling the silence.
Two or three minutes passed before Ortoren spoke again. "You're right—each side gets what it needs. In that case, let's talk about how we're going to trade Amber Lead for Seastone."
"Three to one!" Kaidou slammed his hand on the table, his deep voice cutting through the air. "For every three parts Amber Lead, you get one part Seastone of equal weight!"
"That price is a bit much, don't you think? Right now, Amber Lead's worth far more than Seastone on the market," Ortoren countered without hesitation.
With Flevance on the brink of destruction, Amber Lead production had all but ceased across the world. In truth, Doflamingo and Moria had already begun small-scale test mining operations in Flevance, but they weren't planning to release any of it to the market yet. They were waiting, watching prices climb, aiming to cash in later for maximum profit.
As a result, the price of Amber Lead had already multiplied several times over—now far exceeding that of Seastone.
"If we halt exports of Seastone, its price will skyrocket in no time, rivaling that of Amber Lead. So when you talk about 'market price,' it means little to those of us who control the source, don't you think?" Queen countered logically.
Both Amber Lead and Seastone were highly scarce resources. Amber Lead could only be produced in Flevance, while Wano Country was the largest source and exporter of Seastone. If Seastone exports were stopped, other regions might still produce small amounts, but the quantities would be too insignificant to matter. Its price would surge within a short time—just like Amber Lead.
"Even so, three to one is far too much," Ortoren said, shaking his head. "I need a large quantity of Seastone, and you need a large quantity of Amber Lead. Without Seastone, many of my plans will be restricted. But without Amber Lead, in two or three years, you'll fall behind in weapons technology. That would be disastrous for both of us. So in this deal, neither of us holds the advantage. Cooperation benefits us both—division harms us both!"
He paused for a moment, then added, "So if we're going to negotiate, let's skip the empty talk. Since we're sitting here, let's both show some sincerity."
"Two for one!" Kaidou slammed his hand on the table. "But I also want the Artificial Zoan Devil Fruit production technology from the Big Mom Pirates!"
Ortoren raised a brow at the demand. "That technology wasn't exactly classified back when MADS was active, was it? Didn't Queen have access to it?"
Queen looked slightly embarrassed. "That wasn't the focus of my research back then..."
He wasn't lying. His main work had been centered on weapon development and on deciphering Judge's genetic enhancement technology. At present, Queen still hadn't perfected either. However, as the original story showed, more than a decade later, he had completely cracked Germa's genetic modification technology and turned himself into a living weapon capable of multiple superhuman abilities.
Had the Beast Pirates continued to develop instead of being crushed by Pirate King Luffy, Queen's breakthrough—combined with their strange army of unstable Artificial Zoan users—might have led to something entirely new. The fusion of Artificial Zoan powers with genetic enhancements would have created a force far greater than the sum of its parts.
At that moment, Charlotte Linlin let out a cold laugh. "Even if I gave you the technology, you still couldn't reproduce it. Artificial Devil Fruit production requires specific environmental factors, and Wano Country is already turning into a barren wasteland, choked by your industrial pollution."
"Whether we can reproduce it or not is our problem, not yours!" Kaidou shot back sharply.
Ortoren glanced at Charlotte Linlin. The technology was in her hands, so her consent was necessary. Of course, if she refused, Ortoren had other ways to obtain it—he could approach the Science Corps. Punk Hazard certainly possessed that technology, though it would be far less convenient than dealing with Linlin directly.
Catching Ortoren's gaze, Charlotte Linlin simply shrugged. "Do as you please."
That drew a faint smile from Ortoren. Turning back to Kaidou, he said, "One for one. We'll give you the technology, and in return, the Beast Pirates' territory must open its markets to us."
"Open what markets?" Kaidou frowned.
"Just like our partnership between G-5 and Totto Land," Ortoren explained. "We'll import vast quantities of goods from the North Blue and sell them within Totto Land. During this process, the Big Mom Pirates ensure the safety and priority of all merchant guilds flying our flag."
As Ortoren's smuggling operations continued to expand, he also needed to widen his market reach across the New World. While Totto Land still held untapped potential, bringing the Beast Pirates' territory into this trade network would significantly boost overall profits.
Before Kaidou could speak, Ortoren smiled and added, "This kind of cooperation benefits both sides. You wouldn't want your territory to keep suffering from resource shortages and see your people living in hardship, would you?"