After Amber Lead became tied to Seastone, one advantage was that Kaidou's side refused to yield as well. This time, the deal was no longer Ortoren chasing after Kaidou, begging him to sell Seastone—it had become a genuine negotiation where both sides held something the other needed.
From there, the two parties haggled endlessly over prices and trade terms.
In the end, they dropped the matter of fixed ratios altogether. After a long back-and-forth, they finally reached an agreement.
Ortoren lifted the restrictions on Amber Lead trade with the Beast Pirates, allowing both sides to freely trade according to market prices. In return, the Beast Pirates opened their Seastone supply routes to Ortoren, also permitting unrestricted transactions at market value.
To secure these two trade channels, they agreed on two special conditions.
First, the Beast Pirates would open the markets within their territories, following the same model as the G-5 and Totto Land partnership, allowing Ortoren to export and sell North Blue goods freely across their lands.
Second, the Big Mom Pirates would hand over the complete Artificial Zoan-type Devil Fruit production technology to the Beast Pirates.
As for how they would produce them, that wasn't Ortoren's concern.
The environmental damage in Wano Country didn't matter—Kaidou controlled more than just Wano. He could simply move production elsewhere. As for whether they could manage without the dwarves of Dressrosa, that depended entirely on Queen's abilities. Why should Ortoren worry about that?
"Your G-5 borders Totto Land and isn't too far from Whole Cake Island," Kaidou said, lifting his cup and taking a long drink. "That kind of business route is easy to manage. But we Beast Pirates have no shared border with your G-5. Getting your caravans safely into my territory won't be so simple. Have you considered that risk?"
Ortoren nodded. "Of course. While G-5 doesn't connect directly to your territory, Totto Land is close enough to yours. The caravans can just pass through Totto Land to reach you."
"You want me to eat leftovers?" Kaidou frowned, clearly displeased.
Charlotte Linlin grinned, an evil gleam in her eye. "You don't trust me that much?"
"Hmph. After passing through your territory, what would even be left worth taking?" Kaidou snorted coldly.
His suspicion was justified, and his distrust of Charlotte Linlin was perfectly natural.
Seeing the situation, Ortoren chuckled. "In that case, why don't we open a new route altogether?"
Kaidou shot him a sharp look. "And how do you plan to do that?"
"Hachinosu," Ortoren said without hesitation. "If you look at the charts, there are three major powers between our G-5 and your Beast Pirates. First, the Big Mom Pirates—technically a passable route, but since you refuse to use it, we'll disregard it. Second, the Kromis Sea under the Whitebeard Pirates' control. G-5 has no real conflict with Whitebeard's crew, so we could theoretically use that path. However, I've heard your Beast Pirates have been clashing with the Whitebeard Pirates quite fiercely these past couple of years. If they found out the supplies were bound for your markets, that could get… dangerous."
"You mean to team up with me and take down that old man Whitebeard!?" Kaidou perked up immediately.
Ortoren waved a hand. "Don't get any ideas. The Marines' stance on Whitebeard isn't exactly a secret. Everyone knows—we won't make the first move as long as he doesn't provoke us."
"Tch." Kaidou scoffed with disdain. "Spineless."
Still, he didn't press the matter. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "So your target is Ochoku?"
"Hachinosu is a four-way battlefield—but it's also the most strategic point in the sea," Ortoren said with a smile. "If G-5 captures it, we'll have a direct trade route connecting to your territory. That means no outside interference in our business. Wouldn't that benefit us both?"
Before Kaidou could respond, Ortoren continued, "Back when Shiki fell, that bastard Ochoku took a huge loss. He spent years without the strength to challenge anyone. But now, he's used Hachinosu to gather a powerful pirate force. Surely you don't think he's content to sit quietly without ambition, do you?"
"You think he'd dare come after me?" Kaidou's brow furrowed, his tone brimming with irritation.
Despite his outward frustration, the unease in his eyes was obvious.
Hachinosu was surrounded on all sides—G-5, Whitebeard, Big Mom, and Kaidou. If Ochoku wanted to expand, he'd have to pick one of them to strike.
And anyone in the New World who wasn't blind knew about the close ties between G-5 and the Big Mom Pirates. Provoking either could easily turn into a two-on-one war.
So unless Ochoku had gone mad, he'd never pick a fight with G-5 or Big Mom.
That left only two possible targets—the Beast Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates.
Kaidou understood that perfectly well. That was exactly why he was uneasy. If Ochoku wanted to expand his territory… would he go after Whitebeard, or the Beast Pirates?
Which target was easier to crush? The answer was obvious.
"It's not about whether he dares to provoke you—it's that if he wants to rise again, you're his only option, aren't you, Kaidou?" Ortoren lifted his glass, took a slow sip, and spoke with quiet meaning.
"That Ochoku may be an eyesore, but his presence on Hachinosu benefits all three of our pirate factions. That's the real reason he's managed to stay there all this time..." Kaidou muttered after thinking it over.
In the original tale, even during the era when the Yonkō stood side by side, Ochoku managed to hold his ground on Hachinosu for years. It wasn't until Blackbeard finally took him down that the island changed hands.
Why?
Was it because the Yonkō couldn't defeat him? Of course not—if Ochoku had been that powerful, he would have been one of them.
The truth was that all the Yonkō treated Hachinosu as a buffer zone. With that island and Ochoku standing between them, their conflicts wouldn't so easily escalate into all-out war.
"If your G-5 takes control of Hachinosu, it's like setting up a cannon right in front of my doorstep, isn't it?" Kaidou raised his eyes to Ortoren and asked.
"Shichibukai..." Ortoren tapped the table lightly. "What about that Gecko Moria you defeated? Let him take charge of Hachinosu. What do you think?"
"Moria!?" Kaidou rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "That guy... Compared to Ochoku, he's definitely easier to deal with."
When Kaidou thought about it, personal grudges or old rivalries didn't matter. Whether Moria hated him or not was irrelevant—what could the man even do about it?
What mattered to Kaidou was whether the man could be controlled.
And compared to the ruthless Ochoku, Moria was far easier to handle. In Kaidou's eyes, Moria wasn't even close to being on the same level.
Placing Moria on Hachinosu would serve perfectly as a buffer, while also ensuring that he never became a real threat. His strength and ability simply weren't enough.
"If you think that works, we can join forces to take Ochoku down and put Gecko Moria in his place on Hachinosu. That way, our trade routes will be connected, the threat removed—it's a win-win for both of us, wouldn't you say?" Ortoren said with a grin.
"Both of us?" Kaidou turned his head to glance at Charlotte Linlin.
Charlotte Linlin waved her hand dismissively. "What are you looking at me for? I'm not getting involved in this."
It was clear the Big Mom Pirates had no intention of participating. For Charlotte Linlin, maintaining stability was far more beneficial to her crew's long-term growth. She wasn't interested in unnecessary wars.
Once Kaidou saw where she stood, he didn't hesitate any longer. True to his nature, he slammed his hand on the table, raised his sake bowl, and declared, "In that case, let's crush Ochoku together!"
Ortoren smiled, lifting his glass to clink it against Kaidou's. "A pleasant partnership. But let's not rush. We'll move after we've settled the Amber Lead operations in the North Blue."
...
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