"Fine." Sengoku forced the words out. "Two hundred million."
Then he frowned. "But I didn't bring that much with me. Give me some time. I'll use a Den Den Mushi and have Loguetown send it over."
"Sure," Amon said. "As long as the money arrives."
"Cough." Sengoku's expression tightened. "Then let me open it first. I guarantee the beli will be delivered quickly."
He was still furious at Garp. He wanted the Jar opened now, wanted something that could boost his strength, and then he could go shut that old bastard up with his fists.
Amon's smile did not soften. "Money first. Jar second. Anything else is not happening."
These Jars were not guaranteed to be good. If Sengoku opened one and got trash, then decided to stiff him, Amon would be the one stuck cleaning up the mess.
Sengoku stared at him for a long moment, then finally gave in.
"…Fine."
He waited, looking like someone had just asked him to swallow a brick.
Garp watched the scene and nearly burst from happiness.
"Hahaha! Amon, you're something else. This is the first time I've ever seen Sengoku suffer like this!"
He slapped his knee, laughing louder and louder. "As expected of someone from Foosha Village. I knew I wasn't wrong about you!"
Garp and Sengoku had been bickering for years, but seeing Sengoku forced into this kind of slow, helpless waiting was rare. Garp was already imagining how many times he could bring it up later.
Sengoku's fingers twitched. For a moment, he wanted to strangle him.
Fortunately, an order from the Fleet Admiral moved fast. The moment Loguetown received the command, they dispatched a warship.
Not long after, the warship arrived with the money Sengoku demanded. The same ship also took those Marine scum aboard, preparing to escort them to Enies Lobby for trial.
"Mr. Amon," a Marine reported, "the beli is here."
The moment the money arrived, Sengoku strode over without wasting a second.
Belle-mère watched him hand over two hundred million beli, then look as if he had just made the bargain of a lifetime. Her worldview cracked a little.
So this was a Marine legend?
He looked more like a merchant who had finally gotten the price he wanted.
"I don't understand you at all," she muttered under her breath.
Amon nodded toward the pile. "Put it there."
The system would only take one hundred thousand. The rest was his. He was perfectly happy letting them dump it in a heap.
Then he reached into his pocket and brought out the Jars.
In the blink of an eye, several colorful Jars appeared.
Sengoku's eyes sharpened.
He had been watching Amon the whole time and still could not tell how he produced them. It was like they simply existed the moment he decided they did.
Garp leaned in too. He looked like he wanted to open one again.
Unfortunately, he did not have the money.
Compared to Sengoku, he was broke.
Still, staring was free.
"Give me that golden one," Sengoku said.
His gaze had locked onto a Jar glowing with a rich golden-yellow sheen.
He had a feeling. A strange pull, like the thing was calling him.
Amon followed his eyes. "The golden-yellow one? Sure."
He picked it out and handed it over.
"And the hammer." Amon tossed it to him. "You paid two hundred million, so I'll lend it to you for a moment."
To be fair, Sengoku was now the biggest payer among everyone who had bought a single Jar.
The runner-up was Garp.
Garp had paid one hundred million each, but he had spent the most overall, a full billion.
Garp threw his head back and laughed. "Two hundred million! Sengoku, you might've just set a record. Hope you get something good. Don't tell me you pay that much and still get nothing!"
Sengoku immediately fired back. "And you spent one billion, and you're proud of it?"
Amon watched the two old men snap at each other and found it entertaining.
"You're the same type. Stop laughing at each other." He yawned. "Hurry up and open it. When you're done, I'm going back to sleep."
That shut them up, at least a little.
Nojiko giggled. "Hehe, these two grandpas are so cute!"
"Nojiko!" Belle-mère's face went pale. She clapped a hand over her daughter's mouth at once.
Nojiko was too young to understand what kind of monsters these two were. If either of them took offense, it could turn into a disaster.
To her surprise, Amon only chuckled. "She's not wrong."
He looked at Sengoku, who was holding the hammer like he suddenly did not know what to do with his hands.
"Alright, adorable grandpa," Amon said. "Open the Jar."
Sengoku swallowed.
He had done his homework before coming. Not every Jar produced something good.
Nerves and anticipation twisted together as he finally raised the hammer.
"Clang!"
The Jar shattered.
Three items spilled out and rolled across the ground.
Sengoku lunged and scooped them up in one motion, holding them close as if someone might snatch them away. But without Amon's appraisal, they were just objects in his hands. Their true value remained hidden.
After a brief pause, Sengoku looked at Amon, awkward.
Garp immediately seized the moment.
"Hahaha! Things from the Jar don't show their use without this brat's appraisal. Sengoku, are you trying to make me laugh to death so you can inherit my Vice Admiral position?"
Today, Garp was having the time of his life. He had not laughed this much in ages.
Sengoku's face twitched. "Get lost!"
As Fleet Admiral, why would he want a Vice Admiral position?
Was Garp's brain made of shrimp paste?
...