Nagato in One Piece - Chapter 50
“Nagato Uzumaki.”
The transponder snail spoke to the man holding the sake gourd.
Kaido took a swig of his drink, gulping loudly before saying, “The brat who killed Joker? What have you done to Jack?”
“I stepped on him and cut out his tongue,” Nagato replied matter-of-factly. “Alright, Kaido, I’m here to discuss SMILE.”
“Do you realize you’ve ruined my dreams?!” Veins bulged on Kaido’s forehead. “And you still dare to harm my subordinates!”
Nagato remained calm, addressing the transponder snail, “By your logic, this should mean he was too weak.”
Kaido fell silent, and the snail’s voice ceased. Nearby, the Beast Pirates trembled, not daring to breathe.
Suddenly, Kaido burst into laughter.
“Hahahahaha—!” After a bout of laughter, Kaido’s gruff voice came through, “You’re right! It’s all because Joker was too weak, and that idiot Jack too! Haha, I kind of like you!”
“But the SMILE matter isn’t over!” After his laughter, Kaido said, “Name your price: treasure, Devil Fruits, or your life? How will you atone?”
“You’re overestimating yourself, Kaido,” Nagato said. “I can continue the SMILE project and provide you with artificial Devil Fruits for fifty million Berries each.”
“You’re asking for death! Hand over SMILE, and I’ll spare you.” Kaido roared, “Fifty million Berries? Do you know who I am? I’m Kaido!”
“I know you’re Kaido,” Nagato replied without hesitation. “But your name isn’t worth a dime. To be precise, this is my seller’s market. Know your place.”
Before Kaido could process what a seller’s market was, Nagato continued, “Or should I raise the price to sixty million?”
Heavy breathing came through the transponder snail, revealing Kaido’s intense fury, wishing he could smash Nagato with a single punch.
“I’m not Doflamingo. If you provide the funding for research, I’ll produce SMILE for you free of charge,” Nagato said. “On the market, Devil Fruits start at one hundred million Berries. From current research reports, SMILE lacks stability but fully meets your need for Zoan transformation abilities and can be supplied long-term. Fifty million is already a fair price.”
Kaido was about to speak, but Nagato interrupted again, “Spare me the meaningless threats. Not every situation can be solved with brute force. Even Doflamingo wasn’t afraid of you; he just wanted to destroy the world, and you happened to be a convenient tool.”
“Jack’s life and your dream, or you can try to take my head. Choose one,” Nagato concluded.
A low laugh came through the snail, indicating Kaido was suppressing his anger. “Fifty million, deal!”
As Kaido’s tone shifted, the transponder snail’s eyes seemed to shoot out two bolts of lightning in anger. “But boy, in this narrow New World, be careful not to stray too far from home!”
With that, the transponder snail call ended abruptly.
Nagato didn’t mind, tossing the transponder snail back to the nearby fishman. He then opened his right hand, lifting the sunken pirate ship back to the surface with a gesture. The surging waves snapped the pirates out of their shock.
Underwater, the Susanoo gradually faded. Nagato grabbed Jack, ascended to the sky, and threw him onto the deck. “Go back where you came from.”
He then turned and flew back to Dressrosa.
As Jack left the water, his strength slowly returned, but his shattered bones left him unable to stand, only able to roar in frustration. Without a tongue, his mouth could only produce indistinct noises.
Accompanied by his subordinates, Jack, who had come to destroy Dressrosa with great fanfare, was now limping back like a beaten dog in less than an hour!
Nagato knew Jack’s condition well, so he wasn’t worried about Jack causing trouble once he left the sea, confidently tossing him back.
Killing Jack would have been simpler and safer, but that would have destroyed any chance of leveraging Kaido.
Flying back to Dressrosa, Nagato pulled out a transponder snail from his pocket and called an evil scientist.
“Shurororororo…” A slightly comical laugh came through, followed by a voice, “Is there good news, ‘Rokudou’-san?”
“Jack just came knocking, and I negotiated with Kaido through him,” Nagato confirmed.
The person Nagato called was Caesar Clown.
After going through Doflamingo’s memories, keeping the SMILE line wasn’t difficult for Nagato.
Three days ago, after his conversation with Hanks, Nagato had long pondered the problem of the underground trading port.
Finally, Nagato decided to assume Doflamingo’s identity as JOKER, continuing as the world’s largest intermediary for black market deals.
According to Nagato’s plan and goals, to maintain the purity of his forces, he initially shouldn’t have done this. However, the so-called black market in this world isn’t as heinous as one might think.
Big News Morgans, the head of the World Economic Journal, is a legitimate journalist whose newspaper is close to an anti-government stance and rivals the world government’s mouthpieces. But due to his influence, he was driven underground.
Funeral director Dracule Piekero, the top in his field, was forced underground after handling the burial of Pirate King Roger.
Storage king “Concealer” Giberson, the leader in warehousing, was blacklisted for taking orders from pirates and revolutionaries.
Shipping magnate “Deep Current” Umit, Giberson’s biggest partner in transport, also ended up on the blacklist for similar reasons.
Except for two, these six kings of the underworld are simply victims of the world government’s suppression.
The remaining two, Loan Shark King “God of Fortune” Du Feld and “Queen of the Pleasure District” Stussy, are truly leading illegal industries. Ironically, one of them works for the world government.
Three days ago, Nagato reviewed all of Doflamingo’s financial records and connections with the underworld, contacting Morgans, Dracule, Giberson, and Umit. Although temporarily leveraging Doflamingo’s legacy, they reluctantly agreed to maintain ties with Nagato.
As for Du and Stussy, Nagato severed all assets and dealings related to them.
Du’s loan shark business was manageable, but Stussy’s profits were staggering—the so-called Pleasure District involved not just brothel services but human trafficking and slave trade.
Nagato would never allow his forces to be tainted by such activities. This decision cut nearly thirty percent of Joker’s dark network profits.
Though damaging, it was acceptable. Nagato still inherited the bulk of Joker’s legacy, the vast wealth from arms dealing.
If judged legally, arms dealing is a hundred times worse than human trafficking, but most of its crimes depend on perspective. Human trafficking and slave trade are universally abhorrent, so Nagato cut the latter while keeping the former.
With this resolved, Nagato decided to assume Doflamingo’s identity as JOKER, making contact with Caesar and Vergo: having Caesar kill Monet, continuing research but stopping gigantification experiments, and using Vergo’s undercover status to control G-5 Marines, preventing them from reaching Punk Hazard and stopping them from covering up the missing children.
Back to the present.
“Shurororororo, that’s wonderful news!” Caesar said. “With funding, I can produce the latest SAD immediately, and ‘Rokudou’-san can take it back to produce successful SMILEs! Shurororororo…”
After laughing, Caesar became curious, “But how did you negotiate with Jack so quickly? Isn’t he notoriously difficult?”
Nagato replied, “It was impossible to negotiate. I beat him to a pulp and then negotiated with Kaido.”
“W-what!” Caesar’s transponder snail’s eyes widened in shock. “You…you…you…you beat Jack to a pulp and still dared to call ‘The Beast’? And you succeeded?!”
“They’re just buyers, nothing more,” Nagato said. “Science is the first productive force, which is why I value our cooperation.”
“Shurororororo…” Caesar’s cheeks flushed, and he covered his mouth, giggling. “Although I’m the world’s greatest scientist, such direct praise is a bit embarrassing, ‘Rokudou’-san. Shurorororo!”
Nagato was momentarily speechless, then asked, “How are the children on Punk Hazard?”
“Shurororo…” Caesar seemed nervous at the sudden question, his laugh cut short. “Given the importance of science, ‘Rokudou’-san, you should know my experiments…”
“Answer my question,” Nagato interrupted, his tone severe. “How is the withdrawal treatment going? Or did you ignore my instructions, Caesar!”
“I started reducing the dosage three days ago!” Caesar hastily replied. “But the children are showing strong dependency. I fear…they may not recover.”
Caesar’s voice grew weaker, making Nagato truly angry for the first time since arriving in this world.
“Perhaps you didn’t understand me, Caesar,” Nagato said to the transponder snail. “I’ll put it in your terms. Since you know I can force Kaido into this deal, you should realize killing you, the smartest scientist, is as easy as squashing the smartest ant!”
“Severe withdrawal symptoms require medication to counteract the addiction,” Nagato issued his final ultimatum. “When SAD production is complete in three months, I’ll send someone to inspect the children’s condition. If their gigantification hasn’t started to reverse
, you know the consequences.”
Caesar was about to plead again, but the transponder snail had already been hung up.
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