Chapter 58: An Outrageous Demand! Cui Ze: Officer, I'm Here to Negotiate Terms

Life is not easy.

Choi Ze chose flexible employment.

He had no intention of refusing Zephyr's assigned "Pirate Undercover Operation."

That would be completely meaningless.

As long as Choi Ze remained a marine, he would inevitably have to accept tasks assigned by his superiors.

Regardless of whether this "superior" was Zephyr, Kizaru, or some other "branch base commander" down the road.

Choi Ze had mentally prepared himself for this aspect long ago.

Although going undercover as a pirate went somewhat against his personal plans.

Upon careful consideration, however.

Being an "undercover pirate" was not without its advantages.

If the greatest advantage of becoming a marine lay in "safety";

Then the greatest advantage of going undercover as a pirate lay in "freedom"!

Possessing the [Fishing] ability, Choi Ze was destined never to stay anchored in any single, fixed sea area for long.

Whether it was the zombie island of his initial descent (Komon Island), the winter island adjacent to the future kingdom, or the Boin Archipelago teeming with the Baron of the Stomach.

Every single one of these magnificent, grand islands represented an "alternate world" from which myriad abilities and items could be fished!

Had Choi Ze followed his original plan and gone into seclusion in the East Blue.

Then if he wanted to continue utilizing the [Fishing] ability to explore the alternate worlds behind these islands, he would likely only be able to do so during brief marine leaves.

Under such circumstances, the operational difficulty would be quite high in terms of both time and space.

After all, these islands were mostly located in the Grand Line, far away from the East Blue.

Not to mention those islands Choi Ze had not yet had the chance to fish at!

Drum Island, Alabasta, Mock Town, Skypiea, Water 7, the Sabaody Archipelago, Fish-Man Island...

And this was just the first half of the Grand Line, Paradise; the New World stages further ahead would require massive amounts of time to explore!

Once Choi Ze chose to become a pirate, this particular dilemma would basically cease to exist.

Furthermore.

With his foreknowledge, Choi Ze also held the exact locations of numerous great ocean treasures.

Especially those Devil Fruits that had not yet been consumed by anyone at the current timeline!

The Mera Mera no Mi in the East Blue!

The Ope Ope no Mi and Gope Gope no Mi in the North Blue!

The Goro Goro no Mi on Skypiea!

The Vampire Fruit in Sleepy Town!

And the artificial Zoan fruits on Punk Hazard...

These top-tier Devil Fruits were scattered across every corner of the vast sea, worlds apart from one another.

It would be extremely difficult for "Marine Choi Ze" to contact and collect these Devil Fruits;

But "Pirate Choi Ze" would have far fewer worries when gathering them.

Of course.

Although choosing to become a pirate offered numerous advantages.

This didn't stop Choi Ze from wanting to shake down Marine Headquarters for a massive payoff first!

...

"Headquarters' support?"

Hearing Choi Ze's words, Zephyr and Kizaru exchanged bewildered glances.

Logically speaking, Marine Headquarters did provide a certain level of support and subsidies for these "undercover pirates."

Such as salaries, intelligence, military ranks, and various other provisions.

Yet the problem was.

Whenever Marine Headquarters previously dispatched personnel on highly classified missions, who wasn't brimming with passion, practically swearing eternal loyalty to justice on the spot!

Now, when it came to Choi Ze.

This fellow was actually taking the initiative to make demands!

He simply didn't play by the rules...

Seeing Zephyr and Kizaru fall silent, Choi Ze inevitably showed a trace of dissatisfaction.

"Surely not, two commanders? Is Headquarters not going to provide even the slightest bit of support?"

"Ahem! Of course not!"

Zephyr coughed twice and hurriedly replied.

"The operation you are about to execute is extremely important, so Headquarters will certainly not skimp on support!"

Only then did Choi Ze nod and respond, "That's more like it."

Kizaru stroked his chin and asked curiously, "Little Choi Ze, what kind of support from Headquarters are you hoping for?"

Choi Ze's spirits lifted as he immediately began counting on his fingers.

"Actually, it's not all that much.

"To become a great pirate, one must absolutely not lack strength! So it's best to hand over seven or eight Devil Fruits right off the bat—I really like those things!

"Secondly, a great pirate's flagship definitely cannot look shabby! I think taking the newest model of marine battleship, modifying it slightly, would do just fine! But the interior decoration must be a bit luxurious! And the kitchen space needs to be large! It's best if it comes with a fishpond!

"I super love raising fish!

"Then, a great pirate's travels must have a certain level of style! Solving this issue is also quite simple—just casually hand over one or two billion Berries!

"Additionally, a lone great pirate is destined to have no future! Marine Headquarters should support me with some pirate underlings. I'm not asking for any commissioned officers, just pull a few members from this batch of the Elite Training Camp; they'll be ready to use straight out of the box!

"Lastly, a great pirate must have personal renown! Although I previously had a go at that bastard Kaido, unfortunately, I lost too miserably... How about finding a Headquarters Admiral to fight a staged match with me? Just pretending to lose is fine!"

Without paying attention.

Choi Ze's conditions had filled all five fingers.

He flashed the palm of his right hand toward Zephyr and Kizaru.

"Look at that, two commanders, my demands really aren't much—just five tiny conditions. And I haven't even brought up logistics support, battleship escorts, or raiding immunity yet—"

"You still have 'yet'?!?!"

Zephyr's roar nearly shook the entire Marine Headquarters building to its foundations.

Beside him, Kizaru's expression was also looking rather grim.

If they followed Choi Ze's demands.

Was the Navy assigning an "undercover pirate" here, or were they about to directly finance and raise a "Warlord of the Sea"?!

Choi Ze argued with complete confidence, "I'm just negotiating terms! Have the two commanders never done business before?

"'Ask for an exorbitant price, and negotiate down'! If there's anything you're unsatisfied with, the two commanders can slash away at it!"

Choi Ze was simply shooting for the moon right from the start.

He hadn't really expected Zephyr or Kizaru to agree to all of his conditions.

Yet what if these two suddenly suffered a brain lapse and actually agreed to a few of those requests?

Even if it was just one.

Even if it was a scaled-down version.

Choi Ze would still consider it a massive profit!

Zephyr's liver ached with anger; his face flushed red, and his breathing grew slightly ragged.

"Borsalino! You talk to this shrewd little brat!"

An exasperated Zephyr directly dumped the matter onto the popcorn-eating Vice Admiral.

"Ah, well..."

Caught completely off guard, Kizaru had no choice but to take over the conversation.

He pushed up the light-yellow sunglasses resting on the bridge of his nose, leaned forward slightly, and fixed his gaze tightly on Choi Ze from behind his lenses.

"Little Choi Ze, your conditions are indeed a bit excessive~"

Choi Ze wore an expression of profound innocence.

Looking weak and pitiful.

"So how does Commander Borsalino plan to arrange things for this helpless little marine?"

Kizaru looked like a slacking veteran who loafed on the job and neglected his duties day in and day out...

Well, truthfully, he really was just that!

Yet to have climbed to the position of Admiral (candidate), Kizaru's baseline abilities were undeniably present.

One by one, he proceeded to refute Choi Ze's demands.

"First, Devil Fruits. Marine Headquarters' reserves of Devil Fruits are already extremely sparse, and they are only given as rewards to marine members who have performed great feats, so Headquarters will not provide you with a single Devil Fruit."

Choi Ze suddenly interjected, "Instructor Zephyr previously said he could reward me with a Devil Fruit!"

Kizaru blinked in surprise, looking over at Zephyr beside him, who nodded rather reluctantly.

The Devil Fruit Choi Ze was talking about was the "payment" exchanged for [Breath of the Beast].

Due to limited time and the fact that the effects of the Breath of the Beast had not yet been fully verified, Zephyr had not yet reported this matter to the other top brass of Headquarters.

"We will discuss that Devil Fruit later," Zephyr concluded, cutting off that line of inquiry.

Choi Ze knew when to quit while he was ahead.

He stood obediently in place, as well-behaved as a baby chick.

Kizaru retrieved a cup of hot tea from out of nowhere, cleared his throat, and returned to the previous topic.

"Second, new-style warships! Quantities are tight, and the construction schedule for the earliest available new-style warship has already been pushed two years out; you won't be getting one!

"Third, financial supply—this aspect can be discussed in detail. Upon becoming an undercover pirate, your job salary, social benefits, and the like will increase by at least one tier! But there won't be a staggering one or two billion Berries.

"Fourth, personnel support. Your undercover pirate operation is classified at the highest level; it is entirely unsuitable for other marines to be made aware of it!

"Furthermore, Headquarters Chief Staff officer Vice Admiral Tsuru has specifically devised a plan that will allow you to smoothly detach yourself from the Marines without letting the marines of the Elite Training Camp doubt the authenticity of your pirate identity.

"Fifth, pirate renown, hmm..."

At this point, Kizaru abruptly paused.

Choi Ze cast a look of eager anticipation toward his dear, respected, and adorable boss Kizaru.

To tell the truth, his preceding conditions were essentially pure nonsense.

The only things Choi Ze genuinely cared about were the first and fifth items.

Regarding Devil Fruits.

Choi Ze was well aware of the limitations of the Navy; the truly good fruits were basically all monopolized by the World Government and the Celestial Dragons, and he had no expectations of fishing up junk fruits anyway.

Therefore, the main focus was entirely on the fifth item!

A "staged match"!

"Defeating" an Admiral corresponded to a Grade-A bait of victory!

He just didn't know whether the glowing light screen would recognize it...

Regardless, he had to try it first!

Under Choi Ze's yearning gaze, Kizaru first shook his head.

"Headquarters Admirals probably don't have the time to bother with small matters like this, and Kuzan is far too lazy...

"If you're looking for an untimely death and want to challenge Sakazuki, you can go ahead and make your final arrangements now.

"As for myself, however..."

Choi Ze held his breath.

Boss Kizaru curved his mouth into a smile.

"That can be arranged~"