The Five Eldrs reluctantly realized that, aside from agreeing to Lin Xuan's demands, they seemed to have no other choice.
Because, originally, their World Government side only had the advantage in numbers. But now, with the Red Hair Pirates joining the war, they had lost even that advantage!
If they made one wrong move, they could face total annihilation here!
Thinking of this, the Curly-Haired Elder took a deep breath and shouted directly to Lin Xuan, "We accept your demand!"
Hearing this voice, the entire plaza, which had fallen into chaos due to the Red Hair Pirates' appearance, suddenly fell silent again.
Everyone realized that the Curly-Haired Elder's words meant the Five Elders were backing down! It meant the World Government was retreating!
This was something many had never dared to imagine, yet it was now unfolding before their eyes!
Even for the Whitebeard Pirates and the escaped prisoners from Impel Down who had essentially caused this situation, it was still somewhat unbelievable.
However, before anyone could fully process this, something even more unexpected happened.
Upon hearing the Curly-Haired Elder's words, Lin Xuan suddenly smiled and said, "Sorry, but the situation has changed a bit again."
The Five Elders' expressions changed.
The Long-Bearded Elder asked sternly, "What do you mean?!"
Lin Xuan said with a grin, "Nothing much. I just suddenly feel that asking for only one hundred Devil Fruits seems like a bit of a loss! Anyway, your World Government is rich and powerful. I think I'll take two hundred Devil Fruits instead!"
This statement nearly made the Five Elders curse out loud in fury.
Lin Xuan was clearly taking advantage of the Red Hair Pirates' arrival, which strengthened his position, to raise the price extortionately, and he had doubled it!
This kind of pushing one's luck was utterly shameless!
But just as they were about to erupt, the Long-Bearded Elder quickly calmed down, stopped the others with a gesture, and said to Lin Xuan in a heavy tone, "We accept your condition!"
The Curly-Haired Elder, Golden-Bearded Elder, Mustache Elder, and Bald Monk all looked at him in astonishment. Then they heard a voice transmitted directly into their minds: "We have no choice! We must leave here first, ensure the safety of Mary Geoise, and then make further plans!"
The four immediately fell silent.
They fully understood the Long-Bearded Elder's meaning, especially the part about "making further plans"!
This led them to consider various possibilities: For instance, simply reneging on the deal? Or perhaps, planting traps within the Devil Fruits!
Sure enough, the Long-Bearded Elder continued, "However, even if we have two hundred Devil Fruits, we couldn't possibly carry them all with us. We must return to Mary Geoise to give them to you!"
"Trying to welch on the deal?" Before Lin Xuan could speak, Uchiha Madara sneered coldly, "Hmph, you think quite well of yourselves. Once you return, are you planning to just go back on your word?"
The Five Elders' expressions stiffened slightly.
But before they could offer any rebuttal, they saw Lin Xuan wave his hand dismissively and say, "It's fine. It would be even better if they try to welch. We can just go to their doorstep to collect it then. Tsk tsk, taking Marineford first, and then seizing Holy Land Mary Geoise right after doesn't sound too bad either!"
The Long-Bearded Elder and the others' faces turned even uglier.
Then, the Long-Bearded Elder suddenly cleared his throat and gestured to Sengoku, "Fleet Admiral Sengoku, come here for a moment!"
Sengoku snapped out of his thoughts, quickly leaped to the Long-Bearded Elder's front, and deactivated his Buddha state.
"What do you need, sir?" Sengoku asked, puzzled.
The Long-Bearded Elder asked, "How many Devil Fruits are currently here at Marineford?"
Sengoku immediately understood his meaning and reported helplessly, "There are currently fifty Devil Fruits in the warehouse!"
The Long-Bearded Elder nodded, then announced loudly to Lin Xuan, "We will first deliver these fifty Devil Fruits as a gesture of sincerity. The remainder will be paid later. How about that?"
Lin Xuan curled his lips into a smile and said, "Not bad! I acknowledge your sincerity. However, these fifty don't count as your payment. According to the terms, Marineford now belongs to me. Everything inside is naturally my property!"
"You!"
Even with the Long-Bearded Elder's composure, he was nearly driven to fury by this.
But he ultimately took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and said, "Fine! Can we leave now?"
"Go on, get out! Hurry up! If you're too slow, I might change my mind!" Lin Xuan waved them away with a look of disgust.
To speak of changing his mind so casually, as if it were perfectly natural—this level of shamelessness made even Uchiha Madara, Hashirama Senju, and the others feel a bit unable to watch.
The Long-Bearded Elder and the others, however, said nothing more and prepared to evacuate Marineford immediately.
Only the Marines remained hesitant.
"Fleet Admiral, must we really withdraw?" The upright female officer, Hina, couldn't help but ask Sengoku.
The surrounding Marines all looked at Sengoku.
Although the Five Elders held higher authority, the Marines took orders from the Fleet Admiral.
Coupled with the fact that the Five Elders had just lost all dignity in their eyes, if Sengoku ordered them to stay, they wouldn't heed the Five Elders' command!
In truth, Sengoku was even more unwilling to leave Marineford than they were, but he was powerless.
What could he do when their strength was inferior to the enemy's?
Moreover, under these circumstances, if he gave an order contradicting the Five Elders, wouldn't that be tantamount to betraying the World Government?
Thinking this, Sengoku took a deep breath and commanded, "All units, withdraw from Marineford!"
As this order rang out, countless Marines fell into dejection, their faces filled with confusion.
However, as soldiers, they followed their superior's command and began to withdraw swiftly.
As for the Five Elders, they had long since departed, heading straight back to the Holy Land Mary Geoise!
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T/N:
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