"Moshi moshi, this is Shanks speaking."
Without hesitation, Shanks answered the Den Den Mushi.
The Den Den Mushi quickly transformed into Akainu's likeness, causing everyone present to slightly change their expressions.
"It's actually that bastard Akainu calling directly." Yasopp stroked his chin.
Akainu's voice soon came through from the other side.
He didn't beat around the bush but directly stated his purpose.
"Shanks, how about cooperating with us Marines? Let's take down the Beast God Pirates together. I can promise you this: as long as we crush the Beast God Pirates, we won't interfere with however much territory you manage to seize in the New World! What do you say?"
Shanks' face darkened as he coldly replied, "Oh? Have you lost your mind, Akainu? You killed several of my brothers. The fact that I haven't joined forces with Caesar to attack you is already me showing you considerable face. And you dare propose cooperation to me?"
"Grudges are grudges—we can set those aside for now. But this matter concerns your future. You should think it over carefully before refusing outright. You're a smart man; you know what the right move is."
Shanks sneered, "The mighty Marines actually seeking cooperation with a pirate like me? How can I trust that your promise is genuine? What if, after we team up to defeat Caesar, you Marines turn around and go back on your word?"
"You don't trust my promise? Fine then—I can request the Gorosei to bear witness and validate our cooperation! Surely that would put your mind at ease?"
Shanks was genuinely stunned this time.
He glanced left and right, exchanging looks with his crew, and saw the same shock reflected in their eyes.
The Gorosei—the highest authority of the World Government.
For the sake of securing Shanks' cooperation, Akainu was even willing to go so far as to involve the Gorosei as witnesses.
It could be said that this promise was absolutely solid, without a hint of deception.
However, Shanks and Benn Beckman were no fools.
The more seriously Akainu treated this matter, the more it revealed just how much pressure the Beast God Pirates were exerting on Marine Headquarters!
After a moment of contemplation, Shanks still shook his head and said.
"I see the Marines' sincerity. But I have no intention of cooperating with you."
"Why? This is a golden opportunity. You're no fool, Red Hair—you should seize it!"
"You should be able to see just how massive the forces under Caesar's command have become. If we Marines withdraw from the New World, do you think he'll leave any room for you pirates to survive? By then, not only your Red Hair Pirates, but also the Blackbeard Pirates and every other pirate crew in the New World will be swallowed up by him!"
Akainu's voice was loud, ensuring everyone present heard him clearly.
Benn Beckman furrowed his brow and looked at Shanks.
Shanks understood what he meant.
Akainu wasn't wrong—that was indeed the reality.
Even without the so-called Pirate Council, given Caesar's current strength, if the Marines weren't around to keep him in check in the New World, everyone else would likely be devoured by this Kunpeng.
But...
"Precisely because the Beast God Pirates are so powerful, we're not exactly eager to provoke them right now. Moreover, not long ago, we established a mutual assistance agreement. The fact that we're not helping Caesar this time is already a concession. You'd better focus on dealing with Caesar. Who knows—next time, our Red Hair Pirates might just come after you Marines to settle our old score!"
Click.
Without waiting for Akainu to say another word, Shanks hung up the Den Den Mushi.
Buggy immediately started complaining.
"Shanks! What's going on with you? This is such a great opportunity. If we cooperate with Marine Headquarters to eliminate Caesar from the New World, the entire New World will be yours in the future. Then, when the Straw Hat Kid returns to the New World and reclaims his position as a Yonko, we'll be the ones calling the shots. Why are you refusing?"
Shanks smiled wryly: "Buggy, stop joking. Do you really want to face those monsters from the Beast God Pirates? Just their god-tier fighters alone are enough to make your hair stand on end. Not to mention, they still have hidden monsters who haven't appeared yet."
Benn Beckman lit a cigarette for himself, nodding in deep agreement as he pulled out a thick stack of bounty posters and threw them on the table.
"Just look at these latest bounty posters, and it should extinguish all thoughts in your mind, Buggy."
"Hmph! My current bounty is as high as 3.2 billion Berries! Do you think you can scare me? Pfft~~!"
Buggy was so frightened that he even used his Chop-Chop Fruit ability, his two eyeballs popping out.
He grabbed several bounty posters, fearfully counting the numbers on them over and over, confirming he hadn't miscounted.
"Nani??? 5.233 billion Berries??"
Mihawk picked up a wine glass, took a sip of red wine, while holding Shiki's bounty poster in his hand.
"Shiki, bounty 4.8 billion exactly."
"Here's another 4.6 billion, and one at 4.3 billion. What terrifying bounty amounts. Just these four super high bounties alone are enough to prove there are four extremely terrifying monsters in the Beast God Pirates." Lucky Roo chewed on a chicken leg, clicking his tongue indistinctly.
Shanks also shook his head: "They're all monsters. Although I'm confident I could remain undefeated, or even defeat, Kaido or Linlin individually, facing Golden Lion Shiki - especially the rejuvenated Golden Lion, now called Lion God - the outcome would be hard to predict. As for Caesar...Hehe, forget it, I don't want to face him."
As Shanks spoke, he touched the new sword at his waist.
It was a slender one-handed sword, somewhat similar in style to a rapier.
The sword was named Ace, one of the twelve Supreme Great Fast Blades, the weapon of the Pirate King Roger.
Benn Beckman shrugged: "Although Shanks didn't say it explicitly, I still want to point out that our current high-level combat power is far inferior to the Beast God Pirates. We can't trust the Marines, especially Akainu. Don't forget, Jones and the others died by his hand! Let him deal with the headache. We should take advantage of this opportunity while we're undisturbed to do what we need to do."
Shanks nodded, sweeping the bounty posters off the table and pointing at the revealed New World map.
"Find the last red Poneglyph, locate the coordinates to Laugh Tale as soon as possible. Let's go find this final island!"
...
At Marine Headquarters, Akainu wasn't angry after being hung up on by Shanks via Den Den Mushi, as if this was all within his expectations.
The current scale of the Beast God Pirates indeed far exceeded that of the other two Yonko, no wonder they didn't dare to get involved.
If they accidentally angered the madman Caesar, he might directly abandon Marine Headquarters and eliminate them first.
"Since provoking the pirates is useless, then let's fight! We Marines fear no challenge!"
Akainu flung his white cape dramatically and strode out of the office.
As for contacting Blackbeard, this man responds better to force than persuasion—you have to go in person.
The Blackbeard Pirates are worse off than the Red Hair Pirates. During the last pirate council, they were nearly wiped out.
Now, the Blackbeard Pirates only have a few small fries left.
In terms of high-level combat power, without Shiryu, they can't even compare to the Red Hair Pirates.
If not for Teach's dual Devil Fruit abilities still being quite intimidating, his position as a Yonko would likely have been revoked.