Peach Rabbit spoke word by word toward the fortress, addressing Mork inside.
Her tone was sincere and serious—she truly wanted to secure cooperation.
Marco raised an eyebrow, revealing a look of interest. He wanted to see how the fortress would answer.
If the fortress was willing to cooperate with Peach Rabbit… wouldn't that mean they might cooperate with the Whitebeard Pirates as well?
After witnessing the fortress's firepower, Marco felt cooperation would be incredibly helpful. Even though the Whitebeard Pirates were the strongest Yonko crew, Pops' health was declining…
With powerful artillery, the crew would have extra protection, without needing Whitebeard to fight personally.
On Doflamingo's side, when he heard Peach Rabbit's request, his expression changed.
He absolutely couldn't allow the fortress to cooperate with the Navy. Otherwise, what advantage would the Donquixote Family still have?
Even though he ruled the underworld, he couldn't compare to the Navy, backed by the World Government.
Behind the sunglasses, his eyes turned sharply. Doflamingo chuckled and said, "Peach Rabbit, don't be naïve."
"You were disrespectful earlier. The fact he didn't kill you is already the greatest mercy…"
Everyone present understood this well. With such overwhelming firepower, the fortress could have killed all three forces easily. The fact nobody died proved the fortress had held back.
Those attacks were clearly warnings and demonstrations of power.
Doflamingo intended to ruin Peach Rabbit's chance of cooperation.
He smiled wider and continued, "Just return and tell Sengoku that the one inside the fortress has no intention of harming the Navy. As long as you don't approach, he won't affect the World Government at all."
Inside the fortress, Mork looked at Doflamingo and rubbed his chin.
"What a meddlesome little troublemaker."
The fortress system asked, "Host, how should we answer Peach Rabbit's request?"
Mork chuckled and set down his drink. "I'll answer myself."
He picked up the voice amplifier and spoke toward Peach Rabbit outside. "Cooperation? Sure."
His voice was calm, yet carried unquestionable authority.
Outside, Marco's expression tightened. "He answered…"
And it wasn't the mechanical fortress voice—this was a human voice.
What surprised Marco even more was that the fortress actually agreed to cooperate with Peach Rabbit.
"My terms for cooperation are simple: food, comics, magazines… all kinds of entertainment goods. As for how much—depends on how much sincerity the Navy shows."
He paused. "If what you bring is on the same level as what Doflamingo brought, don't bother."
Peach Rabbit shot Doflamingo a cold look.
So her suspicion was right—Doflamingo's mysterious cannon really did come from this fortress.
She replied without hesitation, "You can rest assured, sir. The Navy has branches all over the world. Our channels are wide and deep—we guarantee you will be satisfied."
"What satisfies me is decided by me—not by you," Mork replied bluntly.
Peach Rabbit's mouth twitched. She was unhappy with the attitude—but she forced herself to take it.
If Garp were here, he'd probably whistle in amazement.
Who would've thought Peach Rabbit could be talked down like this? She was known for being fierce and overbearing.
After a moment, Peach Rabbit added, "If we meet your demands, I hope the cannons we receive will be the same as those given to the Donquixote Family."
She didn't want Mork to hand her some weaker, lower-tech version. So she clarified on purpose.
Mork laughed. "Peach Rabbit, if you satisfy me, I guarantee you'll be satisfied too."
Peach Rabbit froze, then anger shot through her.
Was he teasing her?
In all her years in the Navy, nobody dared tease her…
But she swallowed it—for the sake of the deal. If she needed to endure being mocked once or twice, she would.
She thought darkly: Men… no matter how strong or important they are, they're all the same kind of shameless creature.
That became her evaluation of Mork.
On Doflamingo's side, his expression grew worse.
The Navy cooperating with the fortress was extremely bad for him. With multiple forces competing, the advantage of the Donquixote Family would drop sharply.
This situation was not good.
He thought furiously.
If worst came to worst… he'd send Baby5 to the fortress as a "marriage alliance" offering—maybe that could strengthen their relationship.
While Doflamingo was scheming, Marco also spoke up. He had been observing quietly, but now that even Peach Rabbit had secured cooperation, it was time for him to act.
"Sir inside, we hope the Whitebeard Pirates can also cooperate with you. We will fulfill whatever demands you have to the best of our ability."
"Heh. Fine."
Mork answered decisively.
Since he already had deals with a Shichibukai and the Navy, adding a Yonko crew didn't matter.
In fact, it meant he never had to worry about supplies again—three major forces would deliver them.
Marco, always calm and courteous, nodded gratefully.
Doflamingo's face twisted.
First the Navy, now Whitebeard? This competition was getting out of hand.
He felt deeply irritated. He was the first to discover the fortress—yet now he had no advantage at all. All his earlier flattering… completely wasted.
With a sour expression, Doflamingo complained toward the fortress, "Sir, I was the one who cooperated with you first…"
"And now you're cooperating with others as well. Isn't that… not very fair?"
The only response was the appearance of the enormous black muzzle—the one that carved a massive hole into the ocean earlier—slowly turning in Doflamingo's direction.
Doflamingo and his officers instantly paled.
Inside the fortress, Mork sneered. "Are you trying to teach me how to do things?"
Outside, Doflamingo frantically bowed his head. "Sir—of course not. You are free to cooperate with whoever you wish. I was… speaking out of turn…"
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