Chapter 372: Cooperation Agreement

Chapter 372: Chapter 372: Cooperation Agreement

Chapter 372: Cooperation Agreement

"How exactly do you propose we cooperate?" Tsuru asked.

Her response neatly bypassed Axel’s original question. Rather than debating whether the Marines should cooperate with him at all, she had already moved directly to discussing the terms.

That decision immediately silenced much of the opposition in the room.

Even with the Marines at a disadvantage, there were still officers who would rather sacrifice their own interests than accept help from someone who had once defected from their ranks.

But Tsuru had spoken first.

Those who disagreed with her would at least respect her decades of service enough not to start shouting while the Den Den Mushi was still connected.

More importantly, Sengoku stood beside her and made no attempt to object.

That silent approval carried even more weight.

Axel answered,

"I have three conditions."

Tsuru’s eyes narrowed.

"Go on."

"First, information exchange."

Axel leaned back.

"I have intelligence you need, and the Marines have intelligence I need."

"So from now on, if I need information, the Marines provide it when possible. In return, I’ll share information useful to you."

He paused.

"But neither side can force the other to reveal information they refuse to disclose."

Tsuru immediately frowned.

"That arrangement favors you."

Axel said nothing.

"You’ve already revealed most of what you currently know," she continued. "Meanwhile, the Marines have an intelligence network spanning the world. We can continue gathering information long after your current knowledge becomes outdated."

"No matter how I look at it, the Marines lose."

Axel smiled slightly.

"But the information I provide has value your intelligence network can’t easily replace."

Tsuru fell silent.

He was not wrong.

"Fine."

She moved on.

"What’s the second condition?"

"If we’re cooperating, then I want genuine cooperation."

Axel’s tone became more serious.

"Not the kind where one side smiles while secretly arranging for the other to take the fall."

Tsuru interrupted him.

"You mean the sort of ’cooperation’ you usually offer other people?"

Axel sighed.

"Do I really seem like that kind of person?"

"You are exactly that kind of person."

Tsuru did not hesitate.

"Stop wasting time and give me the third condition."

Axel smiled.

That answer meant she had accepted the second.

Of course, whether either side would keep every promise forever was another matter.

Promises were cheap.

Circumstances changed.

Interests changed.

Both Axel and Tsuru understood that perfectly.

Neither bothered saying it aloud.

"The third condition is simple."

Axel’s voice became calm.

"During the operation, I want the Marines to protect Ace."

The meeting room exploded.

"What kind of nonsense is that?!"

Doberman slammed his hand against the table.

His temper had never been especially mild.

He had worked with Axel before and had even approved of some of the young man’s methods against pirates.

But that had been before Axel left the Marines.

Personal opinion was one thing.

Duty was another.

And this request crossed a line.

"The Marines exist to arrest pirates!"

Doberman’s voice rang through the room.

"You’re asking us to protect one?"

Several officers immediately agreed.

"Impossible."

"Especially one of Whitebeard’s commanders."

"What would the world think?"

"If the Marines openly protect Fire Fist Ace, people will say we’re afraid of Whitebeard!"

The hostility between Marines and pirates went far beyond simple law enforcement.

Too many Marines had lost friends and family to pirates.

Too many scars had been carved into their bodies by those same enemies.

Doberman’s own face carried proof of that hatred.

Around the table sat officers with similar histories.

Momonga.

Onigumo.

Yamakaji.

Doberman.

Kizaru.

And others.

Most opposed Axel’s demand.

Gradually, every eye turned toward Sengoku and Tsuru.

Sengoku remained silent.

Outwardly, he looked every bit the composed Fleet Admiral.

Only the slight movement at the corner of his eye betrayed how difficult the decision was.

Rejecting Axel’s condition would be easy.

Most of the room wanted exactly that.

But Sengoku trusted Tsuru.

When strategy became tangled and every option seemed dangerous, she had always been one of the people he relied on most.

So he waited.

Tsuru herself remained silent for nearly thirty seconds.

For most people, half a minute meant nothing.

For Tsuru, it was an unusually long hesitation.

Axel’s request sounded straightforward.

It was not.

If she agreed privately, she could quietly arrange for Ace’s survival.

But Axel had asked openly.

If the Marines officially accepted, many officers would see it as yielding to a pirate.

That could damage morale.

Yet rejecting the condition might damage the larger plan and push Axel away at the exact moment they needed every advantage available.

Tsuru also knew Garp well enough to understand something else.

If Ace was connected to Garp, and Axel had openly called Ace his sworn brother, then the relationships involved were already obvious.

Finally, Tsuru made her decision.

"Fine."

The room erupted again.

"Vice Admiral Tsuru!"

Bang!

Sengoku’s fist struck the table.

The shouting stopped.

From the Den Den Mushi came Axel’s amused voice.

"Sounds lively over there."

Tsuru’s forehead twitched.

He had caused the entire argument, yet still had the nerve to joke about it.

Too much like Garp.

Annoyingly so.

Then again, Tsuru herself was hardly famous for being easy to deal with.

She spoke firmly.

"Axel, listen carefully."

"The Marines will not ’protect’ Ace in the sense you mean."

Axel waited.

"Our role will be to eliminate any hostile forces that threaten the operation and endanger civilians."

"We will protect the surrounding population."

"If Ace happens to benefit from that, so be it."

Her voice sharpened.

"But the Marines are not officially protecting a pirate."

That distinction immediately made the room calmer.

It changed almost nothing in practical terms.

But it gave the officers something they could accept.

They were protecting civilians.

Maintaining order.

Eliminating hostile forces.

Not shielding Fire Fist Ace.

Axel sounded completely unconcerned.

"If that explanation makes everyone feel better, I don’t care."

He was already preparing to end the call when Tsuru spoke again.

"Not so fast."

Axel paused.

Tsuru had caught the weakness in his proposal.

"You called this an agreement."

"Yes."

"The first two conditions benefit both sides."

Tsuru rested her chin against one hand.

"But the third condition benefits you far more than it benefits us."

"Protecting Ace is your personal request."

She continued,

"So shouldn’t you accept one condition from the Marines as well?"

Axel was silent for a moment.

Then he answered quickly,

"If Ace dies, Whitebeard will almost certainly be pushed into attacking the Marines."

"Keeping Ace alive helps you too."

"That is your prediction."

Tsuru’s answer was immediate.

"Even if your reasoning is excellent, something that has not happened remains speculation."

Axel sighed.

"So what do you want?"

"You will act under the name of the Marines during the operation."

Axel blinked.

"Under the Marines’ name?"

He considered it.

With his current reputation, openly announcing that he was acting for the Marines sounded almost comically suspicious.

It had the feeling of a villain who had just raised a flag guaranteeing his own downfall.

More importantly, Axel could not see an obvious benefit for either side.

Which meant Tsuru probably had another reason.

He could not identify it yet.

That did not mean he had to agree for free.

"The request itself isn’t difficult."

Axel paused.

"But there’s a problem."

Tsuru sighed.

"Of course there is."

"You’re treating my Ace condition like a one-sided demand."

Axel smiled.

"But I proposed the cooperation."

"If the Marines don’t like my conditions, you can refuse and we go our separate ways."

Several people in the Marine meeting room visibly bristled.

Axel continued before anyone could interrupt.

"So if you want me to accept your additional condition, I want something in return."

Tsuru’s eyes narrowed.

"What?"

"Access to the Triangle Current."

Tsuru’s expression immediately darkened.

"You really do try to squeeze every possible advantage out of a situation."

Axel sounded almost proud.

"I may have learned that from you."

Tsuru stared at the Den Den Mushi.

The cooperation existed because both sides needed each other.

She had allowed Axel to take the lead in proposing terms partly because of their previous relationship.

Had anyone else tried bargaining this aggressively with Marine Headquarters, the conversation would have gone very differently.

"You’re as irritating as Garp."

Axel immediately sounded offended.

"No."

"That old man is much worse."

His voice sharpened.

"He’s a violent lunatic."

Click.

Axel ended the call himself.

He did not say "happy cooperation."

He often used those words when a partnership was anything but happy, usually because he already intended to manipulate the other party.

This time was different.

For once, the cooperation with the Marines needed to be genuine.

...

The moment the connection ended, the Marine meeting room became noisy again.

Sengoku looked around the table.

"What do you all think?"

The senior Vice Admirals exchanged opinions first.

Doberman folded his arms.

"Axel has plenty of personality problems."

A few officers nearly laughed at the understatement.

"But I don’t think he’d lie about something that could trigger a war on this scale."

Doberman slapped the table.

"I believe the cooperation itself is genuine."

Yamakaji nodded.

"I agree."

He looked toward Tsuru.

"Vice Admiral Tsuru has made enough decisions over the years that spared the Marines unnecessary losses."

"If she believes this arrangement is worth trying, I’m willing to trust her judgment."

Momonga was more cautious.

"It can be considered."

He paused.

"But surveillance on Axel must continue."

"Actually, it should be increased."

"And we should prepare plans that assume he provides no assistance at all."

"We cannot make him indispensable."

Several officers nodded.

Onigumo remained silent, his expression dark.

Then attention shifted toward the only Admiral present.

Kizaru scratched his head.

"So scary."

He looked around at the serious faces.

"This atmosphere, I mean."

Sengoku’s expression darkened.

Kizaru slowly added,

"I think it’s fine."

Sengoku stared at him.

"Borsalino."

Kizaru looked over.

"You had the opportunity to capture Axel at Navarone Fortress."

The room quieted.

Sengoku continued,

"That brat may have become much stronger, but according to Jonathan’s report, you clearly didn’t use everything you had."

Kizaru’s face retained its usual lazy expression.

Before he could respond, Tsuru spoke.

"Scolding him now serves no purpose."

Sengoku looked toward her.

Tsuru remained calm.

"If Kizaru had successfully captured Axel, our current situation might actually be worse."

"Without Axel’s intelligence, we may never have uncovered this plan in time."

Sengoku’s anger eased slightly.

Kizaru, despite being the subject of the discussion, gave no meaningful reaction.

No one could tell what he was thinking.

Tsuru rested her chin on her hand.

"There are more important matters."

Her eyes sharpened.

"We need to monitor the Four Emperors in the New World."

"Every movement."

"And we cannot ignore Marshall D. Teach."

Sengoku frowned.

"Teach?"

He considered the name.

"He defeated Whitebeard’s Second Division Commander, so he obviously has potential."

"But compared to Whitebeard or Kaido, he’s still just an ambitious newcomer."

"That was my original assessment too," Tsuru said.

Sengoku looked toward her.

"But after considering Axel’s information, I reached a far more dangerous possibility."

Her voice became quieter.

"If Teach achieves everything he intends..."

"He may become one of the most troublesome pirates on the sea."

The room grew serious.

Impel Down held criminals from across the world.

And its deepest level, Level Six, contained prisoners whose names had been deliberately erased from public knowledge.

Condemned criminals.

Monsters serving life sentences.

People dangerous enough that even one escape could throw entire regions into chaos.

If Teach gained access to that level and recruited several of them...

That alone would be disastrous.

But there was more.

The Dark-Dark Fruit had been called one of the most dangerous Devil Fruits in existence.

And if Axel’s information was correct, Teach possessed a body capable of containing two Devil Fruit powers.

Then came the final piece.

Whitebeard.

The Tremor-Tremor Fruit.

If Teach truly intended to seize that power as well...

Sengoku’s expression hardened.

"I’ll order Impel Down to increase security immediately."

Tsuru nodded.

Sengoku continued,

"And we should stop waiting for Teach to make the next move."

"Begin pursuing the Blackbeard Pirates."

Tsuru looked toward him.

"Who do you want to send?"

Sengoku considered it carefully.

Teach had already defeated Fire Fist Ace.

If the Marines wanted certainty rather than another uncertain battle, ordinary forces would not be enough.

"We need an Admiral."

A short silence followed.

Then Sengoku made his decision.

"Send Aokiji."

.....

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