One Piece: King of the World

Chapter 159: Chapter 159: Sengoku: I\'m Dealing in Billions of Berries, Who Has Time for Whitebeard?

"Exactly," Claudius nodded, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "That\'s why Golden City has remained hidden for so long. Hardly anyone would suspect it\'s above the clouds. Now that we know, we\'re sitting on first-hand information. But here\'s the thing—CP-X can\'t handle this alone. The scale of this operation is beyond us."

Sengoku perked up at the mention of CP-X\'s limitations, his curiosity piqued.

Claudius continued, "That\'s why I want Marine to join forces with us. Together, we can tackle this. But..." He paused deliberately, letting his words sink in. "If Marine doesn\'t want to get involved, I can always report this to the World Government. I\'m sure they\'d be more than willing to help. Of course, if that happens, I\'d have to split the spoils with them, and you know how that goes. They\'ll take the lion\'s share, and we\'ll be left with scraps. That\'s why I\'m offering this to you first split it fifty-fifty."

Sengoku\'s eyes lit up at the mention of splitting the spoils. He quickly interrupted, "Don\'t even think about reporting this to the World Government! Why wouldn\'t Marine be interested? Eat? Of course, we\'ll eat! Forget the Golden City, if you found the Sea of Gems or Emerald City along with it, we\'d find a way to swallow that whole too!"

The usually composed Sengoku spoke with uncharacteristic fervor. The Golden City wasn\'t just any treasure; it was potentially worth tens of billions of Berries. Even if Marine only got half, that would still mean 25 billion, enough to cover a significant chunk of Marine\'s annual budget. And that was just Sengoku\'s conservative estimate. If Golden City\'s wealth reached higher—say, 100 or even 200 billion the payoff would be astronomical.

Marine\'s military expenses were no small matter. With an active force numbering in the millions, maintaining their vast operations across the globe required a staggering amount of resources. Between warships, weapons, ammunition, and salaries, Marine burned through hundreds of billions of Berries annually.

Sengoku, ever the tactician, immediately saw the value in this operation. A windfall like this could fund new warships, strengthen bases, and bolster their forces all without eating into their regular budget. The potential was immense.

After a moment\'s thought, Sengoku spoke decisively. "Your Highness, Marine will absolutely participate in this. You\'ve already done us a great favor by bringing this to our attention. There\'s no way we\'ll let you shoulder the burden alone. We\'ll assemble a fleet—no, a large fleet and take care of the logistics. We\'ve got plenty of warships nearing the end of their service life. They may not be ideal for combat anymore, but they\'re more than capable of hauling gold. Consider it done."

Claudius chuckled to himself. Hook, line, and sinker. He could tell Sengoku was fully invested now. The Admiral\'s initial reservations about working closely with CP-X had evaporated. Ever since the Calm Belt initiative, Marine had grown increasingly comfortable with these joint ventures. And now, Sengoku didn\'t even hesitate to dive into this new partnership.

"Excellent!" Claudius said, his tone lighthearted. "If Marine already has the ships, that\'ll make things much easier. Shall we finalize the agreement then?"

Sengoku nodded firmly. "Leave the fleet to us, Your Highness. We\'ll handle the logistics and manpower. I\'ll make sure Marine carries out this operation smoothly. And don\'t worry, we won\'t touch a single Berry of your share. I swear on my position as Marine Admiral."

Claudius smirked. "I wasn\'t worried about that. Marine wouldn\'t risk damaging its reputation over something so petty. Besides, we both know this is just the appetizer. The Calm Belt project is the real feast, and that\'s a long-term venture. Neither of us can afford to burn bridges here."

Sengoku agreed wholeheartedly. Golden City was a massive prize, but it paled in comparison to the sustained financial benefits that could come from properly exploiting the Calm Belt. As tempting as it might be to take a larger cut now, Marine\'s leadership wasn\'t short-sighted enough to jeopardize their future gains.

"Exactly," Sengoku said. "We\'re on the same page then. Let\'s proceed carefully and keep this operation under wraps. The fewer people who know about it, the better. We don\'t want the World Government getting wind of this prematurely."

Claudius raised an eyebrow. "And how do you propose we keep this quiet? Moving that much gold isn\'t exactly subtle."

Sengoku thought for a moment before replying, "We\'ll use older warships for transport. They won\'t draw as much attention, and if anyone does notice, we can pass it off as a routine operation. As for manpower, let\'s keep it small and trusted. Marine will provide a select group of loyal officers. Your CP-X can supplement them with your own agents. That way, we maintain control and secrecy."

Claudius nodded. "That sounds reasonable. I\'ll arrange for some of my people to assist, perhaps Crocodile or Doflamingo can spare a few hands. But we\'ll need absolute discretion. The fewer loose ends, the better."

"Agreed," Sengoku said. "Let\'s aim for perfection on this one. I\'ll contact Marineford as soon as we reach Sabaody and begin preparations immediately. The sooner we execute this, the better."

Claudius raised an eyebrow, amused. "Wait, what about Whitebeard? Weren\'t you just saying how urgent it was to deal with him back on Fish-Man Island? Something about needing to move quickly?"

Sengoku froze for a split second before waving his hand dismissively. "Whitebeard? Bah, how much is that old man worth? What, three billion Berries? I\'m dealing in billions every second now. Who has time for some pirate squabble?"

Claudius burst into laughter, genuinely amused by Sengoku\'s response. Watching the Admiral usually so serious and duty-bound brush off Whitebeard with such nonchalance was a rare sight indeed.

"I never thought I\'d see the day," Claudius said, shaking his head. "Sengoku, you\'ve changed."

Sengoku didn\'t respond, too busy hurrying out of the library to begin making arrangements. As Claudius watched him leave, he couldn\'t help but chuckle.

"Looks like the lure of gold really does bring out the best—or worst—in people," Claudius muttered. "I never thought I\'d see Sengoku so fired up over treasure. What a sight."

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