John was still recalling past glorious moments, when even the Navy would steer clear at the sight of them. Although Rocks was dead now, if those great pirates from back then gathered once more, it would still be an unshakeable force.
Unfortunately, Golden Lion had no interest in his proposal.
"Stop saying foolish things, John. You should know that's impossible to happen."
At this point, even if those people from back then could reunite, they would only face each other with swords as enemies. Cooperation was out of the question. Wasn't it more enjoyable to go out on one's own and be a king? Who would want to be beneath someone?
Except for Rocks, no one could command everyone's respect.
Moreover, the Navy wouldn't just stand by and watch these threats gather together again.
Rather than having such unrealistic dreams, he might as well figure out how to make Ren willingly become his vice-captain—that would be more realistic.
"So you're just going to let this go? Shiki! That's not like you!" John glared at him.
"Haa—" Shiki silently exhaled cigar smoke, speaking slowly. "For now, let it go. I indeed acknowledge him."
"Are you saying this represents the end of our alliance?" John's tone was not friendly. He originally didn't have to wade into this mess, but he was tempted by the profit.
But no matter what, he thought he stood on Shiki's side out of consideration for their past relationship. Shiki should at least acknowledge his favor. But the result was Shiki didn't suffer significant losses, while he alone lost a right leg. How could he let this go?
As for his original plan to kill two birds with one stone, that naturally didn't exist anymore.
Thinking about it this way, the great pirate Shiki turned out to also be a treacherous fellow.
Shiki naturally wouldn't be swayed by a few words from him. In the end, what pirates valued was still profit. If John hadn't seen the enormous profit in Inazuma's weapon sales route, would he have kindly come to help?
If Shiki really thought that way, he would be too naive.
Now that Shiki didn't take this opportunity to swallow John's territory and treasure, that already counted as having pirate honor.
Although the war had ended, the aftermath of this war did not stop there.
The most direct impact was that after this war ended, Ren received a large number of orders, all wanting to purchase Ruin Guards and Ruin Hunters. For those buyers who contacted him by phone, Ren indicated that orders couldn't be placed for the time being.
It wasn't that he was putting on airs. It was just that for such large orders, if not negotiated in person, it was difficult to reach a deal. Just one Ruin Guard cost five hundred million Berries. Some people backed down upon hearing this price.
But Ren didn't care. People who couldn't even afford this amount weren't trading partners for Ruin series weapons to begin with.
This kind of weapon was created for war from the start. Small pirate crews had no need to purchase Ruin Guards. At most, they might buy one to study.
His real clients were the Navy, some larger nations, and great pirates like Big Mom.
"Regardless, five hundred million Berries for one is really too expensive. And this is just for that small-sized... Ruin..." Perospero's face looked a bit grim.
"Ruin Guard." Katakuri finished his sentence.
Their group had arrived at Ritou this morning. Since Shutenmaru was seriously injured, Ren personally conducted the conversation with them this time. Actually, not just Shutenmaru, Yukiko was also injured later. When she was escaping with Shutenmaru, she was slashed from behind by John.
Although not as severe as Shutenmaru, she still had a thumb-width scar.
John probably didn't know yet that he was now on Ren's kill list. Ren planned to find an opportunity to take him out after some time.
"Right, Ruin Guard..." Perospero nodded. Whenever he thought of that war, with over two hundred Ruin Guards thrown onto the battlefield, he felt a bit shaky. That was over a hundred billion Berries!
And that was just the Ruin Guards. Perospero almost didn't dare to imagine the price of the Ruin Grader that appeared later. However, he heard that Inazuma didn't intend to sell Ruin Graders yet.
"Is five hundred million Berries really that high?" Ren looked at him with a smile, asking in return. "A machine like this, just one has firepower exceeding two warships. Put twenty of them on a battlefield, and they're enough to sway the outcome of a battle. Even conquer a small nation."
"As long as there's no major damage, they can be used repeatedly. Inazuma even provides a five-year warranty service. This is quite a good deal."
Ren tempted.
Perospero began to carefully consider. Actually, he knew Ren was right. If these machines were thrown into the nations of Paradise, they would be unstoppable. Even in the New World, not every nation was as militarily strong as Amazon Lily or Wano. Most nations actually had very average military strength.
"I still need to think about it..." Perospero thought about it but didn't immediately agree.
One Ruin Guard cost five hundred million Berries. Twenty would be ten billion Berries. That much money, even they couldn't produce all at once.
The Big Mom Pirates had only been established for less than two years. Even counting Charlotte Linlin's previous savings, they couldn't come up with that much Berries. But at this stage where various pirates were competing for territory and wealth, if firepower couldn't keep up, they would suffer losses.
"Please go ahead. You can stay on Ritou as long as you wish." Ren saw them out. Watching them leave, Nanatsuki standing behind Ren finally breathed a sigh of relief. Earlier, she was so afraid of revealing something in front of the other party that she didn't dare say a word.
"Lord Ren, actually the cost of one Ruin Guard is only about twenty million, right?" she whispered.
As Nanatsuki said, the manufacturing cost of Ruin Guards wasn't actually very high. The main materials were a plant called Otogi Wood and the Electro Crystals Ren created. This plant had a very hard texture, suitable for use as Ruin Guard shells.
Otogi Wood wasn't cheap but wasn't particularly expensive either. Moreover, Ren had already started transplanting some special plants. Once the first batch of trees matured, the cost of Ruin Guards would drop even further.
As for Electro Crystals, there were as many as needed.
"Nanatsuki, cost is one thing, value is another." Ren patted her head, explaining. "And technology is the greatest cost."
"Oh..." Nanatsuki responded, not sure if she understood or not.
[
Hey everyone,
I need to tell you what's actually happening.
I just got hit with mass cancellations. On top of being buried in academics until the 9th. I'm in deep financial trouble right now—like, genuinely don't-know-how-I-cover-next-month trouble.
I want to do more for you. I have another Naruto fic ready to drop the moment this academic hell ends. But I can't keep creating if I can't survive.
I'm not powerless about the work—I know I can deliver for you. But I'm powerless to stop the bleeding alone.
If you've ever thought about supporting, this is the moment. Not "someday." Now.
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Every new member literally buys me another week of doing this. Every existing member staying is the reason I'm still here.
]