Chapter 70: Postpone Declaring Kingship

South Sea, Sorbet Kingdom.

Amidst the Blood Mist, Caesar strolled leisurely towards the prison like a young noble on a spring outing.

At the prison gate, the guards with crimson eyes saw Caesar approaching and immediately dropped their weapons, kneeling on one knee in submission.

They didn't know who Caesar was, nor could they even clearly see his face. Yet, the instinctive sense of obedience flowing through their bloodline left them with no will to resist.

Now, Caesar's physical strength had reached a level where he could convert targets into Thralls by increasing the density of the Blood Mist. However, this method required a long preparation time and was less effective against strong-willed individuals, making it a situational ability akin to Logia Type powers.

Of course, when dealing with ordinary guards whose average strength couldn't even match that of the Navy, it was more than sufficient.

Boom!

With a single kick, the heavy prison doors were sent flying, and the Blood Mist surged inside, effortlessly taking control of the guards within.

"Release them."

"Yes!"

The warden, his eyes now blood-red, obediently freed the elderly prisoners.

An old man in a long robe, leaning on a cane, approached Caesar.

"I am Brudo Grudge, the former king of this nation. Thank you for your assistance, sir. May I ask who you are…"

"My name is Caesar, and I am Kuma's captain."

Caesar gave a slight nod, then turned and walked towards the direction of the palace. "Let's leave this place first, old man. I have other matters to attend to, so I won't escort you further."

Kuma's captain, huh…

Kuma had left to take Bonney for medical treatment. Does that mean Bonney's illness has been cured?

But from the sound of it, Kuma has already joined this man. I wonder what kind of person this captain is.

He went out of his way to save us old folks. Surely, he can't be a bad person?

As he watched Caesar's retreating figure, Brudo Grudge's mind was filled with countless thoughts.

Soon, Caesar arrived at the palace, only to find Kuma standing outside the palace gates, facing off against a group of Navy soldiers.

At the forefront was a Rear Admiral from headquarters, draped in a Justice cloak and holding a Den Den Mushi.

Seeing Caesar approach, the Rear Admiral quickly spoke up, "Are you Jin Caesar? I am Rear Admiral Yuchimura from headquarters! Headquarters wishes to negotiate with you!"

"Negotiate? With me?"

Caesar tilted his head curiously, glancing at Kuma beside him. "Go ahead and take care of your business. I'll talk with them."

"Wait, please!"

As soon as Yuchimura raised his hand, Kuma vanished without a trace.

Just as he was about to order his subordinates to pursue, he noticed that the Navy soldiers under his command were all staring at him with cold, blood-red eyes, their expressions as indifferent as passengers on a train.

"You…"

"Your men are under my control now. Hurry up, my patience is limited."

Caesar waved his hand, conjuring a soft chair, and sat down comfortably, crossing his arms as he looked at Yuchimura with ease.

Yuchimura frowned, suppressing his anxiety for the moment, and quickly dialed headquarters, handing the receiver to Caesar.

Pururururu… Click…

The call was quickly answered, and a somewhat aged voice came through the receiver. "Hello, this is Tsuru."

"Vice Admiral Tsuru, hello. This is Caesar," Caesar replied politely and gently.

"Oh my…"

Tsuru's voice on the other end sounded surprised. "What a polite young man."

"You flatter me."

Caesar smiled faintly. "What is it that Vice Admiral Tsuru wishes to discuss with me?"

"Hmm..."

Tsuru's expression turned slightly serious: "Let me get straight to the point, Caesar... The Navy intends to nominate you as one of the Royal Shichibukai. What do you think?"

"Royal? Heh..."

Caesar chuckled lightly: "Sorry, Vice Admiral Tsuru, but the days of living under someone else's shadow are behind me. However, I am curious—why did you choose me?"

"It seems you haven't seen today's newspaper..."

Tsuru calculated the time it took for Caesar to appear in the South Blue from the New World.

Two days. It only took two days for him to travel from the New World to the Sorbet Kingdom in the South Blue. There was no doubt—it had to be Bartholomew Kuma's ability.

It seemed the news in this issue was highly credible. Kuma had indeed joined Caesar's ranks.

"The news of your battle with Kaidou has been published."

"Really?"

Caesar was somewhat surprised: "Did the photo look cool?"

"Yes, very dashing."

Tsuru chuckled softly. She genuinely liked this young man. Garp was right—though a bit unruly, he didn't seem like a bad person at heart.

"About the outcome of that battle..."

"Naturally, I came out slightly on top. Otherwise, my troublesome father-in-law wouldn't have let us leave so easily."

Caesar's tone was somewhat proud, yet tinged with regret: "It's a shame. If it had been two months later, I probably could have defeated him. But things in the Sorbet Kingdom happened so suddenly... Oh, I forgot to mention, Kuma is now under my command."

"We're already aware of that."

Tsuru sighed lightly: "The Navy won't interfere in the affairs of the Sorbet Kingdom. However, if you harm King Beckley, you'll also be considered a wanted criminal by the Navy. I hope you'll think carefully. Unless absolutely necessary, I'd rather not have you as an enemy."

"Ah, let's not put it that way..."

A smile tugged at the corner of Caesar's lips: "You should know very well that King Beckley was overthrown by the people. Kuma is the king the nation truly desires. Therefore, this is an internal matter of the Sorbet Kingdom, and it's only right that the Navy doesn't interfere."

"As long as the Celestial Tribute from this country is paid on time... what does it matter who the king is? To be honest, I have no intention of making enemies with you at this time. But I think... neither the Navy nor the World Government would want to provoke me, would they?"

Tsuru felt somewhat helpless. Caesar was absolutely right.

The Navy, the Four Emperors, the Warlords of the Sea, the Revolutionary Army...

At the moment, the various forces on the sea were in a delicate balance.

With the strength of Caesar and Kuma, it wouldn't take long for them to establish a force on par with the Four Emperors, easily disrupting the balance of the sea. And that was something the Navy and the World Government absolutely did not want to see.

"Alright, let's go with what you've said. But how can I be sure you won't become our enemy?"

"That's another matter. Although I've declined the invitation to become a Warlord of the Sea, I'm not opposed to cooperating with the Navy."

Caesar stroked his chin thoughtfully: "How about this? The Navy could join my ranks. I guarantee I can provide ample funds and resources, allowing the Navy soldiers to truly uphold their justice, without having to kowtow to the Celestial Dragons or turn a blind eye to the corruption in Mary Geoise..."

"In this way, I am confident in uniting the Revolutionary Army and the Four Emperors. Compared to confronting the entire sea, our enemies are only those Celestial Dragons."

"Do you know what you're saying?"

Tsuru was somewhat troubled. This guy... indeed, another restless young man.

Although it sounded more like teasing, poaching from the Navy—now that's bold thinking and bold action!

"Of course, if a person has no ideals, what's the difference between them and a salted fish?"

Caesar chuckled. "Could it be that the Navy is willing to be controlled by the Celestial Dragons? In your position, you should be well aware that compared to those Celestial Dragons, the crimes committed by the Pirates are almost insignificant. I'm not saying the Pirates are any good, but you should understand where the greatest evil on this sea truly comes from..."

"Alright, that's enough."

Tsuru suddenly interrupted Caesar. "So your goal is to oppose the Celestial Dragons?"

"No, the Celestial Dragons can't be completely eradicated! Even if this batch is overthrown, a new group of Celestial Dragons will soon emerge. The Revolutionary Army fails to understand this, which is why they can't achieve much..."

Caesar shook his head slightly. "For this sea, the true evil stems from a class system that has remained unbroken for eight hundred years, from the unchecked growth of corrupt power. If this problem isn't fundamentally resolved, the justice of your Navy will always be a joke..."

"My goal... is to unify the entire sea! To establish a unified nation! To limit power with a sound system and to curb evil with comprehensive laws. Admittedly, this won't completely eradicate corruption in the political system, but when corruption inevitably arises, there will naturally be successors to overthrow it."

"After all, no matter how perfect a system is, at a certain stage, class solidification and corruption will inevitably appear. And breaking through the corruption and solidified classes is also one of the necessary conditions for the progress of human civilization, just like what I will do in the future..."

"Truly a grand ideal."

Tsuru's expression turned serious. This kid really knew how to cause trouble for her.

The topic was far too sensitive. Without a doubt, their conversation would soon be known by the Five Elders. After all, the Navy wasn't a monolithic entity—many mid-to-high-ranking officers were closely tied to the World Government.

But since the conversation had already reached this point, there was no need for her to beat around the bush anymore.

"You should understand that the Navy is subordinate to the World Government and is controlled by them. Such a thing is impossible."

"Nothing is impossible. This sea is never short of miracles."

Caesar's tone was leisurely. "In the end... this is just an olive branch I'm extending to the Navy. If I encounter Navy officers with a sense of justice on the sea in the future, I'll spare their lives. How about that?"

"Then I'll thank you in advance."

With that, Tsuru eagerly hung up the phone.

Caesar's speed was simply too fast. They had just issued the order to make contact with him, and not long after, the call from the Sorbet Kingdom came through.

So at this moment, she was in the conference room, discussing with a group of mid-to-high-ranking officers the next steps to deal with Caesar's various possible reactions.

The conversation between the two was naturally heard by everyone without any concealment!

And Tsuru had no doubt that Caesar must have noticed something from her reaction, which was why he said those things over the Den Den Mushi…

What a headache-inducing kid!

"Ara ara… things have gotten serious!"

Kuzan propped his chin on his hand, letting out a sigh of amazement: "This guy seems to be even more dangerous than Dragon!"

"A reckless fool…"

Akainu said calmly, but surprisingly, he didn't say anything harsh.

"Unifying the seas? Kowai ne~"

Kizaru reacted even more strongly than Kuzan and Akainu, as if he had just stumbled upon some juicy gossip: "This is truly extraordinary. The young people these days… By the way, is his method feasible? Systems, laws? I remember the World Government has those too, though they're not very prominent…"

"Borsalino!"

Sengoku suddenly barked coldly.

Kizaru quickly raised his hands in a surrendering gesture: "I was just asking, yo~"

Glancing at Kuzan and Akainu beside him, Kizaru looked utterly innocent.

Though he didn't show it… some people clearly reacted more strongly than this old man~

"Nahahaha, that kid is as sharp as ever!"

Just as Sengoku had reprimanded Kizaru for his loose talk, Garp's boisterous laughter, which had tormented him for decades like a lingering curse, rang out from the side.

"Garp!"

Sengoku's face darkened: "It's nothing but the sophistry and heresy of lawless scoundrels. Everyone, snap out of it! That's enough for today. Meeting adjourned!"

"In such a hurry to hang up?"

On the other side, in the Sorbet Kingdom, Caesar smacked his lips and turned to Yuchimura beside him: "Was there something wrong with what I said?"

Ahhh, don't ask me!!!

Yuchimura hurriedly snatched the Den Den Mushi from Caesar's hand, his old face darkening: "Please release the control over my subordinates. We will withdraw from the Sorbet Kingdom."

"Since you're being so reasonable…"

Caesar drew a circle in the air, and the Navy soldiers in front of him all turned around. He then quickly handed Yuchimura a small briefcase.

Yuchimura frowned: "What's the meaning of this?"

Caesar chuckled: "You, who carry the justice of the Navy, surely wouldn't want to see King Beckley harm the people. The seas will still need the Navy's attention in the future, and I bear no deep grudge against you. Consider this as my treat for a round of drinks. Let's just let this minor unpleasantness pass, shall we?"

Is this something a Four Emperors-level powerhouse would say?

Yuchimura stared at Caesar in astonishment, momentarily feeling inexplicably flattered. He quickly declined: "No, no, this is what the Navy should do. This time, I went against my own sense of justice to aid a tyrant. I truly feel unworthy of this!"

"Hey! What kind of talk is that?"

Caesar insisted on handing over the briefcase: "When you're out at sea, you're at the mercy of the waves. Soldiers are bound by duty to follow orders. There's nothing hard to understand. I just hope that if something like this happens again in the future, you'll show more compassion and leave a way out for those poor people."

"Of course, of course!"

Unable to refuse, Yuchimura reluctantly accepted the heavy briefcase, looking as if he felt unworthy of it.

As for whether he truly felt unworthy, Caesar didn't care about that.

As the saying goes… the world isn't just about fighting and killing; it's about human relationships and social graces.

Regardless of whether he was just or not, with this favor owed, the other party would likely pay more attention to his matters in the future, or at least show some leniency.

Relationships, after all, are built over time!

Soon, as Yuchimura led the Navy away, Kuma dragged the lifeless body of King Beckley out of the palace.

It was clear that he had already dealt with King Beckley, but because he was in the midst of negotiating with the Navy, he hadn't rushed to act.

"Let me go! You bastard! Navy! Where's the Navy! You scoundrel! I'm the king of this country!"

King Beckley's pitiful wailing was grating on Caesar's nerves.

With a flick of his hand, a Blood Bullet shot out, and with a crisp snap, King Beckley's head tilted to the side, silencing him.

"I'm hungry. Let's go eat."

"Hmm…"

Kuma glanced down at King Beckley's corpse and then casually tossed it to the side of the road.

"Caesar, are you going to be king?"

"No rush. Doing so now would only make us a target of the World Government. We need to gather resources and Postpone Declaring Kingship."