Chapter 282: So Much Money
Kuina had awakened, eaten a Devil Fruit, and joined the Marines in Loguetown—Ian knew nothing of this.
Even though he was now in the New World, the latter half of the Grand Line, which was actually quite close to the East Blue, separated only by the Calm Belt, he remained unaware.
What had been keeping him busy lately was the refinement of Thunder Stones.
Waldo had been put on trial. At Ian's request, Arions and the others had not sentenced him to death but instead gave him a fifty-year prison term. Without Ian's intervention, Waldo might have rotted away in a cell until he died of old age. However, due to the agreement Ian had made with him earlier, Waldo was temporarily released from prison shortly after his incarceration to assist Ian in extracting Thunder Stones, repairing the Thunder Roar Cannon, and modifying it for installation on the Dragon Hunter Pirates' ship.
Ian had always envied the ship Luffy and his crew would later acquire—the Thousand Sunny. The Coup de Burst on that ship was incredibly useful. Now that Ian had obtained this Thunder Roar Cannon, he naturally wanted to modify his own vessel.
However, the Thunder Roar Cannon was quite different from the Coup de Burst. It was primarily designed for combat, so the modification method would differ from that of the Thousand Sunny.
Ian had been busy with these matters for the past few days. Not long after, Konenai returned. Following Ian's instructions, she had secretly gone to Stripe Island, found a spot, buried the fake chip made by the Revolutionary Army, and then called Ian to inform him.
Afterward, Doflamingo's people also arrived at Stripe Island. They contacted Ian's side, and Ian revealed the burial location Konenai had chosen, allowing them to retrieve the fake chip smoothly. Konenai had witnessed this from a hiding spot nearby before she set off on her return journey.
As for the fake chip Doflamingo had taken, Ian wasn't worried that Doflamingo would see through it. It was a replica made by the Revolutionary Army based on the original. Although Doflamingo was a Celestial Dragon, he hadn't been in Mary Geoise for a long time and had no way to verify its authenticity.
Moreover, while Ian knew Doflamingo still had connections with the Celestial Dragons in Mary Geoise, he estimated that Doflamingo would never dare to seek confirmation from them about this matter. If he did, the Celestial Dragons would become suspicious of him, and he'd be in trouble.
It was precisely because of this consideration that Ian dared to give him the fake chip.
However, Ian was troubled by the chip he was supposed to hand over to the Celestial Dragons. After much deliberation over the past few days, he made a bold decision: to return the real chip to the Celestial Dragons!
The reason for this decision was Ian's belief that the Celestial Dragons likely had a way to verify the chip's authenticity. If he tried to fool them with a fake and it was discovered, the Celestial Dragons would fly into a rage and revoke his Warlord status. That would be a huge problem. Ian had finally managed to secure a period of peace and didn't want the Marines storming his doorstep again.
While keeping the real identity chip could be seen as a talisman, honestly, it wasn't of much use to Ian. He still had no idea what the identity chip was actually for. The Revolutionary Army had taken it for study, but Ian didn't know if they had discovered anything. If the identity chip was something the Celestial Dragons used to activate a special device or passage, even if the Revolutionary Army knew about it, could they go to Mary Geoise to test it?
A chip with an unknown purpose, even if it might be important, had reached its limit of usefulness for Ian at this stage. It had successfully gotten him appointed as a Warlord. Without a clear idea of what else it could do, continuing to hold onto it was unwise.
So Ian felt it was time to return the identity chip, at least to make the Celestial Dragons and the World Government let their guard down around him.
If something happened later that required the chip again, Ian could always infiltrate Mary Geoise to steal it again. He already knew how to open the Celestial Dragons' secret chamber. Even if they changed their security measures because of this incident, he believed they wouldn't deviate from using Lineage Factor verification. And with his Warlord status, Ian would have even more opportunities to get close to Marineford and Mary Geoise.
With all this in mind, Ian made his decision. After Konenai returned, he gave her detailed instructions and then sent her back to Stripe Island with the real identity chip.
During this interval, Doflamingo, using the fake chip Ian had given him—the one made by the Revolutionary Army—crafted another, more refined fake and buried it in the spot where they had originally dug. He then notified Ian. Ian verbally agreed with Doflamingo, saying he would let the World Government dig up that fake chip. But secretly, Ian had Konenai place the real chip in that same location.
In other words, Doflamingo would think the World Government had dug up the fake chip he had made. But in reality, Ian had already substituted the real chip and returned it to the Celestial Dragons. Neither Doflamingo nor the Celestial Dragons would see through the deception. Since neither side would verify with the other, Doflamingo wouldn't know that the Celestial Dragons had actually obtained the real chip. And after verification, the Celestial Dragons would be satisfied with Ian.
Completing this task would take nearly two months of back-and-forth. By then, Ian's position as a Warlord would be secure, and he wouldn't have to worry about the World Government reneging on their deal.
Although it took a bit of time, it was safe. When Konenai reported that she had personally watched the CPO agents dig up the identity chip, Ian knew the matter was finally settled.
So, in the Travira Republic, he waited for the World Government's representatives to arrive. They would bring the agreed-upon 10 billion Berries. At the same time, Ian could negotiate with them about the Thunder Stone trade.
The Dragon Hunter Pirates couldn't use all the Thunder Stones, so they needed to find a big buyer. The World Government was the best option. However, Ian guessed that trying to trade the Thunder Stones for Kuma's PX cyborgs from the World Government wouldn't be agreed to now. Not only was Kuma's modification not yet complete, but the level of trust the World Government and the Marines had in him was also a major issue.
This was something that would take time, step by step...
After Ian had been on Travira Island for three months, the World Government's ship finally arrived, albeit belatedly.
Three warships: one flying the World Government's cross flag, and the other two serving as Marine escorts. Seeing this lineup, Ian breathed a sigh of relief. He had been afraid the World Government would foolishly send only one ship again. If that happened, and some audacious pirates plundered it, there would be big trouble. The ship was carrying a full 10 billion Berries—Ian's money!
How much is 10 billion Berries? Let's put it in perspective: the largest denomination of Berry is 10,000. One hundred thousand 10,000-Berry notes make up only 1 billion Berries. Ian's 10 billion Berries amounted to a full one million such notes!
On the World Government's transport ship, an iron safe the size of a shipping container was used to deliver this money!
When Ian saw that huge iron safe, even he was stunned. The 5.7 billion Berries he had found in the Celestial Dragons' secret chamber had been piled up messily, covering a large area, so he hadn't felt much. But seeing these neatly stacked bills, he finally understood just how enormous a sum this was!
The iron safe was carried ashore by two giant soldiers from the World Government. At the Dragon Hunter Pirates' base, when the safe was opened and the bills cascaded out like a flood, every member of the Dragon Hunter Pirates was dumbfounded!
They were even more overwhelmed than Ian. At least Ian had seen over 5 billion Berries piled together before. For the others in the Dragon Hunter Pirates, it was truly their first time seeing so much money.
The only one who remained relatively calm was Fujitora, simply because he couldn't see it...
"10 billion Berries... that's enough to buy a small country, isn't it?" Ian clicked his tongue in amazement.
The person responsible for negotiating with Ian was the same masked man from before, though he had changed his mask this time. He said to Ian, "Sir Ian, the transaction between you and the World Government is now complete. The Five Elders have asked me to convey that they hope you will fulfill your duties as a Warlord in the future."
Ian didn't commit to this. It was all talk. Ian knew full well that the Warlords were essentially independent. Unless they were forcibly conscripted, the World Government's orders were as good as hot air.
Still, out of respect for them having gone through the trouble of transporting all this money, Ian nodded to the masked man.
Then, when Ian brought up the Thunder Stone trade, the masked man indicated that as long as the supply was steady, the World Government didn't care whether they traded with the original king or the new Warlord. In other words, the Thunder Stone trade was fine. However, they hoped the price wouldn't change.
Ian looked into it and found that at the original price, if he supplied the World Government with about two tons of Thunder Stones per month, he could get around 700 million Berries in payment. Ian calculated and found it was quite good. According to his agreement with Arions, even if he did nothing, as long as he controlled the trade, he would get a 40% cut each month—about 280 million Berries. Over a year, that would be two to three billion Berries, enough to cover the Dragon Hunter Pirates' expenses.
As the CPO agents were leaving, the masked man said casually, "Oh, by the way, Sir Ian. Your friend Fire Fist Ace has been quite active lately. I hear he recently went to Wano Country. If possible, the World Government would like you to pass along a message: they could also offer him a position as a Warlord."