# Chapter 42: Lion's Open Mouth
On the deck of the Red Force.
Red Hair, Charlotte Linlin, and Doflamingo sat several meters apart in a triangle formation, each with one or two people standing behind them.
Behind Red Hair Shanks stood Ben Beckman and Lucky Roux. Behind Big Mom stood Katakuri. Behind Doflamingo stood Pica.
None of the three parties spoke. Big Mom's gaze swept around, and soon she noticed Su Xiao sitting on the ship's railing.
"You, come over here."
Big Mom raised her pudgy hand, pointing at Su Xiao. Compared to her hatred for Doflamingo, Big Mom's enmity toward Su Xiao was clearly higher.
From the intelligence Katakuri had reported, Big Mom learned that if Doflamingo was their number one figure, then Su Xiao was number two, with Jack being at most number three.
Su Xiao had not only killed Big Mom's eldest son, Perospero, but the death of the Sweet Commander Cracker was also closely related to him. It was only natural for Big Mom to hate him so much.
Red Hair's gaze followed where Big Mom pointed, a look of confusion on his face. Ben Beckman leaned in and whispered a few words, after which Red Hair understood the situation.
"If you want to negotiate, you need sincerity. Doflamingo, I won't negotiate with you alone. Have that guy come forward too."
Clearly, in Big Mom's eyes, Su Xiao was more detestable than Doflamingo, so she strongly demanded Su Xiao's participation in the negotiations.
Was this Big Mom showing respect to her enemy? Please don't overthink it. Big Mom just wanted to save face.
This was less a negotiation and more a nominal extortion of Doflamingo by Big Mom. So-called nominal extortion meant Doflamingo didn't need to pay much in substance, but he had to publicly admit defeat in his war with Big Mom and provide corresponding "compensation."
This wasn't a glorious matter, but Doflamingo had no choice but to accept. If they didn't negotiate, Dressrosa would already be a sea of flames. Having lost his territory, he would be hunted by the Big Mom Pirates to the ends of the earth, unless he left the New World.
The reason Big Mom agreed to negotiate was twofold: first, her own territory was in trouble, and second, she was somewhat weakened by Apollo's bombing.
"Doflamingo, do you have anything to say?"
Red Hair's tone was calm but carried authority. Doflamingo hesitated for a moment before ultimately acquiescing.
Red Hair's subordinates brought another chair and placed it beside Doflamingo.
Seeing this, Su Xiao's eyes narrowed. He had originally only come to bolster Doflamingo's presence, but judging by the current situation, it seemed he would also have to participate in the negotiations.
Leaping down from the railing, Su Xiao smiled at Big Mom. If the planned scheme went smoothly, this could be a major benefactor.
Seeing Su Xiao's "sincere" smile, Big Mom was visibly taken aback for a moment before returning to normal.
Su Xiao took his seat, and Red Hair stood up.
"Everyone, the purpose of our gathering here today needs no repetition from me. We are pirates, so feel free to speak your minds directly."
Red Hair first looked at Doflamingo, who nodded. Then Red Hair's gaze shifted to Big Mom. Big Mom's mouth twisted, but she eventually nodded as well.
"Then let's begin."
Red Hair sat back down in his seat. He was the mediator. Unless a conflict broke out between the two sides, he would only observe quietly during the negotiations. After all, Red Hair had nothing to do with this matter. His willingness to step in was already quite unexpected.
"Joker."
Big Mom's first words in the negotiation made Doflamingo's brow furrow tightly. Joker was his underground alias. For Big Mom to address him this way carried an unusual significance.
"The conflict between us is entirely due to your misjudgment. Back then, I sincerely wanted to cooperate with your Don Quixote Family. Not only did you refuse me, but you also provoked me. After that, wasn't it reasonable for me to make a move against you?"
Big Mom appeared impulsive and irrational, with no sense of reason. But once the negotiations began, her ability to twist black into white made everyone look at her with new eyes.
In truth, Big Mom had experienced this kind of negotiation many times. She had negotiated with Kaido, with Whitebeard, and even with the Navy at the entrance to the New World. Charlotte Linlin had climbed to such heights—could she really be a brainless old woman?
Hearing Big Mom's words, the corner of Doflamingo's eye twitched. Even Katakuri, standing behind Big Mom, turned his head away. It seemed... they were the ones who had first extorted the Don Quixote Family. When the extortion failed, they flew into a rage and started the war.
"The conflict arose from mutual contradictions. No matter where those contradictions came from, it's meaningless to talk about them now. Resolving this conflict quickly is beneficial to both sides."
Doflamingo didn't accuse Big Mom of twisting the truth. Instead, he skipped over the origin of the conflict entirely.
"That's right."
Big Mom immediately chimed in. She wasn't an idiot. Doflamingo's failure to mention the origin of the conflict was already a show of respect, giving her BIG MOM Pirates a way to save face. Continuing to haggle over it would be pointless.
"Since discussing the cause is meaningless, Joker, my two precious sons died in this war. This can't just be brushed aside."
"War inevitably claims lives. My subordinates Lao G and Jora died on the battlefield. Machvise is still in your hands. Hand him over, and I'll compensate you with all my assets on Sabaody Archipelago."
Hearing Doflamingo's words, Big Mom's face turned ashen. Her people had indeed captured Machvise, but before he could even be brought before her, some unknown pirate had tortured him to death. By the time Machvise was carried before Big Mom, he was unrecognizable, with over 40% of his body tissue chopped off and fed to the fish.
"What's the matter? Can't hand him over?"
Doflamingo's expression also turned grim. In truth, he knew well that Machvise couldn't possibly have survived. It was inevitable, just like Big Mom's captured subordinates. Doflamingo had repeatedly ordered that prisoners not be killed, but unfortunately, his subordinates were pirates, not a regular army.
Big Mom was left speechless. The matter of her sons dying in battle clearly couldn't be used to continue extorting him.
At this point, Red Hair could clearly sense that something was off. He understood the positions of both sides. In his view, there wouldn't be any substantial compensation, at most nominal compensation.
Dressrosa might indeed be indefensible, but the Don Quixote Family already had the qualifications to fight Big Mom to the death. Moreover, outside the net, a group of sharks was gnawing at it.
But judging by the current situation, Big Mom clearly wanted to carve flesh off Doflamingo.
"Then let's call it even. But Joker, you ultimately lost. Defeat demands a price. That's something all pirates agree on."
"..."
Doflamingo could also see that Big Mom intended to "carve flesh" from him.
"I want half the profits from your assets on Sabaody Archipelago. You also need to give me at least half of your underground world shares."