--Inside a secret meeting Room---

 

"You heard what Sengoku said just now, right?" One of the elders of the gorosei who has a scar on the left side of his face and wears a black hat spoke after he put down his den den mushi.

 

"Hmph! I think we should just destroy them. How dare they disrespect the celestial dragons?" The other youngest-looking elder with blond hair and a beard said in a quite angry tone.

 

"Calm down! There is no need to be in an unnecessary conflict with someone. Not to mention, they are not a threat to us. After they serve our purpose, we can get rid of them." The bald elder with the glasses said.

 

"You are right. But can we really accept all of his conditions!? The Second and Third conditions can barely be accepted. Trades with a new nation like them will only be beneficial."

 

"As for them increasing their territory, as long as they don't go beyond the second half of the grand line, it is fine. Since we are letting pirates hold territory there, it is not much of a problem to let an allied country hold and expand their territory."

 

"But the thing we absolutely can't accept is him not giving us any tribute at all. All the countries allied with us have been giving us tribute for 800 years. If we break that rule now just for one nation, that might backbite us in the future."

 

"Even though no other country would dare to question us directly, they would surely hold some grudges. Moreover, when they are contacted by the newly rising rebel group led by Dragon, they might hold some grudge against us and secretly join them instead."

 

"If something like this happens, then IM sama is going to be very angry at us. So, other conditions can be accepted, but we absolutely can't allow him to refuse to give us any tribute at all." The tall and thin bearded elder spoke.

 

"I agree with you. But I want to add one more point here. I think we can ask him to let the marine build a base in their territory. That way, we can always keep them under our observation."

 

"In case they develop any kind of rebellious thoughts against us, we can easily destroy them as well." The bald elder with the glasses among them replied.

 

After they finalized their decision, one of them picked up a den den mushi and called Tsuru.

 

"Tsuru, this is our final decision. We can grant him other conditions except for the exemption from tributes."

 

"If he is too hesitant about it, lower the tributes as much as possible but he must give us some tribute if they want to be in the world government."

 

"Also, tell him that we want to build a marine base there since we don't have much strong control over the second half of the Grandline. You have to try your best to let him accept this condition. Otherwise, we can only declare them as a pirate or obliterate them altogether."

 

As the elder finished giving all the orders, Tsuru replied, "I understand. I will try my best to fulfill your orders but I can't guarantee anything.

 

 

.....

 

 

---Back to Hokage Office---

 

".....So, this is it , Hokage sama. We can accept all the conditions except for the total exemption from the tribute. Aside from that, we would also like to have permission from you to set up a marine base to protect all the citizens in your territory."

 

"You should have seen how high the number of pirates there are in this second half of the Grand line. Even though you have a large number of troops under you, I don't think that you would send them to hunt pirates. So, I hope that you will allow us marines in your territory so that we can deliver justice to those filthy pirates." Tsuru said with her regular voice.

 

"Let's talk about the tribute first," Sarutobi replied in an unhurried manner.

 

"Since the higher-ups from the world government are so adamant about the tribute, I can reluctantly agree to it. But I can only give them just one percent of the profit we manage to make over the year. What do you think?" Sarutobi asked.

 

"This... Hokage-sama, I don't mean to be rude. But this is too little, don't you think? There are some countries that give 50 percent of their profits to the world government." Tsuru replied.

 

"If you think it's not enough, we can just end the negotiations here." Sarutobi said without much emotion in his voice.

 

Sarutobi has laid out a wide fuinjutsu seals around the island which enables him to see and hear any kind of things happening inside island using a crystal ball. So, Tsuru and others were being watched by him from the moment they entered this island.

 

During his observation, Sarutobi also heard Tsuru's conversation with the five elders. Knowing the reason for them taking tribute was only to save the government's face, Sarutobi lowered the percentage of the tribute to the lowest number possible.

 

'Since they just want to show the other countries thar we are not being treated exceptionally, the five elders will surely accept whatever amount I give them. It's not like someone can force those elders to fully explain to other countries about the amount of tribute I am giving them.' Sarutobi though in his mind without worrying about the negotiation being broken down.

 

Tsuru was quite for a while after hearing my reply before she finally released a heavy sigh as she said, "I will talk to the five elders and convince them to take this amount of tribute. But I want Hokage-sama to give us the permission to built a naval base in your territory . Otherwise, the negotiation will really fall off."

 

Hearing Tsuru's words, Sarutobi didn't think much before replying, "I can agree to that. But that will have to wait until we manage to capture a few more islands as I don't want the naval base to be built in here."

 

"Moreoever, I hope you will let us choose the marine officers we want to be in our territory. Don't worry, it's not going to be Kagami." Sarutobi said.

 

"Ok. we can agree to that." Tsuru still trusts the higher ups in the marine. So, she agreed to this condition without much delay.

 

"Then, I hope you will send me a list of marines that can be sent here. I will let you know after checking them myself." Sarutobi replied.

 

"Ok. Since the negotiation is over, I think it is time for me to leave." Tsuru said as she stood up from her seat.

 

"I wish you a safe journey." Sarutobi said to both Garp and Tsuru as he send them off.

 

'Haah! It's good that the negotiation went well. Even though the marine base might make some trouble for us for a while. But as long as we can brainwash them and take them under us, it will be very beneficial for the plan of Kagami who is currently undercover in the marine.' Sarutobi thought.

 

'If Kagami somehow manages to get the position of fleet admiral in the future, it will be much easier for me totally destroy the image of the world government that they painstakingly managed to keep over the hundred of years.'