Chapter 369: Tesoro’s Demand

Chapter 369: Chapter 369: Tesoro’s Demand

Chapter 369: Tesoro’s Demand

"Tch. Stubborn brat."

Crocus muttered under his breath while he and Chopper worked together to apply medicine across Axel’s torso.

A month had passed since their arrival at Twin Cape.

The blood-red ravines that had once covered Axel’s chest like a web had visibly faded. The wounds were still there, but the treatment was clearly helping.

"Ow, ow, ow... Easy."

Crocus gave him an irritated look.

"Now you complain about pain?"

He pressed the medicine in a little harder.

"I still don’t understand how you were running around and fighting with a body like this."

After spending a month with Axel, Crocus had gradually stopped treating him like the dangerous stranger who had threatened Laboon.

Axel was certainly stubborn, reckless, and infuriating, but his everyday behavior hardly matched the heartless villain he had claimed to be.

As a result, Crocus had become much more casual around him.

Chopper, meanwhile, revealed a mischievous smile.

He deliberately rubbed the medicine in harder.

"Ow!"

A few steps away, Wapol quietly encouraged him.

"Harder. Use more force."

He was clearly taking the opportunity to vent accumulated resentment.

Just then, a small boat returned across the water.

Sanji stood at the front beside Robin.

They had gone to nearby islands to buy supplies.

Between Axel and Wapol, the group’s food reserves disappeared at a horrifying rate. What they had brought from Baratie had already been almost completely exhausted.

Sanji, however, seemed perfectly happy with the errand.

Having spent the entire trip alone with Robin, he returned looking as though he had just experienced the greatest day of his life.

Then he saw Axel.

His expression immediately worsened.

Axel looked up.

"How did the shopping go?"

Sanji clicked his tongue.

"I bought everything we needed."

"Good."

Axel immediately added,

"I want roasted meat."

"Me too!" Chopper said.

Wapol remained silent.

He simply began drooling.

Crocus frowned.

"You’re a patient."

Axel looked at him.

"You should be eating properly balanced meals, not stuffing yourself with greasy roasted meat."

Crocus folded his arms with all the dignity of a veteran doctor.

"More vegetables. More nutrients. Less meat."

Then, after a pause, he added,

"And Sanji, you can give Axel’s portion of roasted meat to me."

Axel stared at him.

"You shameless old man."

Crocus looked away.

Everyone understood what was really happening.

Crocus simply wanted Sanji’s cooking.

His speeches about proper nutrition had very little force behind them anyway. During his years treating Roger’s crew, convincing pirates to give up meat and alcohol in favor of vegetables had been nearly impossible.

Chopper immediately joined in.

"Sanji, give me Axel’s portion too."

He nodded solemnly.

"I agree that patients shouldn’t eat roasted meat."

Then his expression betrayed him completely.

Axel reached over and knocked him on the head.

"Traitor."

"Ow!"

"Aren’t reindeer supposed to eat grass?"

Axel looked at him suspiciously.

"What kind of strange reindeer steals roasted meat?"

Chopper clutched his head.

"I’m not strange!"

"Reindeer are omnivores!"

Sanji sighed.

"Fine, fine. I’ll just make more."

Then he instantly turned toward Robin.

His entire demeanor changed.

"Miss Robin."

His voice softened dramatically.

"What would you like?"

"I’ll make absolutely anything your heart desires."

Robin smiled.

"Anything is fine."

Sanji’s eyes practically turned into hearts.

"Yes, Miss Robin!"

Wapol raised a hand.

"King Wapol also wants something delicious!"

Sanji’s face immediately returned to normal.

"Who cares about you?"

"Drop dead."

He turned and hurried toward the kitchen.

Robin watched him go with mild amusement.

By the time Sanji finished cooking, Crocus and Chopper had also completed Axel’s treatment.

Several steaming dishes were placed across the table.

Axel had barely reached toward the food when his expression changed.

Purururu...

Purururu...

A Den Den Mushi began ringing.

Robin noticed his reaction immediately.

"Someone important?"

Axel stared at the source of the sound.

Robin continued,

"Should we leave?"

"No."

That answer caught her attention.

Last time, Axel had taken Tesoro’s call privately.

This time, he had no intention of hiding the conversation.

If Tesoro truly intended to drag him into some larger scheme, then keeping the people around him ignorant would only make things more dangerous.

Axel took out the golden Den Den Mushi and placed it directly on the dining table.

Chopper leaned closer.

"Is that food?"

Robin glanced at him.

"No."

"It’s a Den Den Mushi. They’re used for long-distance communication."

She studied the glittering golden shell.

"Although I’ve rarely seen one this extravagant."

Then she looked at Axel.

"Who’s calling?"

"Tesoro."

Chopper blinked.

"Who’s Tesoro?"

The others looked equally unfamiliar with the name.

Axel did not answer.

He accepted the call.

The Den Den Mushi immediately transformed, taking on the caller’s expression.

"Hm."

A dissatisfied voice came through.

"You certainly took your time."

Axel’s expression cooled.

"Whether I answer quickly or slowly shouldn’t matter to you."

He picked up a piece of food.

"Maybe you should learn some patience."

"Otherwise, you’ll keep reaching for things too quickly and end up getting caught in your own plans."

The warning was obvious.

Tesoro laughed.

Even without knowing who he was, Chopper and the others could tell from that laugh alone that this was not a pleasant man.

No one interrupted.

"You got one thing right."

Tesoro’s voice lost some of its amusement.

"One word."

"Irrelevant."

The Den Den Mushi’s face twisted.

"What you think is irrelevant to me."

"I’ve had enough of patience."

Tesoro hated waiting.

He had waited helplessly as a slave in Mary Geoise.

Waited while enduring the Celestial Dragons’ cruelty.

For two years, the hope of hearing from Stella had been one of the few things keeping him alive.

Then word came that she had died.

After that, waiting had lost all meaning.

He had wandered through another five miserable years with almost no desire to live.

Death never came.

Instead, Fisher Tiger attacked Mary Geoise and freed the slaves, giving Tesoro his chance to escape.

That past had left patience as something he despised.

The expression transmitted through the Den Den Mushi became increasingly distorted.

Chopper instinctively took a step backward.

His hoof knocked over a cup.

Even Sanji and Crocus stopped eating.

Axel remained unmoved.

"Sometimes waiting is the smartest choice."

He spoke calmly.

"Arrogance without judgment gets people killed."

If Axel were in Tesoro’s position, he would never willingly place himself in the middle of a confrontation involving both the Marines and the Four Emperors.

Tesoro scoffed.

"And people who don’t even dare to be arrogant are cowards."

The word struck something deep inside him.

Cowardice.

Weakness.

The helpless man he had once been.

The memory of Stella being taken away while he was powerless to stop it.

For several seconds, only his breathing came through the Den Den Mushi.

Then came the faint sound of someone sitting down.

Tesoro spoke again.

"I’ve decided what I want from you."

"You can agree or refuse."

His voice became amused.

"But remember that the girl we discussed is sitting on my side of the scale."

Axel’s face remained calm.

"So you’ve got me cornered."

Then his tone sharpened.

"Fine."

"You’ve got me."

"Tell me what you want."

He paused.

"But if your demand is unreasonable, or if fulfilling it seems harder than simply dealing with you instead..."

The meaning was obvious.

Tesoro understood perfectly.

Axel might currently be forced into cooperation, but only within limits determined by Axel himself.

Push too far, and the hostage would stop being leverage.

Tesoro did not waste time arguing.

"I want you to capture someone."

Axel leaned back.

"One person in exchange for another."

"Sounds fair enough."

His eyes narrowed.

"But I doubt your target is ordinary."

With Tesoro’s wealth, he could place enormous bounties through the Underworld and hire countless people to do his work.

Tesoro himself was no weakling either.

If he needed Axel personally, then the target had to be troublesome.

"Of course."

Tesoro’s grin returned.

"They’re a member of the Whitebeard Pirates."

The table became noticeably quieter.

"I want you to capture them and deliver them to me."

Axel frowned.

"The Whitebeard Pirates?"

"That’s the crew of one of the Four Emperors."

"Whitebeard himself is called the strongest man in the world."

He took a bite of food.

"I’m not interested in fighting him."

Crocus’s expression had also become serious.

He had sailed alongside Roger.

He knew better than most what kind of monster Edward Newgate was.

Tesoro replied,

"I’m not asking you to fight Whitebeard."

"I only need one of his people."

Axel waited.

"According to the information I have, Whitebeard treats his crew like family."

Tesoro sounded skeptical.

"But I don’t trust sentiment alone."

"An ordinary crew member dying might not be enough."

"So I want someone important."

"A Division Commander."

Axel’s gaze sharpened.

"Which one?"

Tesoro answered without hesitation.

"Second Division Commander."

"Fire Fist Ace."

For a moment, Axel said nothing.

It was not a surprising target.

Of all Whitebeard’s Division Commanders, Ace was probably the easiest to isolate at the moment.

He had left the New World and was traveling through the first half of the Grand Line in pursuit of a traitor.

Catching a Division Commander inside Whitebeard’s own territory would be vastly more difficult.

Tesoro continued,

"He’s currently away from Whitebeard."

"A rare opportunity."

"Even you would have trouble taking one of Whitebeard’s Commanders while surrounded by the rest of that crew."

Axel remained expressionless.

But somewhere beneath that calm, an unfamiliar restlessness began to rise.

He suppressed it.

His voice remained steady.

"You want Ace as bait."

"To draw Whitebeard out."

"And then redirect him toward the Marines."

A slow clap came through the Den Den Mushi.

Tesoro laughed.

"You really are impressive."

"And irritating."

"Yes."

"That’s exactly what I intend."

He continued,

"Doflamingo will pull Kaido toward the Marines from another direction."

"With forces connected to two Four Emperors converging at once, even the Marines will suffer heavily."

Axel stared at the Den Den Mushi.

"That’s all?"

Tesoro’s smile barely changed.

"That’s all."

"I don’t believe you."

Axel’s response was immediate.

"You’re arrogant, but you’re not careless enough to leave your enemies an escape route."

His eyes narrowed.

"If the Marines are forced into simultaneous conflict with two Yonko forces, you’ll create problems elsewhere too."

Tesoro said nothing.

Axel continued.

"You’ll support pirates the Marines normally keep suppressed."

"Maybe you’ll arrange other disturbances."

"And what about Charlotte Linlin?"

"Red-Haired Shanks?"

"Do you honestly expect the remaining Emperors to sit quietly while the balance of the sea collapses?"

The dining table remained completely silent.

"If everything goes the way you want, the real result won’t just be weakened Marines."

Axel’s tone became colder.

"It’ll be a Great Pirate Era even more chaotic than the current one."

"With the Marines unable to maintain order, piracy expands."

"The nobles continue exploiting people."

"Ordinary citizens lose whatever protection they had."

"And when enough people have nothing left..."

He paused.

"They rebel."

"One kingdom after another."

"Until eventually, those rebellions reach the Celestial Dragons."

Tesoro’s answer was icy.

"That isn’t your concern."

"You have one job."

"Complete it."

Then he asked,

"Where are you?"

"Twin Cape."

Tesoro immediately replied,

"I’ll send someone with the necessary intelligence."

"It will contain information on Fire Fist Ace’s whereabouts."

His voice carried complete confidence.

"I look forward to good news."

Click.

The golden Den Den Mushi went silent.

For a few seconds, no one spoke.

Crocus was the first.

"Kid."

Axel looked at him.

"What are you planning to do?"

Axel tilted his head.

"What if I said I planned to do exactly what he asked?"

Crocus’s eyes widened.

"Then I’d stop you."

His answer came immediately.

"If what that man described actually happens, countless people will die."

Robin said nothing, but her expression showed clear disapproval.

Sanji’s face had hardened as well.

Chopper looked disturbed.

Only Wapol seemed unconcerned, quietly chewing something off to the side.

Axel smiled.

"I’m joking."

Robin frowned.

"That wasn’t funny."

It was rare for her to openly rebuke him.

But Robin had lived through a Buster Call.

She understood better than most how quickly large-scale conflict destroyed everything around it.

If Tesoro’s plan succeeded, the war would not remain between powerful pirates and Marines.

It would spread.

Without enough Marine power to restrain them, pirates across the world would descend on defenseless islands like wolves.

The number of dead could reach unimaginable levels.

Axel leaned back.

"Do you really think the Marines will quietly let everything happen according to Tesoro’s plan?"

Robin looked toward him.

"Those people have strategists of their own."

"They’re already planning several moves ahead."

Axel’s expression became more serious.

"And more importantly..."

"The person Tesoro wants me to capture is Ace."

Chopper blinked.

"What about him?"

Axel answered simply.

"Ace is my sworn brother."

Silence.

Then everyone reacted at once.

"What?!"

Sanji stared at him.

Even Robin looked genuinely surprised.

Chopper’s jaw dropped.

Crocus’s eyes sharpened.

Axel waved one hand.

"Before anyone gets the wrong idea, no."

"I’m not part of the Whitebeard Pirates."

"And I have no intention of becoming a pirate."

He looked toward the silent Den Den Mushi.

"But Tesoro probably does have someone important to me."

"So I can’t simply ignore him either."

That left only one option.

"I’ll enter his game."

"And once I’m inside, I’ll find my own way to play it."

Axel turned toward Crocus.

"Old man."

Crocus frowned.

"How much longer until I’m completely healed?"

Crocus stared at him.

Then exploded.

"Stop asking for impossible things!"

Axel blinked.

"Your body is destroying itself every moment!"

Crocus pointed at his chest.

"With your current condition, completely healing is impossible."

"Not difficult."

"Impossible."

Axel’s expression flattened.

Crocus continued,

"Unless you solve whatever is causing the continuous damage..."

"Or your body’s natural recovery somehow becomes faster than the rate at which it’s being destroyed..."

He stopped.

Axel looked at him with visible disappointment.

Crocus’s eyebrow twitched.

"What is that expression supposed to mean?"

Axel answered immediately.

"Disdain."

"You brat!"

.....

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