Chapter 220: Cooperation Once Again
The person on the other end of the Den Den Mushi was clearly stunned.
It took a while before he reacted.
"You're saying Doflamingo sent someone to infiltrate the Marines, and that person even climbed all the way to the rank of Vice Admiral?"
"Exactly," Axel said.
Then he asked perfunctorily, "So, how many Berries is this information worth?"
Tesoro answered without hesitation.
"One hundred million Berries."
A single piece of information was worth one hundred million Berries.
Axel could not help marveling at Tesoro's immense wealth.
However, it was normal for this information to be worth that much.
After all, a pirate executive had infiltrated the Marines, become a Vice Admiral, and remained hidden for so long. That was no small matter.
If Axel had not already known the truth, even he would not have discovered it so easily.
The price Tesoro offered was reasonable.
"But my reason for contacting you this time isn't as simple as swindling your money."
Axel said the word swindling directly, yet Tesoro did not sound annoyed in the slightest.
To him, money was only a number.
What he wanted to know was the other reason.
The part that was not simple.
"So you have business with me?"
"What if I said I wanted to terminate our partnership?" Axel said flatly.
Tesoro was somewhat surprised.
"Why? You should know we only just established this partnership. It's only been a few days, and you already want to end it?"
If the partnership had been terminated after some conflict during cooperation, Tesoro would not have found it strange.
But this was too abrupt.
Axel had been the one to suggest the cooperation.
Yet only a few days later, Axel was also the one suggesting its termination.
Even Tesoro could not fully process that for a moment.
Axel let out a faint, mocking laugh.
Through the Den Den Mushi's vivid expression, his mockery was clearly conveyed to Tesoro.
"Because there's a better partner, of course."
His tone remained calm.
"In other words, in my eyes, his value as a partner is greater than yours."
After hearing this, Tesoro clapped his hands and laughed wildly.
Although the Den Den Mushi had no arms, its eyes bulged, tears forming at the corners as it put on an exaggerated laughing face, perfectly representing Tesoro's expression and tone.
Axel was taken aback.
Then he quickly understood.
"You know?"
"Of course."
Tesoro's laughter faded into a sharp, amused tone.
"The other party already approached me beforehand, saying they wanted to cooperate with me to get rid of you."
He sneered.
"Of course, I know that's only a method to use me against you."
"I didn't care about that," Tesoro continued. "Because there was never a chance for the three of us to cooperate in the first place."
His voice suddenly became heavy.
"What I care about is that you actually revealed my identity."
Tesoro's tone was impassioned.
Even without the Den Den Mushi's expression, one could tell he was furious.
To him, this was his most important secret.
After Stella's death, this was the thing he cared about most.
For this alone, he could not forgive Axel.
Tesoro's anger did not affect Axel.
Instead, he laughed as well.
"Don't laugh!"
Tesoro roared.
He hated it when others laughed without his permission.
That loathing was engraved deep within his heart because he had once been forced to live that way.
Without the master's permission, one could not laugh.
One had to keep a poker face at all times.
Because a slave was forever nothing more than an accessory.
Tesoro hated that feeling.
Others laughing without permission reminded him of his painful past.
Axel slowly stopped laughing.
"I'm just laughing," he said. "Do you really need to control that too?"
"Hehehe."
Facing Axel's attitude, Tesoro actually began laughing again.
He adjusted his emotions, then continued, "What exactly are you trying to do?"
His voice became colder.
"First, you used Stella's name to lure me out and pushed me into forming a partnership. Then, behind my back, you violated that partnership and cooperated with Doflamingo."
"You informed both sides of their hostile relationship, making it impossible for us to reconcile."
Tesoro's tone sharpened.
"Are you trying to make us fight each other?"
"If I said this was just unavoidable, would you believe me?"
Tesoro gave a deep laugh.
How could he possibly believe that?
Everything was clearly proceeding according to this brat's plan.
In this situation, telling him it was only a misunderstanding, who would believe that?
In any case, Tesoro was not going to.
"Whether you believe it or not, the relationship between the three of us has already become like this," Axel said. "Your relationship with Doflamingo has clearly broken down."
He paused slightly.
"I believe you wouldn't want to cooperate with an ally who might betray you at any moment."
Axel's words only made Tesoro laugh even more deeply.
"Aren't you the same?" Tesoro asked. "Didn't you just betray me a moment ago?"
"It's only natural for partners to betray each other for the sake of profit," Axel replied. "Since I can betray you, I can naturally betray him as well."
"Then I have to wonder whether you'll betray me again."
"That depends on whether your side of the scale outweighs Doflamingo's."
Axel spoke calmly.
"It's always individuals who betray, not interests."
He smiled faintly.
"Furthermore, there are no eternal friends. Only eternal enemies."
Did that mean he would lean toward whichever side had the greater chance of victory?
What a cunning brat.
But Tesoro knew very well that those words could not be fully trusted either.
"Indeed," Tesoro said. "As you say, there are no eternal friends. Only eternal enemies."
His voice became low.
"Right now, my relationship with Doflamingo may seem harmonious, but it isn't. He wants to kill me, and I also want to kill him."
His words ground out between his teeth.
"Then I'll trample creatures like the Celestial Dragons beneath my feet."
The Celestial Dragons would always be Tesoro's indelible nightmare.
An eternal scar.
"But before that," Tesoro said, "I think cooperating with him to get rid of a troublemaking brat like you is also a pretty good idea."
His tone turned interested.
"What do you say to that?"
Tesoro waited for Axel's answer.
He was not lying.
Those were his sincere thoughts.
Compared to an obvious enemy, a potential enemy like Axel seemed even more terrifying.
Just from this incident alone, if Doflamingo's man had not sent him information, Tesoro would never have known he had been sold out.
He might still have been foolishly helping Axel count the money.
"Ah, you're making me very nervous."
Axel spoke foolishly, like a child.
Then, in the next instant, his expression turned solemn again.
"But that's only if you can actually pull it off."
The stark difference between the two attitudes was reflected on the Den Den Mushi, causing Tesoro to frown.
This child really was troublesome.
Would a normal child do such insane things?
Even Tesoro, who had suffered persecution and had a personality twisted badly enough, felt that Axel was stranger than himself.
"Whether I can or not, how will we know without trying?"
"Fine," Axel said. "I'll be waiting for you at Marineford."
"Heh. Do you think that just because you're at Marineford, I can't do anything to you?"
"Then please, do as you wish."
Axel's casual reply left Tesoro unable to continue.
The words sounded flat, but they were actually using the Marines to pressure him.
To put it simply, it meant this.
I have the Marines behind me, so weigh your options carefully.
If Tesoro continued along that line, the negotiation would collapse completely.
That went against his true intentions.
So he had no choice but to fall silent.
After a long while, Tesoro finally spoke.
"I'll count this as your win this time."
His voice carried a warning.
"But if there's a next time, I won't mind cooperating with others to get rid of you first."
"Now then," Axel said, "let's discuss the details of our cooperation."
.....
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