Chapter 128: Take Me to Find Tie Lei

The snow-capped mountains of the Underworld at the lowest layer of Elbaf are covered in snow that never melts on the frozen ground, also known as the first world after the sun's death.

The billowing thick smoke finally dispersed.

Harald and Saint Saint Saiwen sat on the ground; through their brief clash, the Giant King had already recognized the other, acknowledging his qualification to speak with him as an equal.

After all, this is a world where strength rules.

Following the display of power, while pouring wine, Saint Saint Saiwen did not forget to employ his art of verbal persuasion.

"Rocks should have told you; he was born of the D. V. clan, his real name is D. V. D. Gecko, and he is a descendant of D. V. D. Jones."

So-called cooperation is nothing more than forming a community of shared interests and building a bridge of mutual benefit.

And the premise of cooperation,

besides equal strength, is to make the partner believe that everything you and your promises entail will eventually come true.

Therefore,

Saint Saint Saiwen started from Rocks' background.

These secrets are known to the old masters who possess a God's Eye view, but in the world of pirates, Rocks only mentioned the D. V. clan's secrets to Harald.

Harald raised his wine bowl as a signal, feeling even more confident about the upcoming negotiations.

"He... did indeed say so."

"Mr. Giant King, regarding the events that occurred in God's Valley back then, I have a different account; whether you believe it or not is up to you."

Saint Saint Saiwen responded by lifting the wine jar.

People truly do change; Saint Saint Saiwen, who used to love only milk, has now become a light drunkard.

"The reason Rocks went to God's Valley was not to fight for the treasures of the Celestial Dragon hunting tournament, but to rescue his clan members living in God's Valley."

"But he was turned into a demon by Im, the master of the Shallow Sea Contract on your arm, through a technique called Black Turn Domination."

In the end, he perished in God's Valley.

But Rocks was not, as the World Government propagandizes, defeated by Garp; rather, Rocks asked Luo Jie and Garp to kill him.

At that time, he was almost completely controlled by Im.

By the way, his son Techi is still alive."

"And above the Shallow Sea Contract you signed, there are also the Deep Sea Contract and the Abyss Contract, corresponding respectively to the God's Cluster Blade, the God's Knight, and the Five Elders."

The Shallow Sea Contract grants teleportation abilities, the Deep Sea Contract provides immortality, and the Abyss Contract achieves an effect of near-eternal life."

Depending on the type of contract signed, the range Im can influence also differs."

"As long as you do not approach the Holy Land Mary Geoise, the impact of the Shallow Sea Contract on you is limited; even if you wish, you can completely discard that arm and be freed from the Shallow Sea Contract."

A certain red-haired youth used exactly this method to instantly free himself from the Shallow Sea Contract and gain freedom.

After the words fell, there was a long silence.

Regarding the truth of God's Valley, based on Barzab's strength, Harald chose to believe only half, deciding to verify the other half personally.

"Barzab, why did you specifically tell me these secrets?"

Harald knew clearly that there is no such thing as unearned good in the world; all gifts have already been secretly priced.

"Mr. Giant King, I know you have no choice."

"Even knowing the Deep Sea Contract, and knowing that becoming a God's Knight means being completely controlled by Im, you and Elbaf currently still have no better choice."

"And I cannot help much right now."

Im's existence is somewhat beyond the scope; at least for the current Saint Saint Saiwen, it is indeed not easy to deal with, and there is no countermeasure against Black Turn Domination alone.

"Give me five years; in five years, I will come to protect Elbaf."

Five years is Saint Saint Saiwen's most conservative estimate; there is a high probability it will not even take five years.

"Of course, if I fail to do so,"

"the worst-case scenario is that you are completely controlled by Im and transformed into a demon form, and I can teleport to Elbaf to support you at any time."

Barzab's subordinates include a user of the Ball-Ball Fruit; Harald knew this, and the promise the other gave even considered the worst-case scenario.

"What must Elbaf give in return?"

Saint Saint Saiwen finally revealed his true intent: "I want Elbaf's legendary Devil Fruit and Tie Lei."

Harald refused directly without a second thought.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible."

"If you can fulfill all your promises, and if Tie Lei is willing to go with you, I have nothing to say, but that Devil Fruit is Elbaf's national treasure; how could it be taken away just because of those conditions you promised—"

"those conditions that have not yet happened and exist only in hypothesis?"

Regardless,

the legendary fruit is Elbaf's national treasure, the final trump card in times of crisis, and it is absolutely impossible to hand it over to Barzab.

"Brother Harald, is it really impossible?"

Facing Saint Saint Saiwen's overly familiar address, Harald felt utterly speechless; no wonder there were rumors that Barzab's friends span the Grand Line.

He is shameless beyond belief.

How can a person be so shameless?

Running into someone's house late at night, with just two lips moving, wanting to take away both the family heirloom and the divine beast guarding it.

A person should at least not be so shameless.

"No, absolutely not."

Hearing this, Saint Saint Saiwen immediately showed regret on his face, though in his heart he was overjoyed.

The so-called Demolition Effect—

In a house full of people, if you think the room is too dark and directly ask to open a window, you will be refused; but if you advocate tearing off the roof, everyone will instead compromise and agree to open the window.

After proposing a big request that is rejected, proposing a smaller request is more likely to be accepted.

Saint Saint Saiwen demanded that both Iron Thunder and the legendary Devil Fruit be handed over; Harald outright refused.

But he voluntarily conceded: "If you have the ability to take Iron Thunder away, I have no objection."

"Alright." Saint Saint Saiwen shook his head in regret.

Getting Harald to concede meant a quarter of his goal was already achieved; now he needed to figure out how to trick Lightning Squirrel Iron Thunder onto the ship.

Today cede five cities, tomorrow cede ten.

Take it one step at a time.

Though outright robbery would also work, the highest form of warfare is to outwit the enemy; the next is to undermine their diplomacy; then their army; and the lowest is to besiege cities... war is the last resort.

Remember, the First Division of the Morning Star Pirates—the Giant Pirates—consists entirely of Giants.

Saint Saint Saiwen did not wish to put Dori and the others in a difficult position.

Moreover, Elbaf is called the strongest nation in the world; even Im has tried to control Giant King Harald to harness the Giants' power and consolidate his rule—how could Saint Saint Saiwen possibly miss this opportunity?

He did not intend to occupy Elbaf, but to link Elbaf with Wano and Beehive Island into one continuous territory.

At that point, wanting to reach the final island, Laugh Tale? No problem—first pay the toll.

Harald nodded.

"If it truly is as you describe, I hope you will follow through."

Having once been unaware of the drawbacks of the Shallow Sea Pact, now that he understood the Shallow Sea Pact, Deep Sea Pact, and Abyss Pact, Harald felt only an abyss lay ahead.

It was a specially woven abyss trap, crafted for him and Elbaf by the Five Elders.

"How do you know so many secrets?"

Had Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen not told him these things, Harald believed he would only sink deeper—ascending from the Shallow Sea Pact to the Deep Sea Pact… and be fully controlled.

Yet without signing the Deep Sea Pact, he could never become a Divine Knight, and Elbaf could never join the World Government.

Even knowing the truth, there was no way out.

Precisely because of this, after recognizing Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen's strength, Harald agreed that if Saint Saint Saiwen could make Iron Thunder follow willingly, he would not interfere.

In exchange, he sought the promise that should Elbaf ever fall into peril, Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen would intervene to help.

As for protecting Elbaf five years from now? Harald took it as pure bluffing.

It was simply impossible to believe.

For a strong person who has reached their peak, continuing to climb higher is never easy—it requires effort, talent, time, and mental state.

Someone like Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen, becoming a Sea Emperor after only three years at sea, will never appear again.

Saint Saint Saiwen had no psychological burden when shifting blame.

"Hey, how old am I? All this came from Gol D. Luo Jie himself—he told me in secret after experiencing it."

Captain Luo Jie is truly a universal scapegoat—any secret can be dumped on him.

Noticing the lingering worry on Harald's face, Saint Saint Saiwen threw down another ace.

"Don't worry too much about the World Government—delay as long as you can. I'll pay someone to divert their attention for a while."

"Put it on my tab. Don't forget to pay me back later."

"Let's go. Take me to Iron Thunder."