One Piece: Mandala Swordsman

Chapter 29 Negotiation is a battle of eloquent debate.

"your eyes……"

“I am not blind, nor do I have any eye disease. I am only doing this to exercise my senses. After all, if I rely too much on my eyes, my other organs will not be able to develop. However, please forgive me for neglecting that this should be a formal conversation, and I should face you with the most proper attitude.” After saying this, Roman removed his blindfold, revealing his bright eyes.

Surprisingly, she's easy to communicate with, very polite, and at such a young age, she's already thinking about developing her five senses. Wales thought to herself in admiration.

Hartel was somewhat surprised, after all, Roman's attitude had always been to take the money and leave, but he didn't expect him to be so serious this time.

As for wealthy people, especially naval officers, one should naturally show them respect.

Although Roman usually likes to joke around, she is selective about who she is talking to; she can also be serious in serious situations.

"Roman is a good name, but you seem to prefer being called Black Cat. Is there a reason for that?"

Because she changed her name, she often doesn't react quickly when called Roman, but Black Cat was her old nickname, and she reacts to that name faster than when called Garrett.

"My favorite pet in my past life, but I haven't seen it since my homeland was occupied by pirates in this life." Her words were full of sincerity, without a trace of falsehood.

"I see." Wales sighed on the surface, but in his heart he thought there was hope.

"So, would you be interested in joining the navy?" Wales cut to the chase.

"I'm sorry, I don't have any." Roman refused decisively as well.

"Why? Since your homeland has been occupied by pirates, don't you hate them?"

"More than hating pirates, I hate my own powerlessness. Resenting others will only imprison me, so I choose to spur myself on to avoid future tragedies."

It has a strong philosophical flavor.

Seeing Hartle's "I knew it" expression, Wales realized that perhaps she shouldn't be judged by conventional standards.

She doesn't seem obsessed with revenge, but it's also possible that it happened so little that her memory of it has become hazy.

"But if you join the Navy, you'll be even stronger, wouldn't that achieve your goal?" Wales continued to persuade him.

"Could you elaborate?" Roman asked, adopting a docile demeanor.

"There are ways to obtain Devil Fruits in the Navy. I think you should know that if you perform well, the Navy can assign you one."

“But as far as I know, the side effect of a Devil Fruit is that it is rejected by the sea. Even if it increases strength, it leaves such a huge weakness that I personally cannot accept. Besides, I specialize in swordsmanship. If I eat a Devil Fruit, it will be very difficult for me to maintain both.” Roman shook his head.

"The navy also has many famous swords, if you're interested..."

“I don’t pursue famous swords. In my opinion, a sword is just a vessel for my martial power. The quality of the vessel is not that important to a swordsman, or to me.”

"In the Navy, you can get the best instruction, our training camps..."

"Practice makes perfect. The training camp environment is too peaceful. I personally have more faith in swordsmanship honed in the bloodshed." Besides, she grew up watching Armand's swordsmanship on Whole Cake Island and read many swordsmanship books. Big Mom's library is a treasure trove.

However, theory must ultimately be put into practice, and the real battlefield may be more useful than training camp.

"However, joining the Navy will make your life more secure."

“I’ve made a net profit of five hundred million from serving as Captain Hartle’s bodyguard,” Roman casually stated.

Damn, I forgot about that. A large portion of those 500 million came from their branch.

"As far as I know, if you join the Navy and then eliminate pirates, you probably won't get the full bounty," Roman said slowly, delivering his trump card.

This is true.

Wales answered in his heart.

The bounty is primarily awarded to individuals who do not belong to the Navy.

After all, they eliminated the pirates entirely on their own. But if you're in the Navy, whether you admit it or not, your colleagues and the military helped you in the process of killing the pirates.

While they won't give us nothing at all, we can only receive a portion, and this portion must be divided equally among multiple people, since this is a team.

"If you could become an officer..."

"You have calluses on your right middle finger, which are probably from holding a pen for a long time. This means you must have a lot of work to do every day. Also, the ink box looks new, but it's almost half empty. You must have written a lot of documents. This must be an essential part of your job as an officer, but I don't need to do that much work."

Another fatal blow.

That makes me want to be a sea guard.

Wales realized this and found himself being led by the nose.

"But joining the Navy is an incredibly honorable thing..."

"I don't deny that, but I believe that even if I don't stay in the Navy, I will still have my day of glory."

"but……"

"Dear Marine, I hate parting. Whenever I fight pirates, there's a high chance my comrades will die. I really don't want to experience that."

Finally, Roman resorted to playing the emotional card.

At this point, the little girl's physical advantages become apparent.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I was just too impatient. But you're still so... young. With your talent, you'll shine quickly if you're trained in the Navy for a few years." Wales was starting to panic.

"Thank you very much for taking care of me, but I might be a better sea guard for you."

Before Wales could speak, Roman continued, "Because of the rampant piracy, I've heard that the costs of warship damage, ammunition consumption, wounded soldier subsidies, and medical supplies are enormous. And if a powerful or up-and-coming pirate appears in a certain sea area, the costs will more than double. But after I killed Sadar and dealt with some big fish, the sea area in your region has become more stable. At least in terms of budget, you don't have to worry about money."

Captain Hartle sails at least once a month, and each voyage takes several days. Compared to warships, merchant ships are the real prize for pirates, so there are far more pirates attacking them. And whenever one is attacked, I will definitely deal with it. At the same time, our captain will not publicize such things. Even many people believe it is the Navy's doing, especially in your area of ​​waters, which is a credit to you.

Finally, if I were to actually join the navy, it would be unlikely that I would stay in the North Sea. Would that really be good for you?