One Piece: I'm Destined to Be the Son-in-Law King!-Chapter 198: An Unprecedented Crisis

Yamato, with a joyful expression, munched on her food and gulped down her drink. Seeing that Roya and the others were neglecting their meals, she cocked her head, her eyes filled with concern.

"This is incredibly delicious! You should really try some!" she exclaimed, her voice light and encouraging.

"Mm," the three replied in unison, managing a smile. The heavy, tense atmosphere in the room seemed to lighten, if only by a little.

Gild Tesoro grabbed a bottle and filled glasses for Roya and Queen. He lifted his glass high, a look of eager anticipation on his face. "The real reason I invited you here today is to have a direct discussion about how to deal with these two!"

He gestured sharply towards Monet and Caesar. "Vice Admiral Black Hair," he continued, his voice laced with bitterness, "they only joined me to get rid of you. If the Queen Brothers hadn't warned me, we might already be at each other's throats right now."

"You two backstabbing fools, you deserve the worst!" Gild Tesoro spat, glaring at Monet and Caesar with such murderous intent that you'd think he'd strike them down the moment Roya gave the word.

Roya's eyes narrowed slightly. "Mister Tesoro," he advised calmly, "it's rare that we all get to share a drink together. Let's not get so worked up. The dinner table isn't the place for a bloodbath."

"Hahaha, Vice Admiral Black Hair is absolutely right! I'll punish myself with a drink!" Gild Tesoro boomed, throwing his head back and draining his glass in one long gulp.

Roya and Queen followed suit, raising their own glasses and drinking alongside their host, showing the respect due.

Setting his glass down with a clink, Gild Tesoro fixed his gaze on Roya. "Vice Admiral Black Hair," he said, his voice now serious and low, "consider Miss Monet a gift from me. When you are ready to rest, I will have someone send her to your room."

"Then I thank you for your generosity," Roya responded with a slight nod, accepting the offer without hesitation.

"As for Caesar, Vice Admiral Black Hair, I can hand him over to you as well, but..." Gild Tesoro's eyes flickered towards Queen, a hint of calculation in their depths.

"Mwahahaha!" Queen's laughter echoed through the room, brimming with a peculiar glee. Oh, this is rich!

Long ago, he and Caesar were part of the same research group, MADs, both dedicated to developing new weapons. However, their relationship was far from friendly, filled with rivalry and a constant struggle for dominance.

After MADs fell apart, they went their separate ways, unable to tolerate each other's presence.

He never imagined seeing Caesar reduced to such a pathetic state. The sight genuinely made him happy. If Judge were here, this would be even better! Queen shot a quick, mischievous glance at Caesar, chuckling to himself.

"We Beasts Pirates don't really care about Caesar's allegiance," Queen said, his voice dripping with amusement, "but there's one thing: we need Caesar to provide a steady supply of Smlie!"

They weren't interested in the man himself, only in the artificial Devil Fruits he could produce.

Punk Hazard, Caesar's base of operations, was located within the Marines' sphere of influence. Without the Marines' protection, Caesar wouldn't be able to manufacture Smlie in peace.

Gild Tesoro and Queen both looked at Roya, their unspoken intentions hanging heavy in the air.

"I understand," Roya said.

With their desires laid out so clearly, how could he not understand?

Caesar could be handed over to him, but only if Caesar continued to produce Smlie, ensuring a continuous supply for the Beasts Pirates.

In essence, he would be stepping into Doflamingo's shoes as Caesar's protector, shielding him from harm.

Doing so would undoubtedly bring him great benefits. At least I wouldn't have to worry about money.

It was unlikely that Smlie would pass through his hands without him profiting from it. But if his involvement were exposed, it would also carry significant risks.

I do need Caesar, he thought, but not to the point of collaborating with pirates.

Roya swirled the wine in his glass, his gaze thoughtful and inscrutable.

"Mister Tesoro," he began, "the purpose of my visit to the Golden City is to make money, not to deal with two criminals of little importance."

"Is that so?" Gild Tesoro frowned slightly, seemingly unconvinced that Roya's sole purpose was financial gain. After all, the Marines aren't exactly pirates.

"Vice Admiral Black Hair, do you need money that badly?"

"Who in this world doesn't need money?" Roya countered. He turned his gaze towards Queen.

"Mwahahaha! Of course! The more money you have, the better!" Queen cackled in agreement.

Even pirates needed to spend vast amounts of money on entertainment and supplies. If no one had any money, it would lead to chaos and the collapse of order.

Money is a rule that everyone must follow!

Gild Tesoro paused for a moment, deep in thought. "Since Vice Admiral Black Hair is in need of funds," he said, "wouldn't the proposal I made earlier be perfect for you?"

"How about this: I'll pay 3 million Belly for each Smlie Fruit. I'll take as many as you can get!"

3 million Belly per Devil Fruit, a hundred of them would be 300 million Belly, enough to create about ten artificial Devil Fruit users.

Roya's expression shifted slightly. He had to admit, Gild Tesoro's offer was incredibly tempting. Smlie could be mass-produced, relying on quantity to generate immense wealth.

His gaze darkened, and he asked, "Mister Tesoro, why would I risk cooperating with pirates?"

"Pirates? Hahahaha! Is Vice Admiral Black Hair mistaken about something?" Gild Tesoro said, pointing to himself. "The person cooperating with you is me, the Gold Emperor Gild Tesoro, not the Beasts Pirates!"

"Furthermore, this is an independent nation recognized by the World Government, which means I am the King of a member state of the World Government!"

"Your cooperation with me is a legitimate business transaction. As for the Smlie Fruit, has the World Government stipulated that manufacturing and selling Smlie is illegal?"

His logic was impeccable, his arguments convincing.

Roya found himself momentarily speechless.

He had subconsciously been treating Gild Tesoro as a potential target for arrest.

Only after being reminded did he realize that this man was a legitimate king, and the Golden City was a member state that paid tribute to the Celestial Dragons.

In terms of social status, Gild Tesoro was far above him.

And as for Smlie, such products had never existed on the market before, so how could the World Government have banned it?

Moreover, with Gild Tesoro taking over, he really wouldn't need to contact the Beasts Pirates directly. That would be Gild Tesoro's problem.

Gild Tesoro noticed Roya's hesitation. This Vice Admiral seems to be weighed down by his role as a Marine! he thought.

It's strange. He dared to confront Kaido's daughter, so why would he have such resistance to doing something that benefited himself?

Gild Tesoro picked up a newspaper and handed it to Roya. "Vice Admiral Black Hair, take a look at this."

"Hmm?" Roya took the newspaper.

It wasn't a mainstream news source, but an entertainment gossip weekly. When he saw the headline, Roya's face immediately clouded over.

No wonder Chaton warned me!

"Kaido's Son-in-Law!"

The newspaper featured photos of him and Yamato together, identifying her as Kaido's daughter and alleging that Kaido intended to marry her to him.

Although the article used words like "allegedly" and other qualifiers typical of gossip news, the circulation of this newspaper would inevitably draw the attention of the Marines.

Roya shot an icy glare at Queen.

"Mwahahaha! Don't misunderstand! I didn't submit this article!" Queen protested with a laugh, adding fuel to the fire. "But Brother Kaido did publicly announce that he was going to marry Lady Yamato to you. Maybe some of the onlookers at the time sold the story to the newspaper."

"That's really very kind of you!" Roya said coldly.

To be honest, he was somewhat flattered by Kaido's apparent respect for him, but this situation put him in a very unfavorable position.

Gild Tesoro chimed in with a smile, "Vice Admiral Black Hair, the world isn't that simple. People who are too good can't survive."

"Don't give me that crap!" Roya snapped, his face dark.

Compared to the trouble caused by the newspaper, Caesar's matter seemed insignificant. I need to strengthen my power as soon as possible!

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[T/N:

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