79 The will of adventure (1/2)

With a final shake of hands the deal was sealed. The two group representatives nodded to each other, each with their own contemplations of the machinations of the deal that had just been brokered.

I nodded with a simple smile on my face as I shot a concealed expression of finality the snail that had been placed before me. On the other end, Fawkes could be seen smiling victoriously. Throughout the actual discussion he had been the one to put forth the requirements and provide a baseline to the entire girth of the conversation.

Just before the ship had landed on the shores of the island I had dragged him aside to brief him on the entire situation. At first he was slightly pissed that I was using him as a shield but pretty much agreed to the entire plan when he learnt of the scope that Mimir was working on.

Then all I had to do was give him one of the transponder snails and carry another to charter a long distance negotiation.

The deal had elements of the things that had been discussed, with a few iterations that were offered by both sides.

Now, Mimir would hold access to a 25 percent of the contents of the Jewel Ice Sheet that remained with the Navy after Chinjou got his head thumped in. This along with a tactical alliance between Mimir and the Navy saw the two organizations sharing markets.

Mimir had a lot of things but precious materials was in short supply. The store house of the organization was so pathetic that all the devil fruits that it possessed came from the auction that I had participated in, in Rubeck.

In exchange the Navy now held a thirty percent stake within the assassination circle of Mimir. What this essentially amounted to was that the Navy could now offer Assassination services on behalf of Mimir and would thus have a ninety percent of all the housing payment that the missions they deferred to Mimir, further they would also gain a thirty percent of the housing payment that Mimir offered.

When one looked at this, it would seem that I had taken a loss on this matter, but with the reach that the Navy had and with the initial down payment of sorts that was the stake in the Jewel Ice Sheet, the amounts actually evened out and even turned up on the side of profits for my side.

This along with the sheer influence that the Navy held within the entirety of West blue was worth the small amount that we were paying for.

As I walked out of the curtained corner of the bar, the bar tender waved at me. The sky outside had long begun to darken. We had been in deep negotiation within those small quarter for more than just a few hours, but I was satisfied with the results.

With the deal finally ironed out I could traverse to the Grand line in piece. Mimir would not have a problem growing for the foreseeable future.

Around the stone structure many families walked peacefully. At the side a couple could be seen holding hands as they walked around the fountain. To the left a mother could be seen chastising her daughter for trying to eat the bubbles that flew off the water.

With a smile I could not help but remember the unnamed island. My father cooking peacefully in the kitchen as my mother tried her hand at knitting me a sweater, then her expression of exasperation that would appear when she embroidered the sweater into her skirt.

My mouth couldn't help but curve up in fond memory as I walked away from the heartwarming sight. The lights that illuminated the streets cast a long shadow behind me.