Chapter 54

The little incident at the docks hardly fazed Dante. He simply waved a hand, instructing Mock and Kuma to tie Daz Bonez up and haul him onto the ship. As for Mock's helpful suggestion to kill the man or toss him overboard to feed the fish, Dante just ignored it.

After all, Crocodile had handed him a fortune, practically entrusting his entire estate to him in the end. As an important partner, what kind of person would Dante be if he just fed his partner's most trusted subordinate to the Sea Kings?

'He gets it,' Dante thought, lounging comfortably in a beach chair on the deck. He was pretty sure he understood the meaning behind the message Daz had delivered from Crocodile. It was a roundabout way of saying: 'The treasure, Baroque Works... it's all yours. Just take care of my man.'

Stubborn old bastard. If he really planned on getting his treasure back after a jailbreak, why would he tell his right-hand man to stick so close to Dante? To get him killed? No, Crocodile was just one of those types, proud and prickly on the outside, but with a weird, buried sense of loyalty.

Dante recalled Crocodile's peculiarities. After Alabasta, when his former agents tried to break him out of a temporary holding cell, Crocodile had refused to go. "I'm not in the mood," he'd said, turning his back on freedom. Was he really not in the mood? Or did seeing the very tools he'd used and discarded risk their lives for him stir something in his stubborn heart? He knew the Marines wanted him. If he ran, his crew might not make it. But if he stayed, they'd focus all their power on him. So he stayed.

And later, during the Summit War, he'd even offered a word of encouragement to his old enemy, Luffy: "If you have something you want to protect, then protect it."

An old tsundere, through and through.

So, this time, knowing he was caught, that pride flared up again. He couldn't ask for help directly, so he sent Daz Bonez to his "business partner" under the guise of a final message.

'Besides,' Dante mused, 'why waste a perfectly good asset when it's delivered right to my doorstep?'

He opened his mouth slightly as Robin, seated beside him, peeled a grape and brought it to his lips. He chewed thoughtfully, spat the seeds over the railing, and turned his gaze to Daz, who was trussed up on the deck.

"I'm truly saddened by what's happened," Dante said calmly. "So, have you calmed down a bit now?"

The words hung in the air.

Daz stared at the cunning Marine Captain. 'Saddened? Your mouth is practically grinning ear to ear! And you have the nerve to say that right to my face?' He glared, his expression dark. "I never expected even Boss to fall for your trick," he said, his voice grim. "It seems we all underestimated you."

He finally understood. He scanned the figures surrounding the Captain: Mock, the Overlord of the East Blue, Kuma, the Tyrant, and sitting gracefully by his side, the Devil Child herself, Nico Robin, a faint smile on her face. The target his boss had been searching for and the pirate who defeated him were all working for this Marine. And this bastard... not only did he swindle them out of their fortune, he had the gall to act sympathetic?

Daz took a deep breath. There was no use dwelling on it now. He might never see his boss again, but a strange sense of calm settled over him. He met Dante's gaze. "How do you intend to deal with me?"

"Do with you? What do you mean? You were entrusted to me by Old Croc." Dante's expression turned serious. "Did you forget what kind of deep bond Old Croc and I share? How could I possibly lay a hand on his only remaining subordinate?"

'This scoundrel!' Daz Bonez thought. 'Before he got the money, he called Boss "Bro Crocodile," but now... it's "Old Croc." I've never seen such a shameless Marine! No, not even among pirates!' Daz turned his head away, intending to simply ignore the bastard.

Daz turned his head away, refusing to look at the man. He had nothing more to say. A failure was a failure. Being tricked was being tricked. He could face it, just like his boss.

"Doesn't matter," he said flatly. "If you're going to feed me to the seaking, get on with it."

"Feed you to the seaking? You're thinking of suicide after one little setback?" Suddenly, the Captain was on his feet, stalking toward him with a furious expression. "Are you worthy of the boss who took you in? Are you worthy of the man who gave you a second life? Are you worthy of the boss who gave himself up to the Marines for your sake? Do you ever think about anyone else? About your boss? No! You only think about yourself!"

'Does this bastard have any shame?' A muscle in Daz's jaw twitched. He turned back, snarling. "What the hell do you want?"

"Nothing much," Dante said, his smile returning instantly. "Just wondering... now that your old company has gone bankrupt, have you considered a new line of work?" He snapped his fingers. "Robin."

"Of course."

Having served as his personal secretary, Robin understood immediately. With her usual elegant grace, she produced a document and held it out for Daz to see.

Daz stared at it, utterly confused. He lowered his head, his brow furrowed as he read the title. "Marine 16th Branch... Special Talent Recruitment?"

Understanding dawned. He looked up at Dante and sneered. "You want to recruit me? Dream on. I will not betray the boss." He closed his eyes. "Just kill me."

Dante sighed, a hint of pity in his voice. "Do you still want to die? Do you think that's fair to your boss? Think about it. How sad would he be, when he finally gets out, only to find you're gone?"

"Ridiculous," Daz scoffed without opening his eyes. "The boss is a man who rules the seas. He wouldn't be saddened by something like this. Stop trying to persuade me, you cunning Marine!"

"Alright, if you insist," Dante said, shaking his head regretfully. "It's a shame, but you're right. Old Croc might be sad for a day or two, but he'll get over it. We can just pin your death on Marine HQ. Let him go after them, keep him busy so he never finds out we tricked him. He can even use his treasure to buy whatever he wants, and we can just keep sending him the bill. After all, with the only subordinate who knows the secret gone, we can say whatever we want."

Dante's eyes began to gleam with excitement as he spoke. "Why didn't I think of this before? That way, Old Croc will never know he was swindled, and we can continue our partnership. If he ever gets suspicious, we'll just blame it all on his dead subordinate!"

He didn't seem to notice that Daz's body had gone rigid. A muscle in his jaw twitched violently. His eyes, which had been squeezed shut, snapped open, burning with rage.

'This bastard!?'

Before he could speak, the Captain clapped his hands together, his face alight with inspiration. "Alright then! Toss him overboard! Feed him to the-"

"Wait!" Daz's voice suddenly cut in.

Dante turned, feigning confusion. "What's wrong? I thought we were agreeing with your suggestion. Don't you want to be seaking food?"

"I..." Daz gritted his teeth, glaring at Dante before his gaze fell to the deck. After a long moment, he spoke. "I will not abandon the boss."

"In that case, Mock-"

"Wait!" Daz looked up again, his expression now a mask of cold resolve. "I won't betray him. But I can promise you this: I will work for you until he gets out. The day he's free, you let me go. If you agree to that, I, Daz Bonez, will give you my word."

A moment of silence hung in the air.

"I'll honestly work for you. But if you don't agree... then please, just kill me!"

The Captain didn't answer. Daz sighed inwardly, resigning himself to his fate. Of course he wouldn't agree to such a demand. He slowly closed his eyes.

"No problem," Dante said, a cheerful smile spreading across his face. "For Old Croc's sake, it's a deal."

Daz's eyes shot open. He stared at Dante, a flicker of disbelief in his gaze. For all his shamelessness and cunning, the man's audacity was something to behold.

He let out a short, harsh laugh. "Aren't you afraid the boss will come after you when he gets out and learns the truth?"

"Come after me? What for? I told you, Old Croc and I have a great relationship, we share deep bond." Dante waved a dismissive hand. "Besides, I always conduct my business with integrity. I brought Robin over, just like I promised. As for the treasury and Baroque Works... you gave those to me, remember?" He snapped his fingers again. "Robin."

'This bastard...' Daz took another deep breath and ignored him, turning directly to Robin.

He saw that Robin hadn't pulled out a new document, but merely removed the top "Talent Recruitment" file, revealing the one underneath. Daz frowned. 'Had this guy guessed my decision all along?' But at this point, he didn't care. He looked down and saw...

'Outsourcing Labor Contract.'

He nodded, a grim satisfaction settling in. At least it wasn't a recruitment form, to recruit him into the Marines. He continued reading.

"Only provides accommodation?" He looked up, his face dark. "No compensation?"

"Exactly," Dante said, nodding as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "It's not that there's no compensation. Our outsourcing program doesn't offer a basic salary, but we do have profit sharing and performance bonuses. So, you in?"

'Basic salary? Bonuses?'

The words were foreign. As a pirate and a bounty hunter, you got paid when the job was done. Simple. But something about this felt... wrong. A trap. Where did Marine HQ find a man like this? And how did he become a Captain?

He was more devilish than the Devil Child.

Fine. It was just money. When the boss got out, they would take back everything that was theirs.

Taking one last, deep breath, Daz gritted his teeth.

"I... will sign."

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