Chapter 3. Big Shot of the East Blue
---
"Oh oh oh, is that so? Got it, don't worry—I'll handle it."
"You've already been promoted to Commodore? Congratulations, Captain Sean—no, I should say, Commodore Sean. Will you be reassigned to the New World next? Congratulations, congratulations. Hopefully, we'll meet again in the New World. So you're no longer the new Captain of Loguetown? I know, don't worry, I'll take care of it."
Dante casually tossed the Den Den Mushi he'd just hung up to Miss Robin beside him, then furrowed his brows and sank into thought.
The call had been to his partner—Commodore Sean, former base commander of Loguetown.
Though Sean wasn't especially strong, he wasn't rigid either. He didn't follow so-called Absolute Justice, but he wasn't particularly corrupt or greedy, either.
In his words, he was just an ordinary man with limited ability—as long as he could keep his jurisdiction safe and protect the civilians within it, that was enough.
Dante had worked with Commodore Sean for years, and truth be told, he was a little reluctant to see him go.
As for the so-called Inspection Team… according to the intel Sean passed on, it seemed the higher-ups had started to suspect fraud. Sean had been requesting military funds for years, claiming to be holding off a vicious pirate crew—the Mok Pirates.
But the truth?
Headquarters knew full well what the East Blue was like.
Thanks to a certain naval hero who kept coming home to visit family, this sea had long been devoid of any truly powerful pirate crews.
And the 16th Branch?
They hadn't caught a single major pirate crew in recent years. They spent nearly three years chasing just one group, raising that crew's bounty from zero to 30 million.
For those three years, they kept crying poverty, claiming massive losses and outdated gear—demanding military funds every year.
And for what? Just to chase one crew? And such a powerful pirate didn't make trouble for other branches, but only "targeted" your 16th Branch to bully?
That same pirate crew had long been strong enough to enter the Grand Line, yet never did?
What was going on here?
What kind of grudge was that?
So after years of fund requests, the higher-ups began to suspect something was off. After discussion among the relevant departments, they seriously suspected that the 16th Branch had been faking their expenses and was cheating military funds!
"What do we do? What do we do?! I heard the Marine Inspection Team's already at the 16th Branch!" Nami was pacing back and forth in a panic. She looked at Dante, who was still deep in thought, hesitated, then gritted her teeth and said: "Let's go to sea! Or why don't we all become pirates? I'll navigate the ship—we can escape together! With my skills, we'll definitely be able to evade the pursuit of Marines!"
Then, in despair, she tilted her head back.
"I don't want to be thrown in prison at such a young age~"
However—
Hearing her words, Dante gave her a strange but reassuring look and said: "Don't worry. Even if they arrest someone, it'll just be me. You're only a Master Chief Petty Officer in the branch, and you haven't even been registered at Headquarters. I guess the Marines probably don't even know you're part of the 16th Branch."
Neither Robin nor Nami were registered. Robin… for obvious reasons. And as for Nami, she just hadn't had time to report in yet.
For Headquarters, a Master Chief Petty Officer in a local branch was totally insignificant.
Whether reported or not, it made no difference—they wouldn't go to Headquarters for further training anyway.
After those words—
"What the hell are you talking about!?" Apparently triggered by Dante's response, Nami angrily grabbed him by the collar. "I'm clearly worried about you, and you say something like that? Wasn't it you who invited me to be your partner?! Damn it! I don't want to be a pirate either, but what choice do we have now?!"
As she spoke, she glared at him.
This guy…
He was seriously frustrating. She swore, if he asked her to board his ship next time, she'd say no.
"That's right, Captain Dante. We know you're not a bad person, but right now…"
The Captain of Cocoyasi Town's Security Team, Kensuke, sighed as he watched the angry Nami, then added worriedly: "If it comes to it, just escape as Nami said. We'll help stall the Marines for as long as we can."
"Yeah, Captain, run! I heard even that so-called Marine Hero has come."
"Don't worry—we'll look after Cocoyasi Town. We'll never forget what you did for us."
"Alright, alright. I told you, there's no need to worry." Dante patted Nami's hand and helplessly cut off everyone's urging.
He understood their concern.
But right now…
"It's not that serious yet." After glancing at everyone, he knocked the table with the five fingers of his right hand. Once the crowd quieted down, he continued, expressionless: "I'll take care of it. Everyone, go back to your work."
After a short pause—
"If it really comes down to it… I'll run, just like you suggested."
Upon hearing that, everyone visibly relaxed.
The sudden appearance of the Inspection Team had made them all very anxious. No one wanted to see their benefactor hauled off in chains like this.
Captain Dante was obviously a good man—he chased away pirates and the corrupt Marines.
He made sure everyone had enough to eat. How could they let someone like that be taken away?
But since Captain Dante said so, they could only accept it. Not wanting to burden him further, they quietly went back to work, even though they were still worried.
"Do you really have a plan?" Nami rubbed her reddened hand from where he had slapped it, blew on it, and glared at Dante. "That hurts so much! You hit so hard! If this doesn't work out, let's run. That's the Marine Hero we're talking about! Robin, you should say something to him!"
However—
"Boss is a clever man. We don't need to worry about him." Unlike the others, Robin, calmly sipping red tea and reading a book, didn't seem concerned at all. She looked up and smiled elegantly. "And I'm just a humble secretary. Why would Boss listen to me?"
She sighed and shook her head.
"If worse comes to worst, I guess we'll just have to find a new Boss."
"…"
Why did she sound so passive-aggressive?
Dante rolled his eyes but continued, "It's just suspicion for now. Headquarters doesn't have solid evidence. You know, we're Marines who uphold justice—how could we do something like that?"
But—
Nami just rolled her eyes. As the navigator who had literally helped steer the Mok Pirates' ship, she definitely knew what was really going on.
This guy was even trying to lie to her!
"Ahem." Seeing Nami's expression, Dante cleared his throat twice, then still spoke righteously, "Every bit of our military funding was applied for according to regulations, which is legal and proper. It's just that the Mok Pirates are extremely vicious, and the 16th Marine Branch really couldn't bear it. Asking for more money to buy equipment is totally reasonable. It's all for the sake of maintaining peace on the sea!"
He wasn't too worried about Garp. That guy's record was dirtier than his own, and he himself wasn't a real pirate—hadn't done anything bad either.
If he did try to flee, he was confident that lazy guy wouldn't give it his all to catch him, just like when he "caught" Axe-Hand.
And if worst came to worst… he'd just run.
He had operated here for so long. If he really needed to escape, he had plenty of ways.
Compared to Garp, what truly gave him a headache was Smoker. That guy genuinely enforced the law with fairness, strictly and impartially. If he wanted to arrest someone, he would go all out.
Of course~
Smoker's current strength wasn't something he was worried about either.
It wouldn't be easy to catch him anyway. Still, if possible, he didn't want to flee and become a pirate constantly on the run. Besides…
Dante placed his hands, fingers interlocked, under his chin. A stern expression appeared on his sharply contoured face. "I suspect the East Blue is about to give rise to another big shot. The Mok Pirates… are a bunch of ferocious, heinous great pirates!"
As long as they don't catch Mok, who could say he was colluding with pirates?
Saying that, he directly pulled out his Den Den Mushi and dialed a number, speaking in a serious tone, "Hello, is this Mok?"
"Boss!" A loud voice came from the other end. "I was just heading to the Conomi Islands! Udo's on the ship too, and a few guys I haven't seen before—new recruits from you?"
In a cheerful tone, the voice continued, "I ran into them on the way. They were riding a broken little ship headed for the Conomi Islands, so I brought them on board. Oh, right, Boss, why'd you call?"
"…There was something earlier, but it's nothing now. I'm hanging up. If there's nothing important, don't call me 'Boss' again."
"???"
What did Boss mean by that?
But before the confused Mok could say anything—
Beep Beep Beep~
The Den Den Mushi was already disconnected.
Dante: …
He silently looked at the Den Den Mushi in his hand, then sighed deeply. "What a mess…"
…
A bit earlier.
Before Dante and the others had their meeting, in the sea area near the 16th Branch of the
East Blue—
A massive pirate ship was slowly sailing across the calm sea.
Anyone who saw the pirate flag with a fishbone on it would immediately recognize it as the fearsome Mok Pirates—infamous in the East Blue, and the constant headache of the 16th Marine Branch, who had failed to catch them for years.
At this moment—
The pirate ship was clearly heavily loaded, as seen by how deep it sat in the water.
"Achoo!"
A huge sneeze suddenly echoed out.
"Boss," a crewmate from the Mok Pirates looked curiously at the burly, nearly three-meter-tall bald man rubbing his nose. "Up ahead is the 16th Branch. Are we going over there?"
But—
"What go over there? Don't forget, we're pirates now." Mok slapped the back of his crewmate's head with the hand still rubbing his nose. "Don't cause trouble for Boss Dante. Let's unload the cargo at the Conomi Islands first, then we'll go visit him!"
As someone trained by Boss Dante himself, Mok was very familiar with his Boss's rules. Even though visiting now wouldn't really cause a problem, there was no need to add trouble.
Just as he finished speaking—
The crewmate who got smacked pouted in grievance, but he understood Mok's meaning.
Still…
He pointed ahead and said in a wronged tone, "But there's a small boat coming from the 16th Branch. Should we ignore it?"
"What boat?" Mok paused at that, raised his head and looked toward the 16th Branch, and sure enough—there was a small boat slowly drifting across the sea, apparently also headed toward the Conomi Islands.
Coming from the 16th Branch?
And taking a small boat? Was something going on?
Mok frowned in thought and rubbed his shiny bald head before saying, "They're our brothers. Let's go check if they're in trouble. That little boat rowing all the way to the Conomi Islands might take until sunset!"
With a grand wave of his hand, "Bring the ship closer—see if they need help."