(Starrk's PoV)
"Explain yourself." Anne told me with a serious tone, "What the hell are you doing here, Starrk?"
I raised my hands up to show passivity.
"Uh, nothing?" I said
"Like hell." Anne growled, "We received reports from this ship about a pirate attack several hours ago. We come here and we see you here."
"Coincidence." I said, "We just got here."
I then saw as my men who were with me pulled out their weapons.
"Whoa there, lady!!" One of them said, "Drop the fucking gun!! Who the hell do ya think ya are!! Pointing it at our commander!"
"Easy easy…" I told them
"Tch!" Anne said
I then saw as an entire battalion of marines swarmed the deck and surrounded Anne and I and they pointed their rifles at my men.
"Stay where you are!" One of the marines demanded, "We will shoot!"
"You can try your luck, fucker!" I heard one of my guys say, "Drop your weapons and we won't kill you!"
"We have you outnumbered!" The marine replied
"Yea us!" My guy retorted, "But what about them?"
As he said this, I felt the stampeding footsteps of the other guys who had gone inside the ship to search it. They emerged like ants coming out of an anthill and had their weapons readied.
"Oi oi oi!!" One of them said, "What the hell ya think yer doing!! Drop them guns and you will probably live!! Hey you, lady! Don't point that thing at Starrk!"
"Uhm, Anne." I said, "Why don't you lower your gun. We can talk about this. Serious."
"Do you have anything to do with what happened here?" She asked me
"No." I said, "I'm telling the truth. I wouldn't lie to you about this."
I then felt as she lowered her gun.
I sighed and turned around to look at her. She had an officer coat over her usual formal attire. She looked a bit more prettier than I last saw her.
"Good to see you again, Anne." I smiled slightly
"Shut up." She growled, "Men. Stand down."
The marines lowered their guns and starting backing away as I walked towards my men who still had their weapons readied.
"Lower your weapons, assholes." I told them as I turned around to look at Anne.
Half of the deck were filled by Marines as the other half were filled with Pirates. Anne was in front of them as I was in front of us.
"Explain yourself." Anne said
I shrugged, "We just got here." I told her, "We were sailing around and saw that the ship was sitting here for a good while. We noticed that nobody was on board so we decided to loot it."
"Tch." One of the marines said, "Typical pirates."
"Yea what the fuck you gonna do about it, marine fucker!" One of my guys growled
"Shut up." I told him
"Rear-Admiral Anne." One of the marines said, "Should we call for backup? These are the Whitebeard pirates!"
"No." Anne said as she crossed her arms, "Don't call for anyone."
"Why?!" The marine exclaimed, "These guys are dangerous! They could be lying! They might've killed everyone on board!"
I frowned, "Hey asshole." I said, "Weren't you one of the idiots I saved back at Paradise? You ungrateful bastard. You don't trust my word?"
"Enough, Starrk." Anne said, "I trust your word. That alone is enough. Don't provoke my men. And as for you, don't call anyone until I say so. That's an order."
The Marine lowered his head as the others watched.
Anne looked around, "What happened here? There's not a single soul on board." She said
I shrugged, "Some kind of fight I guess." I said
One of my men walked up to me, "Hey Starrk." He told me, "Should we book it? Or do we fight?"
"We're not fighting." I said, "If we do, they'll call for backup. And I'll rather deal with pirates than have Marines breathing down my neck just for some damn loot."
"So we book it?" He said
"No." Anne said, "You lot aren't leaving. I should have all of you arrested at this moment."
"Then why won't we?" One of her marines asked
"Don't be a fool." Anne said, "Just because we should doesn't mean we actually can. No matter what way you look at it, we're outclassed."
"So we call for backup..?" He asked
"Not yet." Anne said before looking at me, "We get to the bottom of this first. Starrk, if you or your men try anything, or if anything gets too risky, I'll call for backup. I have Momonga and Garp-san nearby and they'll come straight to us."
Last thing I need is that old fucker trying to punch me out again.
I nodded, "Okay." I said, "I guess we could try to figure this out."
"Oi Starrk." One of my guys said, "I heard you and a marine girl got stranded on a remote island this one time. This her?"
"Shut the hell up." I told him
I watched as Anne gave him a scowl.
"Alright listen." I looked at the marines, "How about my men stay on this side of the deck while you lot stay there. No sudden moves or anything. Lets try not to get in a fight because something ain't right here."
Anne looked at her men, "Don't provoke the pirates. Do not fight. Understood?"
The marines nodded.
I turned to my guys, "Be good boys and behave yourselves."
"What're you gonna do?" One of them asked
"I'm gonna have a chat with this one." I said as I walked towards Anne
Anne walked to the inside of the ship as I followed her.
As we walked, Anne looked at me.
"You think they'll stay still?" She asked me
"Hopefully." I replied
"Why're you really here?" She asked
"Loot." I replied
"Typical." She said
"I'm a pirate." I said
"Hey." She said as she stopped
I looked at her as she looked up at me.
"About what happened on that Island." She said, "Did you tell anyone?"
"No." I said, "Only reason those assholes know is because Marco was the one who got us out, remember?"
She sighed, "To think I was saved by a Pirate." She said
"Not all of us are bad." I told her, "We're not like those who bombarded that ship you held me captive in. Remember that?"
She nodded, "I do."
I chuckled, "I didn't think we'll see each other so soon." I told her, "I meant what I said. Its good to see you."
She looked at me seriously, "Shut up."
I frowned, "Look." I said, "I heard what happened. I'm sorry about your loss."
"I know Ricky and Liam are dead."