Sir, putting aside the damage to your reputation, what do you think Headquarters will do when they find out about this?
I come from a Marine family. My father, Aramakki Ochs, was a vice admiral himself, and my mother was a captain in the Headquarters.
As he spoke these words, Bill gradually weakened his Haki and finished:
- My office is here, follow me.
To his surprise, Onigumo actually followed him. Frankly, Bill didn't know what he would have done otherwise.
Their journey passed in silence, but when they entered the office, Bill took out two dossiers.
"Vice Admiral," he began, "I understand that your job is tough. However, the fact is that you attacked me without provocation, and for that I demand compensation."
Here are two options that are acceptable to me for this incident to remain in the shadows.
Handing him two dossiers, one of them was significantly thicker than the other.
The thick one was clearly a transfer document, and the second was a bill for 100 million beli for the damage caused.
Bill considered the amount to quote—it had to be neither too high nor too low, so that the vice admiral couldn't just walk away or pay immediately.
Vice admirals received an average salary of 350,000 beli per month, not counting bonuses for captured criminals. Given this, Bill believed his salary was reasonable, given all the circumstances.
Glancing at both files, Onigumo quickly scrolled through the list of names and asked how they were collected.
There was no way Bill would tell him these people wanted to transfer, so he claimed to have found them in the ship's registers. This wasn't illegal—as the commanding officer in the area, he had a right to know who was coming and going.
Even so, it was quite unusual for such a short stay, not to mention it seemed like an invasion of privacy. So he tried to explain:
"After you attacked me, the crew refused to talk to me. That's when I found the list."
After a couple more minutes, while Onigumo was looking through the transfer documents, Bill leaned back and said casually:
"I understand you're in a difficult position, so here's what I propose: you sign off on these people's transfer, and I'll hand you some of the money. It will look like they were simply part of a shipment, or reinforcements, if you will."
Hearing this, Onigumo put down the dossier and crossed his arms. He had been much less talkative since Bill knocked him out, and now he only asked briefly:
- How many?
Bill:
"20 million belli," he answered calmly.
Of the eighty-two Marines, only fifteen held a rank higher than second mate, and even fewer of those were special operators.
However, there were artillerymen among them, which Bill was glad of. There were twenty of them in total. Although he suspected they were gun crew members, not snipers.
Now that the proposal had been made, Bill watched as Onigumo leaned back in his chair and smiled for the first time.
— 50 million. No negotiations.
This was a huge sum for several dozen second-class assistants. The average salary for an uncontacted second-class assistant was 15,000 beli per month. This meant that at 50 million beli, Bill would have to pay each person's salary for five years in advance, even before they signed their contracts.
"But what can I do?" he thought.
Bill wasn't a saint who never lied—he'd lied enough times today—but his word was sacred to him. He'd promised these men they could get away from this vice admiral, and he would keep his word.
"We have a deal," he said, without revealing the financial burden this would cause.
After this, the two large men shook hands, and, having paid in cash, Bill escorted the vice admiral back to his warship.
The 82 men didn't even start packing and looked quite surprised when Onigumo told them to leave his ship.
They left in less than thirty minutes, taking almost no personal belongings with them.
When the last man had disembarked, Bill turned to Onigumo and spoke in a confident tone.
Shaking hands again, this time Onigumo did not let go and, smiling broadly, slowly said:
"Don't think I don't know what happened. These people are cowards on my ship. Every single one of them. They're not even worth the bunks they sleep on."
And then, letting go of his hand, he added with a smile:
— I would give them to you for free.
Then he took a cigarette out of his pants pocket, lit a match and started smoking.
When he finished, he looked at Bill and said:
- Now it's your problem.
After these words, Bill showed no emotion and simply left the ship. It was already late at night, and the fusion reactor was still moored.
Masterson posted guards to protect him, not because anyone from the island might interfere, but because he was afraid that Onigumo's crew would do something.
The warship weighed anchor just after Bill stepped off the gangway, and as he watched the ship leave port, he saw the vice admiral mouth the words, "See you again."
Shaking his head, Bill turned to see 82 new faces looking at him expectantly, and he slightly regretted not being more decisive with this 'Demon Spider'.
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