"Nova Jay?! What are you doing here? Ahem, I mean... I have an urgent mission and need to set out to sea. Just give me back the cases, and I'll reinstate your rank immediately, no, I'll promote you to Second Lieutenant! Wait, make that First Lieutenant! How about it?"
Colonel Hammond's face showed a flash of shock, but he quickly pretended to be calm, putting on the airs of a commanding officer to try and manipulate the situation.
Jay immediately put on a bright, clueless expression. "Really, sir? But I don't have money to pay for it..."
"No problem! I believe in your potential, you can owe it for now. Come on, hand over the cases."
Colonel Hammond stepped forward, smiling warmly.
Jay appeared tempted and moved to hand over the cases... Hammond lit up with joy and reached out to grab them.
But he grasped at thin air.
"Warrant Officer Jay! Do you know what you're doing?!"
"Yup. Colonel, do I look like an idiot to you?"
Jay dropped the act, flashing a mocking grin.
He popped open one of the cases. "Wow! As expected from Colonel Hammond, you really are loaded!"
Hammond's expression darkened. "There's eighty million Berries in there. That's more than you could earn in a lifetime."
"See that ship over there? If we just board it now, we can quietly escape with the money, no one will ever know."
"I'll be honest with you. We split it fifty-fifty. But if we waste more time and the fools at the base catch on, we won't get a single Berry. Think carefully."
Jay, however, looked at him strangely. "Fifty-fifty?"
"Yes, I give you my word, we split it evenly!"
"But... why should I give you half? If I just kill you, won't it all be mine?"
At that moment, Hammond finally realized, Jay had been playing him all along.
He laughed in rage. "Fine, fine! If you want to kill me and take everything, let's see if you've got what it takes!"
Without hesitation, he pulled a gleaming axe from behind his back and swung it at Jay with deadly intent.
Before he became a colonel, Hammond had earned the nickname "Guillotine" through sheer combat merit.
Back then, any pirate he locked eyes with on the battlefield would eventually lose their head.
But
Bang!
Jay flicked his nunchaku out with lightning speed, sending the axe flying with a single blow.
Then he turned to the stunned and bewildered Colonel Hammond, grinning and baring his white teeth.
"Sir, your dinner's served!"
No matter how powerful Hammond once was, after years of comfort and indulgence, could he really still kill?
Jay had just torn off that last shred of dignity.
Flushed with anger, Hammond swung a heavy punch at Jay
but Jay didn't budge an inch. Instead, Hammond's fist ached as if he'd punched solid iron.
"You know..."
"The way you throw punches..."
"Feels more like..."
"You're flirting!"
SMACK!
Jay swung again, this time smashing out a mouthful of Hammond's teeth, blood splattering everywhere.
"When you tossed me into a storage pile like trash, I promised myself... one day, I'd shatter your bones and make you beg like a dog."
As he spoke, he smashed his nunchaku down again, crack!, breaking Hammond's leg in one swift strike.
Hammond screamed in agony and collapsed.
"That's for the seven days in solitary confinement, nearly starved me to death!"
Whack!
Blood spattered again!
"And thanks for promoting me to Warrant Officer... and charging me a fortune for it."
"Stop... I was wrong..."
Crack!
Crunch!
"Aaah! My arm...!"
"Don't beg so quickly. You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this moment. My dear colonel, I liked that arrogant, smug version of you. Could you bring him back for me?"
Jay put on an innocent, almost sincere expression, then raised his nunchaku and slammed it down again.
Blood splashed across his face.
"If you keep going, he's gonna die, you know."
Lafitte had appeared, leaning casually against a nearby tree, reminding Jay with a calm voice.
"How annoying. I actually thought this guy was strong once upon a time?"
"I'll leave the rest to you. Make sure he lives to confess, keep the stuff he shouldn't say buried in his gut."
Jay pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the blood from his face, then tossed it aside.
He picked up the two cases and walked off without looking back.
As for Hammond, beaten and sprawled on the ground like a dying dog, Lafitte's hypnosis would make quick work of him.
After that, in a secluded spot, Jay deposited all eighty million Berries into the system.
He wasn't going to keep that kind of money lying around.
Too risky if discovered.
Next came evidence disposal.
By the time Jay and Lafitte dragged Hammond back, the base was already on the verge of a riot.
After all, an hour had long passed.
And when they tried to find Colonel Hammond for a refund, they discovered the bastard was gone.
People searched everywhere.
That's when they realized, he probably knew he'd lost and had fled with the money.
Panic set in.
Some were worried about their lost money. Others feared that when headquarters came to investigate, with Hammond gone, they'd be made scapegoats.
They might even be forced to take the fall.
Run now?
That would only make them fugitives.
No one wanted to live their lives as wanted criminals.
Tensions were high, tempers short. One spark could set off chaos.
But just as everything was about to spiral out of control
Jay appeared, drawing everyone's attention.
Or rather, it was the bloody, broken man he dragged behind him that shocked the crowd.
"Is that... Colonel Hammond?!"
"That bastard, I'd recognize him even if he turned to ash!"
"Good! At least that scum didn't get away!"
The crowd erupted with outrage, shouting all at once.
"Quiet!"
Jay's commanding presence silenced everyone instantly.
He already had a fearsome reputation at the base. Now that even Hammond had been defeated, his authority was absolute.
"By now, I think it's clear to everyone, our dear colonel knew he was finished, so he tried to run."
"But I was ready. Had people guarding the docks. Caught him right in the act."
Of course, our dear Colonel here wasn't about to surrender willingly. In the end, he ended up like this, and I brought him back myself."
At that moment, someone in the crowd suddenly shouted:
"What about the money? That bastard wouldn't have tried to run without it, right?!"
T/N: I got confused about the current rank of the MC in the past few chapters due to his recent two-rank jump. I put Ensign, but after checking and finding a chart for the proper ranking related to this novel, the MC should actually be one rank lower as a Warrant Officer.