The next morning, after his usual routine, Dante arrived at his office. He picked up the newspaper waiting on his desk-the standard issue for the Marine branch.
A quick scan confirmed it: no mention of last night's chaos in the East Blue. Surprise flickered in Dante's face, quickly replaced by understanding.
'Right,' he thought. 'Guess last night wasn't exactly front-page news.' It sounded dramatic, East Blue's big shots teaming up with pirates to wipe out the 16th Branch.
But really jf you looked closely... What did it amount to? Mock had a 50 million berry bounty, sure, but the rest? The highest bounty among them was probably Krieg's. And that was only 17 million Berries (Sadly the crime of armed aggression against the 16th Branch, couldn't be added to the bounty after capture, but it will be used for sentencing).
They talked about 'tens of thousands of pirates,' but add up all their bounties? It probably wouldn't even match a single decent crew from the New World.
Attacking a Marine branch in middle of East Blue wasn't like hitting Enies Lobby, Marineford, or Impel Down. Out here, pirates hit Marine branches all the time. The only real difference was Mock's sheer arrogance about it, most pirates preferred stealth.
So, to Marine Headquarters, this whole thing was probably peanuts. Unless Garp decided to make a fuss, they likely wouldn't even hear about it unless Mock actually succeeded in wiping out the 16th. It was like with the Straw Hats, if Captain Nezumi hadn't pitched such a fit after getting roughed up, Luffy's first bounty probably wouldn't have hit 30 million.
'So yeah... East Blue events? Pretty small time.' Trying to make headlines with this? The big players on the Grand Line and in the New World would just laugh.
Maybe that's why HQ only sent Captain Smoker as backup. In any other sea, an attack involving that many local pirates would probably draw an Admiral. But for the East Blue? Overkill.
Dante nodded, finally getting it. He turned back to the paper.
The actual headlines focused on two figures. First, the East Blue 'supernova,' Portgas D. Ace. Since leaving the East Blue, Ace had shot to fame, blasted through the Grand Line on his own steam, and already hit the New World.
The World Government was now offering him a Warlord position, which was definitely making waves.
The second name grabbing attention was Bartholomew Kuma, the 'Tyrant,' known for his 'one-man revolution' in the Sorbet Kingdom a few years back.
Apparently, after the original king, Bekori, escaped and got the World Government involved, Kuma single-handedly sunk the Marine warships sent after him.
Now Kuma was sailing as a pirate too. He was reportedly searching the seas for a doctor for his daughter while simultaneously stirring up 'revolutions' in different countries, earning himself headlines and a hefty bounty from the World Government.
Compared to them, Mock... well, his bounty was high for a rookie, but he didn't exactly have a string of major accomplishments.
Dante himself had inflated the bounty up to 30 million, then Garp pushed it to 50 million. After that? A failed attack on the 16th Branch that ended up crippling most of the pirate forces in the East Blue. It'd probably take a while for them to bounce back from that.
The pirate scene in East Blue wouldn't recover any time soon.
Dante sighed and shook his head. Setting the paper aside, he looked over at Robin. "How are the arrangements for those captured pirates coming along?"
"They're underway," Robin replied, still absorbed in her book. "But it was a big haul this time, so it'll take a while to process everyone." She didn't look up, just turned a page, her voice calm and even. "Nota's overseeing them. As you instructed, some are assigned to construction work on the Conomi Archipelago, others to the Marine base." As she spoke, an extra hand sprouted from the desk, pouring Dante a cup of black tea.
"Nami went to sort through the loot first thing this morning," she continued. "Mock already took off in his new ship. As for the Marines... Captain Smoker is still around. Kuina dragged Tashigi off for sparring early this morning."
"Mock's gone already?"
'Guess he was eager to try out the new ship.' Dante processed Robin's update. 'Sounds like everything's handled. Nothing for me to worry about.'
'Smoker's probably sticking around because of Tashigi.' Finding someone who looks so much like her and is a swordswoman? It'd be strange if they didn't cross swords. 'No need to worry about him, then.'
"What's the word from the East Blue?" Dante asked. "Has Mock's stunt been exposed yet?" Since the newspaper was useless on that front, he'd need info directly from the source.
"We're gathering intel now. It'll take some time," Robin said, a faint, almost helpless smile touching her lips as something occurred to her.
'Who would've expected him,' Robin mused internally, 'to set Mock up to save a bunch of small-fry pirates right at the end? Holding off a Marine Captain single-handedly, giving the East Blue pirates a sliver of hope... Those pirates were probably practically weeping as they watched Mock's retreating back.'
'And Captain Smoker? He looked thoroughly chewed out all night. Heard the cigar ash practically formed a small mountain at his feet.'
Robin finally looked up, a graceful smile playing on her lips. "By the way," she began, "we found quite a few abducted civilians on some of the ships. They were all unconscious, so they don't know what happened. You were still asleep this morning, so Nota asked me to check with you about what to do with them. Also... I heard you were thinking of recruiting a few of the pirates?"
"Civilians?" Dante considered for a moment. "If they want to go home, Captain Smoker can probably take them when he leaves. If they want to stay, arrange things like we usually do."
'Normally, Mock grabs people from poor areas,' he thought, 'people who appreciate the chance we offer here. But this time... it was different. Just bad luck for them. Probably a lot of them weren't poor to begin with, just unlucky enough to run into pirates. No need to force them to stay. Plenty of people in the East Blue looking for work anyway.'
'As for recruiting pirates... Only a few caught my eye. Kuro of a Hundred Plans (though apparently not good plans), mainly. Not for him, but for that Stealth Walk technique of his. I'll let Nota handle the selection later. He'll know what to do.'
Meanwhile... 'Status check...' he thought briefly.
---
[Name: Dante Ashford]
[Occupation: Level-4 Senior Staff Member]
[Quota: 8,000 (Note: Upon reaching 10,000 points employee triggers promotion to Level-3 and associated benefits.)]
---
'Huh, jumped 2,500 from 5,500 to 8,000. Almost as big a boost as when the inspection team was here. Was it because I took out so many of those early-stage bosses? Gotta say, though, the haul was definitely worth it.'
With nothing else pressing, Dante stretched, stood up, and turned to Robin. "Feel like taking a walk over to Cocoyasi Town?"
Robin considered for a moment, then closed her book. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, a small smile gracing her lips. "Alright, Boss."
(E/N: Some readers have expressed confusion on the ranks of the system, it goes in descending order as Rank increases, like Minor Rank 2 -> Minor Rank 1 -> Major Rank 4)
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