"I have found it, Shinra."
While Jimbei was surprised when he saw how fast Shinra had come to meet him since the distance between the Dressrossa Kingdom and his current position wasn't short, he was even more confused by their expressions. "What's wrong?"
He had been busy doing the task given by Shinra, so of course, he knew nothing about what had happened in the world, especially with all the messes that Shinra had caused to the World Government and many kingdoms.
"No, it's fine."
Shinra shook his head and wouldn't tell Jimbei about his meeting with the CP0 members, who got his Den Den Mushi numbers from Kizaru, making him wish to kick this yellow monkey!
Yet, why the CP0?
'Well, being an agent is also nice."
What Shinra wanted to do by joining the Marines was the systematic training that could help him to grow stronger, and being an agent of the World Government known as CP also wasn't that bad either, he thought, as their training was more or less the same.
If there was a difference, the agent was behind the scenes, the one who managed the situation from the dark, and did all the dirty jobs. Meanwhile, the Marines were the face of the World Government, the ones who became the symbol of righteousness, and mostly fought the evils, such as the enemy kingdoms, countries, pirates, and many others.
Which one was better?
Each of them had their merits and demerits, but no matter what path was given to him, Shinra didn't hesitate to take it, especially when some presidents also started as the agents of their countries before they rose to prominence.
Still, he was also curious as to why the CP0 contacted him, but for security purposes, they decided to meet face-to-face, and their meeting location would be held on the Trans Town, which was located on the Island of Promises.
As for why he chose this location, it was because that town was close to the location of the island where the Batto Bato no Mi, Model: Vampire was located.
"What's wrong?"
Shinra noticed that Jimbei kept staring at him, to which he asked, "Are you not going back?"
"Ah?" Jimbei was stunned and asked subconsciously, "Should I go back?"
"Do you want to stay here?"
"...."
There were many things that Jimbei wanted to say, but in the end, he could only say, "That's... what about our cooperation on the undersea mining?"
As he had heard about the undersea mining, Jimbei supported this cooperative relationship greatly since he knew well that those fish-men didn't have jobs and their only ways were either becoming rascals, coolies, slaves, or even pirates.
The higher being might have given the fish-men ten times the strength of an adult human, but they lacked the brain.
Even Jimbei, despite how strong he was, could only become a pirate or guard in the Ryugu Kingdom.
"Let's do that later when the situation has calmed down."
"...did something happen?"
"A lot of things happened." Shinra patted Jimbei's shoulder and took out stacks of money from his pocket. "Here, use this money for a trip or whatever."
"....."
Jimbei blinked his eyes and quickly refused. "No, no. You'd better use that money for the business cooperation between you and the Ryugu Kingdom. As for helping you to find this island, this is what I should do as I owe you my life."
"...." Shinra, Carina, and Robin.
Shinra thought for a moment, then took out more money and gave it all to Jimbei.
"..." Jimbei.
"Use that money to take some people with you, and ask them whether they want to work under me on this project. You can use that money to treat all of those mermaids or fish-men that decide to follow me. Give them the salaries first, so they can have a better life. You know the situation of the Ryugu Kingdom better than I do, so please help me with that."
"O-Okay..."
This time, Jimbei didn't refuse Shinra's help since even as a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, his income wasn't high, as he only targeted pirates more or less, and did pirates ever think about saving?
While many people were strong in this world, they lacked the intelligence to make their lives better.
Shinra gave all the fish-men and mermaids a chance to live a better life with a proper and honest job that everyone could be proud of.
So, should Jimbei hesitate to support that great cause?
Holding all the money that was given by Shinra, Jimbei took a deep breath, before he bowed his head deeply, and said, "Thank you. My life is yours. You can ask me anything."
His words might seem exaggerated, but as they had fought, and Shinra gave him a mercy that he didn't kill him, Jimbei swore to give his everything for Shinra.
"Just go. Help me with the projects, so it can be smooth."
The living Jimbei was more beneficial than the dead Jimbei, so of course, Shinra wouldn't let Jimbei take his life.
"Oh, keep everything a secret. The less people know about me, the better."
"Yes."
Jimbei nodded solemnly, then bowed his head again before he left.
"That fish-man is different from the others."
"He is trustworthy."
As one of the members of the Straw Hat Pirates in the original story, of course, Jimbei was trustworthy, especially toward those people who had helped him.
"Still, you took too much money."
"To make more money, you need to spend money."
"Aren't you worried that he will take away the money?"
"Even if he is, it doesn't really matter since he helped me to get the Batto Batto no Mi, Model: Vampire, and to learn people's nature, whether they are trustworthy or not, such an amount of money is cheap."
Moreover, they had gotten a lot of money from their trip to the Saobody Archipelago, Fish-Man Island, the Punk Hazard, and even Dressrosa. When all of their money was combined, it was impossible to put them on their boat, as he could only keep them on the storage seal.
"As for money, I can get more of it later."
"Well, that's true."
Compared to Shinra's strength, his ability to make money was more frightening as he could turn worthless trash into priceless treasures in the eyes of others.
Regardless, as they had arrived on this island, the three quickly tried to search for the Batto Batto no Mi, Model: Vampire, with the records that they had collected. It was tough, yes, especially when it was located on the old ruins that had been abandoned for so long.
In the past, this island was a large, wealthy kingdom with a large population, but as many things happened, this island was abandoned for centuries until no one thought to reach this island again, especially when all the treasures, wealth, and everything were taken away.
However, all of them forgone one important thing, but because of that, Shinra was able to get this one thing that he sought after he entered a complex, delicate, and dangerous maze within this island and found the Devil Fruit that he sought the most.
The fruit had the shape of a tomato with purple swirl patterns around it and a curly green stem resembling a tail. The bottom of the fruit is dark red, resembling a pool of blood, and it is small enough to fit Shinra's palm.
"Batto Batto no Mi, Model: Vampire."
As Shinra activated his Eye of Usurp, he took away everything within this Devil Fruit.
His eyes glowed in a crimson color as two large demonic wings emerged from his back and gained the power of a vampire.