"Alright, that settles everything for now," Jerry announced, rising from his chair and stretching. "It's getting late, and we could all use some rest after today's... excitement."
"I can arrange luxury accommodations for you right here in Gran Tesoro," Tesoro offered immediately, clearly eager to extend their stay and solidify their new partnership.
Jerry considered the offer briefly before shaking his head. "Thanks, but no. There are still CP0 agents crawling all over this place investigating the incident with the parasite. Unless it's absolutely necessary, we should minimize our contact. No point in making your position here more complicated than it needs to be."
The wisdom of maintaining distance wasn't lost on Tesoro. His carefully cultivated relationship with the World Government was part of what allowed Gran Tesoro to operate as an independent nation. Too much obvious association with wanted pirates—especially ones involved in attacking a Celestial Dragon—could jeopardize everything he'd built.
"You're absolutely right," Tesoro agreed, though he looked disappointed. "Perhaps when the current situation calms down..."
"We'll be in touch," Jerry assured him. "Through proper channels, of course."
After a few more minutes of logistics discussion between Tesoro and Deuce regarding communication methods and supply arrangements, the Golden Emperor's staff escorted them toward the exit. The night air of Gran Tesoro was crisp and clean, with the faint sound of distant music and laughter from the entertainment districts.
Jerry and his friends made their way back through the city's golden streets, with Kotatsu carrying the still-bound Carina on his back. The lynx seemed quite pleased with his burden-carrying duties, purring softly as he padded along.
"We should stop by her place first," Jerry mentioned, gesturing toward their captive. "If she's going to be staying with us for a while, she might as well bring her belongings."
Carina's apartment turned out to be a modest but well-appointed space in Gran Tesoro's residential district. While she gathered her possessions under Kotatsu's watchful eye, Jerry examined her living situation with interest. The woman clearly had expensive tastes—quality furniture, designer clothes, and several pieces of valuable jewelry casually scattered about.
"Quite the collection," Deuce observed, noting the various trinkets and treasures adorning her shelves.
"Professional hazard," Jerry replied with a knowing smile. "I doubt she paid for most of it."
When Carina emerged with a large travel bag, her expression was a mixture of resignation and barely concealed anger. The fishing line bonds had been removed to allow her to pack, but she was clearly aware that escape attempts would be futile with Jerry's crew surrounding her.
The walk back to their ship was conducted in relative silence, each member of the group lost in their own thoughts about the day's dramatic events. It wasn't until they were well away from any of Tesoro's staff that Skull finally voiced his concerns.
"Boss Jerry," he said, keeping his voice low despite the empty streets around them, "are you really serious about this partnership with Tesoro?"
Deuce nodded, sharing similar doubts. "What's your honest assessment of the Golden Emperor? Can we trust him?"
Jerry considered his response carefully as they walked. "I'd say about ninety percent of what Tesoro told us tonight was genuine. His hatred for the Celestial Dragons is absolutely real—I could feel it radiating from him. The trauma he described, the loss of this Stella... that kind of pain can't be faked."
He paused to help Kotatsu navigate around a decorative fountain with Carina still on his back. "That said, I plan to observe him carefully before committing to anything significant. Even if he does decide to betray us somehow, it wouldn't be particularly problematic. We don't rely on him for anything essential, and I can beat him once, I can beat him again."
"The real value in this arrangement," Jerry continued, "is access to his information networks. Tesoro has connections throughout the underworld that could prove useful. Plus, don't forget—my Observation Haki lets me sense people's true intentions when they speak. There's a high probability I can detect any deception."
The explanation seemed to satisfy his crewmates' immediate concerns. Jerry himself wasn't particularly worried about Tesoro's ultimate goals at this stage. The Golden Emperor genuinely wanted revenge against the Celestial Dragons, but he was also clearly testing the waters. As long as their conversations remained secret, even providing resources to Jerry's crew wouldn't represent a significant risk to Tesoro's position.
For Jerry's part, he was content to wait and see how events developed. Let Tesoro make his secret preparations while Jerry continued growing stronger. If the World Nobles eventually provoked a direct confrontation, then having an ally with vast resources could prove invaluable. If not, no harm done.
The biggest obstacle to any direct action against the Celestial Dragons remained their protection. Beyond their personal bodyguards, the World Government maintained Admiral-level Marines on constant standby to respond to threats against the World Nobles. Taking on that level of opposition would require careful planning and overwhelming force.
"As long as you know what you're doing," Deuce said with obvious relief. "For a moment there, I was worried all the flattery and promises of unlimited funding might go to your head and make you do something reckless like attacking Mariejois directly."
"Give me some credit," Jerry laughed. "I may be confident, but I'm not suicidal."
"What about her?" Skull asked, nodding toward Carina. "How do we handle our new... guest?"
Jerry shrugged casually. "She can help with cooking duties for now. We need someone to handle meal preparation anyway."
As they approached their ship, Jerry suddenly paused and tilted his head slightly, his expression becoming focused. "Speaking of which..."
Without warning, he produced his Supreme-Grade Fishing Rod and cast the line toward the stern of their ship in one fluid motion. The rod bent dramatically as he reeled in his catch—which turned out to be Carina, now thoroughly wrapped in fishing line and dangling several feet above the deck.
"What the hell?" she sputtered as Jerry lowered her down to deck level.
"Did you really think you could sneak off the ship without me noticing?" Jerry asked with amusement. "I sensed you trying to slip away the moment we got within range."
Carina had indeed been planning to use the confusion of their return to make another escape attempt. She'd thought that with Jerry distracted by conversation with his crewmates, she might be able to slip over the side and swim to shore.
"You're some kind of perverted bondage freak!" she accused, struggling against the fishing line.
"Maybe," Jerry replied cheerfully. "So if you try running away again, I'll give you an even more... educational lesson. How about I tie you up and use you as bait in the Calm Belt? I bet the Sea Kings would find that exciting."
The casual threat sent a chill down Carina's spine. She could see in his eyes that he wasn't entirely joking.
"Alright, you two have fun with your... whatever this is," Deuce said with a yawn. "I'm heading to bed. It's been a very long day."
"Same here," Skull added, practically bouncing with excitement. "I need to check on my collection and make sure everything's properly organized after today's adventure."
As his crewmates disappeared below deck, Jerry released Carina from the fishing line and waved dismissively. "Go on, behave yourself. I'm not going to kill you, so I don't understand why you keep trying to run."
Carina muttered under her breath as she rubbed feeling back into her arms. She was beginning to regret her decision to target Skull's bag that morning. Not only had she failed to make any money, but she'd stumbled into a major conspiracy and gotten herself kidnapped by a group of dangerous pirates.
Still, as she studied Jerry and his crew, she had to admit they didn't seem like typical pirates. There was no sense of malevolence or cruelty from them—just a casual competence that was somehow more unsettling than overt threats would have been.
Maybe I can work with this, she thought to herself. That Jerry guy is clearly powerful, and they seem to have unlimited funding if their conversation with Tesoro was any indication. Perhaps being associated with them could be more profitable than fighting them.
A small smile played across her lips as she began formulating plans. Even if Jerry was keeping close watch on her now, eventually he'd have to let his guard down. When that happened, she'd be ready to make her move—whether that meant escaping with their treasure or finding a way to turn the situation to her advantage.
The next morning, Jerry and his crew cast off before dawn. During the night, Tesoro had sent several ornate chests filled with gold and precious gems, along with a note suggesting they "keep these for future expenses." It was a generous gesture that further confirmed his commitment to their arrangement.
The decision to leave early had been Deuce's suggestion. With Jerry having been present during the incident involving Saint Chagama, departing quickly would reduce the chances of unwanted attention from investigating authorities. Gran Tesoro had provided excellent entertainment, but there was nothing keeping them there now that their business was concluded.
Skull had enthusiastically supported the early departure. He'd won a considerable sum at the casino and was eager to return to his beloved collection. No amount of worldly entertainment could compete with the joy he found in cataloguing and organizing his treasures.
Jerry himself was indifferent to their location. Whether they were aboard Gran Tesoro or their own ship, fishing remained fishing, and the ocean was the same everywhere.
When the sun rose over the horizon, Carina emerged from her assigned cabin to find herself surrounded by endless blue water in every direction. Her hair whipped around her face in the morning breeze as she realized just how far they'd traveled from Gran Tesoro during the night.
She had been hoping to make another escape attempt while they were still in port, waiting for the crew to be distracted by departure preparations. Now, with nothing but open ocean visible to the horizon, that option had evaporated entirely.
"Good morning, Carina!" Skull called out cheerfully from where he was doing stretching exercises on the deck. "Jerry mentioned you'd be handling cooking duties. Hope you're good at it!"
"Morning," Deuce added with a friendly wave. "If you have any other skills or specialties, feel free to let us know. We can always use extra help with various tasks."
Both men were sweating from their morning workout routine, clearly taking their physical conditioning seriously despite their relatively small crew size.
"Wait," Carina said, looking around the deck with confusion. "This pirate crew only you guys?"
"That's right," Deuce confirmed. "We recently reorganized after some... personnel changes. It's a fresh start for all of us."
Carina glanced between the two exercising men and Jerry, who was sitting peacefully by the ship's rail with Kotatsu in his lap, fishing rod cast over the side. The whole scene was remarkably domestic for a crew of supposedly dangerous pirates.
"What's this crew called again?" she asked.
"The Black Star Pirates," Skull replied proudly.
Carina looked up at the sail fluttering overhead and felt several metaphorical black lines appear on her forehead. The pirate flag depicted a skull wearing what looked like overalls, one hand resting on its hip and the other holding a fishing rod slung over its shoulder. Its medium-length, tousled hair was neatly parted down the middle. And behind it is a black star.
"And... what exactly does that flag represent?" she asked weakly.
The design was unlike any pirate flag she'd ever seen. Most crews chose intimidating symbols—crossed bones, weapons, or fearsome creatures. This looked more like a cartoon character than a symbol meant to strike fear into enemies' hearts.