After a long minute of contemplating, Benimaru finally nodded.
"Fine. What'll we have to do?"
Riku hesitated, for a moment before swallowing hard. "The Veins," Riku said quietly. "There's an underground fighting ring down there. With Big money for the winners... like, really big money."
Benimaru's eyes narrowed. "How big?"
"Depends on the fight. But the main events? Winners can walk away with anywhere from 500,000 to a few million berries in one night."
Benimaru felt his stomach drop. "You want us... no, you want me to fight in an illegal underground fighting ring."
"Yeah, but it's the only way I can think of to get that kind of money fast," Riku said desperately. "I've seen it before with people betting huge amounts, and the winners taking home fortunes... If you can win just a few fights..."
"No way," Benimaru said flatly. "I can barely hold my own in sparring... much less against experienced fighters."
Benimaru knew he wouldn't be able to beat experienced fighters, especially the kind who fought in underground rings for that kind of money. Those people were dangerous and could be criminals, pirates, or even mercenaries. People who'd been fighting their entire lives. He'd get destroyed, and it wasn't even a joke.
Riku wanted to add something but bit his lip instead, knowing he was asking too much of a person he'd just met. His shoulders sagged, and for a moment he looked like he might start crying again.
"Fine... then there's only one other way," Riku said quietly. "We'll have to get a loan from a loan shark."
"A loan shark...?" Benimaru muttered beneath his breath, considering the option. But he ultimately thought it was a bad idea. "Are you sure? How will we be able to pay that money back?"
Loan sharks weren't like banks. They didn't care about your circumstances or give you reasonable repayment plans. They charged insane interest rates, and if you couldn't pay, they'd come after you...violently. Benimaru had heard stories from around the base about people losing limbs, getting killed, or being sold into slavery because they couldn't repay their debts.
"I don't know," Riku admitted, his voice small. "But at least it buys us time. We get the money now, save Mika, and then... figure out the rest later."
Benimaru frowned. That was a terrible plan. "And what happens when 'later' comes and we still don't have the money? You think they'll just let it slide?"
Riku didn't answer and just stared at the floor.
Benimaru thought it was an absolutely horrible plan, but looking over at Mika's condition, it seemed they didn't really have any other choice. "Fine... we'll go to the loan sharks. I still think just going to the Marine base is a better plan, but I'm hoping it's for a good reason that you're so hesitant about it." He paused, then asked, "So who do we ask to get that amount of money?"
Riku's eyes brightened for a brief moment, a smile creeping up on his face before it quickly flattened back into a serious expression. "It just so happens that the person we'll have to ask... is also the person who has the information about the pirates you're looking for."
Benimaru's eyes widened. "Seriously...?"
Riku nodded. "Yeah. He goes by 'The Broker.' He's one of the biggest loan sharks in Port Raiden, runs operations all through the Veins. But he's also an information broker who buys and sells intel on everything. Pirates, Marines, smuggling routes, Devil Fruits, bounties... if it's worth knowing, The Broker knows it."
Benimaru didn't know how he felt about that, surely he wouldn't just give that information for free, and there had to be a catch.
"And you're sure he'll have information about them?" Benimaru asked.
Riku shrugged. "If anyone does, it's him. Like I said, there's no information in Port Raiden and the North blue, he doesn't know about. And if a pirate crew with a bone Devil Fruit user attacked an island in the North Blue, he'd definitely have heard about it."
Benimaru felt a knot tighten in his chest.
This was it.
A real lead.
But it came with a massive cost, both literally and figuratively.
"So how do we get in contact with him?" Benimaru asked.
Riku gave a weak smile, though there was no humor in it. "I'm his foot soldier, so I can get in contact with him fairly easily."
Benimaru stopped for a second, raising an eyebrow. "You work for him?"
"Yeah," Riku said, his smile fading. "How do you think I know so much about what happens in the Veins? Valen pays me to run errands, deliver messages, gather information. It's how I've been making money to try and help Mika."
That explained a lot.
"And he'll just... agree to loan us 5 million berries?" Benimaru asked skeptically.
"He'll agree," Riku said. "But it won't be cheap. The Broker doesn't do anything out of kindness."
Benimaru nodded slowly. He figured as much.
Riku glanced back at his sister, still lying motionless on the bed. His expression hardening for a brief moment. "Before we go, let me call someone to watch over her while we're gone."
He stepped outside the shack and called out to one of his friends who lived nearby. A skinny kid around Riku's age showed up a few minutes later, looked at Mika's condition with a grim expression, and nodded solemnly, promising to stay by her side.
With that settled, Benimaru and Riku left the shack and headed deeper into the slums.
They walked through sections of Port Raiden that Benimaru had never seen before, areas that made even the rundown parts he'd passed through earlier look decent by comparison. The streets were narrow and filthy, lined with makeshift shelters made of scrap wood and torn fabric. People sat slumped against walls, some begging with outstretched hands, others just lying there groaning in pain or sickness. The smell of rot and human waste was overwhelming.
Children with hollow eyes watched them pass. A woman coughed violently in a doorway, her body wracked with spasms. An old man stared blankly at nothing, his clothes little more than rags.
Benimaru kept his expression neutral, but inside, he felt something heavy settle in his chest. This was what the world looked like for people the Marines and the government ignored.
Port Raiden was a city built on wealth...trade, commerce, shipping routes that connected the North Blue to other parts of the world. Money flowed through the harbor like water, changing hands between merchants, nobles, and anyone lucky enough to be part of the system. The upper districts were clean, orderly, and protected. The Marine base sat prominently in the middle of the island near the docks, as a symbol of law and order that the wealthy could rely on.
But here, in the slums, none of that mattered.
Money was everything in Port Raiden. If you had it, you lived. If you didn't, you were cast aside and left to rot. The system didn't care about people like Riku or Mika, kids who'd been born into poverty through no fault of their own. There was no safety net, no charity, no help coming. Just slow death from disease, starvation, or violence.
And the Marines? The ones who swore to protect this island? They completely ignored this section of the city. Benimaru had never once heard an officer or instructor mention patrols in the slums. Never heard anyone talk about helping the people here. It was like this entire area didn't exist to them.
It made Benimaru's stomach turn.
He joined the Marines for his own reasons, mainly for revenge, survival, and a path forward. But seeing this, walking through streets where children starved and the sick were left to die, made him question what the Marines actually stood for or was it all just corrupt. Was it really justice? Or was it just protecting whoever had enough money to matter?
"This place..." Benimaru started, but trailed off.
Riku then stopped. "Alright, we're here..." he said, stopping in front of something that looked like a large bar. Albeit it was in way better condition than any of the houses and buildings nearby, especially the fact that the wood wasn't rotting, the windows were still intact, and there was even a sign hanging above the door.
From outside, Benimaru could hear the sound of laughter and the clanking of glasses.
"Be careful... this bar is full of pirates and criminals, so lay low and don't stand out, especially with the fact that you're a Marine," Riku warned him.
Benimaru simply nodded, and they both headed inside.
The moment the door swung open, the smell hit him first...alcohol, smoke, and sweat mixed together in a thick haze. The bar was packed with people. Tables were crowded with men drinking, gambling, and talking in loud voices.
There was a group of men in the corner wearing raggedy clothes, their faces scarred and weathered. Just seeing them almost made Benimaru's stomach turn, reminding him of that day when the pirates attacked his village. The way they laughed and drank without a care in the world, like they hadn't ruined countless lives.
Near the bar counter, a man with a cutlass strapped to his back was arm-wrestling another while a crowd cheered and placed bets. Coins exchanged hands rapidly, the sound of metal clinking adding to the noise.
Benimaru kept his head down, following Riku deeper into the bar. Every instinct told him this was a bad idea. One wrong move, one person recognizing him as a Marine, and things could go south fast.
Riku then led them to the front of the bar, before hopping onto a bar stool and yelling out for the bartender's attention.
The bartender was a large, buff, burly man who wore a simple brown apron that looked tight on his muscular body over a small white t-shirt. He had a large black beard that hung all the way down to his collarbone, and he was completely bald with his head so shiny that a sparkle reflected off it from the lamplight above.
"What do you want, Riku..." the man said in a deep, gravelly voice while he cleaned an empty glass with a rag.
"Well, I want a 'very special meal' for me and my friend here," Riku said, pointing back at Benimaru.
The man said nothing. He just looked at Benimaru with a cold, calculating gaze, eyeing him up and down like he was sizing up a piece of meat. The stare lingered for a few more seconds before the bartender finally tilted his head to the side and gestured toward a metal door that led to the back.
Riku smiled. "Thank you, Gilleon."
He hopped off the stool and led Benimaru toward the metal door. It had a small sliding eye-opening panel, and as they approached, someone behind the door slid it open and eyed them for a brief moment. After a quick nod from Gilleon, the door unlocked with a heavy clunk, and they were let inside.
They entered through the door into a kitchen area where people were cooking for the bar patrons with pots boiling, knives chopping, and the smell of grease and spices filling the air. Nobody looked at them and just kept working, like it was just another day.
Riku didn't stop and led Benimaru through the kitchen and toward another metal door at the far end. This one had no guard. Riku pushed it open, revealing an empty room with a single staircase leading deep underground.
The stairs were narrow and made of stone, descending into darkness. The only light came from oil lamps mounted on the walls at intervals, flickering and casting long shadows.
Benimaru followed Riku down. The air grew cooler as they descended, and the sounds of the bar above faded into silence. All he could hear now was the echo of their footsteps and the faint drip of water somewhere in the distance.
After what felt like an eternity of walking, they reached the bottom. A long tunnel stretched out before them, and at the end of it, Benimaru could see bright lights—surprisingly bright for something so far underground.
They walked through the tunnel, and as they reached the end, Benimaru's eyes completely widened.
There was a large city spread out before him.
It wasn't even close to the size of Port Raiden, but for something underground, it was massive. Buildings made of stone and wood lined narrow streets, packed tightly together. Lanterns and torches lit up the area, casting an orange glow across everything. Hundred of people walked through the streets, talking, trading, some arguing.
This was the Veins.
Benimaru just stood there for a moment, taking it all in. He'd heard Riku mention it before, but he hadn't imagined it would be this... organized.
"Welcome to the Underbelly," Riku said quietly beside him.
. . . . .
TO BE CONTINUED...
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