"You can call me Fool."
"Very well Mr. Fool… there should be more than a hundred million berries in this bags," Leo said, gesturing toward it. "For now, I only need membership of your network and location of your next branch in the grand line."
"Hm… give me a few minutes," the old man replied, already beginning the valuation of treasure and berries inside the bag.
Leo leaned back, relaxing as he waited for the old man to finish.
He had taken ninety-three million from Nami, looted several bags from Nezumi on mirror ball island, and added to it from a mix of pirate ships, merchant vessels….
Five minutes later, the old man spoke.
"One hundred and seventy-two million berries."
"The first hundred million will be locked as your membership deposit," the man continued. "Non-withdrawable as long as you remain part of the network." He tapped the counter lightly.
"In return, you gain access to all basic services within your tier. Any information within that tier will be free… but anything beyond that will cost extra."
"And the remaining balance?" Leo asked.
"Usable," the old man replied. "You may spend it to access services above your tier or withdraw it, if needed."
Leo nodded. "Understood."
The old man studied him for a moment before continuing.
"Now… draw the symbol that will represent you. And state your alias."
Leo picked a pen and sketched a distinct dagger—the very same one he carried. It had been his mother's gift, originally belonging to his father… and likely something only the two of them would recognize.
The old man observed it briefly but made no comment.
"As for the name…" Leo said casually, "keep it 'Little Butcher'. It has a nice ring to it."
At that, the old man bent down and retrieved a silver-shelled Den Den Mushi, placing it on the counter.
"That name may invite unwanted attention," he warned. "People might start connecting dots since they already call you that in the underworld."
Leo shrugged at that. "Let them guess."
A faint chuckle escaped the man as he explained further.
"Very well. This will be your communication line. Once a week, for one hour at midnight, a channel opens between members of your tier and us brokers. The exact day varies but it will happen."
He slid the snail closer.
"Our network is secure. No one can intercept or trace these transmissions… not even a Black Transponder Snail which Marines are so proud of."
Leo took it without hesitation and pocketed it.
For the amount he had entrusted to the broker before him, no receipt was given. No ledger was maintained, yet the system functioned flawlessly.
"This," the old man continued, "is the only branch in the East Blue. The next branch lies in the Grand Line."
"In the kingdom of Alabasta. In the city of Rainbase there is a casino called Rain Dinners."
Leo memorized the information and left at the bar.
Despite depositing such a huge amount, he still had around twenty million berries left in his Shark Jet-Ski. If needed, he could request funds from another branch or have them delivered through the network for a small fee.
Shrouded in his coat, Leo stepped outside, barely half an hour had passed, yet the weather had turned violent. Wind howled through the streets and rain lashed down without mercy.
The citizens of Loguetown had already vanished from the streets, taking shelter inside their homes from the storm, while in the distance, pirates and Marines continued to clash chasing and fighting each other despite the worsening storm.
'Damn it… this isn't even the Grand Line. Why the hell is weather so wild here?'
Shielding his eyes with his cuff-bound hands, Leo looked ahead—
Crack—!!
A massive bolt of lightning struck somewhere around the center of the plaza.
For some reason, Leo's instincts nudged him into thinking the sudden lightning strike might have something to do with Luffy, but he quickly brushed it aside, reminding himself not to get paranoid.
Without wasting another second, he ran toward the commotion in the distance.
Two blocks from the central plaza, he spotted Nami, Usopp, and Nojiko rushing toward the port, arms loaded with supplies.
"Hey! Where's the rest of the crew?" Leo called out.
Relief flashed across their faces the moment they saw him.
"Thank God!" Nojiko exhaled. "Those idiots are fighting both pirates and Marines back there, go help them and bring them to the port! We'll get ready to set sail!"
They passed each other without slowing.
Leo accelerated again, In few seconds, the source of the delay came into his view.
Sanji and Luffy were locked in combat against a Marine officer, while Zoro held off a female swordswoman nearby.
Leo's eyes narrowed.
'A Logia type devil fruit user.'
That explained it, Luffy and Sanji's attacks passed straight through him, unable to land a proper hit.
'This will be interesting.' Leo's fists hardened, coated in Armament Haki and he vanished from the place.
"Shave."
The moment the Marine launched his "White Blow" attack slamming Sanji into the wall and forcing Luffy down onto the rain-soaked ground—
Leo appeared behind him.
His fist didn't phase through but connected, catching the distracted marine off guard.
A solid, brutal hit to the head sent the man, Smoker—flying across the street, crashing right in front of Tashigi, who had been pinned down by Zoro.
"Move!" Leo snapped. "Let's get the hell out of here!"
Finally breaking free from the stalemate, they sprinted toward the port at full speed but before they could run across few buildings, a cloud of smoke surged ahead of them, sealing their escape path behind a solid wall of smoke.
Smoker stepped out of the smoke, dual cigars burning in his mouth with his eyes locked onto Leo.
"Don't think you can get away from me," he growled. "Portgas D. Leo."
"Last time, I let your brother slip through my fingers…"
Smoker drew a seven-foot long metal baton, its tip forged from Seastone, and tightened his grip around it.
"I won't make that mistake again."
"What are you talking about, Marine… I don't have a brother," Leo replied, sounding more confused than shocked.
For a brief second, Smoker's eyes widened
'What...?'