Behind the cloud of smoke walked Ricky and dozens of Marines. Seeing this, Bill adjusted his Cloak of Justice and prepared himself as the smoke rolled over the railing and transformed into a white-haired man with a cigar between his teeth.
Looking past Bill, which was no easy task given his height, the smoking Marine captain frowned as he surveyed the prisoners.
His gaze landed on Krieg, and still frowning, he said, "I will personally throw you behind bars."
Having made this declaration, he finally turned his attention to Bill and, looking him over from head to toe, said, "My name is Smoker, the White Hunter. Excellent job capturing these criminals. My men and I will take it from here."
With that, Smoker stepped forward, but Bill stopped him with a hand and, before he could say anything, stated clearly, "Pleased to meet you, Captain Smoker. My name is Captain William Ox, and I intend to hand these pirates over to you. But first, do you have the transfer documents?"
This was standard practice; these documents were needed to verify exactly who had been captured, and with their help, Bill would receive payment for the bounties.
Smoker frowned at Bill but conceded, saying, "My subordinate will be here soon with the necessary documents."
Nodding in appreciation, Bill replied, "Great, let's wait for him. I prefer to do everything by the book."
Agreeing with this, Smoker said "Alright" and began inspecting the pirates. Ricky quickly returned to the ship, and soon Smoker's men approached them.
About fifty Marines boarded the "Border Breaker," including a short-haired woman with a sword who approached Bill and Smoker.
"Captain! Here are your documents!"
Looking at his subordinate, Smoker said gruffly, "Tashigi, this is Captain Ox. Work with him on the transfer documents. Among these prisoners are four major bounties. They are: Ideaman the Planner, Pearl the Iron Wall, Gin the Demon Man, and 'Foul Play' Don Krieg."
Nodding, Tashigi wrote down the names in her notebook, then approached Bill, looked up, and extended her hand, "Nice to meet you, Captain Ox, my name is Tashigi. If you come with me, we can settle the prisoner transfer documents."
Nodding, Bill smiled and shook her hand. Turning to Smoker, he asked if any assistance was needed, but the captain said there was no need.
By that time, about two hundred Marines had gathered at the dock as the news of Don Krieg's capture had already spread.
Nevertheless, Bill instructed his team to stay on the ship and assist Smoker if needed, while he went with Tashigi to their offices. After completing the necessary paperwork, Bill submitted his report on the pirates and left with 37 million Beli, although he knew that at least a million would have to be spent on replenishing supplies for the "Border Breaker," as feeding so many people had significantly reduced their food stocks.
As he left the office, Bill saw Smoker and approached him. Smiling slightly, he asked if Smoker had a moment to talk, and received an affirmative response.
"Do you drink?" Smoker asked as they walked.
Laughing, Bill replied that he could drink if needed, which was a modest understatement. Bill never drank unless he intended to.
They entered a bar near the Marine base and chose a suitable table where Bill could sit comfortably.
"So... what did you want to talk about?" the captain asked after taking a sip.
Bill did the same, though the glass looked tiny in his hand, then he said, "It's about Pearl and Gin. They're pirates, but I think they could be rehabilitated... especially Gin."
Smoker snorted, shook his head, and stated, "Once a pirate, always a pirate." It was clear he didn't fully believe this idea, but Bill continued to insist.
"In this case, it's worth considering that both of these men were captured by Krieg as teenagers, and he made them who they are. Forced recruitment into piracy is generally a bad idea, I agree with you on that, but Gin, in particular, expressed regret. I spent an entire week with him, and I've seen pirates given a second chance for far less."
Hearing this, Smoker frowned and asked why Bill didn't recruit them if he was so sure. Bill had already considered this and responded simply, "I think they can be rehabilitated, but I only have a team of seven people. "The risk is too great; one of my crew is an eleven-year-old cabin boy."
Smoker hadn't really thought about this, but he said he would interrogate the pirates and make his decision.
For Bill, that was all he wanted, and then he asked if Smoker's division had an Eternal Log Pose to Clock Island.
To Bill's surprise, they actually had one, but Smoker said it would have to be returned if Bill took it.
That was acceptable to Bill, as he needed to start replenishing his stock of Pure Log Poses, but at a cost of 1 million Beli each, it wasn't cheap, even with his fund currently at 80.5 million Beli.
After their drinks, they returned to the base, where Bill took the Log Pose and headed back to the "Border Breaker," finding only Rans aboard.