Grand Line Alabasta Kingdom Rainbase's Largest Casino, Rain Dinners.
Warlord of the Sea, Crocodile, had just received the latest intel. He had originally planned to personally evaluate and potentially recruit the West Blue hitman, Daz Bones, sometime soon.
But now, according to the report, Daz Bones had been killed by a group of Marines during an assassination mission.
The news took him by surprise!
So it turns out that guy was all bark and no bite.
With a look of disdain, Crocodile casually tore the intel report into shreds and tossed it into the trash bin.
Useless trash like that dying is actually a good thing, saves me a wasted trip.
Then, with the press of a button, a hatch in the ceiling opened up. Several unlucky gamblers who couldn't repay their debts dropped straight down into a water tank below.
Crocodile's beloved pets, a swarm of vicious banana gators, immediately sprang into action, baring their fangs and lunging at the prey.
Blood-curdling screams echoed throughout the room.
Crocodile, seated in his boss chair, looked on with satisfaction at the gruesome scene and leisurely lit a cigar.
Elsewhere...
After a few days of recovery, Jay had to return to base.
On the night before his departure, Lady Tessa couldn't care less about Jay's injuries anymore, she went full-on aggressive and pounced on him with fiery passion.
At first, Jay was a little passive, inevitably aggravating his injuries during the process.
But once the warm-up was over, he quickly turned the tables, taking the lead with an all-out QWER button-mashing combo.
Lady Tessa barely managed to fight back with her water-type magic, but in the end, she was utterly defeated, armor shattered, weapons dropped, begging for mercy!
The next day.
"Do you really have to leave? Can't you stay? Is being a Marine more important than me?"
Faced with Tessa's barrage of emotionally charged questions, Jay replied, "You're a good girl. Once I'm healed up, we'll have another... sparring session."
"Jay, you bastard!"
"I'm off. No need to see me out. Oh, and one last bit of advice, watch out for your uncle."
The assassin Daz Bones may have had professional integrity and refused to reveal who hired him, even at the cost of his life, but Marine Daz Bones was now a man of justice, and justice does not collude with evil.
So, this warning was Jay's parting gift to her.
As for how she might retaliate in the future, that wasn't his problem.
Oh, and by the way, date counter +1 last night!
With 10 million Berries in hand from that "donation," Jay returned to base fully loaded.
Only to be immediately summoned by Colonel Hammond.
Because out of all the squads, aside from those who had died during the mission, Jay's team was the only one that hadn't returned yet.
Combined with some other suspicions, Hammond needed answers.
Jay didn't hide anything, he told the whole story in detail, highlighting all his heroic deeds.
Like how, during the Mafia attack, it was him alone who turned the tide with a single gun in hand, boosting morale and protecting the target.
Or how he faced off against the famous West Blue assassin and, after a grueling 300-round duel, defeated him with sheer willpower, barely surviving thanks to a miracle recovery by the doctors afterward.
Getting more animated, Jay even began to lift his shirt and bandages to show off his "battle scars"until Colonel Hammond quickly waved his hands, begging him to stop.
Once Jay finished his dramatic retelling, Hammond asked the key question: "How did the assassin die?"
"Oh, that. After I defeated him, I was too injured to interrogate him immediately, so I had the others restrain him."
"When I woke up, I found out he'd been chained up and tossed into a cold fountain, left without food or medical treatment for a whole day and night."
"Seeing he was on the verge of death, I had no choice but to rush the interrogation, but he didn't make it and died mid-questioning."
"I've already scolded Buck and the others, but I also understand why they acted so harshly. The enemy was a dangerous Devil Fruit user, so of course, their methods were... extreme."
Then Hammond asked, "If he was already dead, why burn the body right away?"
Jay put on a look of awkward concern. "Well, it was my first time encountering a Devil Fruit user. Who knows if he had some kind of hidden ability, what if he faked death to trick us?"
"So just to be safe, we burned the body. That way, whatever tricks he had left would be... ash."
Yep. Ash definitely can't fight back.
Good thing Brook from the original story never ran into someone like this, he wouldn't even have had bones left to revive!
Hammond continued to question him, and Jay exaggerated every answer just right, successfully covering up the fact that Daz Bones was still alive.
"Well done. This mission was tough, but you all did great. You didn't bring shame to the Marines."
"As for your mission bonus and rewards"
"Don't worry, sir, I trust that I'll receive every single Berry!" Jay interrupted, but then Hammond gave him a long look and said casually, "Although... I heard you asked Tessa Toledo for a whole ten million Berries?"
His tone was calm, but Jay knew exactly how greedy this man really was.
If Hammond found out he had pocketed that ten million with no strings attached, Jay's life wouldn't be easy.
Fortunately, he'd already funneled the money into the system.
And on the way back, he had made a big show of displaying everything he brought back to Buck and the others, planted witnesses ready to go.
So no matter how many times Hammond asked, no one could give a different answer.
Jay immediately looked righteously indignant. "It's true, sir! That woman agreed to pay me, but then she went back on her word! Said she already paid a five million protection fee. Weird, right? Who did she give that money to?!"
"Sir, you've got to stand up for me! Only you can help me get that money back!"
Hammond's eye twitched, and he cleared his throat. "Nonsense! Protecting civilians is the duty of the Marines!"
"Just because someone doesn't pay you doesn't mean you can refuse to help!"
"You're still young, don't be so greedy. Let's just forget the whole thing. That so-called ten million... probably just a joke. Don't take it seriously."
Jay put on a look of deep regret. "Yes, sir. Your words are wise. I won't do it again."
"Good. Owning your mistakes is a virtue. Now get out there and send in the next one."
Clearly, Hammond wasn't going to rely on Jay's words alone, he was going to question the rest of the team individually.