"Morgan, don't you think you're pushing it?" Dante said, his voice tight. "You know the Cocoyashi Merchant Association is under my protection."
"Ah, a misunderstanding, my friend. Purely a misunderstanding. My men can be a bit overzealous, they seized the wrong cargo. I've already given them a piece of my mind and sent your people on their way."
"That's very generous of you," Dante said, his tone heavy with sarcasm. "But my cargo is still missing."
"Ah, about that... it seems my men sank it. Fools don't know the value of your goods, do they? Don't worry, I gave them an earful for that, too."
An icy silence followed.
'This old bastard,' Dante thought, staring at the metal-jawed Den Den Mushi in his hand. The snail was mimicking Morgan's smug expression perfectly. It was obvious now that this was no accident.
Morgan was doing just fine lording over Shells Town, so why would he seize my cargo for no reason? We've been working together for years. It's impossible to do business in this half of the East Blue without going through him, but our arrangement has always been stable. Why would he turn on an ally now?
Before Dante could make sense of it, the Den Den Mushi in his hand spoke again, its voice unnervingly cheerful.
"Oh, and one more thing I nearly forgot. My... operating costs... have gone up. I just wanted to give you a heads-up." The snail seemed to sense Dante's confusion and added, "So, if you want to continue shipping goods through my territory, the price is going to have to go up. Not by much... just fifty percent."
'Fifty percent isn't much?' Dante frowned further, and he was about to demand if Morgan even wanted to do business anymore when the snail continued with a melancholic sigh.
"I don't know what this 'Overlord of the East Blue' thinks he's doing. In just two sweeps, he's nearly wiped out all the pirates around here. You know my business relies heavily on them. Now... they're almost all gone, and my profits have been cut by more than half. A man gets desperate when he's poor. I have no choice."
As Morgan finished, the entire meeting room fell silent.
Robin and Mihawk, who had likely put the pieces together, both turned to Dante with a curious look.
Dante suppressed his frustration. He never thought his own work would come back to bite him like this.
'So you're poor,' he thought. 'What does that have to do with me?'
"I don't care what the Overlord of the East Blue is doing. You think you're the only one affected?" Dante snorted. "Listen to me, Morgan. You'll give my things back, or this conversation is going to get a lot less polite."
"Less polite?" The Den Den Mushi sneered, its tone shifting as if triggered by Dante's lack of deference. "And how, exactly, are you going to be 'less polite' with me?"
"Are you not afraid I'll report everything you've done over the years to the HQ?"
"That's hilarious. You're just a demoted captain. If you'd just been transferred, I might have been worried, but it's been years. Do you still think you're that genius from HQ?" Morgan shot back, his voice dripping with contempt. "On these seas, who's clean? You think I'm some amateur like Nezumi? I've got dirt on you, just like you have on me."
He paused, letting the threat hang in the air.
"You've been enjoying yourself with those female pirates, haven't you? Don't think I don't know. That woman from the Arlong Pirates is with you right now. And I'm sure she's not the first one you've... played with over the years."
The moment the words left his mouth, a sudden sound cut through the room.
*Pfft-*
Mihawk, who had been leisurely sipping his tea, choked and sprayed it across the table. He turned to Dante with a look of utter astonishment. He knew the man was a corrupt Marine, but he never expected that, on top of sponsoring pirates and bribing superiors, he was also a degenerate who toyed with his female captives.
As for Dante, his expression reddened.
'Crocodile was one thing, but how does even Morgan... No, why does everyone think I'm playing with female pirates?'
Before he could respond, Morgan's voice came through the snail one last time, thick with meaning. "You wouldn't want me to report you to Marine HQ, now would you, Dante?"
*Clack.*
Before Dante could get another word in, the line went dead. He was left staring at the sleeping Den Den Mushi, his face a mask of cold fury. He never thought he would be on the receiving end of a threat like this.
Just then, Mihawk, having enjoyed the show long enough, took another sip of his tea. "It seems your time in the East Blue isn't so easy after all," he said leisurely. "Perhaps you should come with me to the Grand Line?"
He paused, a amused glint in his eyes.
"There are plenty of beautiful female pirates there, too. With your strength, I'm sure many of them would take a liking to you."
'What does this guy take me for?'
"No time," Dante said with a dismissive wave. "I have a good operation here. Why would I go running around?"
"So, what are you going to do now?" Mihawk asked, his eyes flashing with interest. "Are you going to go settle the score with him yourself?"
'If he leaves,' Mihawk mused, 'perhaps I can find him on the way and we could have a proper spar.'
However, the moment he asked, Dante looked at him as if he were insane. "Settle the score with him? Why would I ever do something like that?"
"Then your plan is...?"
"To report him to my superiors, of course," Dante declared. "You should know, I'm a righteous Marine."
'You have the nerve to talk about righteousness?'
Mihawk stared at the shameless man, then frowned slightly. "Aren't you afraid he'll report you in return?"
"Not in the least," Dante said, puffing out his chest with pride. "As a righteous Marine, why would I have anything to fear?"
--**--**
Elsewhere, 153rd Marine Branch, Shells Town, Captain Morgan's office.
Having just hung up the Den Den Mushi, Morgan leaned back in his chair, feet propped on his desk and hands laced behind his head. A look of pure contempt was on his face.
He wasn't clean, but was Dante? On these seas, who was? If that so-called Overlord hadn't been stirring up trouble, they could have continued their profitable arrangement. But thanks to him, his income had plummeted. If he didn't find some extra cash, how could he maintain his lifestyle?
Speaking of which, was that Overlord an idiot? All that talk about restoring the glory of the East Blue pirates, and now he'd nearly wiped them all out. It would be ages before they recovered.
While Morgan was unconcerned, one of his subordinates shifted nervously. "Captain Morgan, what if he really does report you?"
"Impossible," Morgan sneered, waving a dismissive hand. "That clever brat wouldn't do something so suicidal. He's been stuck in the East Blue for years. Does he really think anyone still believes he has a powerful backer?"
He chuckled. "Besides, so what if he does? You know that base commander in Loguetown? The one who was just transferred here? That man is a zealot who hates corruption and does things by his own rules. He's not like Dante. As long as he finds out about corruption, he'll arrest anyone, no matter who they are. Does that kid really want to take me down with him?"
"And even if the Loguetown commander doesn't do anything, so what? I heard the Marine Hero Garp returned to the East Blue for a vacation a few days ago. Is there anyone the Hero couldn't arrest? Why else do you think I would make a move now?"
If Dante really had such a powerful connection, he wouldn't have been rotting in the East Blue for all these years.
"So you see," Morgan finished with a loud, confident laugh, "that kid will absolutely not report me. He'll just have to swallow this loss."
--**--**
A few days later, however.
Shells Town Marine Branch.
"Captain Morgan! Captain Morgan!" A Marine burst into the office, panicked. "Captain Smoker is here with an arrest warrant from Headquarters! He said someone reported you for embezzlement, bribery, colluding with pirates, and plundering merchant ships!"
*Pfft-*
Morgan, who had been drinking, sprayed booze all over his desk. He stared at his subordinate, utterly dumbfounded. "That brat actually reported me?"
'Is he not afraid of me reporting him back?'
Just as the thought crossed his mind, the door swung open.
"You're Captain Morgan, commander of the 153rd Marine Branch?" Captain Smoker stood in the doorway, taking a long drag from his cigar before looking at Morgan with cold eyes. "Someone reported you for embezzlement, bribery, colluding with pirates, and plundering merchant ships. You're coming with me."
Morgan suppressed his frsutration as he stared at Smoker. In his mind, he was cursing Dante's name. He then shuddered and quickly raised his hand. "Wait! I want to report someone, too! I'm reporting the 16th Branch-"
He never finished the sentence.
A plume of thick white smoke shot out and filled his mouth, silencing him completely.
"No," Smoker said, flicking the ash from his cigar impatiently. "You don't." He waved to his men. "Take him away."
With his mouth full of smoke, a stunned Morgan was dragged away. He stared at Smoker, the captain who supposedly wouldn't let him speak.
In that instant, something clicked, and his eyes widened with disbelief.
'Wasn't this man supposed to be an incorruptible zealot who answered to no one?'
A chill ran down his spine.
'Could it be that Dante...' He took a sharp, muffled breath. 'As I thought. These seas are truly filthy.'
===============
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