The seas of the New World, They weren't always stormy and violent. Sometimes, the wind was gentle, the waves rolled lazily.
A seagull flew by and dropped a fat splatter of poop.
Plop!
It landed in the water, sending ripples spreading out in all directions.
———
In a small town, not much to look at on the map, but the streets bustled with life. Shops lined both sides, mixed with rows of open stalls. Bars, tailors, clinics—you name it, they had it.
It was thriving.
Like the old saying goes:
"Small as a sparrow, but it's got all five organs."
Kisame took it all in with a casual glance, tossed aside a melon rind he'd been chewing on, and made his way toward the only tavern in town.
The moment he stepped through the tavern doors, His brows twitched.
Not from a bad smell. Quite the opposite, in fact—the place smelled too good.
The entire tavern was filled with the rich, mellow scent of fine liquor… but none of the usual stink of sweaty, boisterous sea dogs.
Honestly, if it weren't for the background noise, he would've thought he walked into the wrong place.
"Heh. Interesting joint."
But then as soon as the regulars inside noticed the guy standing at the door—
Silence. Dead silence.
Every single head turned.
Eyes widened.
You'd think they were staring at a talking fish. Those kinds of looks—Made Kisame feel a little irritated.
But in the end, he stayed calm. He was here for intel, after all, Not to wreck the place.
Ignoring all the mixed stares—including a few that looked like they wanted to take a bite out of him—he made his way toward the bar.
And then he saw her.
His sharky eyes twitched with a flash of surprise.
A woman?
Tall. Elegant. Wrapped in a black qipao embroidered with dark gold patterns.
That narrow waist, those generous curves, that graceful figure—completely and unapologetically on display.
Just looking at her was enough to make blood boil.
But Kisame wasn't some drooling commoner.
Sure, she was beautiful. Sure, she was seductive. But what really caught him off guard was—She was standing in the wrong place.
"She's no ordinary woman."
That was the label Kisame slapped on her in his mind.
A woman like this—gorgeous and built like a dream, working behind the bar in a place that reeked of sailors and roughnecks… and yet, not a single guy had tried anything?
Either the woman was dangerous as hell, or the people backing her were even scarier. No matter which way you looked at it, This woman was definitely not simple.
As Kisame was sizing her up, She was sizing him up right back. Looking at the navy officer who clearly didn't belong here, Her beautiful eyes sparkled with surprise… and a hint of curiosity.
With a charming smile, she purred:
"Well, well~ What can I do for our handsome Marine officer today?"
Kisame blinked. "Wait… there are other services here?" He asked it instinctively—just a slip of the tongue.
The woman let out a soft laugh, her voice like velvet. "Hehe~ Don't get the wrong idea, sir… This is a respectable tavern."
She said that while swaying those generous hips, her figure all curves and sass and honestly, there wasn't a single thing about her that screamed respectable.
Kisame's expression stiffened. Just a little awkward.
The way she said it made it sound like he wasn't respectable!
He straightened up, face serious, and replied with full Marine dignity:
"I'm a respectable man too!"
"Hehehe~" Her giggle was soft and teasing then she leaned in slightly, voice dropping into something a little more business-like.
"Aside from drinks, we also deal in information. Though… our prices are a little on the high side."
"Then I've come to the right place."
Kisame didn't even hesitate. He leaned in, eyes sharp, and asked straight-up:
"Got anything on the Donquixote Family? Doflamingo?"
The moment she heard that name, the woman's eyes flickered with thought.
"Doflamingo, huh… He's not one of the big dogs yet, but he's got serious potential."
"So intel on him? Doesn't come cheap."
"You have it?" Kisame was genuinely surprised.
"I'll pay. Whatever it costs."
"Whatever it costs?"
The woman blinked—clearly caught off guard, this marine turned out to be loaded? Guess you really can't judge a book by its cover.
Seeing how decisive he was, she gave a sly little smile, turned around, and casually pulled a bottle from the shelf.
She poured a full glass, slid it toward him, and then raised her delicate hand, all five fingers extended.
"Fifty million Berries."
"PFFFFFT!!!"
Kisame hadn't even swallowed the drink yet.
That lovely, smooth, aromatic wine?
Gone. Sprayed all over the floor.
His shark eyes bulged out like ping pong balls.
"HOW much?!"
"Fifty. Million. Berries." she repeated sweetly.
"You—! You move your lips once, and it's fifty million?!"
"Lady, that's daylight robbery!!"
From Kisame's point of view, a few million for some good intel was already stretching it. But this woman? She was opening her lion's mouth and asking for fifty million!
"Hehehe!" The woman gave a sultry laugh, her voice dripping with charm.
"Oh, come on now!" she purred.
"Robbery? Nothing's faster than how I make money!"
"True that." Kisame gave a deadpan nod. Couldn't really argue with that logic.
Then she leaned in, closing the distance between them until her face was practically in his.
"Big guy… You Marines aren't exactly strapped for cash, are you?"
"And this intel—I guarantee it's the real deal."
Kisame blinked slowly.
Wait. So what, you're telling me the rest of your intel might be fake??
He stared at her—way too close for comfort now—and fought back a sigh.
If he'd known it was gonna go like this, he would've dragged that pirate he kicked earlier along for the ride. Guy was probably worth over a hundred million at least!
"I'm not broke," he replied flatly. "But I'm not giving you fifty million either."
"Five hundred thousand Berries. Take it or leave it."
Even with her practically breathing down his face, Kisame didn't flinch.
"What?! Five hundred thousand?!"
The woman's flirty expression instantly dropped—replaced by cold, sharp fury.
"I told you fifty million, and you slash it down to five hundred thousand?! Listen here, Marine—this is the New World, not your cushy little Marineford! Half a glass of wine here costs fifty thousand Berries, and that's before the punching starts!"
As she snapped, she turned away, snatched the half-full glass on the counter, and poured it out like it was dishwater.
Damn.
Kisame watched the whole thing, expression deadpan. Petty to the bone.
He muttered inside. But just as she turned her back, something clicked in his brain. He smirked.
"Alright, alright… So I don't have the cash. But how about a trade?"
"A trade?" She glanced back over her shoulder, eyes narrowing and just what do you have that's worth trading?"
BANG!
Right then, the tavern doors burst open. A young pirate, wild-eyed and panicked, stumbled inside.
"B-Boss! Something's wrong! Assam got wrecked and kicked into the ocean!"
"WHAT?!"
At that exact moment, a massive guy sitting near the door shot to his feet, slamming the table aside.
"A-Assam… was attacked by a Marine and kicked into the sea?!"
The young pirate's words suddenly cut off mid-sentence.
His eyes widened in horror.
Right there, standing at the bar, was a man wearing a Marine cloak with a big, bold "Justice" symbol stitched across the back…
And he was sipping calmly like he hadn't just tossed a pirate into the drink earlier.
"Hey," Kisame said casually, "enjoying the show? Now… about that trade. What do you say?"
The woman didn't answer right away but from the way her eyes flicked to the pirate kid and back to Kisame, she was already connecting the dots.
Assam! This guy—Yeah. She got the picture.
"That guy who just stood up. What's his bounty?"
"Hm?"
The woman froze for a second, then her eyes went wide.
"What are you trying to do?!"
"Make money!"
Kisame didn't even bother to hide it.
"I'll trade him for intel on Doflamingo. That enough?"
"Are you insane?!"
She leaned in, voice lowered in panic.
"That guy—he's the captain of the Mad Shark Pirates, Mad Shark Squeak! He's got a bounty of 210 million... and he's under the Beast Pirates now! He works for Jack!"
"Two hundred and ten million? Gotta love those New World rates"
Kisame's eyes lit up.
He muttered under his breath:
"Maybe I should bring Kakuzu here someday... dude would make a killing."
Then he looked back at the woman, expression calm.
"Two hundred and ten million. You're getting a damn good deal."
As he stood up, gripping Samehada, his tone turned final. No room for argument.
"His head for your intel. Deal's done."
(End of Chapter)
—————————
Yo nakamas, so so sorry for the long break, now I'm finally back with the laptop, just got my hands on legion 5 and man what a beast it issssss🙂, suggest me some games to try out.
You guys can expect new chapters daily or alternate days as I'm also working on a new series, if you want to check it out you can join my patreon beast0x1 and support me there ( will need to make it up for the laptop hehe), thank you anyways for supporting me