Chapter 32: Deal and Hostages

"Grgk!"

A grunt left my lips as I blocked a cutlass being swung at me, which I pushed away before kicking its wielder away and took to the skies.

It happened so fast; the incoming ship had suddenly fired its cannons right at the docks and destroyed several buildings with first salvo.

And it would have dealt more damage if Luffy hadn't deflected a few of them away with his Gum-Gum Balloon; though the sight of the lanky man suddenly inflating his torso like it was some fleshy balloon was quite the bizarre sight.

I immediately sprung into action and flew right to them; Nanashi drawn and ready to strike down the ship's crew with no mercy.

My assumption was that it was the pirates from the East Blue Pirate Alliance that disguised themselves as one of our ships; there was no other explanation otherwise.

That was until I saw said crew.

"Move, Rein! I'm aiming at you!"

"Yikes!"

A bullet grazed my wings as I quickly moved out of the way as warned; the gunman was already reloading his rifle for his next shot while looking horrified and guilty for what he was doing.

Instead of pirates, what I found was even more horrifying.

The ship's crew weren't pirates, only one of them looked like one; there were members of the East Traders among them too, and none of them were sailors either.

The owner of the general store near the employee dorms, the cooks of the cafeteria that me and Sen always go to after our training sessions, the receptionist lady of the Food Division's main building, those were the ones I recognised among the several other non-combatants.

They were forced to do this against their will, no doubt by some kind of sick body jacking Devil Fruit power.

"F-Fire! Fire at her!"

"S-Sorry, Rein!"

Guns were hastily fired at my direction, and I swiftly avoided any bullets that were aimed at me; thankfully, most of them were missing me by a wide margin, no doubt due to most of them never trained with a firearm before.

My eyes on the man who was hectically issuing commands from the helm; unkempt hair under a bandana with an attire of an overcoat over a shirt and pants, he was as standard of a pirate captain as it could be.

He must be the one forcing them to fire on the docks; which meant that in order to stop this, I had to take him out of the picture first.

But with so many of them around him, it would be hard for me to reach the bastard while not trying to hurt them in any way; and knocking them out wasn't possible either on account of how many there were.

That leaves only one option, and I wasn't exactly keen on it.

"Sorry in advance!"

""Huh—whoa!?""

Diving down back at them, I slammed into several of the gun wielding non-combatants, sending them crashing through the railing and overboard into the salty waters below.

Landing on the ship once more, I turned Nanashi around so that its back was facing forward and I swung it at another one beside them, sending him flying off the ship as well.

Glancing down for a moment, I sighed in relief when I saw several of them paddling in the water; some of them were helping out those that couldn't swim.

As this was the result of a Devil Fruit's ability, seawater should theoretically be able to remove its influence over them; like how Gecko Moria's zombies lose their shadows when exposed to salt.

And judging by how they were not immediately trying to climb back onboard to attack me, my theory was proven correct.

"Rein, watch out!"

"Grgk!"

Another of the non-combatants slammed into me hard, nearly sending me overboard as well if my talons hadn't dug itself into the deck and keeping me tethered.

I turned around and grabbed her by the collar of her blouse, before throwing her over my shoulder and off the ship to join the rest of her friends.

"I'm sorry, Rein!"

"W-Whuh-Guh!"

But another one tackled me to the floor mere moments later, unlatching my talons and pinning me onto the deck with his body weight; and before I could push him off, several others pinned my limps down as well.

"About damn time…!" I heard the pirate captain huffed out in annoyance as he kicked Nanashi out of my hand, "Those not pinning her down, keep firing at that damn boat!"

Footfall echoed across the deck, some unsteady as one of them shouted at him, "You won't get away with this!"

"I think I already have~" As cannons began to fire once more, he kneeled in front of me, "You must be that Devil Fruit user I've been warned about; not so dangerous now, are you?"

"Says the guy cowering like a little bitch—Guh!"

"Don't you mock me, girl!" He shouted after stomping me in the face, "If you haven't realized yet, your comrades' fate is in my hands; so I suggest you talk to me a little more nicely!"

"Grr…!"

As much as I didn't want to admit it, he was right; if he wanted to, he could have ordered everyone onboard commit suicide. And I would be powerless to stop it.

"And you should be thankful; our boss had ordered us to capture you instead of killing you."

"Capture me?"

"Indeed; no doubt to turn you into another slave for us to use. With someone of your prowess working for us, the East Blue Pirate Alliance will be unstoppable!"

Judging by what he said, the Devil Fruit user that was forcing them to fight wasn't him but his boss; that meant taking him down wouldn't free them.

But he was able to give orders to them; did his boss allow him some authority over them somehow?

What kind of Devil Fruit would give such power?

"Hey, blow that damn boat out of the water already—"

"—Rocket!"

"Gah!?"

His tirade was put to an immediate halt when what I assumed was Luffy quite literally rocketed into him from the Going Merry, sending him crashing head first into the ship's main mast.

No idea what his plan was for doing that, but trying to understand whatever was going on in that rubber head of his was a lost cause.

"Sweeping Rapids!"

The people on top of me were quickly knocked away moments later, Kris kneeling in front of me as he offered me a hand, "Sorry for taking so long."

"No problem." I accepted his help and got on my feet.

"Oi, Luffy! Stop running ahead like that!" Zoro shouted as he and Sanji climbed aboard.

The blonde cook suddenly knelt in front of me while offering Nanashi to me like a knight to his queen, "Your sword, mademoiselle."

"…Thanks, Sanji."

"No problem, Miss Rein~"

As I took back my sword, I glanced to the side to see the Going Merry close to the ship; its rope ladder was thrown down as Usopp, Gin and Nami helped aboard the people I had thrown overboard, with some freaking out when they saw the former Krieg pirate's face.

"Guh… what hit me…?" The pirate captain rubbed his head as he got back on his feet.

His musing was cut short when he saw the three additional men onboard, "Whu—Who the hell are you guys!? Wait, a-aren't you the P-Pirate Hunter!? W-Why are you here!?"

"Hey, what's the situation?" Zoro asked me.

"Bastard's a pirate from the East Blue Pirate Alliance." I explained to him, "The rest aren't; they are our members being forced to follow his commands against their will."

"I was wondering why Mrs Ouo was holding a gun." Kris noted.

"Devil Fruit, huh? That would explain their expressions…" The former bounty hunter noted as he unsheathed his swords, "In that case, taking him out of the picture will fix everything."

"No, the user isn't him." I stated, "I'm not sure how, but his boss is allowing him to use his ability."

"Tch, that complicates things."

"Kris, shower them in seawater." I told him, "It should nullify whatever control that bastard have them."

"Got it." With a nod, Kris dived back into the water.

"N-No matter how many more people you have, you are still outnumbered! All of you, get them! Take them out, now!"

At the pirate's command, they charged at us like with their armaments; a few were struggling against their own bodies as they ran.

"Don't kill them! If you can, knock them out or throw them into the water!"

"As you command, Miss Rein~!" Sanji told me with a grin.

"I'll try." Zoro noted, shifting his swords so that the dull side was facing forward, "But no promises."

"Good enough!"

"Ushishishi! Let's go! Let's go!"

Luffy was the first to intercept them, stretching his arm past them and grabbing onto the railing behind.

"Gum-Gum Sickle!"

He rocketed forward once more, his other arm stretched to the side that clotheslines several of them off the ship; others tried to jump him but he easily leapt out of their way like the rubber monkey he was before retaliating back at them.

"Dragon Twister!"

That gave Zoro an opening to enter the fray, swinging his swords while twisting his body around; a twister coming to life within moments and sending several more flying into the air and into the salty water below.

"Dragon Sword Style; Seventh Form: Dancing Talons!"

I entered the fray as well; Nanashi's dull edge striking the weapons out of their hands or striking their hands to disarm them when I found the opening to do so.

"Concusse! Collier! Mutton!"

"Hah! Rah!"

No doubt not wanting to get overshadowed, Sanji dashed at them and unloaded a barrage of well-aimed kicks at the ones I had disarmed, knocking a few of them out while sending several others flying overboard with.

In no time, nearly half of the crew was either knocked out or thrown overboard and getting rescued by Nami and Usopp.

"T-This is i-impossible! The pirate screamed, "H-How am I l-losing!?"

"Give it up!" I shouted at him, "Surrender, and we might go easy on you!"

"D-Don't forget I still hold their fate in my hand! All of you—"

Not soon after he began to issue another command, a pillar of water burst forth from the sea, Kris being the nuclei of it as he brought splashing down onto the deck, soaking all of us to the bone.

The hostages immediately stopped attacking, with a few even collapsing onto the deck like cutting off the strings of puppets. Those that were still on their feet quickly threw down their weapons, some even went as far as tossing them into the sea; while others starting crying and sobbing from relief.

"Sorry it took a while." Kris apologized, "Never had to bring that much seawater with me before."

"No, your timing was spot-on." I told him with a thumbs up.

The now soaking pirate looked around at the now freed people in shock and confusion, "W-Whuh—why did you all stop attacking!? Attack them! ATTACK!"

"It looks like their fate have left your hand." I told him as I slowly walked up to him, "It's over."

"G-Grgk… this… this is… AAHHH!"

He immediately made a run for it, but all it did was leave him wide open, which I was quick to take full advantage of.

"First Form: Plunging Claw!"

"GUUHH!"

Closing the distance in an instant, I swung down and slammed the back of Nanashi's blade into his head with a dull crack; I took great care to hold back most of my strength in the strike to not cause anything more than a concussion.

We couldn't get any information if he was dead, after all.

Once I saw his eyes rolled back and his body slacked like a ragdoll, I pulled off his bandana and shoved the fabric into his mouth to prevent him from issuing out more orders when he woke up before proceeding to use his overcoat to tie him up.

"Talk about your pathetic chums." Zoro noted.

"You are sure this guy isn't a Devil Fruit user?" Kris asked.

"Yeah, I'm certain." I nodded, "It is his boss that is the ability user."

"But… he's the one commanding them, right?"

"Maybe he can give his underlings the right to command them…?"

We had far too little info on their leader's Devil Fruit ability, aside that the user was able to take control of people and force them to obey their every command; but seawater canceled out the user's influence over them.

Still, it was a vital intel on the enemy that we never got before; and we could now properly prepare for it.

Looks like their sneak attack had backfired on them pretty badly.

"Puru puru puru puru."

"Huh?"

The sound of a Den Den Mushi suddenly rang across the deck much to everyone's surprise; and it sounded to be quite near us as well.

"I think it's coming from there!"

We quickly followed one of the hostages into the captain's quarters, where a ringing snail sat right in the middle of the room desk; the same kind that was in Silvia's own quarters which she used to send and receive calls from the Temasek.

Considering the situation this ship and its 'crew' was in until recently and Temasek currently being used as the main base for the East Blue Pirate Alliance, I had a good idea who might be the one currently calling.

"Should we answer it?" Kris asked.

"…We shouldn't." I noted, "We still had no idea how this mysterious pirate leader's ability works."

For all we know, all he needed to do was talk to you to get you under his control; it would for the best if we didn't attempt to risk it–

"Click."

"Hello?"

""He answered it!?""

And Luffy proceeded to ignore my warning and picked up the snail's transceiver anyway, much to my shock and horror; the last thing we needed was to have that idiot of a powerhouse controlled by the enemy!

"Huh? You're not the one I gave this ship to. Who is this?"

"I'm Monkey D Luffy." Luffy answered nonchalantly, "The man who will become King of the Pirates."

""DON'T JUST TELL HIM THAT!"" Me and Kris shouted at him.

"King of the–Okay, you are definitely not one of us. Are you perhaps some new muscle the East Traders just hired? Must be quite the ruthless one to kill all those innocent people."

"…Are you the one that is forcing them to fight?"

"Indeed I am. Quite a useful ability, is it not? Makes forcing people to do my bidding all the much easier."

"What a shitty bastard…" Sanji growled; Zoro grunting in agreement.

"Say, is Draconis there with you? Mind handing the transceiver to him for me? I wish to speak with him–"

I quickly snatched the transceiver from Luffy and shouted into it, "Who the hell are you!? Why do you know Draconis!?"

"Oh? And who might this be?"

"My name is none of your concern, dipshit! Answer the damn question!"

"Now, now; that is no way to ask for something. It is good manners to introduce yourself first, isn't it–?"

"His name is Tentol, Rein." One of the hostages cut in, "He's the leader of the East Blue Pirate Alliance; he's the one responsible for all of that had happened."

"He was also a former member of the East Traders." Another piped in, "He got himself kicked out for using their connections to form a smuggling ring."

"Hey now, that's not nice butting into our conversation like that."

A former member that got fired due to illegal smuggling. I could easily guess the reason why Temasek was attacked; no doubt petty revenge against us and possibly renewing his smuggling business.

"Hm? Rein… Ah, you must be that dragon girl that guards my niece's ship."

"Niece…!?"

This bastard was also Silvia's uncle!? Was that why she was captured!?

"I have heard many great things about you from her; if I have someone like you in my control, things would definitely be so much easier."

"Piss off, you sick bastard! You will not get away with this!"

"On the contrary, I already have; but enough about you, I want to talk to Draconis. Is that old bastard there?"

"Why should I let you talk to him!?"

"Because if you don't, I'll make your captain to commit suicide over this call."

That immediately got my fiery anger to cool down, and was replaced by the icy cold feeling of dread climbing up my spine, "W-What?"

"I see you finally see the severity of this situation. Now, unless you wish to be responsible for the death of your captain, you will bring this call to Draconis. Right. Now."

"B-But she's your niece! Your family!"

"So what? Do you think I give a damn about that? Or, do you want to prove it?"

Even without the Den Den Mushi's facial replication, his voice made it clear that he was very serious about all of it.

Damn this bastard! Damn him!

"So, what's it going to be?"

"…Fine! I'll bring this call to Draconis!" I cried, "Just give me a moment to take this snail to him!"

"So he's not there with you? That's a shame… then I'll call back within a minute–"

"That wouldn't be necessary."

A sudden voice had me turn around to see Kris helping Draconis climbing onboard the ship; his clothes soaked in seawater.

Did Kris go to the docks to get him when I was talking to Tentol?

"Kris filled me in on the way here." He told me as he took the transceiver from me, "I see you have not changed, Tentol."

"Ah, old man Draconis. It's been years, hasn't it? I take it that the years haven't been kind to you?"

"Cut the small talk, Tentol; what do you want from me?"

"Straight to the point as always. Here's the deal; you and the remaining captains are to surrender and hand yourself over to the East Blue Pirate Alliance."

"If I refused?"

"Check the first drawer."

Draconis did so, flinching when he took out what was stored inside; an ornate brooch that had patches of blood all over it.

I recognised that brooch; it was the one that Dya's mother frequently wears.

"This is… Marie's…!"

"I take it you understand now? And she is not the only one I have in custody either; just one word from me and they will end themselves in no time."

The veteran growled under his breath as he glared straight into the Den Den Mushi, "Tentol…! You…!"

"You have until sunrise tomorrow to make your decision. If I hear no word from you then, you will be seeing their heads instead; so I strongly suggest you don't keep me waiting. Click."

The snail went silent, leaving us with that last ominous threat that hung over us like a damn sword of Damocles.

It was now clear that this wasn't a sneak attack at all; it was to show off his hostages and his complete control over them.

Deal, my ass; this was pretty much blackmail!

"…"

"…Draconis, sir…?"

"RAH!" Draconis screamed angrily as he slammed his fist onto the desk hard, cracking the wood and scaring the snail into retreating into its shell, "Damn that man! Does he have no shame!? What does he think human lives are!?"

Seeing him raged out like that was pretty terrifying; though it was a reasonable respond considering how much was at stake here.

Not to mention that the bastard had pretty much boxed us in from all angles and leaving us no other option aside from accepting his 'deal'.

"…Forgive my outburst." Draconis said to everyone in the room, "My emotions have gotten the better of me in the moment."

"I think anyone would have an outburst after hearing that." Sanji noted.

"So, what's your decision on this matter?" Zoro asked.

"I need to discuss with the rest of the captains, first. This isn't something I can decide on my own…" Draconis turned to me and Kris, "You two, tow this ship to the docks."

""Got it.""

He then pointed at the unconscious pirate and told the freed hostages, "One of you keep an eye on him, inform me immediately if he wakes up."

"Okay!"

After tying some mooring rope onto the ship's bow, I unfurled my wings and took off into the skies just as Kris dived back into the sea; we then grabbed the rope and began pulling it towards the port alongside the Going Merry.

Once we reached the docks, the doctors immediately got to checking on the alighting hostages; aside from the ones we knocked unconscious, none of them appeared to have suffered any serious injuries aside from some bruising.

At the same time, the pirate was dragged away for an interrogation; while Draconis carried away the planted Den Den Mushi and gathered the captains once more for an emergency meeting.

When Draconis told the rest of his fellow captains about Tentol's demands and ultimatum, it was naturally met with strong opposition.

"Like hell we should give in to him!" Seline cried out.

"Agreed, we all know Tentol's a manipulative bastard." Simon pointed out, "Who can say he will hold up his end of the bargain?"

"Indeed!" Scott nodded, "We shouldn't surrender to him! We need to strike back at him hard!"

"But if what happened today had shown, he isn't above using them to fight." Flaun noted, "If we do fight back, we might have to face a similar situation as today; and that's not including the hundreds of pirates in his disposal."

"He had no qualms about executing them if we refused our demands." Lee pointed out, "We need to approach from a different angle, and not just go in guns blazing."

"So, what!? We have already figured out his weakness! We just need to pour seawater on them and we are set!"

"It might work this time, but who can say Tentol hasn't come up with an obvious countermeasure to it all?"

"It is better than just giving up!"

"But… he has my family…" Bronz muttered, his hands gingerly touching the bloodied brooch.

"Bronz, you can't be serious!" Seline shouted. "We can't just give in to him like this!"

"That's easy for you to say; it is not your family that's being held hostage!"

"That's not the point I'm making! I'm just saying that there are better ways than just surrendering!"

"I refused to risk my wife and kids on—"

"CEASE THE BICKERING!"

Draconis shouted at the table, silencing the captains almost immediately; he cleared his throat and said to Bronz, "I understand your unease, but just giving in to him might not save your family."

"…I know." Bronz sighed, "But knowing they are in his clutches and there's nothing I can do…"

"I feel the same, Bronz." Scott told him with an assuring hand on his shoulder, "We will find a way to rescue them from Tentol's clutches."

"I sure hope so…"

Draconis then addressed the captains, "I personally have no intention on giving in to his demands, but there are countless innocent lives at stake here; we need to cover everything we know so far before we can decide."

"I agree; we still don't know the full extent of Tentol's new Devil Fruit abilities." Lee noted, "The conditions for using it, how many he can enslave and command at once; there are too many factors we are missing."

"We do know one thing." Simon looked at the Den Den Mushi currently snoozing in the middle of the conference table, "He needs to be physically present to take control; otherwise, he would have already taken control of Draconis and that straw hat kid."

"I think it is more than that." Flaun noted, "He might need to physically touch you to take control; there's no other explanation otherwise."

"So, as long as we keep away from him, he cannot use abilities on us." Seline summarized, "Sounds easy enough."

"But even if we avoid him, there are still the wanted pirates under his command." Scott noted, "They all have at least a million beri on their bounty."

"What do we know about them? What are their abilities and strengths?" Draconis asked.

"Well, former marine captain Morgan is the most obvious." Seline stated, "Giant axe for an arm, metal jaw, and a giant narcissist; nothing much else aside from that."

"Same goes for Eldoraggo and Golasses." Scott noted, "Eldoraggo has the Devil Fruit ability that allows him to destroy boulders by yelling, and Golasses is skilled with his giant katana; but aside from that, they don't have anything else besides being gold obsessed brutes."

"I've heard of this Billy guy." Flaun pointed out, "He got called the Orca Killer after he boasted that he killed an orca with just a swing of his sword; an exaggeration, for sure. But he is dangerous enough to be warranted a bounty so…"

"The Trump Siblings are a different story, though." Simon noted, "Bear King and Honey Queen are rumored to have Devil Fruit abilities, each of them has a million beri bounty, and they possessed quite the fleet themselves; there are even rumors of them having some kind of superweapon."

"Nothing is confirmed?" Draconis asked.

"Not since they holed up around Clockwork Island for the past few years, at least."

"That's troubling…"

"…You know, now that have we laid it all out, the only pirates we have to keep a look out for are those nine, eight if that Billy's story is a hogwash." Bronz pointed out, "If we take them out quickly, we might be able to turn the tide on the rest of them."

"That makes sense." Lee noted, "Most of the pirates are probably weak ruffians we are used to dealing with, so if those nine are taken out quickly…"

"Huh, guess even you can make valid points at times." Simon huffed.

"Can you not do backhanded compliments every chance you get?" Bronz groaned.

"I'm sure Tentol is fully aware of that already." Flaun stated, "He would no doubt have placed hostages with each of them as meat shields…"

"If he doesn't first execute them after we refused his demands." Scott noted, "In the end, it is down to our decision on that…"

Surrender to Tentol, and they would no doubt get enslaved by him and forced to do his bidding for the rest of their days. Refuse, and he would have all of their families and loved ones slaughtered.

Either decision would no doubt enquired great losses with little to gain; a truly lose-lose scenario.

"Damn it, is there really no other way…!?" Seline cried.

"…No, not necessarily." Draconis spoke up, getting the immediate and full attention from his fellow captains, "There might be a way out of this."

"Have you come up with a plan, Draconis sir?" Simon asked.

"Indeed; it isn't the greatest, but it is the best I can come up with in this scenario."

The veteran captain proceeded to relay his plan to them, one so daring that left them all in shock at the idea of it.

Tentol looked out the window, his gaze on the horizon where the sun had begun to peek out from beneath the ocean waves.

The time limit he imposed on the survivors of his conquest was almost up; and he was eager to know which of the two evils they would pick.

"Bet you regret firing me now, huh?"

He had been part of the East Traders's for a great many years, being recommended into the company by his late brother; an act of good will that he would be eternally grateful for, especially after his many failed business ventures had left him knee deep in debt.

Since then, he had been devoting the best of his abilities to the betterment of the company; many years of blood and sweat which helped him rise up the ranks quickly and into a captain of his own vessel.

He saw a great business potential in the East Traders; its many connections that monopolies the East Blue's sea trade and its military might that rivals the navies of the local kingdoms.

If they could make full use of those aspects of it, the East Traders could rake in more profit than it even could with just the sea trade; it could even become a major power in the East Blue, even the whole world.

So one day, he gave a suggestion to his higher ups, to expand the company's business into the morally dubious, to risk the law to gain more.

Only seeing the risk and not the large profits they could gain, they rejected it outright and even threatened him with a demotion for even daring to suggest it; an act that greatly injured his pride.

He had only the company best intentions! Why couldn't they see that!?

Wanting to prove them wrong and show them how better his idea for them was, he quietly started up a smuggling ring with a few of his closest acquaintances.

He dealt in all matter of goods, be it illegal drugs or weapon dealings; and no time at all, the profits gained grew exponentially past what he had first envisioned.

In no time at all, he was able earn way more than he had ever could, so much so that he could pay off his debt and still have plenty left to spare within days; eclipsing even his salary as a captain.

Within weeks, his secret smuggling ring had grown to include every illegal substance available, and his clientele expanded greatly; with the likes of gangsters and even officials of the local kingdoms sponsoring and making use of his services.

He had even become an informant and weapons dealer for the Revolutionary Army!

Seeing the immense success of this venture, he decided to share his newfound wealth with his brother to pay back his gratitude; he even asked him to join him in convincing the directors of the benefits the company could get for supporting him.

What he got in return for it was betrayal; one he never thought would come from his only family.

Mere days after he told him, his smuggling operation was quickly shut down and he and his fellow conspirators were rounded up; Draconis himself personally captured him and brought him to the East Traders's board of directors.

It didn't take long for his fellow smugglers to throw him under the carriage, which got him fired on the spot; he could still remember their looks of disgust and contempt with great clarity, as well as the empty words of thanks for his many years of service.

Things spiralled down immediately, with many of his former clientele forcing him to refund all their money and nearly bringing him back into debt; with some of them marking him for death for knowing their many secrets.

Even the Revolutionary Army had cut him off once they heard of his expulsion.

Broke, jobless, and marked for death by almost the entirety of the East Blue underworld, he was forced to spent years on the run, changing names almost on daily bases and barely making by via any odd jobs he was able to get.

It was a hellish experience, one that he had blamed his brother for putting him through, which soon extended to the East Traders as the years went by.

All he wanted was the betterment of the company, for it to expand and raise it to its fullest potential!

So what if it was illegal!? It brought in a lot of profits, didn't it!? Why couldn't they see how much better his idea for the company was!?

That anger and hatred stewed in him for years, along with the despair of his powerlessness to act on it.

Until one day, a stranger approached him with the proposition of a lifetime.

"You want power? I can give you the power."

In return for giving him a Devil Fruit, the man wished for him to use its abilities to bring down the East Traders in any fashion he saw fit.

It was too good of a deal, but Tentol accepted regardless; for the only thing he desired more than anything else was vengeance against them, and make them regret kicking him out.

With his new Slave-Slave powers, he recruited and brought in as many pirates he could; either by winning them over, or by showing his dominance over them.

Within months, he was able to secretly amass a fleet of pirates to rival the East Traders's; meanwhile, his collaborator had managed to infiltrate into their ranks and leaked intel on them with every chance they got.

Everything was set for him to plan his attack on the company and take it over, until he received word that they recently gotten another new member, one that put a small wrench in his plans.

The man called Sen had re-joined the East Traders.

He had encountered the enigmatic man in his early years in the company and was well aware how powerful he was; his attack would easily get foiled before they could even make landfall.

As such, he had no choice but to play the waiting game; to find an opening in which Sen wouldn't be able to stop them while amassing more men to better his odds.

Couple of years would pass until the opening was made known to him, when Sen and his apprentice were separated from the Silver Fang.

Taking the chance, he immediately launched his plan into motion, and successfully take over Temasek within no time.

And now here he was, sitting in the office of one of the directors that had him fired all those years, with that same director now in his watery grave.

'Too bad you aren't around to see this, Liam. Bet you regret ever selling me out now, huh?'

When the sun fully rose above the horizon, he was well aware of the survivors' answer; one he had long predicted.

"I had a feeling this would be their answer."

He knew they wouldn't even consider his offer; though he wasn't going to keep his end of the bargain either, not entirely anyways.

"No matter, they can come all they want; it wouldn't change a thing."

He had received intel on their situation from his collaborator hours prior; he knew of the huge disadvantage in terms of both manpower and gear, even after they recruited pirates of their own.

If they attacked, his pirates would easily wipe them out in no time.

As for Sen, he had been supplied a powerful superweapon from the Trump Pirates just for him; one that not even someone like him would be able to survive from.

When he crushed them, he would have officially taken over the East Traders proper with no one left to oppose him, not even the other pirate captains.

His power had made sure of that.

But he wouldn't stop with just taking over; oh no, he would accomplish what he had been denied to him all those years ago, elevate the East Traders to a major power in the East Blue.

Perhaps after re-establishing the smuggling services, he would start renting out his pirates to the enemies of those that marked him for dead; pirates weren't exactly good for anything outside of violence, after all, and he would not let such an asset fall to the wayside.

Speaking of which, there were some pretty attractive women among the hostages/meat shields; he could probably whore them out to gain favors from–

"Puru puru puru puru. Puru puru puru puru."

His musings were interrupted when the Den Den Mushi on his desk began ringing loudly, the one that he had used to call them.

A bit confused by it, he picked up the transceiver, the corners of his mouth rising into a grin when he saw the grim look of the veteran captain.

"Not puncture? You are losing your touch, Draconis. Old age finally got to you–"

"We will surrender to you."

"…Huh?"

Those words were not ones he had expected to hear come of the veteran's mouth, not even the slightest.

…
To be continued…

How this for fast; second chapter just days later!

So yeah, we are approaching the confrontation at long last, and the battle this arc has been leading up to.

As you can see, this is definitely way more than just one guy's grudge against his former employers; something is going on in the shadows~!

So, how is Tentol? I tried to make him less one note than my previous OC villain; so hopefully I did a good job with him.

With that, I thank you all for reading this!