By the ti Gloriosa, Shakky, and Tritoma, three generations of Kuja empresses, were all huddled under the desk staring at each other, Makoto finally spoke.
"Yu, I'm a bit busy right now. Just give your report from the doorway."
"Yes, sir!"
Through the door, Yu's voice ca through clearly. "Sir, Humphry and his crew wanted to ask. Roger's people are just sitting in the hold with nothing to do anyway. Can we have so fun with them?"
Under the desk, the three empresses froze.
Humphry?
They knew exactly who that was. The weirdly grinning dog. So kind of Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, accompanied by a dolphin, a gorilla, and a rabbit. All part of Makoto's inner circle.
But what did he an by "fun"?
"Play?" Makoto didn't seem bothered in the slightest. "Fine, let them go at it. But one rule: they can play all they want, but nobody dies. Especially Roger."
"Roger!"
Yu acknowledged, and his footsteps receded down the corridor.
The captain's office fell silent for a mont.
Then Makoto looked down at the three very different expressions under his desk.
Gloriosa spoke first, her voice tentative. "Lord Makoto, when Mr. Ishigami said 'play'..."
"If you want to break them out, go ahead."
Makoto cut her off, speaking casually. "As for releasing one of them... let's see how you perform."
He paused, his gaze sweeping across all three faces.
"If Gloriosa performs best, I'll release Roger. If Shakky performs best, I'll release Rayleigh. If Tritoma performs best, I'll release Gaban."
"What?!"
Tritoma was the first to explode. She nearly popped her head above the desk, but Makoto shoved her back down.
"Hey, I don't even like Gaban. What do I care if he lives or dies?"
She'd overheard both captains' conversations and understood their angle. They were trading their bodies for their loved ones' lives.
But what did that have to do with her?
She didn't have anyone she liked.
In fact, she was quite content, enthusiastically enjoying her favorite person's equipnt as we speak.
Makoto laughed. "Fine, fine. Gaban's off the table then. It's between Gloriosa and Shakky. Whoever performs best decides whether Roger or Rayleigh goes free."
The words landed, and Gloriosa and Shakky locked eyes.
In that instant, sparks practically flew.
The eyes of two forr and current Kuja empresses ignited with fierce competitive fire.
The next mont, an all-out war began.
For a while, the cries of three generations of Amazon Lily empresses echoed through the captain's office of the Oro Jackson.
anwhile, Roger and Rayleigh's screams echoed from the hold below.
What a coincidence.
The Oro Jackson's soundproofing was decent, but it couldn't handle both sides going at it at full volu.
Yu had barely taken two steps after delivering his report when his ears caught sothing off.
His expression changed instantly. He spun around, grabbed Miyuki Shirogane, Fuutarou Uesugi, and the other male crew mbers, and hauled them all down into the hold like chickens.
"I-Ishigami-sama! Why are you dragging us down here?!"
Fuutarou and Miyuki stared at Roger's crew, who were currently being roughed up by the Fab Four, and went pale.
We have to join in too?
"Nobody goes topside. Period." Yu found a chair, popped in earplugs, and closed his eyes.
The hold door slamd shut.
...
Haruno Yukinoshita stood at the corner of the corridor, her nails digging into her palms.
She'd offered herself so boldly last night, and Makoto had turned her down.
And now, in broad daylight, he was fooling around with those three Kuja won?
It was a direct stomp on her pride.
"Y-yotsuba... aren't you angry?"
Nino Nakano's expression was strange after hearing the sounds.
But what shocked her even more was Yotsuba, who'd been entrusted to Makoto by her sisters, casually playing Gomoku with Ran and Sonoko after finishing her morning training.
And it wasn't just Yotsuba.
Utaha, Kotonoha, Yui, and the others were all going about their business like nothing was happening.
The Nakano quintuplets, Chika Fujiwara, even Leonora, won who didn't have a "deep relationship" with Makoto, were the ones who looked most horrified.
Wait... your man is fooling around with other won right now, and you don't care?
Yotsuba waved it off. "It's fine. Makoto doesn't even like them."
Not just Yotsuba. gumi could also tell that Makoto genuinely had zero interest in the Kuja Pirates won.
So there was nothing to worry about.
He's just grabbing takeout. No big deal.
Ichika, Nino, Miku, and Itsuki were collectively stunned.
Wait, is "liking them" really the issue here?
He's cheating!
Saeko walked over with a smile, sounding completely unfazed. "Everyone was exhausted yesterday, so Makoto didn't get satisfied. He's hungry now. Eating sothing is perfectly normal."
The Nakano sisters, Kei Shirogane, and the others were thoroughly mind-blown.
It seed like the won in Makoto's orbit operated on a completely different wavelength from "normal won."
So in their eyes, their man grabbing takeout was just a minor thing?
The second most irritated person, after Haruno, was Erina Nakiri.
She'd fought hard yesterday, been dead tired, and crashed shortly after boarding. Then she'd cooked breakfast for a small army this morning and gone back to sleep, only to wake up and find out the Kuja won had beat her to it.
Every last one of them, throwing themselves at him like there's no tomorrow?!
Erina silently vowed: Next ti there's an opening, if I don't seize it, I'm a dog.
...
A full month passed.
The three generations of Kuja empresses had officially joined the "Morning Workout Girls" and "Evening Workout Wives" rosters.
Tritoma naturally joined the girls' group.
Shakky and Gloriosa were assigned to the wives' group.
They'd assud the wives' group would be significantly wilder than the girls'.
But when Shakky and Gloriosa actually participated, they shocked even Yukiko and Eri Kisaki.
Especially when they saw the two don those masks that looked like they were designed for inhaling noodles.
Even Yukiko, the most open-minded of the bunch, was floored.
Had these won never seen a man before?
This extre?
...
A full month of "competition" finally concluded under the wives' expert judging.
After fierce deliberation and comprehensive scoring from a professional standpoint, Shakky won by a decisive margin over Gloriosa.
Yukiko, Lady Yukinoshita, and Kayo Akizuki all voted for Shakky.
Only Eri Kisaki cast a sympathy vote for Gloriosa.
Which ant: Rayleigh would be released.
When Shakky removed her mask, tears stread down her face.
Gloriosa watched from the side, her expression complicated.
Tritoma just shrugged indifferently.
She didn't have anyone she cared about in Roger's crew anyway.
As for Makoto, the primary beneficiary of the whole affair, he took it in stride. He went and took a shower.
Erging fresh and clean, Makoto towel-dried his hair and instructed Yu, who was standing guard at the door. "Release Rayleigh."
"Sir!"
Yu went to carry out the order.
The mont the hold door opened, an indescribable stench hit like a wall.
Yu's face twisted as he staggered back two steps, nearly throwing up.
Shakky, following close behind, froze entirely.
She stared wide-eyed at the man Yu dragged out of the cage.
That was Rayleigh?
The current Rayleigh reeked suffocatingly. His clothes were crusted and wrinkled against his body, his hair was matted into knots, his beard was wild and overgrown. He looked like he'd been dug out of a garbage dump.
Worse still, Shakky's nose warned her that two steps closer and she might actually pass out.
"Sorry about that."
Yu pinched his nose with zero remorse.
"There's no bathroom in the hold, so a month's worth of bodily functions were handled on the spot."
The Libido Devil poked his head out from the side, flashing his signature creepy grin, and added, "Thanks to , none of them will ever be constipated again."
At those words, Rayleigh shot the Fab Four a glare that could kill.
This grudge.
Will be settled.
Shakky might have reached out to steady Rayleigh and whispered, "It's okay now."
But she genuinely couldn't bring herself to do it.
The sll was simply too overwhelming.
Then she noticed sothing even more absurd.
For so reason, Rayleigh's pants were on backwards.
The zipper was in the back.
Shakky: "..."
She took a deep breath, fighting to keep her voice steady. "Rayleigh... get so rest. I'll find another way to save Roger."
Though Rayleigh wanted to tear the Fab Four limb from limb, he knew better than to provoke Makoto's group right now.
He nodded in silence.
...
The ship docked at Water 7 for resupply.
The island, famous for its shipbuilding industry, was steeped in the scent of timber and salt water.
On Shakky and Gloriosa's recomndation, Rayleigh decided to stay on the island for now.
Makoto's crew took the opportunity to restock. After a month at sea, supplies were running thin.
After so discussion, Rayleigh, Shakky, and Gloriosa decided to crash with Tom for the ti being.
The Oro Jackson had been Tom's creation, after all.
Though the Great Pirate Era was still over a decade away, Tom was already a world-renowned shipwright.
Shakky agreed with the plan.
Before they parted ways, Rayleigh couldn't hold back the question that had been gnawing at him.
"Shakky... how exactly did you get Makoto to agree to let go?"
For a month, Roger's crew had been getting humiliated by the Fab Four in the hold daily. They'd been too preoccupied to notice what was happening above deck.
Gloriosa's face went cold. "Leave. Now. Don't ask questions."
Rayleigh fell silent and walked away.
But he had a pretty good idea.
Looking at Shakky's forced smile, sothing quietly shattered between them.
Rayleigh said nothing more and headed toward Tom's shipyard.
But the mont he found Tom and asked to stay for a while, he discovered Makoto had followed him.
Rayleigh barely suppressed his anger, his voice low. "What do you want?"
Makoto didn't answer.
Didn't even glance at him.
He walked straight up to Tom and got right to the point. "I need you to build a ship. One that can hold a thousand people, built with the finest materials in the world. Money is no object."
Tom blinked, his gaze shifting between Makoto and Rayleigh.
"...Do you two know each other?"
Rayleigh's face was flat. "Ignore ."
Tom sensed the tension but didn't pry, treating Makoto as a regular custor.
"Sir, if you want the finest ship, the only material that'll do is the Treasure Tree Adam. For a vessel that size, materials alone will run you at least a billion Berries. Labor costs extra. Are you sure that's not a problem?"
Tom asked.
A billion Berries was no small sum.
Makoto nodded. "No problem."
Tom raised an eyebrow. "I'll need the material costs upfront. I don't have that kind of cash on hand to buy supplies."
"Fine."
Makoto said. "I'll have the deposit delivered shortly."
The Oro Jackson wasn't short on funds.
With that, Makoto turned and walked out.
Watching him go, Tom muttered to himself, "Is this guy for real?"
Over a billion Berries for a single ship?
He'd never seen a client throw money around like that.
From the corner, Rayleigh's low voice rang out. "He doesn't joke."
Tom looked at Rayleigh with renewed curiosity. "Who exactly are you?"
Rayleigh didn't answer. He just found a corner seat and asked, "Got any booze?"
Seeing he wasn't going to talk, Tom didn't push. He pulled a bottle of rum from the cabinet and slid it over.
"Roger's favorite."
Tom had been about to ask where Roger had disappeared to, but seeing Rayleigh's grim expression, he kept the small talk brief and went back to work.
...
anwhile, Makoto returned to the Oro Jackson.
The players who'd gone ashore for supplies were mostly back.
On deck, everyone gathered around as Makoto laid out the next phase of the plan.
"When we head to the Sabaody Archipelago for the hostage exchange, we only need a small elite team. The Marines and World Governnt will definitely have set up a massive trap."
He scanned the group and nad nas. ", Yu, Beam, the Fab Four. We go. Everyone else stays behind."
"I want to go too."
Nayuta raised her hand.
Makoto shot her a look. "You're staying here to protect the others."
Nayuta pouted.
She walked up to Makoto and pointed at her own lips. The aning was unmistakable.
Give sothing good, or I'm not listening.
Makoto was exasperated.
The two stared each other down for several seconds.
Finally, Makoto caved. He pulled Nayuta into his arms, lifted her up, and planted a kiss on her forehead.
Then he leaned close to her ear and murmured, "Don't go too far."
Nayuta huffed and stalked off, crossing her arms and sulking.
But she knew this ti she'd pushed right up to Makoto's bottom line.
Any further, and she'd be the one paying for it.
...
With that, Makoto led his inner circle aboard the Oro Jackson, with Roger's crew locked in the hold, and set sail for the Sabaody Archipelago, not far from Water 7.
The two islands were close.
Even though most aboard weren't skilled navigators, the Eternal Pose provided by the Kuja Pirates was enough to get them there.
Two days later, the Oro Jackson arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago.
The mont the ship appeared in port, countless pirates who'd also docked there cried out in shock.
"The Roger Pirates?!"
But their shock quickly deepened.
The people coming off the ship weren't the familiar faces of Roger, Rayleigh, and company.
Oh wait. Roger was indeed aboard.
In a cage.
For a mont, every pirate and bounty hunter on the docks stood slack-jawed.
What... what was going on?
Roger, "Gold" Roger, currently ranked among the top five strongest on the seas, locked in a cage like livestock?
Makoto's group paid no attention to the stunned stares around them. They pushed the cage holding Roger's entire crew toward the exchange point with Kong, like they were transporting common criminals.
On the streets of the Sabaody Archipelago, the crowds parted like the Red Sea.
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