Inside a Marine warship of Marine Branch 77.
Prinprin kept his nerves taut as he placed a hand on Chu’s shoulder and led him familiarly to his office.
"Hahaha, it seems there’s been some kind of misunderstanding! Come now, let’s sit down and talk this through in depth!"
Seeing Prinprin’s friendliness, Chu thought it was only natural and sneered inwardly.
No matter how impressive the Marines were, in the end they always bowed to money.
Especially inferior humans!
"Heh-heh, very good. Let’s have a deep talk, Chu!"
Prinprin’s office was rather small and plain.
The only decoration on the wall was a Marine cutlass, and the desk was piled with wanted posters showing the faces of various bounties.
On the very top of that stack sat none other than Arlong’s 20 million Berry bounty poster.
"Chu! Were you here to catch Arlong? Chu!"
At Chu’s question, Prinprin immediately waved it off and answered.
"Hahaha! We received a report that a fish-man had uprooted an entire house and sent it flying, so I was just taking a look because someone that strong sounded like Arlong."
"Heh-heh-heh, that wasn’t Arlong’s doing. It was one of our officers, Kuroobi!"
"Oh? Is that so? How surprising. Uprooting an entire house isn’t something just anyone can do."
"Of course not! That’s because we fish-men are superior to the likes of you! Chu! Don’t lump us together with inferior humans, Chu!"
"Ahaha, setting that aside, why don’t we get to the real talk? I’m very curious what Arlong wants to say."
Prinprin pulled out the chair in his office and sat down first before speaking to Chu.
"Right, then I’ll relay Arlong’s words, Chu!"
Thud.
Chu set the briefcase in his hand onto the desk.
Click. Click. Swoosh.
He unlocked both latches, then turned it around so the opening faced Prinprin.
"2 million Berry. This is an advance, and if you become our "friend," he said you’ll receive 1 million Berry every month from now on, Chu!"
Two million Berry was a large sum, but it was not enough to move the heart of someone at the rank of branch rear admiral like Prinprin.
Even without Vice Admiral Rengoku’s orders, to think they were trying to bribe a Marine with only 2 million Berry...
How narrow-minded. A frog in a well? Or are they looking down on us because this is East Blue?
Prinprin had many such thoughts, but he kept his expression hidden as much as possible and carried out Vice Admiral Rengoku’s orders.
"Ohhh, Arlong is generous indeed! To offer 2 million Berry so readily!"
Seeing Prinprin act excited, Chu asked him a question to make sure.
"Come to think of it, what rank are you, anyway? Chu!"
"Me? I’m a rear admiral."
Prinprin’s answer made Chu look at him again.
He was a human with a strange sense of style, braiding his bangs into a windmill-like shape, but he was a rear admiral.
Wasn’t that one rank above Nezumi?
And if he had come all the way here, then Branch 77 under Prinprin and Branch 16 under Nezumi couldn’t be that far from this island.
"Heh-heh, a rear admiral, huh? Then you’d be the highest-ranking one among our "friends," Chu!"
"Oh? So I’m not the only Marine you’ve made "friends" with?"
"Yeah, there’s Colonel Nezumi of Branch 16. He’s a guy who looks like a rat, Chu!"
"What a shame! I thought I’d be your first friend! Hahaha!"
As Prinprin kept flattering him and carrying the conversation forward, Chu slowly started to get worked up too.
His talkative instincts.
With his protruding lips, Chu loved nothing more than running his mouth.
Normally Arlong kept him in check, so he restrained himself as much as possible, but when the situation was handed to him like this, he could start spouting off at any time.
"Heh-heh, no need to worry. Arlong said the more "friends" we have, the better! Chu!"
"Still, you sure are throwing around a huge sum like this! It’s good that our "friends" are generous, but there’s no way this money could come from a place like this, could it?"
"Hm? Are you suspecting us right now, Chu!"
When Chu shot him a suspicious look, Prinprin waved his hands and explained.
"Hahaha, of course not. I was just thinking that if our "friends" are out there doing "collections," they might get hurt, so maybe I, as a friend, could help out."
"Heh-heh, so that’s what you meant? In that case, don’t worry. We don’t do stupid brute-force things like raiding the surrounding area and plundering it, Chu!"
Chu crossed his arms and looked proud.
"If you show inferior humans the difference in power just enough, they’ll start trembling and raise their monthly tribute on their own. Why would we bother going around doing the work ourselves, Chu? And Nezumi covers up most things for us anyway. Since you outrank Nezumi, I’d like it if you could help when situations come up that even Nezumi can’t cover, Chu!"
"Hahaha! Well, isn’t that only natural? And Nezumi covered everything up for you, you say... how surprising."
"But I don’t like that guy. He looks too sinister, Chu! Even though we’ve been doing business for eight years straight, I still want to beat that squeaking rat to death, Chu!"
"E-eight years, you say?!"
So that’s why there had been no news at all about Arlong for the past several years...
"What are you so surprised about, Chu!"
"Ah, it’s nothing. I was just thinking about how much Colonel Nezumi must have taken from our "friends" over eight years, and suddenly my stomach hurt, hahaha!"
Knock, knock.
Then there was a knock at the office door.
"Justice! Rear Admiral Prinprin, I’ve brought the tea."
"Oh! I see. Bring it in quickly."
At the news that tea had arrived, Prinprin suddenly sprang up from his seat.
After receiving the teapot and teacups from a Marine under him, Prinprin quickly sent the man back out.
Once he returned to his seat, Chu continued speaking.
"To think you’d get stomachache over something so small. As expected of an inferior human, Chu!"
"Ahem. Still, now that we’re "friends," could you refrain from that kind of species-discriminating talk? My "friend.""
As Prinprin poured the tea and asked him to tone down the speciesist remarks, Chu paid him no mind.
"Chu! Inferior humans are the ones who envy and resent one another and kill their own kind, while a superior race like us fish-men all gather with one heart and one mind, Chu!
When we great and superior fish-men formed the Sun Pirates and roamed the New World, inferior humans were busy killing each other!"
With Prinprin no longer stepping in to stop him, Chu’s words grew more and more heated.
"Honestly, a race with nothing to brag about except population trying to rule like the king of the world is ridiculous, Chu!
This world should naturally be ruled by superior fish-men like us! And the first step is Arlong’s Arlong Empire, Chu!
Of course, by then humans like you who cooperate with us will be spared from slavery, chuchuchu!"
"Still, isn’t that a bit much to say in front of a Marine rear admiral?"
Even after Chu’s rant, Prinprin calmly sipped his tea.
"Hm? Whether Marine or pirate, in Arlong Empire everyone is under Arlong’s control anyway, so what difference does it make, Chu!"
The excited Chu failed to notice that Prinprin’s attitude had changed after the tea was served.
"The more I listen, the less I can stand it. For a mere fish-man pirate, you’re spouting all sorts of nonsense soaked in delusions."
"What? Do you even know what you’re saying right now, Chu!"
Thud.
Setting down his teacup, Prinprin drew a breath and shouted.
"Vice Admiral Rengoku! May I execute this wicked pirate on the spot!"
Chu was momentarily dumbfounded by Prinprin’s shout, but then confusion followed.
"Who are you talking to? Have you finally lost your mind, Chu!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Hm! The wanted notice for Arlong Pirates officer Chu reads DEAD OR ALIVE! Anyone may execute him on sight!"
A vigorous male voice rang out from somewhere.
"W-what is this...?"
"Thank you!"
Prinprin immediately turned around, grabbed the Marine cutlass hanging on the back wall, and swung it at Chu.
"For a mere pirate... never disrespect a rear admiral!"
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