Bellemere was momentarily stunned by the handsome Marine before her.
It wasn't until the sound of her crew sheathing their weapons reached her ears that she snapped out of it.
Stepping forward, she instinctively saluted him with a Marine gesture.
"Thank you for your assistance sir."
Michael didn't find this odd—after all, many people knew how to give a Marine salute.
So he returned the salute with equal formality.
Then, glancing around, he remarked.
"The damage from this round of cannon fire... is quite severe."
"You'll basically need to replace the entire deck."
Bellemere nodded.
That was the effect of solid shot—destroying only the deck and outer hull without damaging the interior.
These days, it was practically specialized for raiding.
"Taking this route, you must be heading to Alabasta?"
"Correct. Alabasta is the largest cargo hub in the first half of the Grand Line, with the most expansive market. It's a must-visit country for all merchant ships."
"That explains it." Michael nodded. "In that case, continue on to Alabasta for now... Don't worry about the deck repair costs. Someone will cover with full compensation."
"Wha—!? Full compensation!? Such a thing exists!?" Sohan, who had hurried out from the cabin, tripped over nothing in her excitement upon hearing Michael's words, reenacting her signature clumsy fall.
"Handsome Marine, is that true?"
"Of course." Michael nodded and explained, "Because this raid wasn't carried out by pirates, but by a country near this route called 'Caribbean.'"
"A... country!?"
"Correct. Led by the royal family of the Caribbean Kingdom and their palace guards, the citizens disguised themselves as various pirate crews to raid here. After each success, they quickly hid in their country's concealed docks. Since Alabasta didn't have a Marine branch before, we couldn't conduct thorough searches in the area."
"...What the hell?"
Not only did Sohan find this absurd, but even Michael who was recounting it, think it was outrageous.
Though the Caribbean Kingdom was one of the smallest member nations of the World Government in terms of land area, its Celestial Tribute payments ranked in the upper-middle range.
After arriving in Alabasta, Michael had conducted detailed investigations into the surrounding countries and regions.
And he soon discovered... this country had major issues!
It wasn't large, its population wasn't huge and it had no farmland.
Yet its standard of living appeared remarkably prosperous.
Considering its Celestial Tribute payments, Michael immediately concluded...
This king definitely had a side hustle!
But who would have thought that this king not only excelled in his side hustle but even got the entire nation involved!
"You think it's just about robbing merchant ships?" Michael shook his head, his expression tinged with exasperation. "After looting part of the cargo, they'd send another team disguised as rescuers to 'save' the ship, then guide it to their own kingdom. Out of gratitude, these merchants would spend lavishly while resting and trading in the Kingdom."
After saying this, Michael couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration.
There was no denying it—the king of Caribbean was a genius!
Freeloading off part of the goods, then profiting from gratitude-driven business.
Money earned, reputation intact.
To maintain this scheme over the years, despite robbing countless ships, they'd never killed a single soul.
It was only in recent years, as merchant ships became more heavily armed, that their operation grew harder to sustain, eventually exposing its flaws.
But this was also why Michael had merely arrested them without execution...
He valued talent.
As any seasoned revolutionary knows, the two most crucial things in rebellion are money and supplies.
And since supplies can always be bought, it all boils down to money.
War = burning cash.
The Revolutionary Army and the future Marines were no exception.
Moreover, as the shadow financier of the Cross Guild, he had to keep funding them too.
Though he already had Rosinante who ate the Gold-Gold Fruit.
Achieving the ability to freely transmute objects into gold would require awakening the fruit's full potential...
And there was no telling how long that might take.
Even if Rosinante did awaken his powers, Michael wouldn't let him mass-produce gold indiscriminately.
Otherwise, they'd face hyperinflation before even establishing a new world order.
So Michael had always lacked a true money-making specialist.
He didn't want Dragon resorting to "funding revolutions by looting the treasuries of conquered nations."
And now... the King of Caribbean had caught his eye.
But whether to recruit him required further evaluation.
"My goodness, such a thing exists?" Sohan looked utterly dumbfounded. "We just arrived in the Grand Line from East Blue... Last time we sailed this route, we encountered nothing like this."
"Last voyage, during my night watch, I spotted suspicious ships. Since they were still distant, I immediately ordered full speed to evade them!" Bellmere said.
"When did this happen?" Sohan blinked in confusion—she had no memory of this.
"Obviously! You were dead asleep that night! The whole crew was shouting, yet you didn't even stir!"
"Hey, we owe it all to you, Bellemere." Sohan chuckled, patting Bellemere's shoulder before suddenly remembering. "Oh right, Nami got scared crying from the earlier cannon fire. You'd better check on her."
"Lead with that next time!" Bellemere yelled at her captain before nodding to Michael and heading below deck.
Meanwhile, Michael stood frozen in place.
Nami?
Bellemere?
For a moment, Michael's mind reeled in disarray.
First of all, shouldn't Bellemere have returned to Cocoyasi Village after picking up Nojiko and Nami?
Secondly...
That hairstyle of Bellemere's should have at least some punk or emo vibes, right!?
Who is this beautiful woman with waist-length peach-colored hair!?
The fact that his butterfly effect had begun altering history didn't surprise him...
But even their appearances have changed!?
"If I may ask, that Miss Bellemere earlier... she used to be a Marine, right?"
"That's correct. Back then, I rescued her and those two children in the East Blue and brought them aboard. To repay me and to better raise the children, she chose not to return to the Marines."
Listening to Sohan's explanation, Michael roughly pieced things together.
...
The Alabasta branch had just been established and was currently short on personnel.
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