Crassien's Gold Shark Pirates were one of the crews under the Whitebeard Pirates, and this New Kaba Island was Whitebeard's territory. The city's mayor regularly paid a portion of the island's earnings to Whitebeard.
In this sense, Crassien was like the spoiled son of a landlord.
He had discovered this island two months prior. Unlike the Golden Lion's fleet, Whitebeard's men were scattered across the four seas. After finding this place, Crassien wasn't so arrogant at first, only paying for companionship. But over time, he became increasingly egregious.
What started as mere companionship escalated to forcing women into bed, and now it was essentially outright abduction.
Many young women working there were too terrified to come, some even fleeing. It was easy to imagine how badly Zinn's business suffered during that period.
Two weeks ago, Crassien and his Gold Shark Pirates had left, reportedly to attend a meeting of Whitebeard's subordinate crews. Zinn had been excited for a long time upon hearing this news, and had even hired these five dancers.
He never expected that before he could enjoy his relief for a few days, that bastard Crassien would return. And from the looks of it, he intended to resume his forced acts. Had this scoundrel truly gotten a hold of him?
Alucard wasn't aware of all this history, but if he were, he'd probably sigh, "Scum can be found anywhere."
With Crassien's declaration, everyone turned their heads away in a gesture of deference, which greatly pleased Crassien. He was, after all, part of one of Whitebeard's pirate crews! This was just a small place within Whitebeard's territory; who would dare to contradict him?
"Hey, store manager on stage, didn't you say the companion girls could choose themselves? Bring them out!"
Suddenly, a voice rang out, startling everyone. Who was that? Who dared to cross someone under Whitebeard's command?
Everyone turned their heads at once, only to see a young man sitting at a small table on the right. Despite the bar's dim lighting, the man wore wine-red, round-rimmed glasses, had one leg crossed over the other, and his hands clasped on his upper knee.
"Hey, don't you know I'm one of Pop's sons?" Crassien noticed Alucard and roared furiously.
"Manager, didn't you just state the rules? Why aren't you letting them choose?" Alucard completely ignored Crassien, continuing to address Zinn.
"You bastard! Looks like you don't understand the situation!" Crassien sneered, then turned to Zinn and said, "Zinn, bring out those five women. Let them show this pretty boy with their actions who they'll choose."
Rather than killing Alucard, Crassien found it more interesting to have the five women publicly reject Alucard, making him slink away like a beaten dog. That would be most gratifying.
Zinn himself had set the rules, so he couldn't go back on his word. He quickly retreated backstage, called out the five elegantly dressed dancers, and swiftly informed them of Crassien's identity, urging them to choose carefully.
The five beautiful dancers emerged, comparing Alucard and Crassien. Even with Alucard wearing sunglasses, any fool could tell he was absolutely handsome, while Crassien looked like a mutated shark-man. With even a slight comparison, anyone would know how to choose.
Before Crassien's disturbances, customers seeking companionship here usually relied on money as an enticement. However, there were also companion women who prioritized looks or handsome men, willing to forgo payment just to be companions with someone they admired. While rare, such situations weren't unheard of.
The five dancers had also heard about Crassien's conduct; he wasn't just looking for companionship, but likely forced women into bed. What was more shameless was that he almost certainly wouldn't pay, and often left the women half-dead.
Given all this, the five dancers naturally, internally, all chose Alucard.
But the most crucial issue was that Crassien was a subordinate of Whitebeard! He was a subordinate of the great pirate Whitebeard Newgate, the master of this city. How protective Whitebeard was of his own was common knowledge in the New World.
"What's there to hesitate about! I'm one of Whitebeard's sons!"
Seeing the dancers on stage showing hesitant expressions, Crassien roared in anger, startling everyone in the bar except Alucard.
There was no choice; choosing Crassien might mean death, but choosing Alucard meant almost certain death. At worst, they'd just consider their bodies violated by a dog!
A long-haired woman in a blue dress, who was leading the group, gritted her teeth. Facing Crassien, she said, "I... I choose—"
Just as Crassien was about to burst into laughter at the woman choosing him, Alucard stood up and interjected, "Wait."
Those two simple words instantly drew everyone's attention back to Alucard, including the dancers.
Alucard slowly raised a hand, extended a finger, and pointed at the blue-dressed dancer who had spoken. In a deep voice, he said, "The person you choose... is me, right?"
"Huh? Kid, are you crazy? This woman..."
"Yes."
Crassien was about to mock Alucard when he heard the blue-dressed woman reply, "Yes, I choose... that gentleman in red."
In the disbelieving gazes of everyone present, the other four dancers also spoke up, "Me too." "Me too."
"Me too."
"And me."
The results were in: all five women chose Alucard.
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