In the front yard of the dojo.
The weather today was pleasant, with bright sunshine and a cloudless sky. Bellamy, wearing sunglasses, was lying in the yard, basking in the sun.
Since discovering the benefits of consuming Sea King meat, his mindset had shifted. Physical training was still essential, of course, but with proper nutrition, the effectiveness of training could be amplified several times over.
As such, his usual training could be scaled back slightly. Everything in moderation, after all.
With this in mind, Bellamy's supervision of his crew became less urgent after returning to town. He himself would occasionally take time to relax, no longer pushing himself as relentlessly as before.
"Captain, someone's here to see you," a familiar voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Ah, Mani. Who is it?"
When the group had first moved into the dojo, Mani had been frightened for a long time. However, the young girl was small and cute, and the two women in the crew took a liking to her. It wasn't long before she became familiar with everyone else in the pirate crew.
"It's a tall woman. I don't recognize her."
A tall woman? Bellamy was puzzled, unable to think of who it could be. "Let her in."
If he couldn't guess, he'd just have to see.
Before long, the woman was brought into the yard.
"Isn't this that woman from the Portgas family?" Bellamy realized upon seeing her.
But wasn't this woman strongly opposed to pirates? What business did she have with him?
"Portgas Chardin, at your service, Bellamy-sama."
Calling him "sama"? That meant she needed something from him.
Bellamy yawned, rather bored. To come seeking help from a pirate like him, she must need his strength.
"Convince me in three sentences."
If it weren't for the name "D", he would have thrown this woman out already.
"Bellamy-sama, my father and his ship have been captured by the Red Flame Pirates."
Pirates robbing merchant ships was a matter of course. Bellamy couldn't be bothered with such things.
"Please, save my father..."
The Portgas Trading Company wasn't huge, but it wasn't small either. The company's president had been kidnapped, yet this woman came to him, a pirate, instead of seeking help from the Marines. How interesting.
"Sama, if you can rescue my father, I'm willing to give you the Portgas Trading Company."
Bellamy was about to mock her when a memory suddenly surfaced.
He recalled that the head of the Marines on Minion Island was secretly involved in the arms trade and had large-scale dealings with Doflamingo.
"Tsk tsk, I think I know what's going on."
What was the name of the pawn shop owner's backer from last time? Major Dine, was it?
That was him. This guy had long since betrayed the Marines and was secretly engaged in shady dealings. It seemed this matter also had some connection to Doflamingo.
Arms dealers, though not as bad as drug dealers, were still very wealthy.
Bellamy sank into thought.
Seeing his continued silence, Chardin misunderstood. She thought Bellamy felt the compensation wasn't enough. After all, the Hyena's reputation for greed was widespread in the town.
"Sama, if necessary, I... I..." When she was about to say this sentence, Chardin suddenly blushed furiously and started stuttering.
"You what?"
Lost in thought, Bellamy was slow to react. Only after a moment did he understand. This girl was quite willing, wasn't she? But she seemed to have misunderstood something. Let alone a mere trading company, even if she offered him the entire Minion Island, he wouldn't be particularly interested.
As for her?
"Alright, no need to say more."
This woman hadn't convinced him. He was currently planning to hunt Sea Kings and had no time to deal with such trivial matters.
After being rejected outright, Chardin was incredibly dejected. She didn't know what to do, and after a while, the frail woman began to cry silently.
Mani, who had been standing nearby for a long time, couldn't bear to watch any longer and hugged her comfortingly.
"Captain, Sister Chardin is so pitiful. Please help her."
"Ha, what a naive little girl."
The little girl's words almost made Bellamy laugh. There were countless pitiful people in this world.
If they were competing in misery, he could go out on the street and easily find dozens of people who were far worse off than this woman.
This era, after all, was called the Great Pirate Era!
"Hmph."
Seeing Bellamy ignore her outright, Mani decided to seek help from Sister Mia. The little girl huffed, took Chardin's hand, and headed into the house.
"Tsk, she even dares to 'hmph' at me now," Bellamy laughed, finding it quite amusing. He generally wouldn't harm civilians, and it seemed his nature had been figured out.
Before long, Mani returned to the yard, pulling the chef along with her.
"Captain, we're out of money."
Leave it to Mia to hit the nail on the head.
He hadn't gone out to "collect" any money lately, and their savings were indeed running low.
"Oh, I'll go for a stroll tonight then."
"Captain, this lady's trading company is worth almost a hundred million." Mia looked at him with a smile.
The condition for her joining the pirate crew had been one hundred million Berries. So far, Bellamy hadn't given her a single Berry.
"Hmm, is that so?"
That was quite a bit of money.
But it wasn't enough. To get him to act, it would take more than that. What Bellamy wanted was never mere money. Money, in his eyes, was the least valuable item.
Seeing his lack of interest, Mia felt a little helpless. She knew her captain's personality very well.
Only the strong could earn his respect. A fragile woman like Chardin wouldn't even register in his eyes.
Therefore, no matter what conditions she offered, unless it touched upon the core interests of the pirate crew, it wouldn't move Bellamy.
If it had been Drake standing here today, asking for his help, he might have agreed already.
But that assumption was invalid. Because if it were Drake, with his strength, would he need to ask Bellamy for help to destroy a small-time pirate crew like the Red Flames?
Thinking of this, Mia bit her lip in frustration. She understood that Bellamy's personality wasn't something that could be easily swayed with words.
"Miss Chardin, our pirate crew has been lacking a navigator."
Chardin was an excellent navigator. That was her greatest value.
Mia's hint was very clear. If this didn't work, then today's meeting could be considered over.
"I'm willing, Bellamy-sama."
Before coming here, Chardin had already prepared herself to go all out. Her father's fate was unknown, the trading company was in chaos, and the Portgas family was on the brink of collapse. She had no other options.
"Bellamy-sama, I'm willing to join your pirate crew."
"A navigator, huh?"
Bellamy carefully examined the woman. "I do need a navigator."
"But that's not a reason for me to accept you."
If it had been a few months ago, and an excellent navigator wanted to join his crew, Bellamy would have agreed immediately.
But now, his crew was gradually taking shape. A stranger joining as navigator wasn't necessarily a good thing for him.
It wasn't that the pirate crew wouldn't accept new members in the future, but the core members wouldn't be added to casually.
"How about this?"
"I'll give you a test. If you can complete it, the navigator position is yours."
An interesting idea suddenly popped into Bellamy's head.
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