After a full day and night of sailing, the ship finally arrived near a deserted island in the West Blue.
After a brief half-day rest, a ship with no flags or markings rapidly approached from another direction.
Seeing this, Jay immediately instructed the crew to signal using flag communication.
The other party quickly responded and slowed down.
Maintaining a safe distance, both sides lowered small boats and rowed toward each other.
These were the personnel responsible for inspecting the cargo, if something went wrong, at worst, a life would be lost, minimizing the overall damage.
Unfortunately for Jay, he had no reliable subordinates.
As the one in charge, he had no choice but to take the risk and personally handle the exchange.
As for the crew on his ship, they didn't even know what cargo they were transporting, so there was no way they could be involved.
When the two small boats met in the middle, both sides exchanged the predetermined passphrase to confirm their identities.
"Inspect the goods."
Jay soon boarded the other party's ship.
There, a dozen men dressed in black suits and sunglasses stood waiting, their presence alone exuded danger.
However, using his [Tactile Perception], Jay didn't sense any hostility or killing intent from them.
This meant they had no intention of betraying him or turning this into a double-cross.
That realization allowed him to breathe a little easier.
After all, Colonel Hammond hadn't assigned him a single helper for this operation.
If these guys did decide to make a move, Jay wouldn't even have someone to cover his retreat.
This left Jay feeling frustrated, was Hammond too trusting of their business partners? Or was he just too trusting of Jay?
Either way, he hadn't sent even a single extra person as backup.
What Jay didn't know, however, was that Hammond himself was also in a tight spot.
If the buyers hadn't been pressing him so urgently, he wouldn't have gambled on this deal either.
Expressionless, Jay meticulously checked the payment.
Once he confirmed everything was in order, he slowly nodded.
Before long, the inspectors aboard the ship signaled that the cargo was in order.
The two parties immediately began the exchange.
However, just as Jay was about to leave, a man who introduced himself as Bonanno Tracy called out to him.
"I have a message for you to pass on to Mr. Hammond. Our Bonanno family has always been eager to establish a long-term, fruitful partnership with him.
If he is willing to cease transactions with the Capone family, our Bonanno family is prepared to double the trade volume in future deals and increase the transaction price by 20% as compensation for his losses."
Snap!
With the flick of a finger, someone stepped forward and stuffed 100,000 Berries into Jay's coat pocket.
Jay immediately grinned, so they were treating him like a mere errand boy, huh?
Fine by him!
For that amount of money, he would make sure the message was delivered word-for-word.
He would ensure the Bonanno family's money was well spent!
By the time Jay returned to his ship, the unloading of the cargo was nearly complete.
Initially, he thought Colonel Hammond was only colluding with the Capone family, but it turned out he was also dealing with the Bonanno family, one of the Five Great Mafia Families.
So the real question was, were these the only two groups Hammond was working with?
Jay looked down at the water beneath the ship.
This ocean was getting deeper and deeper...
~At the Marine Base~
"...That's the full situation," Jay reported.
"Mm, well done. I understand everything now."
At Marine Branch 88, Colonel Hammond nodded in satisfaction after hearing Jay's report.
In a particularly good mood, he even tossed Jay a cigar.
Clearly, this transaction had been another major win for him.
However, the Bonanno family's offer made him hesitate.
Recently, the West Blue had been in turmoil due to the Mafia Civil War.
Or rather, under the leadership of their new Don, Capone Bege, the Capone family was attempting to unify the underground world of the West Blue.
The other four families had no choice but to fight back!
With the war raging, weapons and ammunition were being consumed at an incredible rate.
And the more they fought, the more money Hammond could make.
From his perspective, he wanted the Five Great Mafia Families to keep fighting indefinitely, ten years, eight years, as long as possible, until they tore each other apart.
That was precisely why he was supplying weapons to both sides.
He didn't just sell to the Capone family, he was also supplying their enemies.
It was a shameless move.
But the Mafia families weren't fools.
The urgency of this deal was no coincidence, it was a message.
They were telling Colonel Hammond:
"You want to profit off this war? Fine. But don't take us for idiots. You can only pick one side, Capone or the other four families."
So now, the real question was:
Would the Capone family's profits be greater, or would the four rival families offer more?
For now, the Bonanno family was the first to put forward an offer, and it wasn't bad.
But it still hadn't met Hammond's expectations.
A man as greedy as him wouldn't settle for just a small bite, he wanted a feast.
Otherwise, it would be as ridiculous as a pig swinging on a tree swing.
And as for his so-called "friendship" with the Capone family…
Ha! Don't make him laugh!
Feelings? Those only get in the way of profits!
~The Promotion~
Two days later, Colonel Hammond fulfilled his promise, Jay's name successfully made it onto the next list of officer candidates.
This caused quite a stir.
Many Marines were furious, why was a mere 16-year-old recruit receiving promotion after promotion?
The "merits" for defeating pirates sounded like a joke!
But nobody dared to openly challenge it.
Because at this base, Hammond's rules were absolute.
Want a promotion?
Simple. Pay up, or bring in results.
What? You have neither?
Then shut up and stay where you are.
So, instead of confronting Jay directly, many Marines spread rumors and talked behind his back, trying to discredit him.
Not because they cared about fairness.
But because the benefits hadn't fallen into their own hands.
On the other hand, Jay's supporters were thrilled.
His success validated their decision to follow him.
He had climbed this far, what about the future?
If Jay became truly powerful, even the smallest scraps from his success could launch them into greatness!
Many veteran Marines put aside their jealousy, forcing smiles as they tried to rebuild relationships with Jay.
Meanwhile, new recruits flocked to him, eager to follow.
After all, Jay had come from their own ranks.
"I teamed up with Kobe to score 81 points. A little pride is understandable, right?"
Jay's attitude toward them became more ambiguous.
He didn't outright accept them as followers, but he also didn't reject their allegiance.
Instead, he kept them at a calculated distance, close, but not too close.
T/N:
Hey everyone! 👋 Just a quick note, some readers pointed out that the current cover image feels more like a real-world navy than the One Piece-style Marines the story is based on. Fair enough! 😅 I honestly just picked it because I thought it looked cool.
That said, I've cooked up two new potential designs that better match the vibe of the novel. I've dropped them in the chapter comments along with the original so you can vote on which one you like best!
Since I tend to tweak things in chapters pretty often, the paragraph comment might vanish if I edit anything, that's why I'm putting the vote in the chapter comments instead so it's easier to find and doesn't get wiped.
If no one votes by the 15th or 16th, I'll let fate decide and pick one randomly with a number generator
Thanks as always for reading and helping shape this project! 💙