Vice-captain of Whitebeard pirates

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"Don't call me again in the future, I'm afraid the captain will misunderstand."

The Den Den Mushi clicked off.

Beep beep beep...

Two seconds later, it rang again. This time, as Larson answered, an angry voice erupted from the other end: "What kind of game are you playing with me?"

Larson sighed in exasperation. "You're Navy, I'm a pirate. It's probably best we keep some distance, don't you think?"

Tsuru nearly laughed, though it was more out of frustration than amusement. "You're really saying that? Weren't you the one who approached me for cooperation in the first place?"

Larson raised an eyebrow, cutting straight to the point. "Have you found any news on Kaido?"

"No."

"Oh, well, goodbye then."

Just as Larson was about to hang up again, he heard Tsuru's furious voice grinding through gritted teeth: "If you hang up on me again, our cooperation is over!"

Larson smirked. "I was just joking, don't take it too seriously."

"Ha ha," Tsuru replied sarcastically.

"Cut the nonsense," Tsuru continued. "You've seen the latest news on the sea, right?"

Larson frowned. Was she referring to the incident on Yerug Island? Playing dumb, he asked, "News? What news?"

Tsuru was silent for a couple of seconds, likely trying to gauge if Larson was lying again.

After a moment, she responded coolly, "Since you haven't seen it, there's nothing more to discuss."

With that, she moved to hang up. On the other side, Larson stared blankly at the receiver. If she didn't want to talk, fine by him. It's not like he enjoyed dealing with the Navy. If it weren't for Kaido, he'd never have gotten involved with them in the first place.

Suddenly, Larson heard some faint sounds—Tsuru was arranging books on her end. He raised an eyebrow. Was the Den Den Mushi not fully hung up? Or did she forget to turn it off?

He was about to hang up when he overheard Tsuru voice, speaking as casually as if she'd forgotten he was still on the line: "You mentioned there's news about Kaido. Where is he now?"

A subordinate of hers responded, "The latest reports suggest he's still in the East Blue."

"I see."

With that, Tsuru went silent again, as if she'd completely forgotten Larson was still listening.

Larson's eyes widened. He realized then—Tsuru was baiting him deliberately with Kaido's whereabouts. From the start, they'd been playing a game of tug-of-war. Neither of them wanted to be the one to concede first.

Larson, keeping his tone even, finally spoke: "You're supposed to help me find Kaido. That was part of our deal."

Tsuru voice came through, calm as ever. "Didn't you send me a Devil Fruit as part of that deal?"

She was doing this on purpose!

But as Tsuru spoke, Larson couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt.

Their deal was, after all, to exchange a Devil Fruit for Kaido's location. He'd agreed to it, thinking that finding a Devil Fruit would be a simple task. But now, after scouring the seas for so long, he understood just how rare and valuable Devil Fruits really were. He'd been deceived by the ease with which characters in the anime seemed to acquire them.

In the later stages of the show, nearly everyone had a Devil Fruit. He thought, with the combined strength of himself and Whitebeard, it would be easy to get his hands on one. But the harsh reality was that after all this time, not a single Devil Fruit had surfaced. Who knew how long it would actually take to find one?

Tsuru's voice cut through his thoughts. "You heard me. Kaido is still in the East Blue."

"East Blue is huge. Where exactly am I supposed to find him?"

Tsuru information was essentially useless.

She laughed. "That's not my problem. If you want his exact location, find me that Devil Fruit first."

Somehow, this all felt eerily familiar to Larson, like a scene from the video platforms in his past life where you could only watch the first six minutes of a show without a subscription. Get the membership, and you unlock the full episode.

Here, the Devil Fruit was the membership.

Without it, Tsuru would only tell him which sea Kaido was in. With it, she'd give him the specific location. This strategy would make even capitalists weep!

But no, Larson thought. Tsuru hadn't sought him out just to teach him the tactics of capitalism. Something more was going on here, and he replayed what she had just said in his head.

With a sly smile, he said, "Oh, hey, there's a newspaper here. Something about Yerug Island… and Sea Kings. What's this all about? Do you know?"

Feigning ignorance, he posed the question to Tsuru.

She was silent for another couple of seconds, clearly taken aback by Larson's shamelessness.

With a resigned sigh, she answered, "That island was just an ordinary place, but recently it's undergone some strange changes. We don't know the cause, but it's now drawing large numbers of Sea Kings. The reason I contacted you is simple: when the Whitebeard Pirates go there, do your best to protect the nearby towns. Those Sea Kings are extremely dangerous. One wrong move and it could lead to widespread casualties."

Larson was surprised. "Isn't that your Navy's job, protecting towns? And how do you know we'll be going there?"

Tsuru shot back, "You're still in the East Blue, aren't you? With all the chaos happening there, do you really think you won't end up getting involved?"

She wasn't wrong.

Larson shrugged. "Alright, but you still haven't answered my other question."

Tsuru hesitated for a moment before replying, "The Navy presence in the East Blue is too small and too weak. They don't have the ability to handle this situation."

Larson smiled and said, "But why should I help you? Don't forget, I'm a pirate. It's not my job to do this kind of thing. Besides, what do I get out of it? You can easily send someone from Navy Headquarters."

Tsuru responded calmly, "I'll offer more money."

"Deal!"

Larson raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Hey, hey, don't get me wrong. I'm not someone who's obsessed with money. I just have a kind heart and want to protect ordinary people."

Tsuru didn't bother arguing with him and continued, "The latest news is that Kaido is also heading to Yerug Island."

Larson was stunned. Is this the kind of info he could get without paying a price? Had the capitalist heart grown a conscience?

Tsuru went on, "And those who returned from the island reported that there seems to be a large number of Devil Fruits there."

Larson raised an eyebrow. "Why are you telling me this?"

Tsuru, gritting her teeth, said, "Don't forget our deal!"

Larson chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't forget. Also, when are you sending me that extra money?"

Tsuru was so frustrated she nearly choked. Larson hadn't even delivered the Devil Fruit they agreed on, and now he had the audacity to ask for more payment!

With clear annoyance, she snapped, "After you deal with those troubles on Yerug Island!"

And this time, Tsuru really hung up the phone.

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If you enjoy please support me on my patreon Future 80+ chapters at patreon.com/Darkphoenix11

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