As Cross was lost in his memories of the "plot," Gion glared at him, annoyed by the way he had been staring in silence for so long.
"Hey! Brat, what do you think you're looking at?!"
"Uh... uh—!"
Startled, Cross snapped back to reality, frantically waving his hands. "I-I'm really sorry, Gion-san! I just fought a massive battle with Doflamingo. I'm completely exhausted, so I kinda spaced out!"
"Oh right, I'm actually a noble of the Tobias Kingdom, Count Amphitrite Cross. I'm not a pirate!"
Cross didn't hold anything back. He told Gion everything: the Tobias Kingdom's dealings with the underground arms dealer known as "Postman," the massacre of Postman's forces by the Mad Bear Pirates, and how that chaos ultimately drew Doflamingo's attention.
When he finished, Gion stared at him, clearly doubtful. It was hard to believe a boy this young could survive a prolonged battle with someone like Doflamingo. But the war-torn ruins surrounding them were proof enough, no matter how much she wanted to call it a lie, the devastation spoke for itself.
Still, Gion eventually sheathed her blade and stopped looking at Cross like an enemy.
"You're quite the prodigy, huh?"
The voice came from Tsuru, the Great Staff Officer of Marine Headquarters, who had just arrived. She studied Cross with a rare smile in her eyes, clearly impressed.
"You flatter me. I almost died out there."
Cross shrugged helplessly, allowing the Navy medics to tend to his wounds and wrap his battered body in layers of bandages.
Of course, he knew neither Tsuru nor Gion would simply take his word for everything.
So once he was fully bandaged, like a walking mummy, he hobbled over to the unconscious General Humil and slapped him awake.
The groggy general soon began explaining everything to the Marines himself.
Tsuru then used a Den Den Mushi to contact Marine HQ, asking them to verify the claims with the Tobias Kingdom.
Only after confirmation of both Cross and General Humil's identities did the Marines fully accept their account.
The rest was straightforward. The remaining members of the Mad Bear Pirates were arrested. Even the heavily injured and unconscious Cordel Onik, Captain of the Mad Bear Pirates, was shackled with seastone cuffs designed to neutralize Devil Fruit users.
As for the Lvneel Kingdom, while they were clearly displeased that the Tobias Kingdom had conducted illegal arms trading on their soil, they didn't detain Cross or General Humil.
Instead, they opted for formal diplomatic protest, preparing to issue an official statement of condemnation to King Haritch XIX of the Tobias Kingdom.
After all, nearly a thousand people had died in the incident, and over a hundred Lvneel soldiers were now mentally broken. The blame, and compensation, was naturally expected to fall on the Tobias Kingdom.
Cross and General Humil didn't argue. While they weren't directly responsible for the deaths, the fact remained that their underground weapons deal on Lvneel soil had been one of the catalysts. They were partially culpable, whether they liked it or not.
Still, Lvneel's decision to let them go wasn't out of kindness or diplomatic courtesy. No, their leadership had witnessed firsthand the aftermath of Cross's battle with Doflamingo. It was clear now that this fifteen-year-old count was not someone a conventional army could hope to restrain.
...
By the next morning, following a long night of negotiation between the kings of Lvneel and Tobias, an agreement was finally reached.
Lvneel would refrain from holding Tobias accountable for the incident, but the Tobias Kingdom had to pay 300 million Berries in reparations. Only then would Lvneel allow General Humil to retrieve the weapons stored in the Red Brick Warehouse.
In short, the Tobias Kingdom still had to pay 300 million Berries to "buy back" the arms shipment. There was no saving that money in the end.
When Cross heard Lvneel's terms, he instantly understood their logic.
You Tobias Kingdom folks came all the way to our land, even triggered a war, wasn't it all for these weapons?
Fine. You can leave. But if you want the weapons, don't expect to just walk away with them for free.
Since this was Lvneel's territory, their laws took precedence. Private arms deals with pirates were illegal, and by law, Lvneel had every right to seize such "dirty goods." Even the World Government would recognize that.
With the Tobias Kingdom clearly in the wrong, and Lvneel having irrefutable leverage, the only way to recover the shipment was to comply. It was a clean, legal battle, and one that Tobias had lost.
Unless… the Tobias Kingdom intended to rely on Cross's power to break the rules and take the weapons by force. But that would isolate them from every other nation in the North Blue, and brand them the next Germa Kingdom.
The difference, though, was stark: Tobias lacked the overwhelming military might of Germa.
Unless, of course, Cross was willing to stay in the Tobias Kingdom forever, using his strength to shield it.
But Cross only chuckled and shook his head at the thought. Spending his life holed up in Tobias? That would be a complete waste of the immense talent this body had to offer!
To be confined to such a small kingdom, where there were no advanced martial arts to learn, no swordsmen to challenge, no masters to teach Haki, and no exposure to the wider world, what point was there in reincarnating into this world at all?
...
At the port, Cross stood beside Gion on a wooden pier, the sea breeze brushing against their faces as they gazed at the massive Marine warship before them.
Reinforced iron plating, triple-barrel turret cannons, a wide hull, and towering masts, this was a Marine HQ-grade warship, a first-rate battleship that could carry over a thousand troops. Only Vice Admirals and Admirals were granted such ships.
Frankly, just one of these ships anchoring at Tobias's port would be enough to flatten the entire kingdom.
Outside of the "Science Nation" Germa, no country in the North Blue could build a ship like this.
"Cool ship, right?"
Gion slung an arm over Cross's shoulder, grinning as she nodded toward the warship. "Hey, Cross-kun. Ever thought about joining the Marines?"
"Becoming a Marine…"
Cross, still wrapped like a mummy, narrowed his eyes in contemplation. He was seriously considering the question.
The true rulers of the sea were never pirates, nor were they the militaries of other great nations. The real dominant force was the Navy, the embodiment of justice.
Not to mention, the Marines had their own academies, structured education systems, and the training overseen by former Admirals. It was the perfect place to grow stronger, both in skill and principle.
And most importantly, after personally witnessing Doflamingo's massacre, Cross had erased the word pirate from his heart entirely.
That left a few paths open: enlist in the Marines to hunt pirates and uphold justice, or join the Revolutionary Army to overthrow the tyranny of the Celestial Dragons.
Or perhaps he could live free as a bounty hunter, hunting pirates on his own terms. Or follow in the footsteps of someone like Mont Blanc Noland, an explorer traveling the world in search of wonder.
But then…
The horrifying images from the day before rose again in his mind. The carnage, the screams, the hellish slaughter replayed on a loop.
Cross hadn't slept a wink all night. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw those soldiers' broken bodies. And the cries of despair still echoed in his ears.
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