Proposition

(Starrk's POV)

"What?" I asked, "Me?"

"Yes, stupid!" She exclaimed

The marines were still looking for me? Oh well this is a nuisance.

I stood up from my seat, "Then I must go." I said, "I have other things in mind so I can't really put up with you lot at the moment."

She jabbed her finger on me again as she looked up at me.

"You're not going anywhere!" She growled, "I'm detaining you."

This woman is annoying, I swear.

I noticed as Liam stood up, "You know this gal?" He asked

"Not really." I replied, "She's a marine. She was on the ship when it was attacked."

The girl looked down and sighed, "I'm thankful to have survived that ambush." She said, "It was scary….The Beast Pirates aren't a joke…."

For a moment, It felt as if she wasn't talking to us but to herself.

I raised an eyebrow, "It was Kaido's crew?"

Now that I think about it, I remember one of the marines yelling it was Kaido when we were attacked. Couldn't remember much of what happened for whatever reason.

She looked at me and scowled, "You bastard! Wasn't talking to you.." She spat, "Wait, how are you even alive? You were bombarded heavily by cannonballs! Vice-Admiral Borsalino said you were sure to die! He left you trapped, all chained up! I saw it all!"

I was going to respond when a man walked up to us. He was wearing an officer coat over his black suit. He had a scar on his cheek. He looked at me with his beady black eyes.

"What's the issue here, Anne?" He asked

Anne looked as she was surprised to see him, "Rear-Admiral Bell, sir!" She saluted, "Sir, I am here to detain an escaped prisoner!"

Rear-Admiral? Fuck. Pretty high officer, he shouldn't be a pushover either.

"Escaped prisoner, you say?" The Bell dude said, "Who, him?"

He nodded at me. I merely looked at him with an uninterested face.

"Yes, sir." Anne continued, "He was Vice-Admiral Borsalino's prisoner before we were attacked by the Beast Pirates, sir.."

Bell raised an eyebrow, "That prisoner? I thought he was blown to pieces by the cannon fire." He said, "The majority of the ship you guys were on was destroyed, its a wonder you're even alive, Anne."

Anne blushed, "Well….I….he…."

She looked like she was embarrassed.

I sighed, "Am I in trouble?"

Bell looked at me and shook his head, "Don't think so." He said, "If I remember correctly, Borsalino didn't specify why he wanted to capture that certain prisoner. Something about orders from higher up. Truthfully, If you are that prisoner, its up to him to make the call to bring you in. Not this one, she's not even a Petty Officer yet."

I nodded, "Alright." I said crossing my arms, "Keep her in check then, she's being quite annoying."

"Hey!" She exclaimed, "But, sir! He is the same guy!"

Bell sighed, "Like I said, Anne. I don't really care." He said, "I respect your ambition, truly I do. But the thing is, there are bigger fish to worry about. Kaido's men killed a dozen of your fellow crewmates, a single prisoner shouldn't really worry you. Now stand down, thats an order."

Anne then hung her head and took a step back, "Yessir…"

"As for you lot." Bell said to us, "You don't look like regular civilians."

I heard as the others shifted in their seats. I noticed as Liam frowned at him.

"Tell you what." He said, "As it turns out, we are currently recruiting soldiers to join our ranks. You guys look like you're in need of work. What do you say you join the marines?"

"Huh?" I said

"Are you fucking kidding?!" I heard as Mick stood up and slammed his hands on the table"Why the hell would we?!"

"Mick, bruv, calm down!" Liam exclaimed, "Don't pick a fight with them, you fool."

Bell chuckled, "Look, whatever past you guys have, we'll pardon it. So long as you join us." He said, "As it stands, the New World is in need of new men. I can have a word with my direct superior and he'll probably take you in and smack some strength into you. Anne here is on her way to HQ to receive training from him. He's a big deal, probably the biggest."

I raised an eyebrow, "Why are you guys needing more men?" I asked

"You might've heard of the Red-Haired Pirates laying ruin to a country, right?" He explained, "With that and The Beast Pirates randomly attacking Marine ships, we're in need of more manpower. The seas won't be safe from now on. Not like they were at first."

"Huh, that so?" I said

He nodded, "So what's it gonna be?" He said,

"You're in?"