Chapter 245

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"I can disband my pirate crew and follow you!"

"What on earth do you want?"

"Fine, you've forced my hand!"

.......

As the number of tails behind her dwindled, Caterina Devon became frantic.

She tried everything: escaping, begging for mercy, threats and bribes, exchanging her life for another's, but in the end, all had failed.

It was as if her opponent was determined to kill her!

"Do we have some deep grudge between us?!"

Before her head was chopped off, Caterina Devon let out a soul-piercing question.

Abel paused briefly, "No, it's just that you're too ugly; you're an eyesore."

Too ugly. An eyesore.

Pff!

Thud.

Caterina Devon's head rolled onto the deck, her eyes filled with venomous resentment.

The very thing she hated most became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Because she was ugly, she committed atrocious acts, hunting down innocent and beautiful young women and turning their heads into her trophy collection to flaunt.

In the end, also due to her ugliness, her pleas and attempts to align with another were all rejected, and she met a demise with her path ending in death.

One could only say that karma comes around; not even the heavens show mercy to some.

"This head must be worth at least a hundred million berries?"

Abel muttered to himself.

At that moment, a voice came up from the lower deck, "That's not enough. The bounty on Caterina Devon, the Hunter of the Yakudzuki, is 180 million berries. She's been ranked as one of the most vicious and brutal female pirates in recent years."

"It's unexpected that such a troublesome person has fallen at the hands of a young man from the North Sea. Once word gets out, you're going to be famous."

Stussy, along with Baby-5 and a familiar-looking chubby kid, came up from below.

"What I'm more concerned about is whether the Marines will try to short-change my bounty, and where did you find this chubby kid?"

"I'll pay two hundred million berries for this corpse and the head you hold. I want to make this bastard into a specimen and hang it on my ship!"

Du Feld, looking somewhat disheveled, gritted his teeth as he spoke.

Stussy shrugged, "Seeing you fight so fiercely above, I just went below to look around, and I actually found something."

"I guess the Hunter of the Yakudzuki was planning to extort more money from Du Feld's father, which is why he spared this kid."

Du Feld nodded, "If this bastard hadn't taken on my father's appearance and deceived me, I would never have been fooled!"

"I will remember this favor today, Du Feld, and will return it generously in the future!"

Stussy replied, "You'd better think about how to deal with the aftermath first. Many of the guests invited onboard today have already developed a grudge against you, and so many dead - even if Du Feld himself were here, he'd be bleeding money."

"I know, and they won't be able to leave this ship alive. Caterina Devon attacked us, slaughtered all the guests, and even I nearly perished. After paying a painful price, we finally killed her. Isn't that enough?"

"Dead men don't make demands."

Du Feld's ruthlessness impressed even Abel.

Clearly, if the survivors were allowed to return, they wouldn't be able to swallow their pride. If explanations were sufficient, what would be the need for weapons?

But if all the people who were meant to die were gone, then whatever was said in the end would be solely up to Du Feld.

Even if he had to offer compensations, it would save him a lot of trouble in the long run.

After all, his father, the Loan Shark King, is not vegetarian. Who would want to seriously clash with him over a few dead people?

Abel quietly mourned for those tycoons and naval admirals.

"Heh, what do you plan to offer to keep us quiet?"

"There are some terms I can't readily promise, but I've already notified my father. Rest assured, for the hush money and this life-saving favor, my father will definitely present a satisfactory solution to you."

"And what should I call this gentleman?"

"Abel."

"If Brother Abel has any conditions, as long as it's within my power, feel free to speak up."

The chubby guy was full of daring, and one could even see a brilliance in him that outshone even that of his Loan Shark King father.

"I'll leave this guy's corpse to you. Two hundred million Belly delivered to my ship, and I want all the remaining Kura beef. You can keep the bones to sell."

Although there was an opportunity to ask for a lion's share, Abel did not do so.

He only demanded what he was entitled to.

Du Feld was somewhat stunned, for he was genuinely prepared for a major loss, especially since he currently had no ability to resist; all his bodyguards had been killed by that woman, Catarina Devon.

So, he quickly proposed his terms, unhesitatingly mentioning that his father was on his way, hoping to use it to intimidate the other party and prevent himself from jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.

Unexpectedly, his opponent was somewhat of a small fry.

Thus, he earnestly said, "This is all as it should be. Today's matter is a debt I owe you. We will have a long future ahead; keep this Den Den Mushi. You can contact me at any time to repay this favor."

"Are you serious?"

"Serious."

"Alright, I'll accept it."

Abel thought it over and felt that holding onto this favor would be of benefit, and not a disadvantage to him.

As for whether the other party would honor it later, he wasn't certain.

But one thing was sure; if he could stand on equal footing with the Loan Shark King in the future, or even if he reached a status that the other had to look up to, then there was absolutely no way the other party would dare to default!

"With such a good opportunity, why not make a hefty profit?"

As Du Feld went back to deal with the remaining guests, Stussy approached him, trying to latch onto Abel. But she was subtly pushed away.

"You could profit, but there's no need. Money is good to have in abundance, but beyond a certain point, it's no different from just numbers. So it's enough just to have what you need for now."

After being pushed away, Stussy did not attempt to cling again. Instead, standing aside with arms crossed, she said, "But people's greed is endless. Once they have something, they'll just want more."

"So, what is it that you want from me, Madame Stussy, the Queen of Pleasure District?"

"Suddenly, you've become so cold. Men are all the same, fond of loving and leaving."

"Put away your act; it doesn't work on me. If you're not going to speak up, then I'll be leaving."

"Go ahead and leave. An old woman like me can't keep you anyway."

...

Abel was completely speechless dealing with this woman was even more difficult than handling Doflamingo.

He then really walked away with Baby-5, and Stussy did not stop him, which made him feel somewhat unconfident, wondering if he had read too much into it.

"Heh, handsome young man, we'll meet again. There's no rush for now."