One Piece: Marine to Warlord to Conqueror

"Dante! Robin! Hiya~"

"Chopper! It's been a while. You're as cute as ever!" Robin said with a warm smile.

"I-I'm not that cute~" Chopper did his little happy-dance, scratching the back of his head with a hoof, and the rest of them couldn't help but laugh.

Dante smiled at the little reindeer, but his mind was already on business. He hadn't come just to have Dr. Kureha look at Bonney's illness, he had another goal in mind.

"So, Chopper," he began, "how's that little project I asked you about coming along?"

"Oh! Right! I heard you were coming Dante, so I ran right over." Chopper's expression turned serious as he pulled two small bottles from his blue backpack. "I finished them! The things you asked for. I even had Doctorine check them over, and she said they're fine. They should work!"

His voice was a mix of nerves and hopeful anticipation. "I-I hope they meet your requirements, Dante." It was the first time he'd made anything like this, and Dante had been so serious about it. Even with the finished product in hand, he was still a little nervous, desperate for approval.

"You actually did it?" Dante's eyes lit up as he took the two bottles. "Chopper, you're a genius." He grinned. "How about it? Come sail with me. I'll take care of you, I promise. We could build you your own research institute, the biggest hospital on the seas, anything you want!"

Before a blushing Chopper could even process the praise, Dr. Kureha, who had been observing from nearby with a bottle of liquor, spoke up.

"You brat!" she snapped, pointing a finger at Dante. "So you're the one who had Chopper secretly working on beauty treatments and weight-loss cures. I haven't settled the score for that, and now you're trying to poach him right in front of my face?"

"D-D-Doctorine!" Chopper, still flustered, visibly tensed at Kureha's scolding tone. He quickly pleaded, "Doctorine, it was all my own idea! Please don't blame Dante!"

"You idiot!" Kureha looked at Chopper with exasperation. "How am I supposed to drive a hard bargain when you do that?" She took a long swig of plum wine and turned her sharp gaze back to Dante. "Don't you dare short-change him. He put a lot of time into this, staying up all night, waiting for you to get here. I've already checked his work. It'll do what you want."

"Don't worry, I'm a man of my word." Dante gave her a confident smile, ignoring the glare he was getting from Daz Bonez. "I would never treat Chopper unfairly. We'll make the arrangements. This stuff is going to make a fortune!"

At the mention of a fortune, Dr. Kureha's lips curled into a satisfied smile as she took another hearty drink.

Meanwhile, Nami's ears perked up. Her eyes practically turned into Beri signs as she scurried over. "Make a fortune? What is it?"

"The blue one is a cream for your skin, it makes it firm and smooth," Chopper explained, his doctorly instincts taking over despite his nervousness. "The red one you drink. It helps you lose weight and stay in shape, and it's good for your health, too. I had Doctorine check it, and I even tested it myself. There are absolutely, definitely no side effects!"

Both Nami's and Kuina's eyes went wide. Even the ever-composed Robin couldn't help but let her gaze linger on the two small bottles.

A thought suddenly struck Nami. She glanced at Kureha, then sidled up to Dante. "Hey," she whispered, "how old is she, really?"

"Over a hundred-"

*WHOOSH!*

A liquor bottle flew past Dante's head, which he casually dodged.

"Hehehe... Young lady," Kureha cackled, somehow already holding a fresh bottle of plum wine. "It's rude to ask a woman her age~!"

"S-sorry!" Nami chuckled sheepishly. 'Right,' she thought, a little embarrassed. 'Probably should have saved that question for later.'

Still, even Dante's half-finished sentence was enough to tell her the spry old doctor was way, way older than she looked. Her eyes scanned Kureha from head to toe, taking in her vibrant energy.

A moment later, Nami threw her arms around Dante, her face alight with excitement. "We're going to be rich! We're going to be filthy rich! I'll-"

Kuina and Robin approached, both with amused smiles.

"Dante Senpai." Kuina chirped with a smile.

"Boss." Robin added smoothly.

"Whoa, hold on!" Dante cut them off, looking helpless. "We'll figure it out when we get back to the ship. You can manage it then."

'As I expected,' he thought. 'This kind of thing will sell like crazy on these seas.'

He'd seen it before, aside from a few rare exceptions, once women on the Grand Line hit a certain age, they... changed. Youthful beauties would transform into misshapen, exaggerated versions of their former selves, almost like different people entirely. He'd only asked Chopper to give it a shot on a whim. He never actually expected him to succeed.

"If you're going to flirt, do it in your own rooms," Kureha said flatly. "There are children present. And I'm a lady. Have some decency." Her tone shifted. "Now, it's time to discuss my payment."

"Please be sure that I-" Kuma's expression shifted, clearly about to launch into a serious negotiation.

"Name your price," Dante said, cutting him off and looking directly at Kureha. "What's the fee this time?"

Kureha didn't answer right away. She took another swig of her drink, her eyes scanning Dante's crew. "You certainly travel with a rough-looking bunch. Planning on raising a Jolly Roger?"

'Why does everyone say that?' Dante thought, his expression darkening. 'First Crocus, now her. They don't get it. Aside from a couple of them, we're all good people! On these seas, you could practically call us saints!'

As he was stewing, Kureha took another drink and grinned. "No cash this time. Just do one thing for me." She didn't pause. "You know that brat Wapol, don't you? The man is an absolute nuisance. I want you to go teach him a lesson. A secret one."

Dante stared at her, a hesitant look on his face. Before he could speak, she added, "Is there a problem? Because if so, paying is always an option!"

"No, no, we can handle that," Dante said, a slow grin spreading across his face. "In fact, for a job like that, I'll consider it a discount." He turned to two of his men. "Mock! Kuma! You've got work."

"Alright, Boss."

"Understood, Boss."

--**--**

Marine Headquarters.

For the first time in days, Fleet Admiral Sengoku finally had a moment to himself. The Alabasta incident had kept him buried in paperwork. He took a leisurely sip of his hot black tea and reached for his bag of rice crackers, only to find it nearly empty.

"That fool's only been back for a few days, and he's already eaten all my rice crackers," he muttered, tossing the last few pieces into his mouth with a sigh.

'Sure enough,' he thought, 'nothing good ever happens when that knucklehead shows up.' After muttering a few curses at Garp under his breath, Sengoku lowered his head again, focusing on the documents spread across his desk.

The Alabasta incident, largely contained by the World Government's suppression, hadn't caused *too* much widespread impact. As a result, the Mock Pirates bounty remained unchanged.

His gaze fell on the World Government appointment letter lying on his desk, and his headache returned. 'A Warlord? Are they serious about making Mock a Warlord?'

The thought was absurd. He had barely left the East Blue and they were already offering him a position as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Even Portgas D. Ace, who'd made such a splash, hadn't gotten an invitation this fast. The key difference, of course, was that the Mock Pirates had been tangling with the Marines since they were still in the East Blue. Compared to them, Ace was troublesome, but not nearly as brazen.

"Tch. The decision's already been made by the higher-ups." Sengoku sighed. "It wouldn't be the worst thing if it got him to settle down a little."

A pirate that arrogant in the East Blue was a ticking time bomb. If they couldn't rein him in, who knew what kind of chaos he'd cause on the Grand Line? Of course, getting an ambitious brat like this to actually accept the government's offer was another matter entirely.

Just as he decided to make the call, a Marine burst into his office, his face frantic. "Fleet Admiral Sengoku! We've received a distress signal from the Drum Kingdom! A group of pirates has invaded and captured their king!"

"Drum Kingdom? Pirates?" Sengoku was stunned for a second, then he rubbed his temples, the headache intensifying. "Another affiliated kingdom? I just put out the fire in Alabasta! Who is it this time?"

"The... the Mock Pirates, sir!"

Sengoku's eye twitched. "Who did you say?" he asked, a hint of disbelief in his tone.

"The Mock Pirates, Fleet Admiral!" the Marine reiterated.

As the Marine's words sank in, Sengoku rubbed his forehead, his headache now throbbing. "Why is it them again?" he said, his voice laced with weary disbelief. "Can't they stay put for five minutes? And now they're attacking an affiliated kingdom? Do they have no respect for the Marines? Are they trying to declare war on us again?"

It had only been a few days since they'd entered the Grand Line. If they were already doing this, what would they do next?

"Issue an alert to all Marine bases in the first half of the Grand Line. We need to blockade them. No, forget it," he corrected himself, "this kid is too slippery. Even Crocodile couldn't handle him. Get the Admirals. We're holding a meeting. Now!"

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