Over the past few days, Klein still hadn't forced them into any kind of man-woman relationship, which brought great relief to Gloriosa and Shakky.
During this time, Klein had begun teaching them Rokushiki, bit by bit—earning quite a bit of favor in the process.
What they didn't know was that the in-game affection stat had already passed 70.
It wouldn't be long before it hit 90, unlocking the ability to form familial bonds, or perhaps…
Take it a step further. Deepen communication. Talk about depth. Talk about length. Talk about duration.
"Mr. Klein…" Though Os had already grown numb to Klein casually brushing off orders from the Fleet Admiral to assume his new post at G-14…
This was nearly outright insubordination. Ballsy beyond belief!
Klein was far off in some distant part of the sea, and Fleet Admiral Oharden had no way of touching him. In the end, he forced himself to calm down and asked, "How much do you want?"
"How about 100 million Berries?" Klein rubbed his chin, offering a price.
Fleet Admiral Oharden immediately exploded with rage, bartering back: "Ten million Berries!"
A hundred million? Does he think the Marines print money?
That's the World Government's job!
"Too low. Just catching any random pirate can net you ten million…" Klein shook his head. "Minimum fifty million."
"You are to immediately—immediately—go assist Vice Admiral Crotto."
"No rush." Klein smiled faintly and directly took the Den Den Mushi from the Captain beside him. "Hello? Vice Admiral Crotto?"
"Yes… it's me—dammit—block that monster!!"
"Hurry… Hurry and support!!"
Crotto's condition through the Den Den Mushi clearly sounded dire. The transponder snail even mimicked his bruised and swollen face.
"I think we need to talk…" Klein smiled slightly. In the others' eyes, he had practically turned into a—
Demon, fanged and grinning wide!
Rows of jagged, saw-like teeth gleamed as he spoke again.
"Vice Admiral Crotto, you've got a bright future ahead of you. So much youth left to live. You don't want to die, do you?"
"Bastard—who the hell wants to die?!" Crotto roared. "You even extort the Fleet Admiral! Just save me already!!"
"If I don't get help soon… I'm dead!"
"I'll help, sure. I'm risking my life against a powerful enemy. Asking for some compensation isn't unreasonable, right?"
Crotto froze in disbelief. "Dammit, I'm the G-14 base commander. I'm your superior…"
A mouthful of blood sprayed from Crotto's mouth. Losing focus mid-battle was clearly a deadly mistake.
Obviously, he'd just taken another hit from the enemy.
"FINE, FINE—how much do you want?! I'll pay! Just save me!!" Crotto cried out in desperation. Any more delay and he was a dead man.
Meanwhile, Oharden stood frozen after hearing Klein play both sides for profit.
Whose bright idea was it to let this little bastard graduate early?!
"Five hundred million!"
PFFFFFT— "How much?!" Crotto was completely dumbfounded. "Just let me die already."
Klein sighed. So he didn't even have 500 million? Guess I overestimated these people…
In the anime, pirates' bounties were always in the hundreds of millions—billions, even. Later on… Fresh chapters posted on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⚫𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⚫𝘯𝘦𝘵
The Four Emperors, Hawk-Eye, Crocodile—all had bounties in the tens of billions.
Even Marine officials had bounties. Fleet Admiral Akainu was worth 5 billion Berries!
Money? It stopped being real. Just a number.
"One hundred million, Klein! Don't push it!" Rear Admiral Crotto felt like he'd die from rage before the enemy even landed the final blow.
Gritting his teeth, he barked, "Hurry! Hurry up! If I die, you're not seeing a single Berry!"
"I'm on my way!" Klein chuckled. Money in hand, everything's negotiable.
He turned and gave orders. "Os, get ready to set sail!"
"Bring the Captain with us. He can guide the way."
The Captain immediately replied, "Commodore Klein, my name's Tom."
"Tom?" Klein smiled. What a nostalgic name. That little cat had brought so much joy to his childhood…
The warship departed, the gulls perched on the mast startled into flight.
"Even Vice Admiral Crotto couldn't handle this enemy… they must be strong," Os said, glancing at Tom. "Tom, who was Crotto going after?"
"The BIG MOM Pirates!"
Tom's answer made Klein freeze, his heart skipping a beat. "BIG MOM Pirates?"
"Talk about searching high and low, only to find it with zero effort!"
Klein could barely contain his glee. In the pirate world, what do they call this?
Just thinking about Linlin's most beautiful form made Klein's heart flutter—hot, sexy.
My stunning queen of a wife…
Not only drop-dead gorgeous—her strength was also off the charts!
Of course, he ignored how Linlin's body would eventually bloat and go out of shape…
But for Klein, that was no issue at all. "I'll just jab her with a shot of the Horm-Horm Fruit, and she'll never gain weight. Plus, I'll teach her Life Return from the Rokushiki."
"No need to worry about her gaining weight. Once she hits her peak strength and peak beauty…"
"Slap on some Pure Gold, and boom—eternal youth!"
Locking that beauty in place forever.
What's more, Klein also had his eyes on Linlin's Soul-Soul Fruit—with its power over souls, she could create all kinds of Homies.
It was a power he really wanted to unlock. After all, his scrolls had a long casting delay.
But scrolls infused with souls? That's a different story. He even wanted to create a slashing-type Homie.
Charlotte Linlin would later become a high-ranking officer in the Rocks Pirates. How could he just leave her to be one of Rocks' future pawns?
He had a million reasons to take Linlin for himself!
Tom gave a grave reminder: "Charlotte Linlin has a bounty of 200 million. She's a monster known throughout the New World!"
Gloriosa, Shakky, and Os all had deadpan expressions, some even trying not to laugh.
The real monster's right here, standing in front of you!!
Compared to Klein, who the hell else counts as a "monster"?
Seeing that none of the others had the reaction he expected, Tom hesitated, then added, "She's eight years old."
"She just turned nine this year!!"
Gulp— Os swallowed hard. "Eight?! And not even Vice Admiral Crotto can beat her? For real?"
To hold a base in the New World like G-14, a Marine Vice Admiral couldn't be some desk jockey.
He'd have to be the real deal—easily a match for the Marine HQ elite.
"Eight?" Gloriosa was shaken.
Shakky's beautiful eyes quivered. "From the name, sounds like a girl. That strong at just eight?"
"Look, here's her bounty poster." Tom pulled out Linlin's wanted poster.
A chubby little tiger-faced girl with an adorable smile—below her, the bounty read: 200 million Berries.
Os's eyes widened. "Whoa, eight years old? How'd she get a bounty that high?"
"Two hundred million for a little girl? Is the Marine's intel wrong or something?" Gloriosa couldn't believe it.
It was her first time out to sea, but the elders back on Amazon Lily had always said: 200 million is the mark of a true big-time pirate.
Shakky calmly puffed on her cigarette, her frown slowly relaxing. "No, something's off. Judging by the background on the poster… her size is huge!"
"Eh—?" Tom looked at Shakky, and suddenly his eyes turned into heart-shaped pinks, completely smitten. "Beautiful lady, you're not only breathtaking—you're incredibly smart!"
"Charlotte Linlin's build is practically on par with the Giants—absolutely massive."