Vice-admiral!? Shit! Wait…
Regan looked the man up and down, and found that he indeed was the vice-admiral that led the buster call on Ennies Lobby.
He was also present during marineford, and helped fight off many of the invading Whitebeard pirates.
What's a man like him doing out here?
"Thank you for your service," Regan said.
"It's my pleasure." Strawberry smiled. "How much do I owe ya, kid? I can't walk away without tossing you a berry for this booze!"
"That's 400 berries, sir." Regan said, watching as he slipped a hand into his pocket to pull out a couple of notes.
"Keep it up, this business is going to go far!" Strawberry said.
"Will do, sir. And may I ask you something?"
"Eh? What is it?"
"What're you doing all the way out here?"
"What am I doing out here!?" Strawberry exclaimed, in a tone that voiced his increduality. "The North Blue is where I was born, and this island is my late fathers hometown."
I see. Wait, is this accurate to the lore? Ah, whatever, I got better questions.
"You returning from that war?" Regan asked.
Strawberry's face darkened, and a deep scowl was now fixed upon his face. "The war at marineford? Yes."
"All those deaths, all those losses. It should've never happened." Regan said, allowing a sympathetic countenance to wash across his face, for he could feel Strawberry's eyes studying him and boring into him.
"Pirates should've never happened." Strawberry hissed. "All their lot do is bring about death and misery. Whitebeard is dead, as is most of his crew. Those who fled will be rooted out, captured, and executed just like that fool Portagas.D.Ace was."
The one who got ragebaited
"And what about the next generation?"
Strawberry blinked. "What about them?"
"You say that you'll root out and execute those who fled, but that doesn't stop the issue of pirates. Many more will take to the seas and make a name for themselves. The yonkos did it, the warlords, and the supernovas. People like Monkey.D.Luffy."
"No more!" Strawberry spat. "Speak no more of Dragon's son."
Dragons son? He's sounding a lot like Akainu.
"Why not? He's a prime example."
"Had it not been for him, the war would have most likely ended sooner. That reckless boy boosted the morale of every damn pirate around, and incentivised Whitebeard's failed rescue mission ever further."
That's Luffy for you
"Where do you think he is now?"
"Hopefully laying dead somewhere. Though I doubt it, considering his recent appearance at marineford. That boy will be troublesome in the future I feel."
Oh, you have no idea.
Strawberry had left after that, waving Regan off as he went back to whatever it was that he was doing.
Regan spent most of the day holding barrels and helping his group take out all of the ones that they had brought with the horses and the wagon. It took a while, but they were finally done.
They would be on Rakers island for quite a while. According to Jinkota, his father wanted 14 barrels-worth of booze to be sold to customers before they returned. They had 20 in total, and it would take possibly a month or two before they sold that much.
Rakers island was laden by marines who were all returning from the war, and so it was a great time to be selling the booze anyway. If they didn't meet the quota, they'd still meet a substantial amount that would be deemed profitable.
Regan, as planned, stuffed some of the coins and gemstones into his pocket and brought Clam along with him to the pawn shop.
The pawn shop was extremely regal. There were tapestries on the walls, emblazoned with the imagery of war, fruits, dragons, and kings. There were swords hung up on them too, some larger than the others, though all sharp and dangerous. They looked like they could draw blood with a single tap.
Next to the walls were long counters with jewerly that was kept behind glass. Regan found necklaces, pearls, and rings that scintillated as he walked past.
There were even guns and rifles behind the glass, too. And Clam stayed behind to inspect each one, his eyes glinting as he looked at them in awe.
There were other customers in there who were shopping with their eyes, and some of them were speaking to employees who were dressed sprucely, suits swathing their lithe frames.
An employee was conversing just up ahead. He was examining a grail that a woman had brought in. She had long pink hair and a white coat over her shoulders with the navy sigil on the fabric.
Another marine. Is this one a vice admiral, too?
Upon listening to their conversation, Regan found that the woman had not brought in the grail, but she was actually buying it. She pulled out a stack of notes which the employee flipped through carefully.
When he found that the amount added up to the price of the grail, he thanked her and handed her the item. She turned around to leave, allowing Regan to get a good look at her face.
She was wearing a crimson suit with a black shirt underneath it, along with a pencil skirt that served to match with the colour of the blazer. Her lips were plump and pink, and her hazel-brown eyes revealed no thoughts that Regan could decipher.
She looked like rear admiral Hina, just without the sunglasses and the massive cleavage.
Who the hell is she?
No matter, Regan thought. He pushed those thoughts aside and brought the coins and the gemstones to the employee, allowing himself a glimpse of the strange woman as she left the store.
"Can I help you, kid?" Said the employee, dragging Regan's attention away from the marine.
"Ah, yeah. Can you check the value on these? See if they're real?"
The employee raised a brow as he glared at the coins and the gemstones. He picked up an emerald, and turned it around, allowing the light to wash across its surface. "T-this looks real. Where'd you get this from, kid?"
"I'm a merchant. Well, me and my father are." Regan said on the spot. It wasn't a lie.
"How's a shirtless merchant come across a gemstone like this? You've also got coins over here. Did you stumble upon captain John's treasure or somethin'?"
"Ha, I wish." Regan said, only now remembering that ancient figure. He wondered if he could build up wealth on par with his. "Look, do you want them or not? Because I can go somewhere else."
"Mhm," the employee scoffed, not susceptible to the walk-away threat that Regan had utilised. He was an experienced pawnbroker after all. "You still haven't told me where you got it from?"
Regan grumbled and cursed under his breath. "Why don't you just get an appraiser over here, huh? Why do you need to know where it comes from?"
"I'll bring my appraiser. Just tell me where you got it from."
"Why you—"
"Hey, hey!" Clam called out, sauntering to Regan's side. "Relax, son. Let me handle this."
"You the father?" Said the employee.
"Yeah, the father." Clam chuckled. "Like my son said, we're merchants. Quite well-off merchants at that. Excuse my ego, heh."
"You're excused. Where did you get this stuff from?"
"Sigh. I've already got enough explaining to do in my life as a merchant, but I suppose it won't hurt to do it again for this lucrative trade. Have you ever heard of mercenaries?"
"Mercenaries? Sword for hires?" The employee said, confused. "What about them?"
"What about them he says," Clam laughed, turning to face Regan. Regan forced a look of amusement on his face. He didn't know what Clam was doing, but he played along anyway.
"We have business in the mercenary and bounty hunting trade. All across the North Blue. Many a pirate have found the blades of our men in their throats. Are you understanding?"
"So you've taken this from pirates is what I'm hearing?" The employee frowned.
"What you're hearing is that we've acquired our treasure legally. According to law, whatever a bounty hunter or a mercenary finds upon a pirate that they are actively engaging with, will eventually belong to them the very moment that pirate is either killed or captured. In our case, we've killed all of them."
Clam took on that serious expression he had once worn in reproaching Regan for insulting Izgrim and Jinkota. With that, and with the explanation Clam had just given, fear filled the employees gut like a meal he couldn't digest. He gave the gemstones and the coins one last look, and then cleared his throat. "I-I'll grab our appraiser. Give me one moment."