Chapter 38: Morgan's Proposal
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and pay!" Ian urged.
"Oh, oh!" Morgan snapped back to reality and fumbled to process the paperwork for Ian.
But just then, Morgan suddenly thought of something and stopped his movements, leaning close to Ian and lowering his voice: "By the way, this... this young brother, do you know the process for collecting bounties?"
"No, I don't!" Ian shook his head. "But isn't it just a matter of handing them over to the Marines here?"
"That's true in theory, but you might not understand—ordinary branches can't pay out bounties! Our base's funds are limited," Morgan explained quietly. "Normally, when a bounty hunter turns in a wanted criminal at a nearby Marine base, they only receive a capture certificate. It states who the captured criminal is, the bounty amount, and includes a detention confirmation from the local base. Once you have all that, you need to take those documents to a larger Marine base to actually collect the bounty."
"You mean the bounty money still comes from the Marine bases, but you need a bigger base with sufficient funds?" Ian asked.
"That's exactly it!" Morgan nodded. "In the East Blue, the nearest large base is the Marine base in Loguetown. Besides that, there's the Marine base on Mirabell Island, but that's farther away. If you want to collect the bounty, Loguetown is your best bet!"
"Tch!" Ian clicked his tongue in annoyance. This situation was unexpected—he had assumed he could collect the bounty at any Marine base.
He knew about Loguetown, but where was Mirabell Island?
Honestly, after weathering that storm, Ian realized that sailing required thorough preparation before setting out. There were too many things that could happen at sea: weather conditions, food supplies, the risk of illness, and even sea monsters. Don't forget, this world had Sea Kings. Although most Sea Kings only operated near the Calm Belt close to the Grand Line, there was no guarantee that one might not swim into the Blue Sea for a visit. What would he do if he encountered one?
He now understood why so many isolated islands existed in this world—sailing was just too difficult.
Hearing that he had to go to Loguetown to collect the bounty meant he had to continue sailing, and Ian couldn't help but frown.
Morgan noticed his hesitation and lowered his voice again: "I have a proposal. Would you like to hear it?"
"Oh? Let's hear it!" Ian looked at him with some surprise.
Ian didn't have any particular fondness for this Morgan, but he also didn't dislike him. At the very least, the guy had led his soldiers to resist the Buggy Pirates, so for now, he seemed like a decent Marine. Ian generally didn't make judgments of like or dislike about competent people.
As long as Morgan didn't infringe on his interests, that was fine.
"How about this: you hand over the Buggy Pirates to me, and I'll give you the bounty directly, without issuing any detention certificate. What do you think?" Morgan asked in a low voice.
Ian immediately understood his intention—this guy wanted to take credit for capturing Buggy!
Without a certificate, it meant that the capture of the Buggy Pirates wasn't attributed to Ian as a bounty hunter. Ian couldn't stay at the Marine base forever; he would leave eventually. And with most of the base's soldiers either injured or dead, no one had witnessed the scene. Morgan could easily claim that he had defeated and captured the Buggy Pirates himself.
If Ian agreed to this deal, Morgan could use all the remaining funds in the base to pay Ian as the bounty.
As for anyone noticing the missing funds later, Morgan could blame it on the Buggy Pirates, saying the pirates had stolen the money in the chaos, or even report the loss to his superiors. Then, to keep the base running, his superiors would approve new funds.
This guy was quite clever—willing to do anything for a promotion, wasn't he?
Ian realized that if he hadn't demonstrated his incredible abilities while capturing Buggy, scaring Morgan, the man might have outright stolen his credit and not even paid him.
Thinking this, Ian narrowed his eyes, lowering his head as if in thought, hiding the murderous intent in his gaze from Morgan.
He hated people like this because he felt used.
But then he reconsidered: what was his goal in capturing Buggy? Wasn't it for the money?
Although he had completed his first ten-pull, Ian's purpose for sailing was to find a way to cure Kuina and also to obtain a Devil Fruit for her to make up for the strength she had lost during her years of unconsciousness.
How could he get a Devil Fruit? Besides relying on luck in the Grand Line, he could buy one. A Devil Fruit with unknown effects sold for 100 million Berries on the black market, and that was back when Red-Haired Shanks was still on Roger's ship—about twenty years ago. The price was likely higher now.
So Ian needed a lot of money, which was why he had decided to become a bounty hunter when he first set sail. Compared to being a pirate and robbing people, Ian felt bounty hunting was more reliable.
Of course, there was another option: the World Government. With more and more pirates gaining Devil Fruit abilities, the World Government and Marines were consciously controlling and collecting Devil Fruits. They definitely had some. If Ian joined the Marines and achieved great feats, he might be able to request a Devil Fruit as a reward?
There were many ways, but he had to take it step by step.
With that in mind, Ian made a decision. He raised a finger and said to Morgan, "Ten million! Buggy's bounty is seven million Berries. You add three million to make it ten million, and we have a deal. You get the fame, I get the money. Less than that, and no deal!"
Actually, Ian had wanted to ask for fifteen million, which was the bounty he remembered Buggy originally having. But he guessed that Morgan's 153rd Branch probably didn't have that much money, so he settled on ten million. If Morgan could come up with it, great—he'd get an extra three million and save a trip to Loguetown.
However, Morgan was troubled. The reason he had thought of making a private deal with Ian was that he remembered the base's remaining funds were exactly seven million Berries—the budget for the second half of the year. He had been hesitating, barely suppressing his anxiety, to risk using that money for the deal. But now Ian was asking for an extra three million, and he was at a loss.
"I can't come up with that!" Morgan said dejectedly.
"Then there's no choice. Just issue me the certificate!" Ian said with some regret. Fame didn't matter much to him, but if he could only get the same amount of money, he might as well take the fame too. The credit for capturing the Buggy Pirates would boost his reputation as a bounty hunter quickly, intimidating some small-time pirates. That had its benefits.
As for doing Morgan a favor, Ian hadn't even considered it. A low-ranking Marine lieutenant in an ordinary East Blue branch, no matter how ambitious, had nothing to do with him.
After receiving the certificate, Ian checked the amount to make sure it was correct, flicked the paper, and waved at Morgan. "Alright, these guys are yours. I'm leaving!"
With that, Ian turned and walked out of the base. Morgan watched his retreating back, his eyes dark and brooding. The failed deal made him feel the importance of power even more. If he were the one in charge of the base, he wouldn't have to sneak around negotiating with Ian. He could just say it outright. Then, not just ten million, but as long as it didn't exceed the 153rd Branch's annual budget, he could come up with any amount.
...
At the entrance, Ian saw Koby, who had been hiding earlier, and waved him over.
Koby was now full of excitement and emotion. Although he had been too scared to follow Ian inside, he had watched Ian's display of power from the window. So when he saw Ian, he rushed over, eyes shining, and clenched his fists. "Ian, big brother! You... you... you're amazing!"
He gestured wildly. "When you pointed that flaming sword, those vicious pirates actually tied themselves up! Man, I wish I could be like you someday, scaring pirates with just a word!"
Koby's eyes were full of admiration for Ian. He had completely imagined himself in Ian's role, fantasizing about pulling off something so impressive.
Ian smiled slightly, ruffled the boy's pink hair, and said, "It's nothing. You want to be a Marine someday, right? As long as you become a Marine Admiral, you can do the same."
"Really? I... I can become a Marine Admiral!?" Koby asked in disbelief.
"That day will come, as long as you don't give up!" Ian said with a smile. "But if you ever become a Marine, remember to be an upright one. Don't end up like that guy inside..."
Koby didn't know who "that guy inside" referred to, as he hadn't heard Ian and Morgan's conversation. So he just nodded vaguely, half-understanding.
Ian said this to Koby because, after talking with Morgan, he felt that an upright person was more likely to earn others' respect. There were good people among pirates, and there were scumbags among Marines. Morgan wasn't upright, so Ian didn't respect him at all. Even though Morgan was a Marine lieutenant, without respect, others wouldn't help him easily. Even knowing Morgan wanted this credit for a promotion, Ian still refused to help.
This was the principle of "the virtuous have many helpers, the unvirtuous have few."
In contrast, Koby, though timid and weak, had a kind heart. Ian didn't want to see him lose that nature, so he offered this advice, hoping Koby would become someone worthy of respect in the future.