Chapter 5: The Iceberg
Su Xiao and Rob Lucci locked eyes for a few seconds, then both looked away simultaneously.
Su Xiao glanced around and spotted a wooden cabin in an open area. That was where they registered commissions for guests to repair or buy ships.
A square table was set up in front of the cabin, and behind it sat an employee of the Galley-La Company.
Su Xiao walked over. The employee was busy, apparently recording something.
"Hello, I was wondering if the Galley-La Company is hiring employees."
Su Xiao tried his best to maintain a smile. He didn't often take the initiative to interact with plot characters, and there was a reason for that.
"Hmm?" The employee looked up at Su Xiao, then continued recording.
His formidable 5 points of Charm attribute came into play, and the employee's indifferent attitude was all too obvious.
"Wait a moment."
Su Xiao sighed inwardly. He really wasn't good at this kind of negotiation.
After waiting for a few minutes, the employee finally finished his work, took off his glasses, rubbed his dry eyes, and looked at Su Xiao.
"Origin?"
"East Blue."
"Name."
"Bai Ye."
...
The Galley-La Company employee began gathering Su Xiao's basic information.
"Shipwrecked and drifted to Water 7, huh... Alright then."
The employee pulled out a stack of documents, flipped through them for a moment, and said to Su Xiao, "Dock 3 still needs a few laborers. You can work there, 4,000 Berries a day, paid daily."
The implication was clear: he was being hired as a laborer, and a temporary one at that.
Su Xiao pondered for a moment, his gaze inadvertently sweeping the area as he searched for Rob Lucci. The man had already left the shipbuilding site.
Su Xiao pulled an iron rod from a scrap pile. The rod was slightly thinner than an arm, made of high-density material, and covered in dried moss, as if it had been salvaged from an old ship.
Under the employee's astonished gaze, Su Xiao gripped the iron rod and applied force with both hands.
Creak... Creak...
A harsh sound rang out as Su Xiao twisted the iron rod into a spiral. The employee's mouth fell open, looking as if he'd seen a ghost.
The employee quickly snapped out of it, his attitude changing drastically.
"Here, have a seat."
The employee pulled over a chair and adjusted the glasses on his nose.
"About how much bounty can you handle?"
This was the most straightforward way to gauge strength in this pirate world.
"Between fifty million and one hundred million."
With his current swordsmanship, Su Xiao wasn't intimidated by pirates of that level. His blade skills were comparable to Zoro's, or perhaps slightly superior.
But if the two were to fight, Su Xiao would definitely win. Zoro only knew how to use a sword, while Su Xiao's abilities were more comprehensive. After all, Zoro was the swordsman of the Straw Hat Pirates, with companions by his side. Su Xiao was a lone wolf, so his skills had to be well-rounded.
Hearing the bounty Su Xiao claimed he could handle, the employee clearly didn't believe it.
"Well... May I ask what your primary combat method is?"
The employee probed Su Xiao tentatively. His earlier attitude had vanished entirely. Strong strength could negate the drawbacks of low Charm.
Su Xiao flipped his palm, and the Dragon-Slaying Flash appeared at his waist. He lifted it slightly.
"A swordsman?"
In the pirate world, both those who used swords and those who used blades were collectively called swordsmen. Su Xiao didn't bother to explain the distinction; he just nodded.
"Follow me. Warner, cover for me for a bit."
The employee gestured for Su Xiao to follow him, heading toward the center of Water 7.
"I haven't introduced myself yet. How rude of me. I'm Angus, the foreman of Dock 1 at the Galley-La Company."
Angus looked to be at most thirty years old, with a clean-shaven face, bottle-thick glasses, and wearing the same work shirt as the laborers.
"Bai Ye, what kind of position are you interested in?" Angus began chatting casually with Su Xiao, his words laced with probing.
What was most valuable on the Grand Line? Berries? Gold? None of that. It was talent and strong individuals. Su Xiao clearly belonged to the latter. The feat he'd just shown wasn't something many could accomplish in the first half of the Grand Line. That iron rod was high-density material used for making ship ram bows.
"What position... a guard, I suppose. I once served as a guard for the king of a small country in the East Blue, but later that country was taken over by the Revolutionary Army."
Although Su Xiao had never actually served as a guard, he had assassinated a king, so he was quite familiar with the kings of this pirate world.
He had killed a king in the East Blue, but he hadn't chosen to live incognito. The reason was simple: there were no witnesses at the time, and the Krieg Pirates were attacking the king's castle. Everyone would naturally suspect that Krieg had killed the king.
When a pirate charges into a royal palace and the king ends up dead, it's like mud in your pants—even if it's not shit, it sure looks like it.
Besides, even if his identity were exposed, so what? The Galley-La Company wasn't the Navy; they wouldn't dig too deeply into an employee's background. This was also why Su Xiao didn't join the World Government.
Angus led Su Xiao onto a medium-sized Bull, with Bubuteni following closely behind.
"Is this your dog?"
Angus looked at Bubuteni with curiosity, as if wanting to pet its head, but when he saw the sharp fangs it bared, he awkwardly withdrew his hand.
"Yeah, raised it a few years ago. A 'crossbreed' between a wolf and a dog."
Hearing Su Xiao's explanation, Angus nodded. No wonder it looked so fierce. Bubuteni just rolled its eyes.
Around twenty years old, uses a blade, named Bai Ye, has a peculiar dog, was a king's guard, shipwrecked at sea.
Angus sorted through Su Xiao's information in his mind, trying to recall any matching wanted criminals.
After thinking for a long time, Angus couldn't come up with anything. He ultimately categorized Su Xiao as someone with a semi-clean background, at least not wanted.
Pleased with this conclusion, Angus decided to introduce Su Xiao to someone.
The medium-sized Bull moved quickly, and before long, Su Xiao arrived at a location near the center of Water 7.
They no longer needed the Bull here. This was one of the rare land areas in Water 7, though it was artificially constructed.
Only the wealthy and powerful of Water 7 lived here. Su Xiao's destination was the municipal office building.
As expected, the strong were valued wherever they went. If the Galley-La Company had really made Su Xiao work as a laborer, he would have found a way to climb up within two days.
Revealing some strength came with risks, but the benefits were obvious.
The municipal building in Water 7 had five floors, with clean exterior walls, spotless glass windows, and employees in suits and ties, all showcasing the prosperity of Water 7.
Entering the building, Angus directly led Su Xiao to an office on the fourth floor.
Knock, knock, knock.
Angus lightly tapped on the door, and a male voice came from inside: "Come in."
After hastily tidying his appearance, Angus pushed open the door. The office was spacious and bright, fully furnished with various amenities.
A man with short blue hair, sparse stubble on his chin, and wearing a striped suit was lying back in a rocking chair, taking a nap.
Su Xiao recognized this person: Iceberg, the president of the Galley-La Company.
From the anime, Iceberg seemed like a righteous character, at least in the eyes of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Was that really the case? Not likely.
Iceberg might have good character, but his business dealings were definitely not clean. He openly sold ships to pirates or helped them repair their vessels.
In a pirate world where over 90% of the surface was ocean, ships were the most common mode of transportation. Such a huge profit margin would inevitably attract greedy eyes.
Not to mention that Iceberg was a disciple of Tom the Fishman. Tom had built the ship for the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, and had been kept under semi-house arrest by the World Government ever since. If it weren't for Tom's exceptional shipbuilding skills, he would have been dead long ago.
As Tom's direct disciple, Iceberg had managed to take control of Water 7, and the World Government had allowed it. This raised questions that were hard not to ponder.