"Oh? Are you planning to break our deal and keep all of the Sori family's wealth for yourself?"
Jay gently placed the item back on the shelf, then met Capone Bege's gaze fearlessly.
At this moment, he was making a gamble, a gamble on whether Capone Bege would risk his alliance with Colonel Hammond just for the wealth before him.
If things went south, his only other bet was drawing a useful character card or item from his system's gacha pool to deal with this crisis.
After all, he had just taken the chance to deposit 30 million Beri!
If he hadn't been caught so quickly, he could have gained even more. What a shame.
Now, everything depended on Capone Bege's choice.
And as expected, a man who could dominate the underworld of the West Blue wasn't someone who only saw short-term gains.
"You underestimate how much a true Mafia values their family's reputation and honor. Only lowly stray dogs fight over a mere bone."
Capone Bege lifted his chin, exuding pride and disdain.
Then, without hesitation, he issued an order, instructing his men to lower their guns.
"Open all the crates and tally the wealth."
"Yes, Godfather!"
Bege's men sprang into action, opening crate after crate, meticulously recording the inventory, and swiftly transporting everything into his Castle Body ability.
The vast treasure within the secret chamber visibly shrank at an alarming speed.
Before long, someone noticed the empty crates.
"Godfather, these crates are completely empty."
"How many?"
"Three."
"Mark them down and take them too."
"Understood, Godfather."
During this process, some glanced at Jay, the first to discover the secret chamber, but few truly suspected him.
Even if Jay had hidden some treasures on himself, how much could he possibly carry?
Completely emptying three crates and stuffing it all onto his person?
Everyone here had functioning eyes.
Unless Jay was a Devil Fruit user just like Capone Bege, with a similar ability, it was impossible.
And the odds of that? Too low to even consider.
Capone Bege was more inclined to believe that the Sori family had already used or spent what was in those crates.
That was the logical assumption.
Once the secret vault was completely emptied, only two people remained.
"Don't resist. Enter my Castle Body, I'll take you out of here."
"Go inside? You sure you're not just planning to kill me to keep me silent?"
Jay's face was full of suspicion.
Capone Bege scoffed, "If I wanted you dead, I would've ordered the kill earlier. No need for all this trouble."
"Makes sense."
Capone Bege was growing impatient. "Are you coming or not? The Royal Army is about to arrive."
"What's the rush? Let me notify Colonel Hammond first."
"..."
Jay pulled out a Den Den Mushi, immediately contacting Colonel Hammond.
After learning that their mission was a success and that they were preparing to retreat, Hammond was thrilled and arranged a meeting point for the handover.
Before hanging up, Jay made sure to subtly hint that he had risked his life for this and had achieved an incredible gain.
If anything happened to him, Hammond had to avenge him.
Capone Bege, overhearing this, had a very ugly expression.
That aside, Jay had to admit, Capone Bege's Castle Body was incredibly luxurious!
The moment he entered, someone immediately escorted him to change into fresh clothes.
Looking down at the bloodstains on his outfit, Jay saw no reason to refuse.
Even though he knew that his discarded clothes would definitely be searched, it didn't matter.
After all, he was completely clean!
If they could find anything valuable on him, he'd consider it a loss!
"Bring me some food, I'm hungry."
Now dressed in new attire, Jay made himself at home, issuing demands without hesitation.
Whatever orders Capone Bege had given his men, they obeyed, fulfilling even this small request.
Before long, Jay was sitting at a dining table, sipping red wine, eating steak, and smoking a cigar, pure bliss!
Meanwhile, Capone Bege had effortlessly escaped the scene.
By the time the Royal Army stormed the manor, all the criminals had vanished, leaving behind a sea of corpses and a skull-marked pirate graffiti.
No one could figure out how so many criminals had disappeared into thin air.
Ghosts, maybe?!
But no matter how baffling, the Royal Army had no choice but to report the incident to the King, who in turn transferred the case to the Marines.
After all, they had paid their "protection fees" (Heavenly Tribute) to the World Government.
And since this case involved pirates (thanks to the skull graffiti), it was officially the Marines' problem now.
The Rose Kingdom was under the jurisdiction of Marine Branch 88.
Thus, the case naturally fell into Colonel Hammond's hands.
Everything was going according to plan!
At the designated meeting point, Capone Bege released Jay from his Castle Body and transported the crates of wealth onto a pre-arranged empty ship.
Before leaving, he handed Jay an inventory list and two boxes of cigars.
"My part of the deal is done. The rest is up to you."
"If you ever need another job like this, you know where to find me."
"Also, I remember what you said earlier, I'll be watching. Let's see if, in two years, you can really scare me into running for my life."
Jay casually accepted the items, "Since you gave me two boxes of cigars, I'll give you a five-kilometer head start when I capture you in the future."
Capone Bege's face darkened. "I really want to shoot you right now."
"Then you'd better hurry, because my people are almost here."
Jay smirked and gestured toward the ocean, a Marine battleship was quickly approaching.
Seeing this, Capone Bege could only let out a cold snort before turning to leave.
Not long after, the battleship docked.
Colonel Hammond hurried over to Jay.
With a snap salute, Jay declared:
"Thanks to the Colonel's brilliant leadership, I have successfully defeated a group of ruthless pirates! Here is the list of seized goods, please review it, sir!"
Colonel Hammond took the list, and his face immediately lit up with satisfaction.
Clapping Jay on the shoulder, he praised, "Well done! When we return to base, I'll make sure you're handsomely rewarded!"
"Thank you for your guidance, sir!"
Leaving everyone else behind, Colonel Hammond entered the ship's cabin to inspect the loot.
No one knew how he and Capone Bege had negotiated the split, but judging from his ecstatic expression when he came out, he was very pleased!
And why wouldn't he be?
The guy barely lifted a finger and walked away with hundreds of millions of Beri!
How could he not be thrilled?!
The hard work and risk-taking were all on Capone Bege and Jay.
Meanwhile, Hammond would take the credit for eliminating pirates.
This was a massive win for him!