Capítulo 20: An Offer That Can't Be Refused
Cherry didn't take any time to consider the woman's warning.
She might be the type of fool to start something like this, but she was not the type of fool to chicken out halfway.
She had no doubt that if she really did try to run away, there would be someone waiting to capture or kill her.
So she waited patiently, settling into her chair. This was mostly theater. Putting on a show for the little spy peeping from inside the walls.
It was a delicate balance. Confident, but not arrogant. Vigilant, but not paranoid. She needed them to see that she was not a push over, but also that she knew her place.
Cherry was left waiting for several hours. This was a good sign for a few reasons.
One, they haven't just outright rejected her.
Two, she would likely meet with someone with a position of authority. Such people are usually quite busy, which would explain the long wait.
And three, since not a single person had so much as knocked on the door, she concluded they were testing how serious she was.
A lesser individual would have cracked by now, visibly showing frustration or panic.
Although she didn't show it outwardly, Cherry WAS actually getting impatient. Her only solace was the little spy that had been squirming with a full bladder for the last hour.
At last, she sensed someone with a powerful vital energy arrive at the auction house. The little spy was notified and he went to report to the new arrival.
After making his report, the little spy rushed away to relieve his bursting bladder. Cherry apologized to him in her heart when he failed to hold it in only a few steps away from his goal.
The man she presumed to be a representative from the Chinjao family approached the room she was in with the auctioneer woman walking a few step behind him.
Cherry turned towards the door as it opened.
The man that walked in was about 2.4 meters tall, had tanned skin, and a thick muscular neck. He wore a green cape with a frilled collar, puffy striped pants, and was shirtless with the number 13 freshly tattooed on his left side.
Cherry recognized the man from her research on the Chinjao family and was somewhat surprised that such a big shot would be the one that came to meet her. He was Sai, the soon to be 13th leader of the Happo Navy.
"Sorry I'm late. I received the request to meet this morning, but I lost track of time while training." The man stated honestly.
'Oh, nevermind. He's just a muscle head.' Cherry discarded her previous theories about the long wait time. Knowing this, she was actually less frustrated than before. She couldn't be mad at someone for losing themselves to training.
Cherry gave a small smile, hoping that it wouldn't be too unnerving.
"Oh, has it been that long? I must have been quite tired from my journey, I hardly noticed." Cherry deliberately downplayed the wait, but at the same time didn't excuse him for it.
"I am Sai, vice-leader of the Happo Navy. Can I ask who you are and what your business with us is?" He inquired.
"Harpin D. Cherry, a pleasure to meet you. I'm quite flattered and relieved to have an audience with someone so high up the chain of command. Your auction house's manager has good judgment." Cherry introduced herself.
"As for my business, I came to make a deal with your family. An offer I think you can't refuse." Cherry smiled mysteriously, letting the words hang in the air.
"Well? What is it then?" Sai responded, somewhat losing his patience seeing Cherry not get to the point.
Cherry glanced at the auctioneer woman. "May we have some privacy? I've not brought any items with me to be appraised. You may prefer to keep what I am about to say a secret."
The woman looked to Sai, who motioned for her to leave them alone.
After she left, Cherry began to lay out her offer.
"This may be a sensitive topic, but your grandfather once fought with Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp. During that battle, your grandfather's famously tough and pointy head was, for lack of a better word, flattened. Correct?" Cherry questioned.
Sai's face tensed and tightened his hands into fists at the mention of his grandfather's shame.
"What are you getting at? You did not come here just to mock my grandfather, did you?!" He interrogated.
"No, of course not." Cherry replied casually. "I came to fix it."
"..." Sai was stunned silent as her words rang out.
"Fix... what, exactly?" Sai spoke, almost at a whisper.
"Your grandfather's, Don Chinjao's, skull. I will restore it to its former glory." Cherry said, as if it was not a big deal at all.
Sai looked Cherry up and down, he couldn't believe what she was saying.
"Impossible. Even some of the best doctors in the world have failed. Why should I believe you?" Sai spoke untrusting, but there was hope in his eyes.
The smile vanished from Cherry's face, her eyes burned into his own. "From one warrior to another. My pride, my honor, my life, my everything. I'll put it all on the line."
These words stirred something within Sai. He could not help but to believe her now. He could practically feel her resolve radiating off of her.
"What would you ask in exchange for this favor?" He asked after a moment in silence.
Cherry's smile returned as if it had never left. "We can discuss that after I show some results, I think. It will take time to restore his head. I will trust in your honor that you will not leave me high and dry."
Sai pondered to himself. He could not make this decision himself. "We'll go to my grandfather and let him decide. It's his head, after all."
...
Sai led Cherry to the Happo Navy's private dockyard that functioned at their headquarters.
The sun was setting on the horizon and there was no shortage of pirates passing by them to go drinking after a long day. Many of them greeted Sai as they walked to their destination; the flagship of the Happo Navy, the Happosai.
They boarded the ship and Sai led her to the captain's quarters. Sai rapped his knuckles on the door loudly.
"Old man! I've brought a guest to meet you! We're coming inside now!" He shouted.
After barging in, Cherry followed after Sai to see an enormous, extravagant room. In a massive upholstered chair, which would perhaps be more accurately described as a throne, sat a huge elderly man.
He was at least 5 meters tall with an egg shaped body topped with a bald, misshapen head. He had a long white beard and the number 12 tattooed above his left, bushy eyebrow.
"Who is this guest, Sai? Don't tell me you fell for a skinny girl like her?" Chinjao thundered.
"Of course not, old man! Her name is Harpin D. Cherry, she told me that she can fix your skull." Sai spoke carefully, not wanting to upset him.
Chinjao turned his gaze on Cherry. One moment he was perfectly calm, but the next a fierce glint appeared in his eyes.
Cherry felt something intangible slam into her mind, suppressing her will. She felt her mind drift towards unconsciousness, but her vital energy reacted and surged into her head.
Outwardly, Cherry seemed to stumble before catching herself.
"Not bad, girl." Chinjao praised. He could tell she hadn't trained in Haki at all, but she still remained conscious through grit alone. He had just lightly tested her with his Conqueror's Haki and the result truly did surprise him.
"I'll hear you out, but know I won't forgive you if you're lying..." He threatened.
"With my Devil Fruit ability and a technique of my own creation, I will be able to slowly reconstruct your skull. It will be a long and very painful process. Nothing a pirate of legend such as yourself can't handle. There will be improvement within a month, guaranteed. At that point, we can discuss what I want in exchange." Cherry did not pause for dramatic effect this time.
This man was a real monster. She had no clue what sort of technique or power he just used on her, but she was sure that wasn't the full extent of it.
She waited for Don Chinjao's reply, and to learn what her fate would be.
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