Capítulo 4: Chapter 4: The Wager
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Winter!
An empty bucket and a mop were thrown in front of Rosinante, splashing dirty water on his face.
"Clean the entire corridor before noon, or else you'll regret it!"
After delivering his warning, the guy who threw the bucket and mop turned and walked away. Although he was just an "apprentice sailor," he still managed to find a sense of superiority, even when dealing with a young boy like Rosinante.
In this world, it's a struggle for survival, and might makes right!
Due to the death of the chef, the ship had become tense, and Rosinante, who had been staying in the hold, was now ordered to come out and "work" for half a moldy loaf of bread as his reward.
Tsk, it's a dog-eat-dog world.
Fortunately...
With a thought, Rosinante activated his Silence Fruit ability.
Bam!
The arrogant apprentice sailor, who had just turned the corner, collided with a tall figure.
Smack!
Before the dazed guy could regain his senses, a large hand with prominent knuckles landed on top of his head.
"You bastard, how dare you bump into me?!"
"I... Ahhh!"
The sound of fists and kicks drowned out the apprentice sailor's explanation, and a series of screams made Rosinante, who had been mopping the floor, shrug his shoulders.
It was him who had used his Silence ability to eliminate the footsteps in the corridor, causing the two to collide head-on.
Among the myriad of devil fruits in the world, the Silence Fruit might be considered "garbage," but for ordinary people, it was still an overwhelming ability.
After accepting the fact that he had transmigrated into the world of One Piece and eaten the Silence Fruit, Rosinante began to think about how to develop this fruit's power.
Although the Silence Fruit only had the effect of "suppressing sound waves," it didn't mean he couldn't develop it further.
If his plans turned out as he envisioned, even this "trash" fruit could have the potential to make him a formidable force!
However... that was something to consider later.
"Get lost, you useless piece of crap!"
The apprentice sailor was beaten senseless. As the burly waterman walked past Rosinante, he didn't even spare a glance at the seemingly harmless young boy.
Though the waterman wasn't very intelligent, he could still sense the dangerous atmosphere on the ship, which made him more aggressive and irritable.
He preferred real battles with real knives and guns to this situation with an invisible enemy.
The lurking murderer... Don't let me catch you!
---
"Here,"
After a day of doing odd jobs, when Rosinante returned to the hold, Doflamiongo received him with a piece of bread.
It was a rare "delicacy" without mold or worms, as per his memories.
"Who gave it to you?"
Taking the bread and breaking it in half, Rosinante handed one half back to Doflamiongo while asking.
"The captain or the sailor?"
"The sailor... Why do you ask?"
Facing Doflamiongo's puzzled look, Rosinante shook his head helplessly.
A clean loaf of bread meant Doflamiongo had "joined" one of the factions on the ship.
And with Doflamiongo's intellect, wouldn't he be easily swayed by the side he chooses to align with?
"Doflamiongo, we don't need to take such a risk."
"There are too many people on this ship who could put us in mortal danger. This plan is like walking on a tightrope."
After a day of careful observation, Rosinante realized that his physical condition was much "stronger" than that of an ordinary child, in terms of both digestion and recovery abilities.
If it were an ordinary child in their current environment, they would have already died from beatings, diseases, and infected wounds.
This made Rosinante admit to himself that the "Celestial Dragon" bloodline was indeed an excellent one.
Thinking back to the original story, the fat Celestial Dragon at the Sabaody Archipelago got knocked out by a single punch from Luffy, and half of the auction house was reduced to ruins. Still, he managed to walk away unharmed, with a bounty of at least a few hundred million Berries for his ability to withstand attacks.
After all, he was the descendant of one of the Twenty Kings, and even future Vivi could single-handedly defeat banana crocodiles that were over ten meters tall. If it weren't for years of hardship, Rosinantenan and Doflamiongo would never have been in such a "little radish head" state.
If memory served right, future Doflamingo was three meters tall, and Rosinante was even four meters tall...
But that's all in the "future"!
At their current height, with their small arms and legs, they weren't even worth mentioning compared to the semi-pirate, semi-mobster sailors on the ship.
The chef's accidental death was just that - an accident. In a direct confrontation, what strength could two little boys like them possibly have?
"Wait until we reach the North Sea. We'll take care of our bodies first and then come up with a plan to become stronger..."
Devil fruits, Marine Six Styles, swordsmanship, Haki...
Although the timeline was twenty years ahead, some things would remain unchanged.
Rosinantenan believed that with his knowledge of this world, he would undoubtedly achieve great things in the future. There was no need to fight powerful enemies right now.
"That kind of thinking is too naive, Rosinantenan!"
Thanks to Rosinantenan's use of his "Silence Shield," the two boys hiding in the hold could talk openly.
"Our target is the Celestial Dragons. We must seize any opportunity to become stronger!"
As he spoke, Doflamiongo held half a loaf of bread in one hand and extended the other hand with all five fingers spread downward. Even though they were cramped in the narrow hold, his posture was like standing on the mast.
"Opportunity has presented us with this ship. Everyone's heart is craving for blood!"
"As soon as those guys who suspect each other start to turn on each other, we will have the chance to obtain a ship of our own!"
Lowering his arm, Doflamiongo's gaze under the sunglasses firmly fixed on Rosinantenan.
"Or are you planning to work at the docks, earn money, and spend more than a decade to get the first starting capital?"
Tsk,
He truly deserved the title of the future underground king of the pirate world. At the age of ten, he had mastered the art of sowing discord and reaped the benefits. But maneuvering between powerful forces wasn't that easy.
"That makes sense, but I still don't agree with your plan."
"Doflamiongo, the more cunning and scheming you are, the more likely you are to fall into unforeseen predicaments..."
Schemes may have their uses, but in this world, strength was the foundation of everything.
The future Doflamingo was too trusting of intrigues and conspiracies, which led to his defeat by the Straw Hat Pirates and the Dressrosa Army.
In the small hold, the two boys stood their ground.
"Let's make a bet,"
Swallowing the half of the bread in his hand, Rosinantenan stood up.
"The stakes are this ship! We each carry out our own actions without interfering with each other, and the outcome will determine who the real hero is!"
"If you win, I'll follow your plans. If..."
Furrowing his brows, Doflamiongo's gaze under the sunglasses became serious.
"If I win, I'll be the one to make the plans from now on."
When did his little brother, who had always relied on him, become so assertive?
"Deal!"
Facing his brother's wager, Doflamiongo didn't hesitate to agree.
He didn't believe he would lose to the "naive" Rosinante!
------------
The next day,
"This is the second victim,"
In a cabin, the noble captain, the refined navigator, and the bald-headed boatswain stood in a triangle, with the body of a sailor lying on the floor between them.
Whether it was the turbid pupils, coagulated pool of blood, pale skin, or the flies crawling on his eyeballs, it was evident that it was a corpse.
"Yule was a good person,"
The refined navigator squatted down, waving his hand to shoo away the flies and personally closing the sailor's eyelids.
"Although he was just the son of a fallen small merchant who couldn't return home due to losing his family fortune and could only work on this ship doing some paperwork, he was..."
The refined navigator stood up, and his tone unknowingly became more serious.
"He was a good person."
···
"My condolences, Mr. Doflamingo."
The mustached noble captain took off his high-crowned hat and placed it over his heart.
Doflamingo was the refined navigator's name.
However, the sailors on the ship usually called him "Mr. Navigator," and over time, they had forgotten his real name.
"But it's just one person who died,"
The bald-headed boatswain on the other side wore an indifferent expression; for him, death was nothing unusual.
"Aleck, I don't expect you to understand what 'feelings' are, but the situation we are facing now is..."
The refined navigator covered the dead sailor's face with a white cloth, stood up, and his face turned serious.
"This is the second 'silent murder,' and there is an unknown killer lurking on this ship!"
"Dica, Yule, who's next?"
The refined navigator pointed his finger,
"Is it you?"
Then turned to himself,
"Is it me?"
Finally, his gaze fell on the noble captain,
"Could even Sir Claw Horn be the target of the killer?"
The cabin suddenly fell silent, and only the fluctuating sound of the waves outside could be heard.
The three "big shots" who controlled this ship had cold and iron-like expressions. Their gazes wandered, and it was unclear what they were thinking.
"Mr. Doflamingo, I'll leave Yule's case to you."
In the end, it was the noble captain who broke the silence.
He held a silver cane and walked past the body on the ground, being the first to push the door open and leave.
"I will have my men increase patrols, and you should also be mindful of your safety."
···
After the noble captain left, the refined navigator's calm gaze fell on the bald-headed boatswain, who frowned before realizing what was happening.
"Do you suspect me?"
"This isn't funny at all. Yule was a useless person; I could snap his head off with just one hand!"
Facing the angrily departing boatswain, the refined navigator, who had concealed his grief and anger under his calm facade, curled the corners of his mouth.
Of course, it wasn't either of you two who did it.
No one would have expected that the one committing the murders was the boy with the sunglasses who did odd jobs on the ship.
And he was acting under his orders—
The refined navigator glanced sideways at the sailor whose face was covered with a white cloth.
Good person Yule, with your life, help me achieve the goals of the Doflamingo family.
To buy a small countryside villa near Annevine, that's the kind of style an upper-class person should have.
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(End of this chapter)
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