Tiger Shark Island, Central Commercial District, North Blue Scenery Bar.
"We actually found the Rod Pirates, who've been making waves lately. Talk about lucky!"
After hanging up, Mr. 11 lifted his glass and took a satisfied sip, relief showing on his face.
A month ago, he had received orders from his superiors to go to the North Blue and invite someone to join Baroque Works.
Given Baroque Works' reputation, he had thought the task would be a sure thing. Who could have guessed the other party would reject him outright? No matter what tactics he tried, he still couldn't get them to agree.
In fact, Baroque Works had only two ways of recruiting people: threats and bribes!
But no matter what promises he made, the other party remained unmoved, barely reacting at all. All they wanted was to live a quiet, peaceful life.
When bribery failed, he had wanted to resort to threats.
Unfortunately, he couldn't win!
He really was a monster, just as you'd expect from someone the company's headquarters had specially invited to join. The swordsmanship he was so proud of was no match for the other party. Worse, his partner, Ms. Thursday, had been injured and was still lying in bed.
Then, two days ago, he had received another call from headquarters, ordering him to keep an eye on the other party's movements on Tiger Shark Island.
The company headquarters had dispatched a Chief Commander to take over the task.
According to company rules, anyone who failed a mission would be severely punished. He knew the company's power, so he understood there was no way to escape. All he could do was lose himself in beautiful women and fine wine each day to numb himself.
Now, it seemed the Goddess of Luck was still on his side.
The Rod Pirates had a combined bounty of 185,000,200 Berries. That ought to be enough to offset the punishment for failing his mission, and he might even earn a reward from the BOSS.
At the thought, an even more relaxed smile spread across Mr. 11's face.
"You sure are taking it easy, Mr. 11! You failed your mission, and now we have to clean up after you, yet you can sit here and enjoy your wine with a clear conscience?"
A chilly voice rang out. The partition door was then kicked open, and a man with an afro and sunglasses walked into the room.
"You've disgraced the whole company!"
"Mr. 5!"
Mr. 11's expression shifted at the sight of the man who had barged in.
"Yahaha! Why don't I just take him out too? What a disgraceful loser."
A woman's voice followed. A tall woman with short blond hair entered the room behind him. Even though she was indoors, she still held an umbrella.
"Ms. Valentine!"
At the sight of the two newcomers, Mr. 11's expression first changed dramatically. Then he remembered something, and his face settled back into a calm look.
Though they had a bad attitude and seemed ready to kill him, he now had more important information in his hands—major news that could benefit all of them.
"Why don't you two sit down and have a drink first? I may not have handled the matter with that monster, but I've got reliable information now. With your help, we can earn the company an even greater reward!"
He invited the two Chief Commanders to sit, poured them both a drink himself, then waved for the women serving drinks to leave and put the kicked-in door back in place.
After hearing Mr. 11 out, Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine sat down.
Their earlier words had only been a way to seize the initiative.
Although Chief Commanders held higher ranks than Executive Commanders, the other man was still a minor company officer. If he was to be punished, that was for the boss to decide, not for the two of them to do themselves.
Besides, they needed his cooperation if they wanted to complete this mission successfully.
They had also looked into the target before coming. According to the latest reports, the mission was indeed beyond the abilities of an Executive Commander. As far as the BOSS was concerned, Mr. 11 wasn't to blame for the failure.
In that case, they might as well hear what reward he had to offer.
"What! The Rod Pirates, with a combined bounty of 185,000,200 Berries?"
At the news from Mr. 11, Mr. 5's expression changed dramatically. He picked up his glass and took a sip to calm himself.
"Are you sure you've got this right, Mr. 11?
"The reward is tempting, but with our strength, there's no way we can handle enemies of this caliber."
A pirate crew with such a high bounty was rare even on the Grand Line.
The strongest pirates they had dealt with before had only had bounties of 41 million Berries.
As for the Rod Pirates, their captain alone had a bounty of 71 million Berries. Even without the captain, there were still two dangerous fighters with bounties over 40 million.
"Don't worry. I've looked into them."
Mr. 11 refilled Mr. 5's glass, confidence written all over his face.
"They're just a pirate crew that's fresh out of the gate, without any remarkable achievements. A crew that's still wandering around the four seas can't be all that strong. They must have been given such high bounties because they committed some unforgivable crime."
Mr. 5 nodded. He had only been taken aback by the size of their bounties. Now that he had calmed down and thought about it, he didn't believe this rookie crew could be all that strong either.
"With your strength, taking them out will be as easy as reaching into a bag. Heaven has practically delivered this reward right to us!"
Mr. 5 picked up the drink Mr. 11 had poured and took a small sip, a faint smile appearing on his face.
"Our reward!"
"Yahaha! Exactly. It's our reward alone."
Ms. Valentine, sitting beside him, picked up where Mr. 5 left off, wearing a nasty smile.
"Don't worry. I'll explain the situation on your behalf in the mission report. I'm sure the company won't hold your failure against you."
Those two!
Mr. 11 was seething as he watched the pair in front of him.
They were actually planning to take all the credit for the bounty.
But he was outmatched. He had already failed to do his job, and even if he wanted to resist, he couldn't take on the two of them.
Too bad Ms. Thursday had been injured and still couldn't move.
Thinking of his partner, who had been beaten and was still recovering in bed, made Mr. 11 even angrier at Genos.
"I really can't thank you enough, Mr. 5."
As these thoughts ran through his mind, Mr. 11 kept his expression neutral and poured Mr. 5 another glass.
I can submit my own mission report too!
As long as I contribute in the fight, nobody can erase my share of the credit!
With that thought, Mr. 11 made up his mind to wait for the right moment to ambush Genos and the Rod Pirates when they went after them.
He would also have someone take pictures. That way, no one could take his credit away.
"We'll deal with the Rod Pirates later. First, we'll take care of that Zombie Man Genos. Where is he now?"
Setting down his glass, Mr. 5 asked.