"Stop pretending. I know you're still sober. Tell me, what's your name?"
Vic stood beside Foxy, looking down at Foxy, and asked a question he already knew the answer to. Rebecca and the others, no longer restrained, also came to Vic's side and looked at Foxy.
"You're not going to say anything, huh? Well, I'll just crush your skull first. A pirate who's stupid isn't a pirate anymore." Vic threatened calmly when he saw Foxy pretending to be dead.
"I... I'm Foxy, captain of the Silver Fox Pirates. What do you want?"
Foxy was indeed somewhat afraid of Vic's iron hands. If they grabbed his head, what difference would it make? It would be better to go to jail.
"My name is Vic, Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral, Logia Rumble-Rumble Fruit Devil Fruit User. I can let you go this time, and you can continue being a pirate, but I have one condition." Vic introduced himself, putting pressure on Foxy.
"I'll agree to any condition, as long as you let me go!"
When Foxy heard about this good news, his squinty eyes widened slightly. He had resigned himself to going to Impel Down to eat prison food, but he didn't expect to have a chance to be free. He was never a tough guy to begin with.
"You may not fully understand my strength. Let me tell you again. The strength I just displayed was less than one percent of my true power. If you break our agreement today, I can find you anytime and crush your skull!"
After I let you go, you can continue being a pirate, but you are not allowed to harm civilians. If you need to recruit crew members, you can steal from other pirate crews; if you need food or money, you can also steal from other pirate crews.
I don't care what methods you use, as long as you don't harm ordinary civilians. The same goes for your men. If I hear that you've broken this agreement, I'll crush your skull no matter where you hide. Do you understand?
Vic stated his conditions. If Foxy complied, he would pose no threat. Whether he was captured or killed was irrelevant; he could even attack other pirate crews, making him an ally.
"That's it? Then I agree. Can I leave now?"
Foxy's eyes darted around in the large bag twice before he asked excitedly. He hadn't expected Vic's conditions to be so simple. With his abilities, dealing with some pirates wouldn't be a problem. He wouldn't have to worry about food and drink, and he could even capture the pirates' underlings to expand his own pirate crew without affecting his plans. So he readily agreed.
"Alright, get lost! Remember our agreement, or I'll have to search the whole ocean for you!"
Vic waved his hand dismissively. Vic wasn't a champion of Absolute Justice, believing that every pirate had to be killed. Some pirates could be put to use, like Foxy. Even the World Government was preparing to employ a powerful pirate to maintain the balance of the seas, and Foxy would be of some use to him in the future.
" Vic! Is it really okay to just let him go like this? How are we going to explain this to Vice Admiral Garp?" Rebecca asked, puzzled, watching Foxy's departing figure.
"He's no longer a pure pirate, and he doesn't have the guts to do bad things anymore. He'll only cause trouble for other pirates in the future, which will only benefit the Navy. The old man won't say anything. I can still handle these small-time pirates. Have you bought everything?"
Vic didn't reveal the deeper reasons; there was no need to tell Rebecca and the others about his worries.
"Not yet! Since you're here, why don't you show us around? Your internal space is so convenient, can we borrow it for a bit? Hehe!"
Rebecca smiled slyly. She had long admired Vic's storage ability; it was so convenient, an absolute must-have for traveling and shopping. Who wouldn't envy it? Unfortunately, she didn't have one herself, so she could only borrow it.
So next, Vic joined the shopping spree. Although he wasn't into shopping, he did have a need to collect materials and some special items. After all, Rebecca's flying sword was a long-term project, and he also had some other needs. Thus, Vic became a human shopping bag.
Three hours later Rebecca and Wendy were finally satisfied, but Vic and his two companions were almost sick of shopping. Women are truly natural shopping champions, and they had to admire them.
Afterwards, they enjoyed a meal of local specialties on the island, and the five of them prepared to return to the warship. Before leaving, Vic packed several portions to take with him, intending to let the old man and Ain on the warship try them as well. Although these foods were not quite as good as his cooking, they had a different flavor and were worth trying.
When the five returned to the dock, the warship was still replenishing supplies, and marines in naval uniforms were carrying things onto the ship.
The Dog-Head Warship is really big, and it carries quite a few people. Each resupply almost fills the ship's small warehouse. The situation at sea is very complicated, so the more food and fresh water you have, the better.
" Ain! Come and eat something, I brought you some delicious food! Grandpa! Would you like some?"
When Vic arrived on the deck, he found Ain sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed in meditation. The old man was eating rice crackers not far away, glancing at Ain every now and then, as if worried that the child might get hurt.
The old man did treat boys and girls differently. If it were Luffy or Ace, he wouldn't be so careful. He's already showing affection for his grandson by not hitting him first; he'd most likely still use a loving fist.
"I'm too busy. Can't you see I'm trying to eat rice crackers in a row?"
Garp glanced curiously at the food Vic had brought. Although he was tempted, he knew his challenge had been interrupted by Vic last time, and he couldn't afford to give up again after managing to stick to it for two days.
"You can press pause, and continue after you finish eating!"
Vic didn't seem to care. Anyway, the old man had a trick up his sleeve with his undoing, so having another time-stop skill wouldn't be a big deal. He could see the old man's eyes were constantly glancing at the food.
"Huh! Is that even possible? Let's pause the senbei challenge for now, try something different, and continue later, hahaha!"
Garp quickly accepted this premise, put away the senbei and started eating them. The Ain people couldn't eat much, so they just tasted them. The rest were eaten by the old man. After finishing, he started challenging the senbei record. His stomach was like a bottomless pit, and his mouth never stopped. It's estimated that his salary was all spent on buying senbei.
"What happened on the island just now? Where are the pirates? Did you guys take them down?" Garp asked while eating a senbei (rice cracker). He was still a little curious about the pirates who could capture Rebecca and the others.
This is the first half of the Grand Line! Rebecca and the others are already very strong together. They are definitely the ultimate obstacle for pirates in the first half of the line, and even Logia would have a hard time escaping them.
With Observation Haki, Future Sight Fate, Armament Haki, Devil Fruit abilities, Six Powers, and swordsmanship combined, they were practically defenseless. Yet, this very team was captured by pirates. How could Garp not be curious?