East Blue, Kets Port Town, 16 Potatina Street.
Sephiroth stood before the entrance of a white, three-and-a-half-story villa. A metal cage dangled from his left hand. With his right, he fished a key from his pocket and unlocked the iron gate.
He walked straight into the grape arbor, plucked a single grape, and popped it in his mouth.
Hmm. A little sour.
The previous owner had liked making his own wine. He'd built this arbor as a hobby—part vineyard, part shade-provider.
Sephiroth figured that once he moved in, the grapes would probably only see occasional snacking duty. Not much else.
Winemaking didn't really interest him.
Three months ago, backed by considerable wealth, Sephiroth had smoothly purchased the villa from its former owner and had it redecorated to his taste.
A larger bathtub, an expanded master bedroom, a truly enormous bed… that sort of thing.
Sephiroth reached the villa's front door, unlocked it, and stepped into the living room.
He set the iron cage of vampire bats down casually on the living room table. Then he drew the butcher knife from his waist and opened a spatial door—a gateway to the top floor of the "Red Rose" hotel, far away in Dressrosa.
"Grab your luggage. We're moving!"
He called out to Uta, Iska, and Perona, who were lounging in the living room watching a movie.
Today marked the end of his three-month vacation. Tomorrow, he'd officially report for duty at Navy Branch 16, so he'd planned the move to Kets Port Town—the branch's location—for today.
The three girls didn't delay. They picked up their already-packed suitcases and walked straight through the shimmering door.
After setting down her luggage, Perona floated up in front of him, smiling sweetly.
"I'm starving! To celebrate the move, how about you cook a huge feast?"
Her words made Sephiroth remember something. Earlier, passing a restaurant called "Son of the Sea," he'd glimpsed a few unfamiliar dishes on the menu.
He smiled. "Actually… how about we eat out today? I saw a place in town that looked good. I'd like to try their food."
"Okay!"
Perona tilted her head, considering it. The suggestion worked for her. If the restaurant was bad, they just wouldn't eat much. He could always cook later.
"What do you two think?"
Sephiroth turned to Uta and Iska for their opinions.
As a scu—ahem. As a considerate man, he needed to take the girls' feelings fully into account. No obvious favoritism or neglect.
Iska, who'd been about to take her suitcase upstairs, gave a light nod. "Agreed."
"Trying the local specialties is an excellent choice," Uta said with an indifferent smile.
After a quick settling-in, Sephiroth led the three girls to an open-air, sea-view restaurant in Kets Port Town. A sign above the entrance read "Son of the Sea."
As the four of them walked in, they spotted three Marines in uniform standing at the cashier's counter, talking to a portly middle-aged man.
"Boss. Time to pay this month's security fee."
One of the bearded soldiers raised a hand and rapped his knuckles on the counter.
"Right, right… I know."
The boss nodded, reached over, opened the cash drawer, and quickly counted out ten 10,000-Berry notes. He handed them over.
The bearded soldier took the money. Then, as if suddenly remembering, he slapped his own forehead.
"Oh! That's right. Major Mouse says your restaurant's doing well now. Your security fee is doubled."
The boss's face instantly crumpled like a sour pickle. His voice held a tinge of protest.
"Ah! This..."
"How can this be? Everyone else pays 100,000 Berries. Why do I have to pay 200,000!?"
"Heh, don't worry. The security fee's gone up for a few other successful shops, same as yours."
"You can't do this! Just three months ago, you raised it from 50,000 to 100,000 Berries. Now it's 200,000..."
*Bang!*
The bearded soldier slammed his palm down on the counter, his voice low with threat. "Boss, you need to get one thing straight. If it weren't for the Marines' protection, how could you run your business safely? Don't be ungrateful."
Uta tugged on Sephiroth's sleeve, pointing at the three soldiers. "They're so annoying!"
"Are they really Marines?" Iska frowned, turning to Sephiroth with confusion in her eyes.
To her, Marines were supposed to fight pirates and uphold justice. Even the rogue Marines back on Pollock Island, whose methods were extreme, never extorted civilians. The G5 unit's bad reputation mostly came from property damage during fights with pirates; their cruelty was secondary...
"They aren't Marines," Sephiroth said, smiling as he patted Iska's head. "They're just trash."
The trio hadn't bothered to lower their voices. The soldiers heard every word.
The bearded one turned, his expression fierce. "Hey! Kid, what did you just say? Apologize to your daddy right now, or you're dead!"
"You scum! Repent properly!"
Hearing someone curse Sephiroth like that, Perona—clutching her small bear plushie—looked indignant. She waved a hand, sending a white Negative Hollow straight through the bearded soldier.
*Plop.*
"I am just a maggot..." The soldier's face went ashen. He slumped to his knees, despair washing over him as he questioned his entire life.
*Gulp. Gulp.*
The other two soldiers stared in horror. "Wh-what was that? A ghost?"
"It... it has to be a Devil Fruit power, right?"
"Run!"
They hauled their kneeling comrade off the floor and bolted from the restaurant.
The Boss watched them go and sighed. "Listen, you four, you should leave. Now. They won't let this slide..."
"Don't worry, Boss. It's no big deal. I can handle it." Sephiroth leaned forward, curious. "But tell me about this security fee."
"Ah... It started six years ago. The Navy's 16th Branch, under Colonel Carterman, began collecting 50,000 Berries each month from shops like mine. We hated it, but with their power... what choice did we have? Then, over three months ago, Colonel Carterman died in battle. Major Mouse took over the collections. One bad apple leaves, and an even worse one rolls in... When will it ever end?"
"I see." Sephiroth nodded. He led the three girls to an empty table, sat down, and picked up a menu.
Seeing that Sephiroth refused to leave, the Boss simply stopped trying to persuade him and could only silently mourn for him in his heart.