Inside the warship, in the Commander's cabin.
Baccarat suppressed the urge to curse. Taking two deep breaths, she said through gritted teeth, "What exactly do you want?"
"Well~! That depends on your attitude."
Sephiroth sat on the bed, gently swirling the wine in his glass and taking a sip of the sherry. "If you are willing to obey obediently, you won't have to suffer by being locked in the basement..."
He was speaking threatening words, but his tone was casual, and it made her back cold.
Baccarat bit her lip, her expression shifting.
"I understand! I hope that afterwards, you can show great mercy and give me freedom..."
She placed the wine glass on the bedside table and, as if giving up, quickly unfastened her light armor.
First the leg guards, then the shoulder and chest armor, followed by the underlayer, bra, and panties...
Before long, Baccarat had undressed completely. She covered herself, burying her head in the sand, closing her legs and using her right arm to cover her chest.
"As long as it's not too excessive... I will cooperate obediently," Baccarat said, her voice trembling slightly.
"Hmm! It seems you are quite sensible! Knowing that when asking for something, you should reveal your fullness..." Sephiroth pretended to be surprised, then continued, "Since that's the case, I'll be frank! I've taken a liking to your Luck Fruit ability. How about working for me from now on? The treatment will be excellent!"
"Huh!?"
Baccarat was stunned for a moment; she couldn't quite react. Now, she really wanted to ask, is the work you're talking about legitimate...?
"Of course, if you don't agree, I will lock you in the underground laboratory and occasionally draw a few tubes of your blood for research experiments. Either of these two options I'm giving you should be much better than locking you up in Impel Down. Which one do you want to choose?" Sephiroth said with a smile.
He was very interested in Baccarat's Luck Fruit ability. From the beginning, he thought that if she was unwilling to submit, he would just lock her in the basement and slowly draw blood for research, to see if he could research a corresponding artificial Devil Fruit in the future, allowing himself to also possess the power to steal others' luck...
Of course, if she was willing to submit and honestly cooperate with his research, he would not be stingy and would directly give her corresponding power and status!
Baccarat sorted out her thoughts, recalling the young man's words carefully. She frowned and said, "Wait! Did you, from beginning to end, just want to recruit me to work for you...?"
"Otherwise!?"
"..."
"Of course, if you want to have a purely physical interaction, I don't mind, given your great figure."
"..."
Baccarat was ashamed and furious, grinding her teeth. Quickly grabbing the underwear and underlayer she'd just removed, she lifted the blanket and covered herself, pulling her clothes back on underneath.
Soon, Baccarat, now neatly dressed again, sat upright beside Sephiroth, having regained some composure.
Seeing that the fun was over, Sephiroth could only sigh, sipping the wine in his glass. "Actually, I still prefer the shy look you had just now. An older sister's figure and appearance, with a pure maiden's heart..."
"..."
Baccarat could only take deep breaths, trying to calm herself and avoid thinking about the fool she'd made of herself.
"You're a Marine, and I'm a pirate... Our positions are supposed to be opposed, right? Although my reputation isn't great, I have a bounty of 10 million Berries. You want a pirate like me to work for you... Is that really okay?"
"Oh! So you have a bounty of 10 million Berries! That's not a big problem. I'll just have Marineford cancel it for you directly..." Sephiroth said dismissively.
A bounty of that amount was no problem for him at all!
In the original plot, even Lieutenant Fullbody of Marineford could guarantee Zango and atone for his crimes by lowering his own rank, thus removing the wanted poster.
As a Marineford Vice Admiral, Sephiroth could naturally guarantee pirates within a certain bounty amount...
Of course, if the guaranteed pirate caused any major trouble in the future, he, as the guarantor, would also be held jointly responsible and might even be treated as if he committed the same crime!
This action was entrusting one's future and life to the uncertain character of a pirate. Unless they trusted the other party greatly, no Marine would easily do this.
However, given Sephiroth's current situation, even if held accountable, he would basically just be scolded a few harmless words by Sengoku and perhaps receive a symbolic demerit!
After all, if they truly fell out with him, Sengoku himself would be the one with a headache in the end...
Baccarat looked at Sephiroth. After confirming he didn't seem to be joking, she pondered for a moment before speaking.
"For a strong person like you, I believe the Marines will definitely give you face and cancel my wanted poster...
However, aside from the wanted poster, I myself actually have considerable trouble!"
"Oh!? What kind of trouble do you have? Tell me about it.
Perhaps I can help you solve it?" Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, saying with interest.
"Since you put it that way, there's no need for me to hide anything. I became a pirate out of necessity. I offended a very powerful organization. Its influence spans the Grand Line, and it's also very influential even in the Four Seas..."
"Oh? This organization sounds very powerful. What's its name? Tell me, let me weigh it..." Sephiroth said in a teasing tone.
In response, Baccarat put on a serious and earnest expression and said:
"The name of this behemoth, I believe you must be familiar with it, it is... the Umbrella Corporation!"
"Cough!... Cough! What did you say?"
Hearing this, Sephiroth, who had been tilting his head back and drinking, choked hard, and his expression instantly became a little strange.
Seeing this scene, Baccarat couldn't help but sigh softly. She mistakenly thought that Sephiroth was also wary of the vast power of the Umbrella Corporation.
Thus, she could only say in a slightly disappointed tone:
"If you don't want to offend the Umbrella Corporation, it's better not to recruit me to work for you..."
"Uh!? This..."
Sephiroth scratched his head and said tentatively:
"Can you tell me how you offended the Umbrella Corporation?"
"Actually, the cause of the matter is very simple... Two months ago, I accidentally ate the Luck Fruit and gained the ability to take others' luck for my own use. So, I went to the casino opened by the Umbrella Corporation in Spring Queen City and started making money using my ability. Because I kept winning, and it was the kind where it was hard to lose! Naturally, the casino thought I was cheating and wanted to arrest me. Although I didn't use conventional cheating methods, in a sense, using the fruit to cheat and increase my own luck was actually similar to cheating... Therefore, I didn't want to be arrested and interrogated by them, so I clashed with the casino staff and caused a commotion in the casino using my fruit ability. Later, people from the Umbrella Corporation started causing me trouble one after another, and I didn't show weakness and fought back... Back and forth like this, I directly offended the person in charge of the Umbrella Corporation on St. Poplar Island in Spring Queen City severely."
Sephiroth: "..."