Hawkins was far more direct.
Without hesitation, he drew a tarot card from the ornate deck in his hand.
Under the dim light, the card seemed to carry an eerie glow. Its imagery contained the unmistakable symbols of The Tower and The Star—one representing collapse and upheaval, the other hope beyond destruction.
Hawkins raised his head.
His expression remained as emotionless as ever.
"Fate has already made its direction clear."
His voice was calm and certain.
"If we join the Eternal Divine Kingdom, our probability of survival is 87.5 percent."
He turned the card slightly between his fingers.
"If we refuse, or continue waiting without choosing a side, then our probability of complete destruction within the next three months exceeds 92 percent."
Hawkins lowered the card.
"So as far as I'm concerned, the choice is obvious."
Swart showed no surprise at how completely different the two captains were.
He merely smiled and stepped aside, gesturing toward the building behind him.
"In that case, Captains, please follow me."
"The terms of your contracts are identical to those signed by Captain Kid."
His tone remained courteous, but there was no mistaking the authority behind it.
"If neither of you has any objections, then once the registration and signing procedures are complete, you will formally become members of the Eternal Divine Kingdom."
Apoo and Hawkins both looked toward Swart's calm face.
They understood perfectly well what this meant.
The moment they had set foot on this land, the prestige attached to being one of the Supernovas had already begun to fade.
Out on the sea, they were captains who commanded their own crews and answered to no one.
Here?
They were newcomers.
They would obey the Divine Kingdom's rules, accept assignments, earn their standing, and build themselves back up from the beginning.
Whatever glory they had accumulated outside no longer guaranteed them anything.
...
Kid's decision to submit had been the first domino.
Once it fell, the consequences spread rapidly across the Grand Line.
Pirates who had previously remained undecided began reconsidering their positions.
The Supernovas were not the only ones.
Powerful fighters from smaller hidden factions, independent crews, mercenary organizations, and other forces that had once been content to wait and watch were suddenly asking themselves the same question.
Should they join the Eternal Divine Kingdom before it became too late?
The Divine Kingdom had not existed for very long.
Yet its expansion had already become almost impossible to stop.
It was swallowing territory, absorbing powerful fighters, defeating the World Government's forces, and steadily becoming the center around which the entire balance of the sea revolved.
Kid's submission had made one thing painfully clear.
If even someone as proud and belligerent as Eustass Kid had decided that joining was the smarter option, then perhaps everyone else needed to stop pretending there was unlimited time left to choose.
The balance of power across the sea was tilting toward the Eternal Divine Kingdom at an unprecedented speed.
...
Not long afterward, Swart stood in a reception hall holding two maps containing detailed mission information.
He handed one to Apoo and the other to Hawkins.
Apoo usually wore a mocking grin that suggested nothing in the world could make him take anything seriously.
But when the cold map landed in his hands, that grin finally cracked.
He weighed it in one hand, rubbing his fingers along the edge.
"Apapapapa~ We just got here and you're already putting us to work?"
His mouth twisted.
"Not exactly much freedom in—"
Swart calmly interrupted him.
"Captains, you should understand one thing."
His tone remained mild.
"The Eternal Divine Kingdom has always rewarded merit and punished failure clearly."
Apoo stopped talking.
Swart continued.
"Every mission carried out by a member of the Divine Kingdom is recorded and converted into merit."
"That merit has practical value."
He looked between them.
"Once you accumulate enough, it can be exchanged through the Divine Kingdom's treasury for resources and rewards."
Apoo's annoyance faded slightly.
Swart began listing examples.
"High-grade weapons and armor."
"Rare mineral resources."
"Advanced and lost technological blueprints."
"Specialized equipment."
"And, among other things…"
He paused.
"Devil Fruits."
Apoo's expression froze.
His ears practically perked up.
The lazy irritation disappeared from his face as his attention snapped completely onto Swart.
Hawkins remained outwardly calm, though even his fingers stopped moving across the tarot cards for a moment.
Swart watched their reactions before continuing.
"And for members who accumulate exceptional merit and make extraordinary contributions to the Divine Kingdom…"
His voice became more deliberate.
"His Majesty Ron has personally promised an even greater reward."
Apoo's eyes brightened immediately.
Swart delivered the final piece without changing his expression.
"The qualification to safely possess the power of a second Devil Fruit without suffering the usual fatal backlash."
Silence.
Apoo stared at him.
Then his voice shot up several octaves.
"WHAT?!"
He nearly screamed the next words.
"A SECOND DEVIL FRUIT?!"
...
The reluctance on Apoo's face vanished instantly.
In its place came naked greed and feverish excitement.
That greed burned in his eyes like flame, while the sheer thought of the reward made his entire body tremble.
He suddenly reached out and snatched the mission map from Swart's hands, gripping it so tightly that his knuckles turned white, as though he were afraid someone might steal it back.
"I'm in!"
Apoo's voice rang through the room.
"Scratchmen Apoo accepts the mission!"
He straightened his back and puffed out his chest with astonishing seriousness.
"For the glory of the Divine Kingdom, I'll do whatever it takes!"
"Even if there's a mountain of blades or a sea of fire waiting ahead, I won't take a single step back!"
The speed of his transformation was almost breathtaking.
Even Hawkins, who had been quietly observing everything from the side, turned his head and gave Apoo a rare look of surprise.
Only seconds ago, the man had been complaining about losing his freedom.
Now he looked ready to die for the Divine Kingdom.
Apoo immediately plastered an ingratiating smile across his face and strode toward Swart, repeatedly thumping himself on the chest.
"Lord Envoy, you can count on me!"
"From today onward, I belong to the Divine Kingdom in life and in death!"
"Every mission the Divine Kingdom gives me will be the most important mission of my life!"
"And anyone who makes an enemy of the Divine Kingdom is my sworn enemy too!"
Apoo's grin widened.
"I'll give it everything I've got and complete this assignment beautifully! I absolutely won't disappoint His Majesty Ron—or you!"
His entire demeanor had changed beyond recognition.
His eyes now burned with such fierce devotion that anyone who had not heard the previous conversation might have assumed Apoo had spent his entire life dreaming of dedicating himself to the Divine Kingdom.
His chest rose and fell rapidly as excitement poured through him.
He looked ready to charge straight into battle, spill every drop of blood in his body, and offer everything he possessed to the kingdom—
provided the reward at the end was good enough.
Hawkins, meanwhile, remained much calmer.
He carefully folded away his own mission map, his movements steady and deliberate.
Then his fingers resumed idly turning the tarot cards in his hand.
One card briefly revealed an image suggesting opportunity intertwined with danger.
Hawkins narrowed his eyes.
He glanced toward Apoo, who was already drowning in fantasies of future rewards, and quietly began calculating.
The probability of obtaining the power of a second Devil Fruit.
The amount of merit required.
The danger of the missions necessary to accumulate that merit.
The potential cost.
Every variable began fitting itself into the calculations running silently through Hawkins's mind.
Swart watched Apoo's exaggerated enthusiasm without the slightest surprise.
He merely nodded.
"Very good."
"I look forward to seeing how both of you perform."
"The full regulations governing the merit system have already been entered into your identity tags. You may review them whenever you wish."
The Eternal Divine Kingdom had found an exceptionally effective method of integrating powerful outsiders.
Rewards.
Real rewards.
Devil Fruits alone were enough to make countless pirates and fighters lose their minds.
But the possibility of safely possessing the power of a second Devil Fruit was something else entirely.
For any existing Devil Fruit user, it was an almost irresistible temptation.
Once rewards of that magnitude were placed within reach, personal schemes and lingering dissatisfaction naturally began losing importance.
In the end, all those thoughts tended to converge around one thing—
merit.
The more merit someone earned, the more resources they could obtain.
The greater their contribution, the higher they could rise within the Divine Kingdom's system.
In a world where strength determined survival, that incentive was brutally effective.
Swart straightened slightly, the same professional smile still resting calmly on his face.
Beside him, Apoo was already so excited that he looked moments away from dancing.
His eyes practically glowed as though those coveted rewards were already sitting in his hands.
Then Swart spoke again.
"Captain Apoo."
His voice was still courteous, but carried a clear warning.
"I would advise you to calm down."
Apoo immediately stopped.
"The rewards you're currently thinking about—particularly the qualification to safely possess the power of a second Devil Fruit—cannot simply be purchased from the treasury like an ordinary item."
Apoo's expression stiffened.
Hawkins's attention sharpened as well.
Swart's gaze moved between them.
"The reward catalogue published by the Divine Kingdom is completely genuine."
"Every listed item exists."
"That naturally includes Devil Fruits."
"Likewise, every member's merit is recorded through a strict and impartial system. Your contributions will not be falsified, reduced, or arbitrarily ignored."
He paused deliberately.
Both Apoo and Hawkins stared at him.
Then Swart continued.
"However, the matter is not that simple."
"The final qualification to possess the power of a second Devil Fruit…"
His tone became heavier.
"…is not decided by the merit ledger."
"It requires the personal approval of His Majesty Ron."