Piracy was a high-risk profession. If pirates ran into other pirates, merchant ships, or the Marines, a fight would almost always be unavoidable.
After a battle, a ship would inevitably lose at least some of its people, more or less. That meant replenishing fresh blood was something every pirate crew had to do.
Because of that, on almost every island, there was a trade known as "middlemen."
They were responsible for introducing people who wanted to become pirates, but had no connections, to pirate crews. In return, they earned a referral fee.
At the same time, when pirates attacked, these middlemen would not be harmed. It could be considered a roundabout means of survival.
A tavern was the perfect place for that.
That was why most pirates would basically come to taverns to celebrate and recruit companions.
For example, two years later, when Fake Luffy's group first appeared, it was in a tavern somewhere in the Sabaody Archipelago.
Laffitte looked at the wanted posters the owner had taken out again and could not help curling his lip.
Basically, every time he came here to drink, this owner would try to persuade him.
Laffitte subconsciously glanced at the wanted poster in the owner's hand, then froze.
"Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands... Hey, owner, is this guy's bounty amount wrong? When did West Blue produce someone like this?"
Laffitte pointed at a wanted poster and spoke to the owner.
"Hm? Which one? Let me see..."
"I heard this guy attacked Mary Geoise, freed a large number of slaves, and nearly made the Celestial Dragons explode with rage. That's why he got such a high bounty. Oh, right, it seems his current bounty has already changed to six hundred million. Apparently, it was because he wiped out some army. What army was it again?"
"The Guard Army and the Army."
A calm voice rang out.
"Oh, right, the Guard—"
Before the owner could finish speaking, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
Aside from the owner, all the other people drinking in the tavern collapsed onto their tables one after another, completely unconscious.
"Hm?"
Laffitte immediately picked up his cane. He was the only person present who was still awake.
"Don't be nervous. I don't mean you any harm. Shall we sit down and talk?"
A figure instantly appeared in the seat beside him.
"It's you?!"
Laffitte's pupils suddenly shrank. The person who had appeared before him looked exactly the same as the photo on the wanted poster!
"You're Roy?"
Laffitte subconsciously tensed his body. When had this man actually come to West Blue?
"Mm, my name is indeed Roy. I think what that tavern owner said just now was quite right. The sea is a man's romance, so do you want to head out to sea with me?"
Roy poured himself a glass of rum and drank it down in one gulp.
"Are you recruiting me?"
"That's right. The tavern owner said you have excellent talent as a navigator. I think so too, so I want you to become my navigator."
"A navigator?"
Laffitte fell silent.
"You don't need to make a decision so quickly. After all, on one side is a pirate despised by everyone, and on the other is the glorious position of sheriff. You're only twenty-four. You're still young. Having concerns is perfectly normal.
"I won't be going out to sea that soon either. In about one or two years, I'll come find you again. When that time comes, I think you'll make the right choice.
"The next time I come, if you're willing to become my companion and set sail with me, then the thing inside this will be my welcome-aboard gift. But if you continue being your sheriff, then return the thing inside to me intact when the time comes."
After saying that, Roy disappeared directly.
He had arrived mysteriously, and he left just as mysteriously.
What an enigma of a man.
Laffitte's emotions still had not settled down.
After all, that had just been a major criminal with a bounty of six hundred million Beli. He had just met such a figure face to face, and the other party had even wanted to recruit him.
After sitting quietly for a long while, Laffitte looked at the group of people in the tavern who still showed no signs of waking up, then opened the wooden box.
"This is...?!"
Under Laffitte's shocked gaze, a fruit that had the color of crystal, covered in strange spiral patterns, and shaped like a peach, was quietly lying inside.
"A Devil Fruit!!"
These four words instantly surfaced in Laffitte's mind. He immediately closed the lid, first looking around and making sure there was nothing unusual before letting out a long breath.
Unlike in East Blue, where Devil Fruits had already become things of legend, in the eyes of people in West Blue with slightly broader knowledge and channels of information, the basic details about Devil Fruits were still known.
As for Laffitte, he had come here to drink many times before and had personally witnessed a conflict between two pirate crews. The captain of one pirate crew had been a Devil Fruit user and had displayed a strange ability.
The hair all over his body had suddenly grown rapidly, instantly strangling his opponent to death.
Afterward, Laffitte had also taken advantage of the bar owner's drunkenness several times to draw information out of him and learn the basics about Devil Fruits.
That owner had even said, while gloating, that at the time, after the pirate crew's captain ate that Devil Fruit, he had turned into a pitch-black wild boar with two tusks.
Although the owner had been joking around, Laffitte had seen envy in his eyes back then.
After all, that was a Devil Fruit—the secret treasure of the sea, a symbol of power!
Because of that, Laffitte's impression of Devil Fruits was extremely deep.
That was why, when he personally saw the thing inside the wooden box, he immediately realized that it was a Devil Fruit.
He had not expected the other party to value him this highly, giving him a Devil Fruit right away.
It had to be said: Laffitte was tempted.
Not only because of the Devil Fruit, but also because of how highly the other party valued him.
In a world like One Piece, where loyalty and companions carried great weight, this kind of trust undoubtedly struck people with tremendous force.
(End of Chapter)
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