"..."
Jack and Barbossa stared at each other.
"It's just a wreck," Barbossa sneered. "I'll give it to you."
"That was my ship to begin with," Jack said, wiggling his pinky.
"Since you want it so badly, I'll reward it to you," Barbossa replied. "Anyway, the Boss already said the new ship being built is mine-"
They were about to start arguing again.
Morin stepped in immediately and cut them off, explaining their future arrangements and salary distribution.
Barbossa hadn't thought much of the thirty percent share at first.
Then he took a sip of the rum.
Learned it was just the most ordinary kind.
And recalled Morin's earlier displays.
His eyes lit up.
Not quite gold coins yet-but close.
He understood instantly what a global chain of taverns meant.
What thirty percent of that meant.
Barbossa wanted money. And a luxurious life.
Jack Sparrow wanted freedom, adventure, endless rum, and the fastest ship on the sea.
As for Turner...
He wanted Elizabeth.
And among the three, he was probably the one closest to getting what he wanted.
Morin was thinking this when he heard footsteps and looked toward the door.
A moment later, the tavern door opened.
Turner walked in.
With Elizabeth.
Morin: "..."
Good boy.
That was fast.
He brought her back already.
Come to think of it, Turner and Elizabeth really were a match made in heaven.
Both of them were people with "curses."
Quotation marks included.
Not officially confirmed-but close enough.
In the Pirates of the Caribbean series, everyone who kissed Elizabeth died once.
Everyone who used a rapier made by Turner also died once.
Perfect match.
Elsewhere-
"After something like this, I should go check on Elizabeth," Wetherby said to Norrington, who was organizing the cleanup. "She must be terrified."
"Sir, go ahead," Norrington nodded. "I'll handle things here."
"I'll leave it to you."
Wetherby took several soldiers and hurried back to his mansion.
Before he even arrived, he saw the door wide open.
His heart sank.
Even on normal days, the door wouldn't be open at this hour-let alone after a pirate attack.
Pirates had broken in.
"Elizabeth!"
Wetherby rushed inside, shouting her name.
Inside, there was only the butler's corpse.
And two familiar, charred pirate bodies.
No Elizabeth.
Wetherby nearly fainted.
Fortunately, Elizabeth had planned ahead.
She'd left a maid behind.
The trembling maid stammered through the explanation.
"Turner saved Elizabeth and took her to the tavern... for safety?" Wetherby repeated.
"Why didn't she come to us?"
"Miss Swann said... she didn't know if the city defense was still fighting... and didn't want to trouble you..." the maid repeated exactly what she'd been taught.
"...Let's go."
Wetherby couldn't refute it.
He immediately led his men to Morin's tavern.
He was grateful to Turner.
But gratitude wasn't reassurance.
He needed to see his daughter.
And it was late.
A man and a woman. Alone. In someone else's residence.
Oh god.
Wetherby quickened his pace.
Inside the tavern, Morin was holding what could loosely be called a strategy meeting.
All three core subordinates were present for the first time.
Elizabeth was there too.
With the passive skill: Kiss of Death.
Nothing complicated.
Morin had already figured out how to handle each of them.
Turner was the simplest.
He'd brought Elizabeth back.
That alone secured his loyalty.
The kind where he'd go east when told east and never ask why.
Turner had also realized that his ability to kill cursed pirates wasn't accidental.
It had something to do with Morin.
He didn't ask.
He remembered it.
And prepared to repay it with effort.
Jack was easy.
Rum and a ship solved everything.
Barbossa was even simpler.
Gold coins. And a ship.
That was it.
Morin's trio was complete.
"Tomorrow, we sail on the Black Pearl," Morin said. "We're heading to Isla de Muerta. Your curses need to be resolved."
"After that, when we return, the other ship should be nearly finished. You can decide who keeps the Pearl. Barbossa will begin expanding the taverns. Jack-you'll help me find things."
"Boss," Barbossa said carefully, "lifting the curse requires the blood of Bill Turner's descendant and the final gold coin."
He had no idea both were standing right beside him.
Elizabeth quietly tugged Turner's sleeve.
"Are they pirates?" she whispered.
"Yes... but it's fine," Turner whispered back. "The Boss is here. I'm here. Nothing will happen. And... they probably won't be pirates for long."
"But my father might come looking for me," Elizabeth whispered urgently. "He hates pirates."
The room fell quiet.
Jack and Barbossa stared at them.
"...What?" Turner asked.
"You're Bill Turner's son?" Barbossa asked.
"And your girl is the Governor's daughter?" Jack added.
"...Yes?" Turner replied.
"So you know your background?" Barbossa asked.
"A little," Turner said calmly. "But my father's actions aren't mine."
He took the gold coin from his chest.
"You want this. And my blood. Right?"
"...Yes," Barbossa nodded.
Strictly speaking-
They had a father-killing feud.
Which meant-
Two of his coworkers were technically his mortal enemies.
Barbossa suddenly felt his future looked grim.
Morin noticed.
He didn't mention that Bill Turner wasn't dead-just enslaved on the Flying Dutchman.
They'd meet eventually.
Later, Wetherby arrived.
Morin didn't have Jack or Barbossa hide.
The meeting was awkward.
Everyone was a professional.
On the surface, they smiled, forgave, and moved on.
Morin didn't bother managing it.
Time would handle the rest.
The next day.
Supplies were prepared.
The tavern needed someone in charge.
Morin handed everything to Turner.
He wasn't bringing him along.
At this stage, only Turner could manage the tavern.
As for the blood-
Morin had Turner fill a bottle and placed it in storage.
The system space preserved it perfectly.
Living beings with independent consciousness were the only exception.
Then came the crew problem.
Morin could sail alone.
But that meant doing everything himself.
He'd developed a serious case of laziness.
If it wasn't cool-
He didn't do it.
So they needed crew.
Morin took Jack and Barbossa straight to the City Defense Fortress.
Jack and Barbossa: "!!!"
"Boss..." Barbossa whispered. "Aren't we supposed to recruit sailors?"
Being a pirate inside a naval fortress was a death wish.
Jack, meanwhile, was completely calm.
He'd once requisitioned a ship in front of the Navy.
This was nothing.
He wiggled his pinky and strutted in his signature S-walk.
Navy soldiers stared.
But when they noticed Jack and Barbossa following Morin half a step behind like subordinates, they hesitated.
Something felt wrong.
But no one dared question it.
Instead, they informed Norrington.
They didn't know that last night's "divine presence" had been Morin's doing.
Norrington had already instructed them-
Anything involving Morin: do not interfere. Report immediately.
"There are no trained sailors here anyway," Morin said calmly. "And training takes time. This is simpler."
Barbossa had done this before.
Jack would do anything if allowed.
No problem at all.
They reached the command center.
Norrington came out personally.
After hearing Morin's plan, he didn't object.
He was relieved.
Morin leaving so soon-and taking soldiers with him-made everything easier.
Boss Morin is a good person.
Norrington gathered the soldiers and let Jack and Barbossa choose.
They didn't hesitate.
What pirate wouldn't enjoy picking Royal Navy subordinates?
Jack suddenly heard a whisper.
"Hey."
He froze.
Then pretended not to hear and tried to walk away.
"Captain Jack Sparrow."
He turned black-faced.
Two familiar "Royal Navy elites."
The word captain worked instantly.
Jack wiggled over.
"What."
"Take us with you," one said eagerly.
Jack: "..."
Take two sailors who couldn't swim.
Feed the fish?
In the end, he took them anyway.
For entertainment.
They picked about twenty men.
Enough.
Norrington encouraged them and sent them off.
After they left, he sighed and rubbed his temples.
"How am I supposed to write this report..."
The voyage was uneventful.
Except for Jack and Barbossa fighting over the helm.
Eventually, they flipped a coin to decide the captain of the day.
The captain's cabin still belonged to Morin.
They lived with the crew.
They were satisfied.
After ten days-
They arrived at Isla de Muerta.
Leaving the soldiers aboard, Morin, Jack, and Barbossa took a small boat ashore.
They stopped before the stone chest filled with cursed gold.
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