At this stage, Ace was not yet the "Fire Fist" Ace with a 550 million Belly bounty. He had not yet been tempered by the vast ocean, nor had he even eaten the Flame-Flame Fruit. He was simply no match for Lucci—let alone Luffy, who had never once won a fight against Ace.
"Commodore Sean, what are you doing?"
"It's fine, Lucci knows his limits. Miss Makino, have you ever thought about changing careers?" Sitting at the bar, Sean waved his hand, smoothly shifting the topic.
"Eh? Changing careers?"
"Yes. We are short a cook at the 16th Branch, and I feel you'd be a perfect fit. Don't you think?"
"I can't possibly do that! I still have this bar to run!"
"That's a real shame. I was thinking that once Luffy and Ace begin their service at the 16th Branch, they would be thrilled to see you every time they eat," Sean said with a look of mock regret.
"Ace and Luffy... serving as Marines at the 16th Branch?" Makino smiled. "Commodore Sean, I don't think they would be willing..."
She knew Ace and Luffy far too well. The idea of these two willingly becoming Marines was practically impossible.
However...
"It doesn't matter what they want. What matters is that I've already decided!" Sean replied. "After all, old man Garp said that if I can get Ace and Luffy to join the Marines, he'll grant me any request, regardless of the methods I use."
Makino was stunned. Was Commodore Sean really this overbearing?
A moment later, Lucci arrived, carrying one boy in each hand. When Sean saw their faces, he nearly burst out laughing. Their original features were gone; they looked like two bloated pigs. It seemed Lucci had specifically targeted their faces during the struggle.
"Ace and Luffy, right? I am a colleague of your grandfather's. I've come to Foosha Village specifically at his request."
"As for why I'm here? From today on, you are sailors of my 16th Branch. Any objections?"
"@#$%^&!'()!"
Luffy let out a string of unintelligible sounds.
"Lucci, what did he say?"
"No idea."
"He said it's impossible for him to be a Marine—never in his life! He's the man who will become the Pirate King!" Makino translated with a smile.
"The Pirate King? Luffy, do you even know what pirates actually do?"
"@#￥!#￥%￥@#!"
"Sigh, what a pain." Sean reached out and grabbed Luffy's face, and a soft green light began to emanate.
Half a minute later, when Sean withdrew his hand, Luffy's swollen face had returned to normal. Lucci had been careful; though the boys looked miserable, their injuries were actually superficial. With Sean's healing power, treating them took almost no time at all.
"Alright, now you can speak. You think being a pirate means sailing on adventures, and the Pirate King is the freest person on the sea, right?"
'So that's how you understand pirates?' Sean thought. 'You think they're just adventurers? As for freedom... excessive freedom is always just a synonym for chaos.'
"Tell you what, let me introduce you to someone. This is Gin. His crew is one of the largest in the East Blue, with nearly a thousand pirates."
"That's amazing!" Luffy's eyes immediately sparkled. The largest crew in the East Blue with a thousand members? That sounded incredible.
"Gin, tell Luffy about the daily routine of a pirate."
"Daily routine? Killing, looting, kidnapping women... basically that," Gin replied bluntly.
"That's not right! Didn't I say pirates sail for adventure?" Luffy cried.
"Who's a 'proper' pirate that spends their time adventuring?" Gin retorted.
"I see. So Luffy has a major misconception about pirates," Sean added. "I don't know who fed him those ideas, but the 'pirate' he's talking about is just an adventurer. It has nothing to do with actual piracy. Burning, killing, and looting—that is what pirates do."
Sean and Gin went back and forth, casually dismantling Luffy's dream. Hearing this, Luffy was completely bewildered.
"Lies! You're both lying! Shanks wouldn't lie to me! I don't believe you!" He turned to his friend. "Ace, they're talking nonsense, right?"
Seeing Luffy like this, Sean shook his head. He was too deeply brainwashed. However, Sean didn't intend to convince Luffy instantly. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Ace.
"Ace, why do you want to be a pirate? Logically, you should hate pirates, shouldn't you? After all, your father..."
"You..." Ace froze. 'How does this man know about my parentage?'
Ignoring Ace's shocked expression, Sean continued. "There's a statistic you might not know. Since Roger started the Great Pirate Era, the number of pirates on the sea has increased more than tenfold. But the number of civilians murdered or persecuted by them has increased by dozens, even hundreds of times."
"So, do you think this Great Pirate Era is a good thing or a bad thing? Do you feel an obligation to correct this? And yet, you intend to become a pirate yourself, adding fuel to the fire and letting more innocents be consumed by the flames?"
"Is it because as long as the fire doesn't reach your own loved ones, it doesn't matter to you? How selfish. Just like Roger."
Ace fell silent. The words echoed in his mind. 'Just like Roger... Just like Roger!!!'
Seeing this, Sean sighed softly. He knew that saying this much was enough for today. He couldn't rush Ace and Luffy; he had to take it slow. Trying to force a total change in their mindset all at once would not only fail but could potentially cause a backlash.
"Lucci, put Seastone handcuffs on them and take them back to the warship. We set sail for the 16th Branch in half an hour."
"Yes, Commodore!"
"And if they cause a scene, just knock them unconscious before bringing them along."
"Understood!"
As the two boys were led out of the bar by Lucci, Makino's face clouded with worry. "Commodore Sean, will Ace and Luffy be alright?"
"Don't worry, they'll be fine. I'm just taking them back for some ideological education to straighten out their twisted thinking."
"I see..."
"Don't worry. But are you sure you don't want to reconsider my proposal?"
"You mean... working at the 16th Branch?"
"Exactly. You'd get to see Ace and Luffy every day. You wouldn't have to worry about them anymore, would you?"
"No, I think I'll pass. I've grown fond of my life here in Foosha Village."
After a moment of consideration, Makino shook her head and declined.
Sean felt a twinge of regret. She was such a wonderful cook; it was a shame he couldn't just recruit her. 'Sigh...'
"Alright then, I'll be heading out!"
"Okay! You're welcome back anytime!"
A moment later, the sound of the door closing echoed as Sean departed from the bar.
In truth, Makino was still quite worried about Ace and Luffy. When Sean had mentioned the position at the 16th Branch, she had been tempted. After all, it would allow her to look after the two of them up close—especially Luffy. It would give her a great deal of peace of mind.
However, she simply couldn't bring herself to leave Foosha Village, which is why she had ultimately refused.
Just then, the bar door swung open once again.
"Commodore Sean? Why are you back?"
"My apologies, Ms. Makino. I thought about it, and I realized that asking for someone's consent isn't really my style. I think it's time we returned to the original method."
"The original method?"
"Right. Just kidnapping you and taking you to the 16th Branch!"
In the next instant, Makino felt her feet leave the ground as Sean swept her up in his arms. He bolted toward the harbor of Foosha Village at an incredible speed.
'This is... actually kind of thrilling?'
For some reason, Makino didn't feel any panic. Instead, a strange thought began to bloom in her mind.