Chapter 66: A Certain Departed Friend.
Sandi leaned back against his chair, propping his feet up on the desk, continuously pondering the various factions listed in the docunts that were present in Loguetown at the ti.
He was one of the Family’s seven chief managers for the first half of the Grand Line, responsible for affairs along the sea route beginning from Cactus Island.
Furthermore, he was the head among these seven; for most matters in the first half of the Grand Line, he could make decisions directly before reporting upwards.
About a month ago, a small outpost in the East Blue had been raided. They were naturally aware of this incident.
The Family’s style had always been to avenge every wrong, no matter how small. They would certainly send people for retribution, but they hadn’t paid it too much attention initially – after all, it was only the East Blue, the weakest of the seas.
However, what they hadn’t expected was that the subordinates sent couldn’t even figure out who the perpetrators were!
This caught Sandi’s attention. He was confident his intellect far surpassed most people’s.
Even among the executives within the Family, he believed only Vergo could possibly compare.
He dispatched a large number of additional personnel, investigating indirectly from the sidelines. Eventually, they discovered that a batch of munitions had flowed into the black market around that ti.
Tracing it back, they confird the weapons were indeed of their manufacture. After making inquiries in Loguetown’s black market for a while, they learned it was a blond man who had sold them.
Without a photograph, relying solely on verbal descriptions left things sowhat vague.
He then obtained intelligence from the local Marine base regarding the various factions passing through Loguetown during that period, ultimately narrowing down the suspects to a few individuals with similar physical characteristics.
Among them, the pri suspect was the man in the photo he held – the Straw Hat crew’s logistics mber, Reiner. Initially, Sandi had been almost 100% certain.
When he saw their pirate flag at the port earlier, he imdiately made the connection and also spotted the blond man with glasses among the group – clearly the person he suspected.
But now, he refuted his own speculation, recalling the scene at the port, the blond man’s deanor.
"Weak. Far too weak."
Sandi, disguised as the Guard Captain, rubbed the point between his eyebrows. The person in charge of the Loguetown outpost was Kruk.
His strength? h~~
Not strong in Sandi’s eyes, but back in the East Blue, very few could actually defeat him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to establish a base right under Smoker’s nose.
Being able to defeat Kruk indicated the opponent had so strength. But based on his observations of Reiner at the port...
The man seed outrageously weak!
Whether soone possesses combat skill can be discerned through details. Even experienced fighters exhibit subtle differences from ordinary people in their bearing and movents.
Clearly, in his judgnt, the man nad Reiner was exceptionally weak!
One look told him this was soone who didn’t understand combat. How could soone with such weakness possibly defeat Kruk?
Ai... If only my Observation Haki still worked.
Thinking this, Sandi couldn’t help but sigh. He opened a drawer and took out a box.
He pulled out a short cigarette from inside, placed it between his lips, lit it, and took a fierce drag, finishing it down to the filter in a single puff.
"Cough cough cough!"
Sandi coughed heavily several tis, then leaned back in his chair with an expression of blissful enjoynt, slowly exhaling white smoke from his mouth and nose.
Within the town, Reiner and the crew walked along the bustling main street, arriving before a castle-like building that occupied a huge area, flashing with neon lights.
"Whoa! Looks so fancy!"
"This isn’t just an entertainnt venue anymore, it’s a castle!"
"Must be super expensive here!"
Before them stood the most famous entertainnt complex in the Holled Kingdom, integrating dining, lodging, entertainnt, and gambling – the [Feiwen Grand Hotel].
"Even more exaggerated than Old Sand’s casino in Rainbase," Reiner couldn’t help but comnt.
"Rain Dinners was actually built in imitation of this place," Nico Robin explained, then added with a light chuckle, "You didn’t get a chance to visit Rainbase back in Alabasta, right? You can have so fun here instead."
"But the prices here must be really high," Nami couldn’t help but chi in. When it ca to spending money, she imdiately beca sensitive.
Reiner saw his chance. Isn’t this the perfect opportunity to show off?
He patted Nami’s shoulder, then patted the suitcase he carried. "Everyone relax! We’ve got plenty of money! Let’s go inside and get so rooms first. I’ll give everyone pocket money later."
Hearing this, Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper imdiately got excited, grabbing Reiner and tossing him into the air.
"Hooray for Reiner!"
"Hooray!"
"Hooray!"
"Honestly," Nami sighed helplessly. But seeing everyone else so excited, she didn’t want to be a spoilsport.
"Oh well. We have plenty of funds anyway. Relaxing once in a while is good too."
Thinking this, the corners of Nami’s lips curved upwards. She linked arms with Robin beside her. "Heehee, let’s go clothes shopping later, Robin."
Nami was usually quite frugal herself. She would go try on clothes at high-end stores...
...and then buy nothing.
It was all about getting the thrill. Then she’d turn around and hunt for bargains in cheaper clothing stores.
But things were different now. Reiner had tons of money, plus with his ’charity’ Cards gas, he gave out perks to everyone from ti to ti.
Nami too would occasionally pick out so nice clothes, like the sable fur coat she and Vivi bought back on Drum Island.
She had barely worn it a few tis, treasuring it like a sacred object in her wardrobe.
"Okay. There are quite a few shopping streets here too."
Robin agreed with a smile, glancing at Reiner being continuously tossed into the air. "Mr. Logistics is quite generous."
"Tch! That guy just wastes money!" Nami pouted discontentedly.
Soon, the group walked into the Feiwen Grand Hotel, past two rows of welcoming ladies at the entrance, and straight towards the main front desk.
After booking several rooms, Reiner headed upstairs. According to the hotel staff, the second floor housed the casino, the third floor was the restaurant, and the floors above held various other entertainnt facilities.
Their rooms, however, were on the eighth floor. A staff mber led them directly to a small door in a side corner.
He pressed sothing on the wall, and the door imdiately slid open to both sides, revealing a small space inside.
Luffy thought it was so kind of secret chanism and yelled excitedly.
The staff mber gave them a strange look, inwardly sneering with contempt.
Another group of country bumpkins who haven’t even seen an elevator. He had seen far too many people like this.
This world is truly strange, Reiner thought. So places have technology advanced enough to shoot lasers, while others are backward like primitive societies.
Reiner saw the staff mber’s expression clearly but didn’t care.
Quite peculiar. Doing a job serving others, yet looking down on those being served.
Nami, standing nearby, was about to explode with anger. They had spent so much money, hadn’t even done anything yet upon entering, and already had to endure scornful looks.
So what if it’s a crappy elevator!? What’s the big deal!? (Though she admitted she had never actually seen one before).
The atmosphere in the elevator was awkward. Shortly after, the staff mber led the group upstairs and showed them to their rooms.
"Wait a mont."
Just as the staff mber was about to leave, Reiner called out to him. He took out his wallet, pinched a single coin between two fingers – face value a whole—
—20 Beri!!
He gently placed it into the breast pocket of the staff mber’s uniform, patted his shoulder gently, and smiled warmly. "A tip for you. Say thank you."
"You!— !— This!"
The staff mber instantly turned beet red. 20 Beri!? Who are you insulting!?
However, he dared to be angry but dared not speak out. Gritting his teeth, he forced out a few words with extre reluctance:
"Th-thank you, sir."
This scene made the others stifle their laughter, covering their mouths. They had been quite displeased by his earlier disdain.
Luffy, being thick-nerved, never cared about such things, but that didn’t an the others felt the sa way.
"You’re welco," Reiner’s expression remained gentle until the staff mber departed, his face bright red.
"Pffft-hahaha~~"
"You’re too wicked, Reiner!" Usopp couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
"What kind of talk is that?" Reiner rolled his eyes.
It’s okay not to flaunt wealth.
But having money and still being looked down upon? That’s unacceptable. Makes the money uncomfortable in my pocket.
Inside the room, Reiner opened the suitcase and took out several stacks of Beri. "Two million Beri pocket money each for tonight. If it’s not enough, co get more."
"Wait, Reiner! That’s too much for them!" Nami quickly slapped Luffy’s outstretched hand away, planting her hands on her hips irritably.
"Including these ridiculously expensive rooms, that’s twenty million Beri gone in one night!"
"Emmm... you have a point." Hearing this, Reiner put down one stack of Beri. "Nami doesn’t want any. That saves two million."
The next second, Reiner paid the price for his provocation.
DUANG!!!
"Reiner, are you okay!?"
"Serves him right."
"Who told you to get carried away?"
Reiner shed two lines of regretful tears, lying face down on the floor with a large bump on his head. Watashi... got a little cocky after showing off...
In the end, Reiner still gave everyone two million Beri. For them, at this stage, it was already a huge sum.
Reiner, however, remained unconcerned. They hadn’t seen real wealth yet. Reiner hadn’t either. He had originally planned to fleece Old Sand for a huge amount back then.
A casino run by Crocodile definitely held a lot of cash. Even if most of his other ventures were hard to liquidate, the casino absolutely wouldn’t lack cash.
But!
Damn Smoker! Thinking back still made Reiner’s teeth itch with frustration. The dream of getting rich overnight vanished just like that.
After distributing the pocket money, the group split up. Nami and Robin prepared to go shopping.
"Right, Nami. If you see any later, help buy a few sets of clothes," Reiner called out to the two leaving.
His previous clothes felt a bit small recently. Since the girls were going shopping anyway, he might as well ask them to help.
Nami turned back and asked, "Any requirents?"
"Just my usual style is fine."
Nami thought for a mont, then suddenly realized sothing, asking puzzledly, "Speaking of which, it seems like your few sets of clothes are all the sa? I’ve never seen you change your style."
Most of the boys on the ship paid little attention to their appearance, except for Reiner and Sanji.
However, only Reiner consistently wore the sa outfit, never even changing the colors.
Sea-blue shirt paired with beige trousers. The occasional suit jacket was also beige. He did have a yellow tie, but they had never seen him use it.
"Well... just reminiscing about a certain departed friend," Reiner replied nonchalantly. Suddenly thinking of sothing, a strange smile appeared on his face. "Right, speaking of that, if you see any, could you help buy a pair of overalls?"
"Overalls?"
"Mm."
"Alright then," Nami gave him an odd look, feeling like he was planning sothing strange again. Without asking further, she turned and left with Robin.
The remaining guys ford a group, preparing to head downstairs to the casino to play.
Reiner was already eager. "Sanji! Let’s go quickly! Go play bunny— I an, go play a few hands!"
"Bunny girls, bunny girls~~"
(End of this Chapter)
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