Chapter 2. Guilty
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Conomi Islands.
Cocoyasi Town Meeting Room.
As the most developed town in the Conomi Islands, this was a specially constructed meeting room in Cocoyasi Town, used exclusively for discussions on the Conomi Islands' development.
After briefly scanning the spacious and brightly lit room, Dante's gaze fell on the people seated around the conference table.
This was a temporary meeting, so not many had come—mostly villagers from Cocoyasi Town.
Ever since the base commander of the Loguetown branch… no, now he should be called the former base commander—
Not long ago, he had been promoted and transferred to Marine Headquarters with a raise.
Whether he would next be assigned to the Grand Line, the New World, or just stay at headquarters—Dante had no idea.
To be honest, after Captain Sean was reassigned, Dante still hadn't gotten used to it. Their collaboration had been quite smooth, after all.
It was unfortunate—just as he was preparing to make a big impact in the East Blue, his partner was gone. And as for who the next commander at the Loguetown branch would be, Dante already knew.
The Marines' genius Captain—Captain Smoker!
Even without knowing from the anime, just the intel at Marine Headquarters alone had made Dante very aware of this senior's reputation.
In any case, their covert cooperation with Loguetown would probably have to be put on hold for now.
That's right~
Dante.
He is a transmigrator and currently a Marine Captain assigned by Marine Headquarters.
Or more accurately, Captain Dante Shacher. Truthfully, when he first arrived in this world, he was completely confused—especially after discovering he had become a Marine. And because he had clashed with a Celestial Dragon's personal guard during his first mission, he was dragged to a tribunal. That only made him want to curse even more.
And you have to know that ever since the Egghead Incident, the Marines' so-called justice had become a joke. Garp's whole family had become clowns. The world itself was becoming a cesspool.
Even leaving all that aside—Whitebeard, Edward Newgate, had protected impoverished island nations without interfering in their lives, became a pirate, and even anonymously donated to his hometown. Pirates too broke to afford a drink were now ranked among the "Top 10 Most Moving People of the Sea."
Compared to the loudmouths constantly shouting about "justice," "absolute justice," or "justice that reigns over the world," he seemed far more righteous.
Sure, plenty of Marines at headquarters were likely still truly righteous, unaware of how filthy the World Government really was, just doing their best to protect peace on the seas.
But make no mistake—when the top rots, it doesn't matter what happens below.
Of course~
None of that really concerned Dante.
In the end, because the incident hadn't caused major damage, and thanks to Zephyr-sensei's protection, he was given a chance to be reassigned and became commander of the 16th Marine Branch in the East Blue.
Originally, he should have been dumped into the backwater Base 315, but after Captain Nezumi was dismissed for corruption and bribery, and with Captain Sean's recommendation, he became commander of the 16th Marine Branch instead.
As for former Captain Nezumi of the 16th Branch… he basically became a stepping stone for Captain Sean's promotion.
"...There haven't been any major incidents in Cocoyasi Town recently. The marmalade factory is running steadily too. But even with the factory on overtime, we still can't meet client demand." Cocoyasi Town Mayor—Nojiko—shook her head helplessly.
By all rights, as a young person in the village, she shouldn't have become mayor of Cocoyasi Town. But with Captain Dante's recommendation, she had firmly taken up the position.
Although she personally didn't care much about being mayor—as long as she could protect Bell-mère's orange grove, that was enough for her.
Still…
Looking at the man before her, Nojiko was filled with gratitude and admiration.
He had saved Cocoyasi Village. He had saved her sister, Nami. He had fulfilled Bell-mère's dream and led Cocoyasi Village to prosperity.
He could be called the savior of them all—a true benefactor to Cocoyasi Village.
And so, Nojiko always did her utmost to fulfill Captain Dante's assignments.
She sighed and said, "Although everyone followed your advice and expanded orange cultivation recently, we still can't increase yield in the short term. Also..."
With a tone of painful joy—
"Everyone's been working so hard lately, but even with the factory, Cocoyasi Town is still short on manpower everywhere!"
As her words fell—
The others around the conference table also nodded helplessly.
Though Cocoyasi Village could now be called a town, as a newly upgraded township, it still lacked fully developed infrastructure and population. Dante understood that well.
After listening to Mayor Nojiko's report, he nodded in approval. He was quite satisfied with her performance.
Since arriving in the East Blue, he had no intention of ever returning to Marine Headquarters.
Wearing the title of Marine Captain simply made things more convenient.
He didn't want to be a Marine, had no interest in becoming a pirate—so instead… he might as well become a warlord!
But alas, this world was just too dangerous—especially after the Egghead Incident… when the Five Elders even pulled out Tailed Beast Bombs. Just thinking about it was terrifying!
It just made people feel insecure!
Luckily, as a transmigrator, he had a cheat.
Dante looked at his cheat: A system called the [Transmigrator Alliance Performance Evaluation System].
That's right—he wasn't just any transmigrator. He was a licensed, insured, and company-dispatched transmigrator.
In simple terms, he had been sent to different worlds to meet various goals and performance targets—like rewriting storylines or promoting social development. If an accident occurred, the company would pay out a huge compensation. It was a very legit enterprise.
And yes, just as people might imagine, he had initially thought about faking his death for insurance and going home.
Alas...
Whether it was because too many people had tried to cheat the insurance recently or not, in order to prevent further fraud, the company's regulations had been significantly tightened. If anyone was found guilty of insurance fraud, they would face extremely harsh punishment.
After reading the Temporary Worker Travel Handbook and seeing all those tragic cases of insurance fraud being exposed, Dante harshly criticized those fraudsters and then righteously refused to fake a claim to go home, throwing himself into work instead.
Only weak transmigrators think about going home through insurance fraud!
Moreover, because there had been so many cases of fraud, the higher-ups issued a series of strict performance requirements to plug any remaining loopholes.
Only by meeting those targets and completing the job could one receive compensation after death and become a full-time employee.
And that became his cheat.
[Name: Dante Shacher]
[Occupation: Level-4 Senior Clerk]
[Performance Points: 1500]
[Note: When an employee reaches 10,000 points, they can be promoted to Level-3 Senior Clerk and receive one employee benefit.]
Each time he completed a task, he would earn performance points. Once he accumulated enough, he could get promoted and receive a raise after leaving this world.
And performance points… could be earned by altering the plot, promoting societal development, and so on!
Especially when it came to major events or changes in important characters—that earned even more points.
For example, the Cocoyasi Village incident… it directly promoted him from Level-2 Clerk to Level-1 Clerk, and after leading Cocoyasi Village to prosperity, he was promoted again to Level-4 Senior Clerk.
At this pace, promotion, raises, and reaching the peak of the transmigrator world were just around the corner.
As for that little bit of insurance compensation from faking a return home—he didn't care for it anymore.
After a moment of thought, Dante looked up at the woman beside him, who was elegantly taking notes.
Nico Robin.
Dressed in a white blouse and a Western-style fitted skirt, her long black hair was neatly tied into a bun at the back. From time to time, she would adjust her fashionable, decorative women's glasses.
The look gave her an air of refined intellect and made her appear sharp and capable—perfectly fitting her role as a warlord's personal secretary.
He had met Nico Robin even before the Cocoyasi Village incident. That was when he first arrived in the East Blue. At his invitation, she became his secret assistant.
Of course, the two of them were just professional collaborators.
Still, after inviting Nico Robin to join him, he was directly promoted from temporary staff to a Level-2 Clerk.
You could say Miss Robin had been a major performance milestone for him!
"Let's leave this matter to Mok."
Mok.
Captain of the Mok Pirates. Many things that were inconvenient for Dante to handle directly would be handed off to Mok.
Of course~
As a younger brother he had personally trained, Mok knew very well what he should and shouldn't do. Dante didn't have to worry about it.
Even if the world was a cesspool, Dante still had his own bottom line.
"Understood." Miss Robin gently brushed a strand of hair from her forehead, crossed her shapely legs, and nodded with a smile. "I'll inform Mok later!"
As a partner, Miss Robin was highly reliable. She knew what to do and what not to do, and she was extremely capable!
Seeing that everything was more or less settled, Dante turned back to the others, gave a simple summary of the meeting, and once again reiterated the development strategy for the Conomi Islands.
In short, it is… build high walls, stockpile food, and bide your time before becoming a King!
Develop in secret!
After getting everyone's responses, Dante nodded with satisfaction.
Everything was progressing steadily!
Just as he was about to announce the end of the meeting—
Suddenly.
"It's over! It's totally over!"
Nami rushed in, her usual cheerful face filled with panic. Under everyone's confused stares, she ran up to Dante. Before he could even ask—
She blurted out: "The Marine Headquarters Inspection Team is here! The branch just sent word that Dante has been found guilty of embezzlement, bribery, misappropriation of public funds, and collusion with pirates!"