"well, Elizabeth Jones, it's a pleasure to meet you, officially I mean," I said with a small smile painted on my lips.
"and it just so happens that I might have the solution to your dilemma," I stated as I dramatically spread my arms to the sides with an even wider smile.
"oh, and what would that solution be?" she replied with a question as she smiled with a raised eyebrow at my theatrics. "you only need to join my crew. I'll slaughter everyone and anyone trying to harm my companions," I answered without even a shred of doubt about my answer, as if it was not a mere fact but a truth of the universe.
"and why would you want me in your crew? Because you pity me? Or is it just because I look pretty," she asked with a calm voice, but I could feel the anger hidden in her words.
"nothing like that, I promise you. I've seen the way you shoot, and I'm very impressed. I believe you have both the potential and the heart required to reach that potential," I answered her placating tone in my voice as I stated my reasons for inviting her.
"you may not be that strong right now, but with the training and knowledge we can provide for you, I'm sure you'll be strong enough in no time," I continued my explanation, and she seemed to have calmed down by the time it was over.
"in the first place, what kind of crew do you have? Bounty hunters act alone and only cooperate with others occasionally," she asked in suspicion, but there was no longer any anger in her words, so I took that as a win.
"we're working as bounty hunters to gather enough money for a ship. We'll raise a pirate flag and inter the grand line once we have a ship and a complete crew," I stated in a clear tone with no deception as she would find out eventually if she joined.
"how many members do you have now? And how money have you gathered?" Elizabeth asked, as she seemed to contemplate my offer.
"We currently have three members in our crew, me the captain, Wilson my first mate, and Laffite, our navigator. We don't have a proper doctor for now, but I can take care of most injuries, as you can see." I said as I pointed at the bandages covering her mid-torso.
"We've gathered five and a half million bellies for now, and most of it came from claiming one bounty. Sam Bass, to be more precise. Add to that whatever is inside that safe." I said, then paused as I looked at the safe loaded into one carriage.
Elizabeth didn't answer as she closed her eyes in contemplation, and I let her think about it as much as she wants. This is a life-changing decision, after all.
"I agree with your offer, tiger. You saved my life after all, and I really wouldn't know what to do with myself after I got my revenge," she said with a smile as she stood up and offered me her hand for a handshake.
"you've made a wise decision, Elizabeth Jones. a decision that you will not regret in the future." I stood up with a smile of my own and shook her offered hand.
"Elly, call me Elly. Elizabeth is too big a mouthful to say every time you call me," she said with a smile still on her face as she let go of my hand, and I merely nodded.
"Now, let's open this safe and see how much money Francis brought to us," I said and walked to the safe.
I spent several seconds examining the safe's lock and then just slashed with a shrug of my shoulders as I muttered, "Zekkū (Absolute Void)" and watched as it broke and fell to the ground.
I spent several minutes counting the belly notes inside the safe and concluded that it amounted to a grand sum of four million bellies, which I stuffed into my backpack, of course.
"We need to cover our tracks, and then we can leave. We should first inform that butler of yours, bob I think you called him about you leaving, and you can bid him farewell while we're at it." I said as I began to pile the bodies of the dead gangsters.
"bob will be coming with me. I can't just leave him here after all we've been through together," she said in a resolute tone as she watched me go about piling bodies.
"sigh, look, Elly, I get he means a lot to you, but the sea is no place for a mere butler, he could become a liability, or even worse, he could die," I said in a grave tone while shaking my head without stopping my work.
"bob is no mere butler, I assure you. He can take care of himself and others if need be. Besides, you seem to be lacking a cook in your crew, and he's an excellent one." She said with a serious face and then continues. "Dad found him stranded in the sea and saved his life before I was even born. So he should have some knowledge about sailing too," she concluded with a confident smile after pleading her case.
"well, I guess I could meet him and then see what happens. Where is he anyway?" I asked as I finished stacking the bodies.
"he's at the capital right now gathering information for me," she answered as she looked curiously at me while I rummaged through the gangsters' bags and take out some bombs.
"that's rather convenient. We were heading there before our trip was interrupted anyway," I said in a leisurely tone as I placed the bombs on the battlefield. "Which reminds me, what's the deal with that brown-haired guy, anyway? I asked as I finally remembered his existence after seeing his corpse in the corner of my vision.
"He was a bounty hunter. He had an excellent reputation, so I bought his services to help me go after Francis, but he seemed to be in the Nitti family's pocket from the start," she said with a sigh as she looked at his corpse.
"It doesn't matter now, I guess. Come, it's time to move," I said as I walked away from the battlefield with Elly right behind me.
Once we were at a safe distance, I raised my left arm and shot an explosive arm projectile that hit one bomb, starting a chain explosion decimating the place, and erasing any evidence that we might've been here.