With what seemed to be a threat closing in on Dante in the form of a Marine Admiral, our protagonist did what he does best. He looted the still warm body of the dead noble in hopes of getting his hands on enough money to pay off Two Toes to get at least a smidgen of an idea what the fuck was going on in this world.
As if the casual nature of slavery in these parts didn't already set off warning flags that something was very, very wrong here, the fact that he's pretty sure he saw a group of people being corralled into an auction house in broad daylight with no questions asked suggests that something is indeed, truly quite wrong here, as he suspected.
The only thing on the Nobles corpse was Berries, which looked to be in currency form. As much as it pains him to admit, he's glad the currency at least somewhat resembles regular human money.
Entirely ignorant of the horrified looks of those around him, Dante summoned the Cavliere and drove his way back to the Golden Goose, eager to reacquaint himself with his good friend Jilky, hopefully before the Admiral arrived given that he may lose contact after.
Shady information brokers aren't the type to stick around and involve themselves with the government, let alone the Marines with their shoot-on-sight-if-possible-pirate policy, at least thats what Dante would assume given the gray line brokers stand on.
By the time the Cavaliere had spun down, having arrived at the Golden Goose, Dante was surprised at the lack of Marine response given how everyone else made it seem as though he was in for supreme pain. He wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, and swiftly kicked the door open, only to find an entirely empty bar.
"Uh, Two Toes? This ain't exactly what I would call blooming business. The hell happened here, place was teeming a few minutes ago."
If possible, the look on Jilky's face would have killed Dante, right then and there, as it seemed as though his hatred for the son of Sparda knew no bounds. Dante, entirely ignorant of Two Toes weighing the pros and cons of trying to murder him, sat down at the bar and grabbed himself a drink.
"You happened, Dante. You happened. All I heard the last 5 minutes is talk about a 'Red Devil' having the balls to up and kill a Celestial Dragon. I have to admit, I'm impressed. You're both broke, and suicidal, and more importantly you're ruining my business all at the same time. A perfect trifecta of shit. Now, what do you want?"
"I have an assload of cash, and nothing to do with it. So, I'm gonna give it to you, and you're gonna tell me everything you know about this world. I don't care if its history, or if its your favourite flavour of banana, I want it all. Deal?"
Two Toes was hesitant initially upon hearing the terms of the deal, however his hesitance melted away upon seeing the stack of Berries Dante had placed on the counter.
"Dante, you might just be my new favourite customer." Dante looked around the bar, hoping to find anyone else in the building he could point out to pin with that title instead of himself. Finding nobody, he sighed and accepted his fate.
"I don't mean to insult you, Two Toes but I am quite literally your only customer right now."
"Shut up and listen. You want a story? I'll give you a story. You ever hear about Gold Roger?"
And so Dante would sit, and be told the history of the world, at least some of it, blissfully unaware of the veritable pirate slaughter that was occurring outside of the Golden Goose due to the arrival of the Marine Admiral; with whom he was already quite well acquainted.
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"So you're telling me this guy gets everything a man could ever want in life, all in the palm of his hand, and just buries it and turns himself in? For what, some laughs? And now everyone and their grandma wants to go find it, and has been looking for 20 years? And some of these people are so powerful beyond measure that the Marines have literally declared them Emperors, and even employed some?"
"That is quite literally exactly what I just told you, Dante. Say, are you always this stupid or is does it just come and go?"
Dante rubbed his chin in utter disbelief, because no fucking way was it that simple. Seriously, Celestial Dragons and the World Government, Yonko and Shichibukai, Roger and Garp. It all seemed too easily categorised given Dante's expectations. Though, admittedly those expectations consisted of several differently coloured variations of Vergil trying to kill him the minute he woke up so he was bound to be pleasantly surprised no matter what.
"Well then, it was a pleasure doing business with you, old Jilky."
"Ain't nothing gonna be a pleasure for you, considering you've got the full force of the Marines on your ass right now. Hehe, good luck at Impel Down, asshole."
Dante shrugged, as if being hunted by a totalitarian government was just casual business for a man of his quality, then waved goodbye and promised Two Toes that he would be back soon.
Two Toes, in anguish that there could even be a smidgen of a possibility that he would see Dante again, slowly began to drink glass after glass of his finest Gold Goose Guinness.
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The first thing Dante was greeted with after exiting the bar was a fair bit more fire than he remembered there being when he initially entered. That, and the molten corpses of unfortunate pirates also had a certain decorative effect to it.
He decided it would be best to establish a level and scale of power the individuals of this world had, so he followed the trail of bodies and magma in a bid to enter his first 'boss fight' so to speak. However, his excitement would soon be dissipated entirely.
After turning a corner and ignoring the smell of burning flesh, Dante came face to face with someone he didn't want to see again so soon, nor did he expect to.
"Ah! It's you! Lean mean Marine machine! What the hell are you doing here?" Dante answered his own question after looking at the oversized jacket the man wore, clearly labelled with 'ADMIRAL' in thick font.
"Ah, the Red Devil. I should've known you were scum the second you tried to board my ship, but to think you would go against Justice in such a manner, and kill an innocent Celestial Dragon? You must be stopped. Here and now." The Hawaiian shirt man, full of righteous fury in his 15 foot tall frame that put Shaq to shame, marched on Dante, his arms slowly morphing into magma.
Dante thankfully wasn't so ass backwards as to test whether it was real magma, and inwardly thanked Two Toes for explaining how Devil Fruits worked. The shady bastard had offered Dante one from his personal collection for the low low cost of 12 billion Berries, which Dante immediately denied due to the fear of dealing with such big quantities of cash.
"Quick question, before we start this whole epic battle thing. You got a name? I figure we should introduce ourselves before we fight to the death."
Midway through asking his question, Dante had been forced to dodge blast after blast of molten magma using Trickster, as his attacker wasn't much a fan of negotiation.
"I don't engage in conversation with such lowly creatures as pirates. But, I'll indulge you with the name of the man who will bring you to justice. Akainu. Now, perish."
His fist condensed into what seemed like missiles of pure magma, destructive beyond belief and explosive to boot. Dante, unwilling to even consider letting that hit him immediately blocked with Royal Guard, though his timing was off causing him to stagger slightly, before shifting, Tricking above the now named Akainu, lashing out with his trusty King Cerberus so as to compensate for the heat difference.
Dante was acutely aware that while this man may have special powers he still harboured a distinctly human aura, so he made sure to hold back. His first battle in the new world needed to be special, after all. Plus, he did after all want to see the power difference, and the unique abilities of those with Devil Fruits in this world. The possibilities were endless.
The freezing cold nunchakus collided with the molten man, and to his surprise did not phase through, instead turning the portion of the arm he had hastily blocked with into ice. Akainu, still shocked by the idea that someone had harmed him without Haki was too stunned to notice Dante summon his next weapon.
Pandora Form 13, a handy pocket rocket launcher, the blast staggers Akainu as he realises he's being harmed by this battle, only by then Dante has already summoned Beowulf and Tricked behind the man, unleashing a devastating series of 13 kicks that sends him into the air, oddly enough leaving him airborne for a second, his height rising with each hit.
Dante on the other hand couldn't be more gleeful if he tried. Turns out, combo logic trumps all. He's basically living the Devil May Cry games now, though with a fair few creative differences.
He jumps up to match Akainu's height and slams down onto him, swapping Beowulf for King Cerberus and swinging several times in the air with the frozen nunchakus.
Continuing his momentum, Dante summons the Rebellion and swings upwards, dragging both himself and Akainu into the air, only to slam him back down again, giving Dante ample opportunity to thrust his blade forward, Akainu being sent flying away from Dante, confused and in pain from the bruises and slashes he had taken during his brief fight with Dante.
"Man, this is fun. Hey, you mind being my test dummy? I gotta see how much Demonic Power stops Devil Fruits, you free right now? We can do this again later if you're working."
Akainu, stubborn as a dog, gets back up and begins advancing on Dante, who grins in excitement.
The battle continues, and Dante is having fun. Turns out not looking behind your shoulder for Vergil 24/7 does wonders for the soul, though he probably should've kept in that mindset, because watching him from just behind the corner of the Golden Goose was Vergil himself, eager to assess the level of power Dante had attained from this brave new world.