Berries

The group of people laying on the ground were people who had attempted to skip out on paying what was owed to Alyssia and any others who bet against Garp winning.

Each of them were watched over carefully after the bets had been placed so there would be no chance for them to think of pocketing the berries for themselves.

Some tried to disappear into the night with the berries only to be snatched up by Jester and those beneath him.

Besides there being one, two and three there were some that had come to admire and follow Jester so they had offered their aid to him during his time operating in the underworld.

Jester was juggling daggers in the air before catching them not too far away from Alyssia.

He would occasionally 'lose control' of one or two of them which landed close to the people opposite him which caused them to become more fearful.

Others were not so lucky when they were hit in the leg or arm with one of them.

His smile looked creepy to each of them as he continued to ask them. "I know we got what you carried away with you but you folks will always have some private stash hidden somewhere. Cough it up while I am asking nicely."

One among them who could not control themselves that well had argued back. "Who is asking nicely?! Pah! Let me go otherwise.. heh.. heh!"

He did not get to speak for too long before he suddenly cried out in pain. "Giyaaa!"

He looked down and saw a new wound appear on his body but there was no blade in his body.

He looked back up to see the bloodied dagger in the hands of Jester who still maintained a creepy smile. "Aagh.. mon.. monster.."

Others felt the same when faced with the unchanging expression on the face of Jester who inflicted pain on them.

Any hope of escaping was shattered the moment they were caught.

To add insult to injury, the dagger they had on their body when wounded was their only means of freeing themselves if they wanted to fight back.

The dagger disappeared before they could get their hands on it like magic then appeared back in the hands of Jester soaked in their blood.

They felt like they were being teased by a devil.

It was humiliating and brought to despair as they continued to suffer at his hands while the boss of their torturer watched on with a bored look on her face.

Their suffering continued until they gave up everything they had or could offer up even if it was some useful information they could use to pay for their lives and the forgiveness of Alyssia.

For a moment, Alyssia felt like a mob boss watching her subordinate teaching rival gangs a lesson on her behalf.

Once she got what she wanted, the people were spared from her wrath but it was not the end of their suffering.

They were given some first aid before being moved but they were not set free as they expected.

Morning came and many woke up to see several people tied up to different parts of the underworld black market streets.

They were gagged and tied up for some time before they were discovered while they were found with a message attached to them.

The message stated that they were guilty of several things including running away with the berries bet by many people.

They were spared from the wrath of Alyssia but that did not spare them from the others they had wronged.

It was a little later in the same day that Alyssia was sitting opposite a short blonde haired woman.

Stussy showed a charming smile as she complimented. "I applaud you on what you have done so far. You have really surprised me."

She was being genuine in her words and did feel surprised upon hearing the final result of the battle.

There was a loan taken out which became a large topic in the underworld related to the White Storm.

It was expected that the White Storm would soon be under new management after it got swallowed up after being used as collateral for the loan.

It was not expected to be paid back but it was done before the deadline came up or any possible timelines in the clauses that would cause the amount to be increased.

There were always underhanded clauses left in the contracts that could make people fall into higher debts to the debtor and the one Alyssia had signed was a very risky contract that let her bet a large amount of berries.

If she lost then it would not have been good for her and the White Storm.

Even if she won, there would still be opportunities for the debtor to make use of the clauses in the contract to raise the amount of berries paid back.

Alyssia had tracked down anyone that fled with her berries and anyone who tried to play some tricks in the back.

There were some people among those Jester captured who were told by the debtors to delay the payments or to disappear during the time that Alyssia would need to pay the berries back.

If she could not get back enough berries in time then it would be the debtors win.

Alyssia had paid off the loan quicker than they expected and had so much to spare for herself to the point that she could spend it on just about anything that she needed.

Stussy was surprised that Alyssia could defeat Garp and then encounter Blackbeard only to make him retreat with numerous losses.

She was then surprised that Alyssia was able to handle the following matters so cleanly and to help set an example to others in the underworld.

There were many that had become more wary of Alyssia after what she had done which resulted in a public lynching.

Alyssia even took the money of others as her own and proudly said that if they wanted it then they had to beat her first.

The unlucky people who bet and wanted their winnings from the people who attempted to flee with the berries had to fight Alyssia if they wanted their berries.

There were many that had heard that she just defeated Garp so any courage they had disappeared.

Alyssia continued to sip her tea and asked. "So what is the reason you called me here?"

Stussy smiled mysteriously. "You asked me to keep you informed about 'those' matters. There was something I thought you may find interesting."