Chapter 24 - Captain Oswol

Bob nodded his head in satisfaction as he looked at the five pirates before him. Today he was going to get a huge paycheck, he couldn't wait.

Combing the money he has left over from Vanthof and after he turned in these pirates, Bob would be able to purchase a new piece of equipment.

However, there was still the cost of renovating the building he brought from Bella. So Bob was thinking of waiting until the auction happened, then he'd get more funds.

He did not know if he wanted to wait or purchase his gear right away. He'd talk to Tim or Bella to see how much it would cost to renovate the building. Not much was needed, Bob just wanted to add a speakeasy to that place as well, but to do that he needed to build an extra room.

Business would happen in front and the organization activities would happen in the back.

The one thing Bob did like about his skill was that Grand Blessing would instantly heal any wound. Sadly it couldn't regrow limbs, which he tested on Stonehead Brian. The results were that Stonehead Brian stopped bleeding and skin grew over the open wound.

Bob patted Ron on the shoulder as he seemed kind of down.

"Cheer up man, you were using a weapon you weren't familiar with. At least you got some experience, that's all that matters."

Bob wasn't upset that Ron lost against the pirate lady, he felt it would happen when she was pushing him back.

Bob had to step in.

He was honestly thinking about making a deal with her. If she could beat both John and Ron he'd let her go free. That way the two of them could fight a devil fruit user and gain more experience.

But that was in the past, he couldn't change it now.

"Alright, you all did good today. Let's just round up these bodies and take them to the supply base to turn them in."

Bob said to his gang.

He also had the certificate that Vanthof gave him for Greybeards crew. Once that was turned in, he'd get the bounty for them as well. Except that money went to Ash.

"You heard the man, get the bodies."

John said to the 5 aspiring bounty hunters.

Bob didn't know if they were aspiring anymore, since they completed their first hunt. They just needed to go out by themselves and started hunting down other pirates. Bob was thinking about having John find a one million beli pirate for them to go after. Then they'd work their way up.

As they left 'The Center' Bob saw the crowd of pirates holding their weapons ready for a fight.

"You should all find a new occupation, we have your leaders. There is no where for you to go anymore!"

Bob moved to the side and let the pirates see the 5 bounty hunters carrying or dragging the pirates bodies. As the low end pirates saw their leaders in the hands of Bob's group they dropped their weapons and left.

Bob was not going to chase after them, they weren't worth anything.

"John, now that we captured these two pirate crews, how many are left? I know you went to the tavern earlier, you were bound to see some right?"

John thought about it for a moment.

"I saw two others, but there might be more around. None are worth more than 10 million though, so they are all small fish."

Bob nodded his head.

"Not bad, we'll be here for a while so let them take care of those pirates. It'll be good experience, you can go observe them. Eventually they'll need to go out into the world without you looking over their shoulders."

"I was thinking the same thing."

John agreed with Bob.

Bob looked over at Ron.

"As for you, start by recruiting 5 people in this town. I'll show you guys how to tail and observe others from afar. We need to get our intelligence section up and running on this island before we leave. We just need them to collect information and store it, like which pirate crew comes to this island, how much they are worth, where they are going. Also, if there are any auctions being hosted here and what items are for sale. Have them keep tabs on the marines here as well. I want to know it all."

Ron nodded his head.

Bob figured it would be hard for him to do it alone, so he was thinking of asking Jacob or one of his brothers to help Ron out. Maybe even ask Ash or Tim. Tim would be his most likely pick as he already had connections in town.

If Bob could hire them, then his intelligence operations here would run smoothly.

Bob and his gang arrived before the marine base here on the island. There were more marines stationed here than at Blacktown, probably due to this place being a supply base.

They needed more hands on deck to inventory the items.

Bob whistled to one of the marines guarding the gate.

"I'm here to turn in some pirates. One-eyed Fred and his gang as well as Stonehand Brian's crew."

The marine looked at the bodies the 5 bounty hunters were carrying. He got up close to make sure they were the wanted pirates before he nodded his head and raised his hand.

The gate to the base opened up.

"Go in, i'll get the Captain."

Bob and his gang stepped foot into the marine base. He could see some fresh recruits doing drills as well as practicing marching.

"Is this how it normally is?"

Bob asked John.

The base at Blacktown was nothing like this. The marines there weren't really training, they were just standing guard when Bob went to see Vanthof.

"Usually. See those young boys over there, the ones cleaning. Those are the lowest ranking, they aren't even considered marines yet. They have to attend class in the morning and after they just listen to everyone's orders. It's pretty tiring and boring, but its to weed out those who aren't fit to be a marine. After a few months of doing that they become a recruit and slowly work their way up the ladder. The ones standing guard are usually the pety officers, while the warrant officers and above oversea the base and files. Commanders are usually the ones who run the base, but they can easily be replaced by any sort of admiral. However, most admirals are stationed at sea in key locations, they are always moving."

John explained how the marines generally worked. He had the knowledge since he used to be one.

Bob listened and nodded his head.

He and John continued to converse for a few minutes before the guard came back with the captain.

The captain here was middle aged, but he was much more fit than Vanthof. He had a black beard and his black hair was pushed back. He wore black rimmed glasses.

"I heard you captured One-eyed Fred and Stonehand Brian, good job. I'm Captain Oswol, who are you?"

Captain Oswol had a deep voice.

"I'm Bob, and this is my group. We're all bounty hunters."

Captain Oswol looked over Bob's group. None of them seemed to really stand out. When he spotted John he squinted his eyes. That one seemed to have some potential.

"I understand, i'll need to look them over to make sure they are who you say they are."

Bob nodded and moved to the side letting Captain Oswol examine the bodies.

"I also have a certificate for the bounty of Greybeard and his crew. It's signed by base commander Vanthof."

Captain Oswol froze for a moment before he grabbed the certificate from Bob.

"Vanthof? Hmm, he's still a base commander? I thought he'd have moved up by now. Did they not have enough beli over there?"

Bob shook his head.

Bob did not want to say too much, as he'd have to impersonate Vanthof later. Now that he found out captain Oswol knew Vanthof Bob felt sweat flow down his back. He had to rethink things, he could not just leave here turn into Vanthof and be like hey I need some den-den mushi.

Bob needed to wait a few more days, come up with a reason why Vanthof would visit. Guess he'll have to give Dave a ring and have him visit Vanthof.

"Alright. You've done a good job. Haven't you guys ever thought about joining the marines?"

Captain Oswol asked.

"Nah, if we join the marines we'd be tied down to rules and regulations. Easier to go after pirates wanted by the government turn them in for some cash then live easy for a few years."

Bob replied.

"Well nothing I can say about that."

Captain Oswol turned around and told the guard the fetch Bob 430 million beli from the vault. The guard started sweating hard when he heard that amount. That was a lot of cash. Enough that a person wouldn't have to work for the rest of their life.

"Captain…. Wouldn't we need to contact an admiral first? That's a huge sum of money."

"There's no need, a supply ship will be coming here in a few days time. We'll get all of it back. If we don't hold our end of the deal with these pirate hunters, how will we be able to work with them again in the future?"

The guard nodded his head.

He did a salute and ran off.

Captain Oswol didn't say anything else as he went back inside the base.

Bob and his gang waited for twenty minutes before that guard from before came back with a small group of recruits. He handed the large sacks of beli over to Bob.

"You want to count it to make sure its all there?"

"No need. If i'm missing any, i'll be sure to return."

"Before that, I need to collect the bodies. How many are still alive?"

Bob pointed to the female pirate and Stonehand Brian.

"Just those two, the others put up more resistance."

The guard had the recruits collect the bodies. Bob had the 5 bounty hunters collect the cash.

He told them to put it on the ship, but he kept a bag for himself.

Ron and John were released for the day while Bob went to visit Bella and Tim.

It was still pretty early, but Bob knew that in a few hours the sun would be setting. So he quickly made his way back to the jewelry shop.

When he opened it he found Bella inside laying down on the counter. Tim was nowhere to be seen.

"Where'd Tim go?"

Bob asked.

Bella turned over and looked at Bob.

"Said he was hungry so he went to get us food. He should be back shortly. So, since you're back that means you realized going up against them wasn't worth it?"

Bella asked.

Bob grinned and sat the sack of money on the ground.

"Nope! I told you i'll handle it, and I meant it! Now, time for you to hold up your end of the deal."

"Fine! What do I have to do?"

"That's easy. First I need to get in contact with some construction workers, I need to do a little renovating here. After that, i'll need all the wanted posters that are posted on this island brought over here. Once that's done, we need to recruit some people to work here. When that's all finished, i'll explain the rest to you."

"Seems like you're putting me to work."

Bob nodded.

"Oh, and don't forget about those pretty ladies."

"You're the boss."

"Don't call me that, just call me Bob."