Hatch was not having a good day. Not only was he being framed for something he barely participated in, but he also went and got trapped in this weird spooky ship. He never should have listened to that bitch. Oh god, where the heck is this spooky-ass ship going?!
Oh, sorry! Got too into character there. While Hank was panicking and engaging in douche-like panic in his mind Herbie slid the contract to him, which he treated as if it were some sort of explosive. While watching someone like Hank squirm around/plan might be entertaining to some of you, I am not really interested in it. Let's check in with Dud.
"That is a beautiful family," said Dud, sniffing as he watched a pair of Den Dens fuss over tiny Den Dens while an older and larger pair of Den Dens watch over them like grandparents watching their kids struggle with their grandchildren.
"Don't get used to it; they are like this only once or twice a year," said the Den-Den shop owner with a chuckle.
"So, how does this work exactly? The little ones don't have a dial or a transceiver. Do they grow one?" asked Dud curiously.
"Oh goodness, no, we have to break the shell and place them in one with the appropriate circuits."
"What!? Won't breaking the shell kill them?" asked Dud, alarmed.
"Not when they are this young and besides wild Den Den loose their shells all the time."
"There are WILD DEN DEN?!"
Suffice to say he is having fun. Now, I had this whole thing where he accidentally scares the shit out of Hank. No, that can't be right; that's the shipwright. HATCH! He accidentally scares the shit out of Hatch, and Hatch, using his charisma and social grace, befriends Dud, and they go to a specific island way off course, and... well, let's see what happens, shall we? Sinister Laugh.
"You were right; this is the best food I have ever had. Too bad none of the chefs wanted to join me." Dud said wistfully as they returned to the ship.
"We can alw..." Hatch started to say, and Dud got to watch in adrenaline-powered slow motion as a bullet obliterated Hatch's head.
Dud stood there frozen in shock as Hatch's headless body was thrown back by the force of the bullet. Dud was broken out of his shock/stupor by the sound of a gunshot echoing in his ear and SC slicing a bullet out of the air.
Dud looked around, and another shot gave the position of the sniper away. Dud quickly opened a portal to the approximate location and stepped in to spot the sniper running away. Dud gave chase with the sniper disappearing around buildings and Dud opening portals to catch up despite being faster than the sniper assassin.
Dud opened a portal just as the assassin turned into an alley and stepped into it to find the assassin rushing towards him, confusing Dud. The assassin juked Dud and jumped through the closing portal, escaping Dud, who cursed and started chasing him again.
The chase and close calls continued for a few minutes and finally stopped with the assassin collapsing from exhaustion and breathing hard. Dud realized then and there that despite all the advantages he had, he had no experience in using his powers. He could have opened a portal in front of the assassin, letting him run towards his fists, and a million other things he could have done.
"What *huff* the hell *huff* are you?" asked the assassin, breaking Dud out of introspection.
"Someone you tried to kill, and night night," said Dud as SC knocked him out.
Dud then opened a portal to Herbie and secured the assassin in the brig, but not before searching and relieving him of weapons. Dud then contemplated for a bit and then sighed; he was not really close to Hatch, and letting that bounty money go to waste did not sit right with him. So with a dejected sigh, Dud collected Hatch's remains and headed to the nearest Marine branch, which was on a new island.
The assassin woke up after a few minutes to find himself inside an iron cage, which was empty except for a toilet. He wasn't restrained, but that wasn't really a concern as the monster of a man was sitting on a stool outside his cell looking at him.
"Why did you attack me?" asked curiously.
"You were buddy buddy with my target, which meant you would have chased me," said the assassin as he sat upright.
"So you figured you would save yourself the trouble and kill me as well?" asked Dud.
The assassin simply nodded.
"That's it and nothing else?" asked Dud to confirm, and the assassin nodded.
"Sign this and speak up, please." Dud said as he handed the assassin the truth-speak contract with a pencil.
The assassin read the contract with a raised eyebrow and signed the contract with a shrug and tried to hand it back, but Dud made no move to take it.
"Tell me the reason you tried to kill me," Dud asked again.
"I tried to kill you because leaving you alive might have become troublesome."
Dud nodded and asked, "Did you know me or of me before you killed Hatch?"
"No, I did not." The assassin found himself surprised by his own answer; he meant to say something sarcastic.
"If I let you out of the brig, you are going to run, aren't you?"
"Yes," again the assassin seemed surprised by his own answer.
"Well too bad, we are in the middle of the sea and heading towards Capes Island to turn in Hatch's bounty," said Dud as he left.
The assassin was pondering on his change in diction when his attention shifted to the contract still in his hand, and he read through it again. It basically forced whoever had signed it to answer clearly and truthfully without sarcasm, rhetoric, leading statements, half-truths, or any other kinds of manipulative speech as long as they were onboard Herbie, which was probably the ship.
The assassin realized that either the contract itself or that man had the power to enforce its terms and felt dread pool in his heart; he was about to tear it apart but stopped as his mind thought about the various ways it could go wrong. He chose to wait for Dud to return to discuss his terms of release.
He did not have to wait long before Dud came back carrying two large plates filled with food.
"Are you trying to feed a sea king?" The assassin could not help himself from asking.
Dud stopped and blinked. "I usually eat this much?" lifting a plate with confusion. "And I wanted to clear the air between us. So..." Dud said, lifting the other plate.
"I can't possibly eat that much!" The assassin said, standing up and pointing to himself. He barely came up to Dud's lower pecs.
"Oh! Don't worry; I have another plate," said Dud as he vanished one plate into his inventory and summoned an empty plate to place the assassin's share of food.
The assassin stared blankly at him and reality bending, and he was sure the not destroying the contract had been the right choice. Dud handed him a much reasonable portion of food and sat on the stool with the remaining food.
"I am Dudda Shaughnessy, but you can call me Dud. What is your name?" "Dud?" asked the assassin as he sat down with his food, not that he was going to eat it just yet.
"I am Fredric V. Grain." Fred replied as he watched Dud start eating.
"Are you a bounty hunter?" asked Dud.
"Yes." Fredric replied not wanting to talk much.
"Okay," Dud said to himself as he took a deep breath.
"I am looking for an island called 'Laugh Tale.' It is somewhere in the New World, and I want you to join me."
"What if I refuse?" Fredric asked.
"I drop you off in Capes with Hatch's remains and your stuff while I continue my journey alone." Dud answered with a shrug.
"Why?" he asked.
"Honestly? I am on this journey, and you made me realize that for all my power, I am grossly inexperienced. If the Grand Line is even half as dangerous as I have heard, then I will die. You look and sound like a person with lots of experience sailing and dealing with people, and I need someone to watch over the ship." Dud explained himself earnestly.
They spent the next few minutes in silence as Fredric contemplated his answer and Dud ate.
"If, and this is a massive IF, I were to join, what is it going to look like for me?" Fredric asked.
Dud grinned. "First off, you are going to be receiving 90,000 berries per month, along with access to all the features in Herbie and other benefits that I will reveal after you sign a non-disclosure agreement. You are also going to get a cut of any bounty I turn in and a share of any treasure found."
Fredric looked at Dud like he was an idiot. "...You really don't have any experience in managing a ship, much less a crew, do you?"
"Was it little?" asked Dud worriedly.
"It is too much! 90,000 berries is the salary of a Marine captain and enough to hire a galleon for a month! What are you made of money?" he demanded.
"Something like that." Dud said softly with a smile. "So will you join me?" asked Dud with confidence.
"Yeah sure." Fredric said as he took his first bite.
"Great! Now lets go the gallery where you can sit on a proper table and we can continue our talk!" Dud said excitedly as he unlocked the door and walked away.
Fredric followed him and looked around, and questions started to pile up in his mind. They sat at the table, and Fredric ate his dinner as Dud drafted a detailed crewmate contract. He had meant to do the same with Hatch but had settled for an NDA.
"Here, read through this and see if it is agreeable with you," said Dud, giving Fredric the contract.
Fredric read through the contract; it was a basic one about not sharing the crew's secrets, keeping each other safe, and supporting one another in their goals as long as they don't interfere with their own and other things that outlined basic responsibilities, one of which stood out.
"Who is Vorstin?" asked Fredric.
"Some one very important to this ship. You will meet her after you sign the contract." said Dud.
"We need to go back to collect my gear," said Fredric as he signed the contract.
Dud grinned hard and gave Fredric a tour of Herbie and introduced him to Vorstin.
"I want a raise." Fredric demanded and was answered with a honk and a laugh.