Inside the living quarters. The dim light flickered against the oak panels.
Carina stood as stiff as a board. The backpack on her shoulders, stuffed with sixty million Berries, felt like it weighed a thousand tons.
She stared at the black-haired man lounging on the leather sofa. He was a mountain of muscle and cold intent, radiating a sense of oppression that made the very air feel heavy. Her instincts—honed by years of surviving the East Blue's deadliest back alleys—screamed at her. This wasn't some bumbling pirate captain she could distract with a wink. If she moved an inch toward the window, he would snap her neck before she hit the glass.
Gulp.
Carina swallowed her fear. In a heartbeat, her face shifted. The terror vanished, replaced by a dazzling, pitiful smile. Her eyes grew misty, and her voice turned soft and melodic.
"Oh, handsome Captain... this is all just a big misunderstanding."
She slid the heavy bag off her shoulders and onto the floor with practiced grace, raising her hands in a submissive gesture. "My name is Carina. I'm just a poor, wandering orphan. I saw this beautiful ship and couldn't help but come aboard to admire it. Since I'm clearly not welcome, I'll just be on my way..."
She began to inch toward the door, her hips swaying slightly in a classic femme fatale distraction.
"Don't waste your breath. Your heartbeat is already broadcasting your next three moves."
Ace's hands remained crossed over his knee. His dark eyes were locked onto hers, his voice as flat and cold as a tombstone. "Demonstrate your value. If your only tools are cheap lies and a pretty face, I'll throw you overboard right now. The sharks aren't as picky as I am."
The charm on Carina's face froze. Cold sweat beaded on her brow. She realized, with terrifying clarity, that he was dead serious.
"Wait! Just... wait!"
Carina gritted her teeth. The "Orphan" persona died instantly. She stood up straight, her eyes becoming sharp, calculating, and cold.
"I'm more than just a thief. I know how to launder dirty money. I have contacts in every underground black market in the East Blue. I can infiltrate any noble's court or pirate fortress to gut their secrets from the inside."
She stepped forward, pitching herself like a merchant selling a soul. "Your ship is expensive, but your security is a joke. You don't have anyone to manage your treasury or gather intelligence. You need a fox, Captain. And I'm the best one in this sea!"
A glimmer of satisfaction flashed in Ace's eyes. To calm down in a life-or-death situation, identify a "pain point," and offer a counter-deal—that was exactly the kind of professional he wanted for the Black Eclipse.
"Interesting," Ace said, standing up. He towered over her, his shadow swallowing her whole. "But why should I trust a thief whose only god is gold?"
Carina opened her mouth to provide a rehearsed oath, but her back hit the door panel. Before she could speak—
THUD.
The sound of a heavy object hitting the deck echoed from outside, followed by the raucous shouting of angry men.
"Find her! That purple-haired bitch is on this ship! I can smell her!"
"Stealing from the Iron-Ax Syndicate? We're going to skin her alive and hang her from the mast!"
Carina's face went paper-white. She had hit their underground casino earlier that night—she hadn't expected the Syndicate's "mad dogs" to track her so quickly.
"Captain..." Carina's voice trembled with genuine desperation. "Please. Help me. If you get rid of them, the money in that bag is yours! All of it! I don't want a single Berry!"
In her experience, men like Ace would use her as a bargaining chip the moment things got loud. On the sea, nothing protected her but her own feet.
Ace didn't answer. He simply reached out and pushed open the cabin door.
On the Deck.
Dozens of thugs armed with heavy axes and flintlocks had swarmed the Black Eclipse. A bald, scarred brute in the center was currently kicking a groggy Buggy.
"Ouch! Who dares kick the Great Buggy-sama?!" Buggy sat up, rubbing his head.
"Shut up, Red Nose! Where's the girl?!" The brute started to snarl, but the words died in his throat.
Ace had stepped onto the deck. Under the moonlight, his silhouette was that of a primeval predator. His gaze was cold, empty, and terrifying.
"You the owner of this tub?" The bald man swallowed hard, but the sight of his forty armed men gave him courage. "Listen up, big guy! We're the Iron-Ax Syndicate! Hand over the thief, or we'll turn this ship into driftwood!"
Carina hid behind the doorframe, her heart pounding in her throat.
Ace didn't even look at the man.
"Buggy." Ace's voice was a low rumble in the night wind.
"Yes! Captain!" Buggy scrambled to his feet, standing at stiff attention.
"Someone has dirtied the deck you just polished," Ace said, his tone bored. "If anyone other than us is still standing on this ship in thirty seconds, I'm throwing you into the harbor to wash the deck with your hair."
"WH—WHAT?!" Buggy's eyes nearly popped out.
The fear of the thugs was nothing compared to the fear of Ace's "special training." Buggy instantly entered a state of pure, frantic rage.
"YOU TRASH! YOU DARED TO TRACK MUD ON MY DECK?!"
"Bara Bara—FLYING KNUCKLES!"
Buggy's hands detached from his wrists. The hands—clad in his new Sea Prism Stone guards—shot out like two predatory falcons. They blurred through the crowd, smashing into faces and ribs with the force of a sledgehammer.
CRACK! THUD! AGH!
Against a ten-million-Berry Devil Fruit user, the syndicate thugs were like paper dolls.
In less than twenty seconds, the deck was a carpet of groaning, unconscious men.
"GET LOST! If I see your ugly faces near my deck again, I'll feed you to the Sea Kings!" Buggy shrieked, kicking the last conscious man over the railing.
The Syndicate members scrambled over the side, fleeing into the night in a blind panic.
Carina was stunned. That "clown" guard was actually a monstrous ability user? And even he was terrified of the man in the red coat?
Ace turned and walked back into the cabin. He stood before the shaking Carina once more.
"You said you could manage intelligence and money," Ace said, pointing to the bag on the floor. "On this sea, words are cheap. I'm giving you one chance to prove your worth."
Carina looked up at him, her heart racing for an entirely different reason now.
"The money in that bag is your operating budget. Until the Black Eclipse hits the Grand Line, consider yourself on probation. Show me your network. Manage my treasury. Prove you're more than a wildcat with a lockpick."
Ace leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper that felt like a contract signed in blood.
"In exchange, I will give you the one thing you've never had: Absolute Protection. As long as you fly my flag, neither Marine, nor pirate, nor gang will touch a hair on your head. If they try, I will sink them to the bottom of the abyss."
Ace's eyes flashed with a dark, sharp glint. "But if you fail me... or if you try to run with my Berries... you will find that I am far more terrifying than the trash I just kicked off my ship."
A dangerous warning. An impossible reward.
Carina looked at the man who seemed capable of crushing the world under his heel. She realized this was the biggest gamble of her life.
She took a deep breath, and the panic vanished. The shrewd, high-stakes gambler returned to her eyes. She reached down, hoisted the heavy bag of gold back into her arms, and tilted her chin up defiantly.
"Probation? Fine. You've got a deal, Captain."
She flashed a smile that was as cunning as a fox's. "But I'm warning you: my services are expensive. And since you want me to prove my value... from this day forward, every single Berry on this ship passes through my hands!"
Ace looked at his new "wildcat," and for the first time, a small, satisfied smirk touched his lips. The Black Eclipse finally had its brain.