My exam has ended, and from now on, chapters will be uploaded as usual.

So, Thanks for having the patience

" " - Speaking

' ' - Thinking

[ ] - System Talking

!! !! - Crew Card

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After some time, Zoro and Levi returned after finishing their dinner. Then they all were sitting in the living room relaxing in silence after a heist day before Leo decided to break the silence with his repeated questions.

"So, now everyone is ready?" Leo asked with a slight smile while he gazed at his crew members sitting in the living room.

"Yes, we have two new members joining our crew. One, I am sure you know by now, is my sister Nojiko, who is joining as a subordinate crew member," Nami said with a smile before it turned into a scowl as she completed the rest of his sentence. "And the other one is Nezumi, the marine captain that was on Arlong's payroll for ignoring his ruling of these islands."

While Nojiko and Carina were surprised by it. Zoro and Rindou simply have blank looks on their faces as they listen to Nami ranting out all his suppressed feelings about how terrible Nezumi is for collaborating with Arlong pirates and stuff, but this doesn't even seem to surprise them at all.

As Rindou was expecting this same behavior from her if Leo decided to spare Nezumi despite the advantages we would gain from having a Marine Captain under their thumb.

"Look, Nami, I understand that you want him dead for the part he has played in Arlong's rules and your mother's death, right?" Rindou said softly as she pulled her in a hug, "But you have to understand that all her killers are already dead, and it is his fault for not performing his duties as a Marine. But tell me, he didn't do anything because he feared Arlong for his strength, right?"

Nami just faintly nodded her head before muttering, "Everyone... everyone fears Arlong for his strength..."

While everyone else just quietly watches how Rindou will respond to it and then how it will play out between them. Leo shook his head in disbelief as he could already see where Rindou was aiming with his words. It was not going to be pretty... for Nami, at least.

Rindou just calmly patted her back before saying in a low voice, "And isn't it the same with all of these villagers? I mean... you know they all did the same thing, and they didn't even help when your mother was shot down by Arlong, right?"

"Ouch! That must have hurt badly," Leo muttered while trying to make a joke in an unsure tone, as he didn't know if he should joke about it or not.

Nami, who tried to deny this at the start, quickly remembered what had happened back then.

And even if she wants to deny it. Yet deep within her heart, she also knows that all these villagers did nothing when her mother died protecting her and Nojiko for Arlong.

"No... this is not the same, it's different," Nami tried to justify the actions of the people here. "They were all scared of..."

Rindou didn't say a thing but just looked at her with a slight smirk on her face.

After seeing that Nami was not inclined to say anything as she just waited in the corner with Nojiko, Leo tried to take the topic back to its original track. "So, can I speak? I mean, if any of you want to say something or do anything, please tell me now, or I will begin by telling you all the reasons, Okay?"

Leo began to speak as everyone's attention was drawn back here, and he saw no one was complaining about it. "So, as I was saying that..."

"Yeah, can I get a bottle?" Zoro asked while slightly smiling.

"Argh! Here you go, Zoro," Leo said while throwing two bottles at him.

"Sweet! Two of them," Zoro said as he caught both of them.

"Sign! That one is for Levi, and I know you two are in love with each other, but still, you guys just can't..." Leo said with a sign as the sound of giggles escaped from the girls' mouths at their antics.

"Okay, now listen, I want to make something clear. I know everyone has their own opinion and the things they don't like." Leo said while gesturing toward Zoro and Carina before turning his gaze toward Rindou and Nami. "And I know as a captain I should try to keep my crew happy, but you know, sometimes I will make some decisions that I know you wouldn't like, and I get it, but I just need you to listen to what I have to say, and why I did it. I just want you all to be aware of my reasons for doing things. That way, you can judge them and tell me if you guys have a problem with them, okay? I am not trying to target you, Nami, so please stop giving me that face. I am explaining this to everyone here," Leo said with a sigh.

Silence fills the room for a while as Leo's words sink in.

Before, Leo didn't want to bring up this topic. However, after seeing Nami behave like this, he thinks that everyone should remember that he is the captain of this crew. He makes the final decisions for the crew and if they have a problem with that, talk to him.

"All right, so first, as Nami said, Nezumi is a dirtbag, a scum of a scum, that does anything for money or to keep his life, so I have two options there, one just kill him and let someone else take his place, and that can turn out great as someone competent takes his place," Leo says while looking at Nami before continuing, "Or someone as terrible as him or maybe even worse could take his place."

"Or two, I could hire him to work for us, the leading and most renowned marine in the east blue, which would benefit us as he will not only do his job properly, but he will also ensure our berries business does not get disrupted by any means, which would benefit you as well," he said with a smirk.

In light tones, Carina asked Leo, "But he's not the most skilled marine in this sea, and he only has one branch under him in east blue, so he'd be of no use to us, wouldn't he?"

"Mm-mm! You are right. As he is now, he is weak, and the HQ will never promote him to higher positions. But if he suddenly becomes a strong devil fruit user and captures Arlong, the big bad of this sea, and then another bunch of other pirates with a bounty of over a million Belli, then my cute musician. He would then become the most prominent marine in this sea in a few months, would he not?" Leo asked with a slight smile on his face.

"Wait! Hold on a sea, you have given him a devil fruit," Zoro asked with a surprised look on his face.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know you wanted to become a mouse. My bad, mate, I should have known," Leo replied with a genuinely worried look on his face.

After hearing his replies, a black line appears on Zoro's head before he flips him off.

Following that, Leo continued to explain his plans for him before moving on to the next topic.

(Word Count: 1285)

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The links is also in the synopsis

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