The price of a house on our home island is far too high to simply give it away as a standard signing bonus," Bill said, continuing to drum his fingers on the table.
But Masterson, seeing this, didn't stand up or leave.
Bill remembered what Captain Trapano had told him before he left Vallipo on the Frontier Run, and a smile appeared on his face.
"I think I can justify such a big expense. When you sign the contract, you'll learn one of the Six Powers and commit to staying in the Science Division for the full twenty years of service.
Raising his hand before Masterson could say anything, Bill continued:
"If you agree, the house will be registered in your name, and if you die, it will pass to your daughter, Carol."
Slowly shaking his head, Bill could see that Masterson was deep in thought. This offer was incredible for a senior officer from the Lower Blue, but for someone who'd spent most of his life catching petty criminals for pennies, it wasn't so simple.
"Will most of your operations take place on the Grand Line?" the former sniper asked.
Bill nodded, and Masterson spoke up again:
"I'm sorry, but I can't take that risk. Since her mother died, Carol's had a hard enough life as it is. She doesn't need to lose her father too…"
After that, they sat in silence, seemingly for an eternity, until Bill spoke again:
"How about this? If you learn several techniques from the Six Powers, I'll make you our instructor for special operators and marksmen."
Hearing this, Masterson involuntarily swallowed and started thinking.
"I'll get the promotion as soon as I can demonstrate each of the Six Powers?" he asked, to which Bill nodded again. After all, instructors weren't required to master every technique to perfection.
A smile spreading across his face, the cowboy in the dark hat said, "Alright, Captain Ox, sign me up."
Once the paperwork was finished, Bill asked which of the Six Powers techniques Masterson wanted to learn first. Masterson responded with an easy smile, "Let's start with 'Shave.' That's the most important skill for a sniper."
Hearing this, Bill felt relieved—this was a good choice.
After completing all the interviews, Bill left the ship, knowing that a long day still lay ahead, with the search for temporary housing for those who wouldn't be coming with them.
Taking notes on everything, he saw that it was still only midday, which gave Bill plenty of time to gather tools and materials for the job. Leaving the storage hold, he soared into the sky and swiftly arrived at Frontier Run.
As soon as people saw him, dozens stepped forward, wondering what would happen next. The people of Clock Island were hard workers, but years under the Trump Pirates had drilled obedience into them. Like prisoners who, even when freed, still can't go to the bathroom without permission, Bill knew it would take them some time to become truly independent.
Raising his hand, he immediately silenced all the whispers and told them to be ready to leave the ship in the morning. Then, seeking out Borodo and Miyagi, he asked them to spread the word to the other caravels.
With that taken care of, he grabbed the ship's carpentry tools and headed to the "Walk the Plank" hardware store, where he purchased the necessary plumbing fixtures and a million Beli's worth of lumber.
Holding these tools in his hands, he remembered his younger days, then smirked as he looked at his youthful hand gripping the equipment.
Luckily, he thought, he'd always been a good craftsman, and even though he hadn't done plumbing work in seventy years, he still remembered how.
"It's like riding a bike," he told himself, dragging a cart loaded with lumber that could barely squeeze through Lowchtown's narrow streets.
Bill and his crew had become quite popular over the past few days thanks to spending millions of Beli. Word had spread, and local merchants were scrambling to restock their supplies.
Unaware of all this, Bill simply hauled the cart to the warehouse and got to work.
He decided the most important thing was to build half of the bathrooms first, so after shutting off the water supply to the building, he began planning where to run the new pipes.
Usually, this process took a lot of time, but thanks to his memory he worked through it step by step. Late in the day, Rans and Sasha arrived, but he told them he'd be working all night and gave them general instructions.
First, Rans was to stay on the Victoria until the repairs were finished. He was given the authority to sell off any cannons or make changes to the blueprints as he saw fit. The one thing Bill emphasized was not to turn the ship into a floating village.
Sasha had two responsibilities. First, she needed to organize the food supplies and make sure they were delivered where they were needed—she could recruit Fi to help with that. Second, she was the one in charge of managing the refugees until the galleon was ready.
They were mostly supposed to stay at the warehouse, but Bill didn't want to restrict their movement entirely.