"Is that a threat?"
"It's a fact."
Norrington and Puss stared at each other with narrowed eyes, the tension between them thick in the air under the crowd's gaze.
Despite the huge difference in height, Puss didn't lose any momentum.
But just when everything pointed to a possible clash, someone stepped forward and interrupted.
"You two! Don't fight! Commodore, they're not enemies. Haven't you heard that the enemy of my enemy is a friend?"
It was Elizabeth, who boldly stepped forward, placing herself between them.
Norrington looked at her, unconvinced.
"Yes, I've heard that. But I've also heard there's no honor among thieves. Pirates capturing pirates doesn't make them any less pirates," he said, his voice firm.
"I hope you're not including me in that pirate count."
Puss's voice came from behind Elizabeth as he stepped to the side, returning to Norrington's view.
But the commodore looked at him with disdain.
"Someone who sails under pirates' orders—what else would you be, if not a pirate?" he mocked.
"I didn't sail under their orders. They sailed under mine." Puss lifted his chin, not backing down in the argument.
"Commanding pirates doesn't make you any less of a pirate," Norrington said sternly.
"Heh..." Puss smirked mischievously. "Careful with your words, Commodore. It's well known the British crown sponsors privateers," he said, freezing the commodore in place.
The atmosphere suddenly grew awkward and even more silent.
The soldiers began glancing at each other in discomfort.
Privateers were practically pirates who worked under the crown to attack enemies and their trade routes. The practice of commanding privateers was common and openly acknowledged at the time—and of course, not exclusive to the British crown. Many crowns maintained this practice.
If one were to interpret Puss's forced argument, Norrington would essentially be saying the crown they served was composed of pirates, even though that wasn't what he meant.
"I'm joking, I know that's not what you meant. How about we forget all this, and in recognition of our capturing the pirates, you give Jack and his crew two months of peace? After that, if you want to pursue them, I won't get involved in any way. How about that?" Puss decided to take a step back, given the joke he had made.
He had no intention of ruining Norrington's career over a misunderstanding that he himself had provoked. And he also didn't plan to protect Jack and his crew for more than two months—that would be the time needed for them to take him to Far Far Away.
Though he was Jack's friend, they were still pirates, and Puss wouldn't shield them if they insisted on staying in that life.
It wouldn't ruin his friendship with Jack. It would be more like Sinbad and Proteus—one was a pirate, the other a prince, and despite their differing viewpoints, they were best friends.
'I'm the prince, in this case.' Puss made sure to mentally note.
The commodore was a bit shaken by the comment, but seeing Puss apologize and clear the misunderstanding, he felt better.
His sharp, firm gaze swept over the surrounding soldiers, silently warning them not to speak of what had just been discussed, and then he sighed.
"Alright. Two months, not a day more," he finally said, clenching his teeth slightly and nodding.
"Good, it's a deal. Let's go get those damn pirates now." Puss smiled, amused, and tipped the brim of his hat toward him in a gesture of respect.
Norrington nodded, leading his soldiers as they marched to board the pirate ship.
Jack calmly descended the ramp, smiling as he passed the leading Norrington. Then, bumping into the crowd of soldiers heading up, he pushed his way through.
"Excuse me, excuse me, nice hat, excuse me—hey! Watch the sword! Why are you walking through a crowd with that drawn? Excuse me..."
"Hup!" Then suddenly, he jumped out of the cluster of soldiers and landed on the now-empty port, while the Pearl filled with soldiers.
Adjusting his hat, he strolled casually again and approached Puss—who watched him with amusement—as well as Elizabeth and her father, who was carefully and worriedly checking on her well-being.
"Well, you've got two months without being hunted down like crazy. In a month, you come back—but don't approach the city. I'll be waiting in a rowboat farther out at sea, or hitch a ride on a fishing boat to get there," Puss said, smiling at him.
"I know, I know." Jack waved dismissively, not particularly concerned, having already been informed by the cat of the plan.
Puss chuckled at Jack's nonchalance.
"We'll split the gold into four parts—for me, you, Will, and Elizabeth. Your share—are you leaving it on the Pearl or burying it somewhere?" Puss asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Bury it? What kind of pirate do you think I am? How am I supposed to buy rum with buried treasure?" Jack joked, pulling a bottle of rum from his coat and taking a swig.
"Well, in that case, I'll leave your share on the ship." Puss smiled, and without waiting for a response, walked toward the ship to deal with the treasure.
Jack quickly followed. He trusted Puss—but he had to hide the gold so his crew wouldn't swipe it.
As they walked, the guards began descending from the Pearl, roughly pushing the pirates, who glared at them with hatred in their eyes. Their stares seemed to spit flames when they saw Jack and Puss—although there was also fear directed at the latter.
Puss didn't care in the slightest and fearlessly stared back at them as he walked.
Jack just gave them an indifferent smile as well.
As they climbed the ramp, Puss glanced over the pirates one last time and noticed something that made him furrow his brows.
"Where's the skinny one with the glass eye, and his chubby friend?" Puss asked Jack with a frown, not seeing Ragetti and Pintel among the prisoners.
"Oh, Ragetti and Pintel? Will made a deal with them while you were strolling through the city. If they told him where his father was and what happened to him, he'd let them go. They agreed and told him Barbossa and the crew had thrown Bootstrap, chained up, into the sea. Then, after the urge to kill them passed, young Will, keeping his 'honorable' word, released them in Tortuga—after threatening to kill them if they ever showed up again. The end," Jack explained disinterestedly as he followed Puss to the captain's cabin, dodging the soldiers.
Jack's pirate crew eyed the soldiers cautiously, who occasionally cast cold glances their way, but didn't act or start a fight, having been warned by Jack beforehand.
Puss was displeased to hear what had happened and how Will had overstepped his authority by releasing pirates without telling him, and he considered punishing him. But in the end, he decided not to say or do anything.
Will wasn't his subordinate, and they wouldn't be adventuring together anymore anyway, so getting angry didn't make much sense—it would just be a waste of time and breath.
Besides, he had other plans and needed Will's help, and much of his one-month stay in the city was based on that assistance.
Shaking his head and picking up the pace again, they reached the ship's captain's cabin, entered, and closed the doors.
Puss looked at the size of the cabin and remembered the amount of treasure inside the toad's stomach. His eyebrows couldn't help but furrow as he realized it would be a mess to toss everything in there.
"It's going to be hard to split such a big treasure in this cramped space, and just the two of us..." he said, turning his gaze to Jack, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully.
Jack looked around and scratched his chin, nodding in agreement.
If it were just gold, it'd be easy. But the pirates' treasure was much more than coins—it also included many valuable objects of various sizes.
"What do you suggest?" Jack asked, unable to come up with anything.
"Hmm, if I'm not mistaken, there should be a branch of the GoldenClaw Bank here in Port Royal, right?" Puss asked suddenly, catching the indecisive pirate by surprise.
"GoldenClaw Bank? I've heard of it, but what are you going to do there?" Jack asked, his face puzzled.
Puss grinned mischievously at the question and said something that made the pirate's eyes go wide in surprise.
"What I'm going to do is simple. I'm going to use the employees I pay salaries to help me—after all, I'm the owner."