Dimon's immediate yes threw Rocks off his rhythm.
He had braced himself for a hard sell. After all, the man in front of him could brew the Wine of Immortality.
People like that usually had little interest in turning pirate.
"You truly agree to join the Rocks Pirates?" Rocks stared, surprised.
"A famous crew invites me aboard. Why would I say no?"
Dimon smiled faintly. He could already guess what Rocks wanted.
He did not have much power yet, only ageless flesh, but no one could truly cage him. As long as the Shione royal guard performed the summoning ritual again, he could answer it and slip any net.
Joining carried little risk for him.
The upside was considerable.
"But even if I join, the Wine of Immortality will never be free."
Rocks was not embarrassed to have his thoughts laid bare. He laughed. "Then welcome aboard, brewer."
He clapped first. The others followed with a round of awkward applause.
When the perfunctory welcome ended, Rocks continued, "I hear from Kaido that one cup of your wine costs one Devil Fruit."
"The effect is real. At that price it is not expensive."
"I can buy it from you for one hundred million berries a cup."
A common Devil Fruit went for roughly that much. On paper it was a square deal.
Dimon shook his head. "Selling a Fruit for cash is simple. Buying a Fruit with cash is the hard part."
"Why insist on Devil Fruits?" Whitebeard asked, puzzled. "A person can only eat one. A second means death."
"Devil Fruits are an ingredient," Dimon replied. "One Fruit brews one bottle. One bottle pours only four cups. I have already served one."
Understanding dawned around the room.
Gloriosa's eyes widened. "So that is it. I have never heard of brewing wine from a Devil Fruit."
No one had. History held no record of anyone tossing a Fruit into a still.
They were called the Treasures of the Sea for a reason. Even in the New World, most people would never see a Fruit in their lifetime.
Even many ability users never laid eyes on a second one.
Dimon glanced at the princess. "Arisa, we have guests. Pour them some water."
"Yes, Lord Dimon."
Princess Arisa Ōseya hurried to serve.
Charlotte Linlin tossed back her cup in one gulp. "Boss, do not be so stingy. At least give us a welcoming drink. Also, what do we call you?"
"I only stock the Wine of Immortality," Dimon said with a pleasant smile. "If you want a drink, bring a Fruit to trade."
He studied Linlin for a moment. In her youth she really was a beauty, nothing like the figure she would one day have as Big Mom.
Catching his look, Linlin's lips curved. "Am I pretty? Sleep with me and give me a cup."
Gloriosa's face twisted with contempt. "Shameless woman."
"I do what I like. Mind your business," Linlin sniffed.
Stussy looked equally unimpressed. "Filthy hag. Dimon, do not fall for it."
Dimon had no idea where to start with that.
Rocks bared his teeth. "I do not have a Fruit on hand, but I will soon."
Money he had in spades.
Devil Fruits he did not.
He did not care for common Fruits anyway and had never bothered collecting them. But if a brewer could turn them into immortal wine, then the more the better.
"Come back when you have one," Dimon said. He was in no rush. As a demon, time meant less to him than to anyone else.
Rocks raised one finger, eyes bright with a feral light. "Do not be like that, Dimon. I have a plan."
"Do you know where Devil Fruits are easiest to get?"
"No. Better question, whose hands hold the most Fruits?"
"You mean to rob the Celestial Dragons?" Dimon lifted a brow.
Rocks' grin went wild. "Those world nobles have plenty. We are pirates. If we want something, we take it."
The Celestial Dragons, the so-called world nobles, were the descendants of the twenty royal families who founded the World Government eight hundred years ago.
You did not just rob them. You were expected to kneel on sight. Meeting their gaze could be called a crime.
Brush a sleeve against them and an admiral might descend.
"Good idea," Dimon said without missing a beat. "Hurry and bring back a haul. I will have the wine ready."
Rocks chuckled. "You are one of us now. If we are moving, you are coming."
Like I am marching with you to die at Mary Geoise.
Dimon rolled his eyes. He was ageless, not godlike. In a fight he was still basically a normal man.
"I am only a brewer. I do not fight."
"Do not worry, Dimon, I will protect you," Rocks said with a rough laugh. "It is not as scary as you think. Most Celestial Dragons are useless trash."
Shiki cut in. "Jiehahaha. We hit from the sky. Grab and go."
To be fair, it was thrilling.
But only fools stand under a crumbling wall.
Dimon shook his head. "Imu, the Five Elders, the God Knights. Most of the nobles are trash, but the ones at the top are not."
Rocks blinked, genuinely surprised. "You know about Imu?"
Knowing of the Five Elders and the God Knights was nothing special. The former were the World Government's supreme council, known to all. The latter were the Celestial Dragons' hidden order of knights, obscure but not unknowable to those with ears.
Imu was different.
The world's true sovereign, master of the Empty Throne, hidden behind the curtain. Even many Celestial Dragons did not know the name.
A brewer who could distill immortality indeed kept curious company with secrets.
Rocks grinned and let it go. "What do you suggest then?"
"Storming the Holy Land invites death," Dimon said. "Kidnap a Celestial Dragon instead and demand ransom."
"Ransom." Rocks thought for a moment and nodded. The plan had teeth.
A direct assault was dangerous. He had been to the Holy Land once. He had even exchanged greetings with Imu. He was not a match at present, so after the greeting he had promptly run.
"Then we do it."
Rocks stood and offered a hand. "Dimon, come along."
"Just us?" Dimon glanced around. "The Rocks Pirates are not only the few of you here."
"Someone has to guard Beehive. This is enough."
In the end, Dimon joined the operation.
He told Arisa to mind the bar, then set out with Rocks and the others.
At the harbor, Dimon saw their ship.
The Saber of Xebec.
Much larger than ordinary pirate vessels, its black sails bore the name ROCKS. The O in the word was a blood red skull.
Before the eyes of the gathered crowd, the great ship raised its sails and left the bay.