The debtor confirms the above facts and voluntarily assumes all debts arising therefrom.
Total Debt: Ten Billion Berries exactly.
Method of Repayment: While on the creditor's ship, the debtor must obey arrangements and work hard (including but not limited to chores, learning, fighting, etc.) to gradually repay the debt with their labor and potential future earnings. The specific deduction amount shall be determined at the creditor's discretion.
During the period before the debt is cleared, the debtor must respectfully address the creditor as "Father" and perform the corresponding etiquette.
If the debtor leaves the ship without permission, it shall be considered malicious evasion of debt, and the creditor has the right to use this contract to pursue the full amount of debt and corresponding interest from any organization the debtor joins.
The final interpretation of this contract belongs to the creditor.
Signatory (Debtor) Handprint: _________
Witness: _________
Date: Year XXX, Month X, Day X of the Marine Calendar.
In the blank space below, there were already two elegant signatures: Ripley and Gerd; obviously, they were the "witnesses."
Kuzan's vision went dark as he read. The terms were more overbearing than the last, especially Article 5—"pursue from any organization," including the Marine?!
Did this devil woman actually dare to take this to the Marine to ask for money?! No, wait, she might actually dare! And if the Marine knew that someone who wanted to join them in the future owed a pirate ten billion Berries and had signed this kind of indentured servitude document...
"This... this isn't fair!" Kuzan tried to make a final struggle, his voice tinged with a crying tone,
"I didn't 'unauthorizedly consume' it; I didn't even know it was yours! I also didn't know it was worth... worth that much!"
"Hmm, that's why I added'suspected' and 'valued at'; I'm already being very reasonable." Charlotte Linlin pointed at the wording of the terms with an expression of "I am very rigorous,"
"As for whether you knew its value... you've already eaten it, can you spit it out? Or why don't you see if you can extract the Devil Fruit ability now?"
As she spoke, she vaguely admired her right hand.
Kuzan shuddered and swallowed his saliva. He knew the other party was scaring him, but he was still afraid.
"Hurry up," Charlotte Linlin tapped the parchment lightly with the end of her quill,
"Once you press your handprint, you will be a 'debt-ridden son' with an official status on my ship, with room and board provided, and a chance to learn skills to pay off the debt. If you don't press it..."
She didn't finish her sentence, only letting her gaze sweep suggestively over Kuzan's cheeks, where the fear hadn't completely faded.
Ripley fanned the flames from the side, deliberately using a tone of surprise: "Oh my, Linlin, isn't this contract too lenient? It's ten billion, you know; just providing room and board isn't enough. Shouldn't interest be added too?"
Gerd also nodded in cooperation: "Yes, and the room for 'discretionary assessment' is too large. What if Kuzan doesn't work hard? Wouldn't he never be able to pay it off in his whole life?"
The two's conversation was like the last straw that broke Kuzan. A whole lifetime... this word made him feel a bone-chilling cold. Compared to the vague, ethereal concept of a lifetime, the immediate threat seemed much more pressing.
He looked at the bright red ink pad in front of him, then at the glaring words "Ten Billion Berries" and "pursue from the Marine" on the parchment, and finally took a stealthy glance at Charlotte Linlin's white, slender hand that seemed to be resting casually on the armrest.
Humiliation, fear, helplessness, and a trace of numbness from being crushed by the massive debt were all intertwined.
He extended his right index finger with a tremble, dipping it into the bright red ink pad; the color was as glaring as blood.
Then, under Charlotte Linlin's smiling gaze and the "witnessing" looks of Ripley and Gerd, he pressed his fingerprint heavily onto the blank space in the "Signatory Handprint" column.
A clear red fingerprint, bearing his whorls, was branded onto the parchment, and it felt as if it had been branded into his destiny as well.
"Very good." Charlotte Linlin picked up the parchment with satisfaction, gently blowing on the undried ink, admiring the fingerprint and the terms above.
"This way, even if your wings get strong and you want to run away in the future, This lady can take this to Marineford to collect the debt. Just imagine the expression on that old guy Sengoku's face when he sees this contract... it must be very interesting."
She spoke of a "future meme" that only she understood, her mood becoming increasingly pleasant.
Kuzan stared blankly at his stained red finger, then at the contract that Charlotte Linlin had carefully put away, feeling that the last bit of strength to resist had been drained away.
A ten-billion debt, a contract in black and white with a red handprint, the threat of pursuit from the Marine... He felt as if he had truly stepped onto a "road of no return."
Run away? Even if he escaped, this contract was like the Sword of Damocles hanging over his head, ready to fall at any moment.
And all he could do now seemed to be... to live on this ship with the status of a "debt-ridden son," and pray that he could pay off this terrifying debt in his lifetime, or find an opportunity to break free from all of this.
Charlotte Linlin handed the contract to Gerd for safekeeping, then waved her hand at the still soul-lost Kuzan:
"Alright, don't just stand there stunned. Someone, take my dear big son to wash up and change clothes, and then, as we said, arrange for him to get familiar with the environment in the kitchen first. From now on, he is our St. Freya's 'Ten Billion Treasure' and 'intern son,' so 'take good care' of him."
"Yes, Captain." A female Crew member held back her laughter, pulled up the soul-departed Kuzan, and walked towards the inside of the cabin.
Kuzan was led away like a Marionette, his mind echoing repeatedly with "ten billion," "bigger fists," "working to pay off debt"... he felt his future was bleak.
And at the very forefront of his plan to "escape the small Pirate Crew in the South Blue," a heavy prerequisite task had now been added—paying off the astronomical debt.
Otherwise, if this woman took this IOU to the Marine to collect, he would really die of social embarrassment!
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