Knox's brow twitched.
The World Government had hidden itself far too deeply. The biggest intelligence broker in the underworld was actually their agent. If word got out, it would be humiliating.
Who was the real force of darkness anymore...
Stussy smiled as she spoke, "I've already shown this much sincerity, but it seems the boss here isn't very welcoming."
Knox let out a light chuckle. "What do you think?"
His index finger tapped lightly against the armrest of his throne.
Anyone who learned something like this would feel the same. He had ruled the underworld for decades, only to discover that its greatest information broker belonged to the World Government. Didn't that make all of them, every so-called king of the underworld, a joke?
Like monkeys, all of them had been watched the entire time. How could anyone feel good about that?
Stussy shrugged. "I came with real sincerity. Otherwise, I wouldn't have revealed this so directly. After all, we share a common enemy."
Knox's voice turned low. "A common enemy? My only enemy right now is the Marines..."
The split between the World Government and the Marines was known only to a few high-ranking officials. Most of the world was still kept in the dark, so he couldn't quite figure out what the government was planning.
Stussy smiled again. "That's right. The Marines."
As she spoke, she bent down and opened the small case at her feet. Inside was a thick stack of documents.
She pushed it forward slightly, then stood up. "These contain layout data for several Marine-controlled islands, and a full analysis of their objectives, including Sakazuki's plans. All of this is provided by the World Government, free of charge."
Knox's expression slowly turned serious. He stared at Stussy for several seconds, trying to find any flaw, but her smile never changed, making it impossible to read her.
With a small gesture, the air below stirred. A stream of heat flowed into the case, and the documents rose neatly into the air, drifting toward the throne.
Knox reached out and caught them, then began flipping through the pages. The hall fell silent, filled only with the sound of turning paper.
After a long while, he lowered the last page, his voice cold.
"So the World Government wants to use me as their weapon."
There was no need to verify these documents. They were too real. The layouts, the firepower placements on islands currently under attack, all matched perfectly. Through them, Sakazuki's ambition was also laid bare. He intended to encircle and wipe out all pirates in the New World.
And with this information, even knowing he was being used, Knox had no way to refuse.
It had been years since he felt like this. It reminded him of the time before Whitebeard died, when he had to survive between the territories of Big Mom, Shiki, and Whitebeard. That same suffocating frustration, that same anger...
Stussy shook her head with a smile. "Boss, this is cooperation. It benefits both sides. No one is using the other."
Knox stared at her with cold eyes, then suddenly smiled.
"What if I refuse?"
His Conqueror's Haki burst out in an instant, carrying an overwhelming and violent killing intent that pressed down on her.
Outside the hall, thunder roared through the dark clouds above. Pirates across the island trembled as they looked toward the central palace, wondering what that woman had done to anger their captain.
Inside the hall, although Stussy was fairly strong, she was clearly no match for the Conqueror's Haki and killing intent of one of the Four Emperors, Knox.
She collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath as cold sweat poured down her face.
"Hu… hu…"
The calm and composed air she had earlier was gone. She struggled to lift her head and look straight at Knox.
"These things... you can handle them as you wish..."
His gaze remained cold as he looked at her. After a few seconds, he spoke.
"Get out."
Boom!
A wave of scorching heat erupted. It slammed into Stussy, sending her flying out of the hall. She smashed through the palace walls, crashed through several buildings, and only stopped after tumbling across the ground.
The surrounding pirates did not dare to approach. They only stared at the ruins.
Within the debris, Stussy struggled to her feet.
"Cough... cough..."
Feeling the condition of her body, she gave a bitter smile and muttered, "Seriously... what a bad temper..."
Multiple bones inside her body were fractured. Still, the mission was complete. Knox's cold tone was simply due to his pride as one of the Four Emperors. The fact that she was still alive was the clearest proof.
But still...
"Linlin is much cuter..."
* * *
New World, Wano Country.
Kuri, the ruins of Oden Castle.
Once the residence of Kozuki Oden, daimyo of Kuri, the prosperous city had long since fallen to ruin.
Years ago, after Oden was defeated by Kaido, he was executed by boiling. Soon after, a great fire buried Oden Castle along with his wife and children.
But what no one knew was that his wife, Kozuki Toki, who possessed the Time-Time Fruit, had sent their children twenty years into the future before her death. Only a few who knew the truth continued to wait in silence for their young lord's return, to one day overthrow Kaido...
Whoosh!
Carlo's figure appeared in a remote corner of the Oden Castle ruins.
By this point in the war, Wano, Kaido's main base, had very little defense left. Most forces had been sent out to fight the Marines in a drawn-out war. Even if Kaido were here, he might not have noticed Carlo. The island was simply too large.
Not everyone was like Enel, whose Observation Haki and ability allowed him to monitor an entire island effortlessly.
The ruins of Oden Castle were neither too big nor too small. With teleportation and Observation Haki, Carlo scanned every corner in just moments and found his target.
Whoosh!
Taking out the Devil Fruit extraction device, he activated his ability and vanished.
* * *
Meanwhile, inside an underground ruin somewhere beneath Oden Castle, behind a short, plump woman dressed in a pink ninja outfit who was meditating, Carlo suddenly appeared.
The woman was startled. The moment she had the thought to retaliate, her heart was pierced by the extraction device. The seastone needle at its tip drained all strength from her body.
Before dying, she tried to turn her head to see who it was, but a hand pressed firmly against her neck, stopping any movement, then tightened slightly.
Crack!
A crisp sound came from her neck. Her body fell limply to the ground. Even in death, she never saw her attacker's face.
Carlo looked at the newly formed fruit inside the blood-stained device and nodded.
The mission assigned by Fleet Admiral Sakazuki was complete. The fruit's appearance matched exactly what was recorded in the Devil Fruit encyclopedia.
"The Ripe-Ripe Fruit is secured."
**
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