"Demon Dragon!" Upon seeing Bege, the stunningly beautiful woman's expression changed dramatically, a hint of terror even flickering in her eyes.
The little giant immediately retreated to her side, his expression wary.
Bege, a smile on his face, jumped down and strode towards them.
The beautiful woman before him was indeed Warren Taylor, the intelligence agent from the Theta Intelligence Organization he had encountered before.
He had been ambushed on Science Island back then, and he was almost certain the Theta Intelligence Organization was behind it. He had even gone looking for Warren Taylor afterward, only to find her residence empty.
To think he would run into her here.
"Well, well, it's a small world, isn't it? Warren Taylor, I still have a few things I'd like to discuss with you," Bege said with a grin, looking at Warren Taylor, whose forehead was now beaded with cold sweat.
"Kid, we, the Hedgehog Pirates, are conducting business here! You want to interfere? Go die!"
The one-eyed pirate captain apparently didn't recognize Bege. His single eye stared sinisterly at Bege as he raised his pistol and fired.
Bege ignored the bullet. It stopped dead a meter in front of him, then bizarrely reversed direction. Before everyone's terrified gaze, it suddenly shot back towards the one-eyed pirate, directly piercing his remaining good eye. Blood splattered.
The one-eyed pirate clutched his eye, falling to the ground, rolling and screaming in agony.
"If you can't even assess the situation, there's no point in keeping your eyes."
"Kill him! Kill him! Avenge the captain!" a loyal subordinate of the one-eyed pirate roared, raising his gun and firing wildly at Bege.
Every single bullet stopped a meter in front of him, then turned around and flew back the way they came, felling one pirate after another.
Castle gates opened on Bege's chest, and his men emerged from his internal fortress, swiftly subduing and tying up all the pirates.
Bege walked towards Warren Taylor. The little giant stepped in front of her, clenching his fists, showing no intention of backing down.
"Ade, step aside. Captain Demon Dragon can kill us with a flip of his hand. Resistance is futile," Warren Taylor said calmly, her composure returning.
Only then did the little giant, Ade, step aside, though his gaze remained fixed warily on Bege.
"Warren Taylor, regarding the Merveille Island incident, I'd like to hear your explanation," Bege asked, casually holding a cigarillo between his lips.
"Don't even think about lying to me. The consequences are not something you can bear."
"This isn't the place to talk," Warren Taylor said, glancing at the chaotic deck.
Bege nodded and gestured for her to follow him.
Warren Taylor, seemingly resigned to her fate, gritted her teeth and followed. Bege casually slung an arm around her waist. Warren Taylor's body stiffened.
A slight smile played on Bege's lips as he stepped off the merchant ship and onto his own.
"Make yourself comfortable!" Bege said, waving his hand as he settled back into his deck chair.
Warren Taylor glanced around; there were no other seats. A hint of annoyance flashed in her eyes, but she had no choice but to remain standing.
"You can talk now," Bege said nonchalantly, as if he hadn't noticed her discomfort.
Warren Taylor's expression turned serious. "I am actually a secret agent belonging to the World Government's CP6 intelligence organization," she said in a low voice. "I was planted within the Theta Intelligence Organization to gather intelligence."
"Are you the only CP6 secret agent, or is the entire Theta Intelligence Organization subordinate to the World Government?" Bege asked.
Warren Taylor shook her head. "The Theta Intelligence Organization is indeed a dark organization; it does not belong to the World Government. Because Theta possesses a vast amount of intelligence on pirates and criminals, the World Government wanted to obtain more information. Therefore, CP6 secretly trained many agents like me to infiltrate Theta, scattering us across its various branches to steal useful intel."
"You pose a great threat to the World Government. The head of CP6 issued orders long ago for us to collect all available intelligence on you. That's what led to the ambush on Merveille Island.
"This is all I know," Warren Taylor stated.
Bege rubbed the ring on his finger, contemplating how much of what Warren Taylor said was true and how much was false.
His silence caused the atmosphere to instantly freeze. Warren Taylor also remained quiet, standing still.
"What do you know about the CP6 intelligence organization? Or rather, what do you know about the World Government?" Bege asked again.
"CP6 is subordinate to the World Government's CP organizations. Its headquarters are on the Red Line, not far from Mary Geoise. It's specifically responsible for secret infiltration and intelligence gathering on pirate forces and dark organizations. However, I don't know much. CP6 has a large number of personnel, so its structure and hierarchy are extremely rigid. Contact is strictly through superiors and subordinates; agents of the same rank are unaware of each other's identities, and inquiring about information related to the intelligence organization itself is strictly forbidden.
"The intelligence I possess is mostly about dark organizations and pirate forces. I don't know much about the World Government itself," Warren Taylor explained.
"Next, I'm going to send you into my internal castle. I'll trouble you to tell me everything you know there," Bege said, glancing at Warren Taylor. Her body stiffened, unable to move, and then she floated towards him.
She was terrified, unable to even struggle, as if an invisible hand had her in its grip.
His internal castle opened, and she was forcibly sent inside. Bege sent her directly to the Black Ice Platform, to be interrogated by those in charge of questioning.
Of course, Bege didn't plan to use harsh torture on her. After all, she was a beautiful woman; subjecting her to those methods would ruin her.
However, the little giant, the strongman Ade who was with Warren Taylor, could certainly be interrogated more forcefully.
"Godfather, all the pirates are here. We've also found their treasure," a crewman called out, waving from the pirate ship as it approached Bege's vessel.
Bege leaped directly onto the pirate ship, sending all the pirates into the prison cells within his internal castle to be taken back to a sky island as free labor. He also collected their treasure before returning to his own ship with his men.
"Godfather, should we rob that merchant ship too? Looks like there are quite a few rich people on board," one of his men asked.
"Forget it. Let them off this time," Bege said with a wave of his hand, lying back down on his deck chair.
The ship continued its journey. About two days later, Bege's consciousness manifested within his internal castle. Before him were stacks upon stacks of paper, all filled with intelligence Warren Taylor possessed regarding dark organizations and pirate forces.
"Donquixote Family intelligence… so this is Doflamingo's intel. Secret arms deals and human trafficking, business dealings with all Six Kings of the Underworld, and even contact with Kaido… Tsk, tsk, tsk, Doflamingo sure is developing quickly." Bege casually flipped through the papers, picking out interesting bits to read.
The information on these pages gave Bege a true, visceral understanding of the darkness and cruelty of the underworld.
This intelligence would be useful for his future development. With a wave of his hand, all the papers flew up and were locked away in a safe in the room.
At Bege's mental command, his men brought Warren Taylor over.
At this point, Warren Taylor's face was pale, her eyes vacant. She hadn't slept for two days and nights and was extremely weak, unable to even stand steadily.
"Captain Demon Dragon, I've told you everything I know. Please, release Ade," Warren Taylor said, her voice weak and pleading.
"Don't worry, he won't die," Bege said casually. He didn't particularly care about the little giant's fate, but he still wanted Warren Taylor to stay by his side, and killing Ade would inevitably create a rift between them.