Stussy stood by the window, watching as Smoker fled into the castle. Only then did she turn back to look at Drake and the others waiting in the room.
"Smoker is safe for now," Stussy said, crossing her arms with a faint smile. "But I don't think you have any chance of stirring up conflict between Dr. Reddy and the Big Mom Pirates. To be honest, even escaping Whole Cake Island safely will be difficult for you."
"We underestimated the situation," Drake said solemnly, admitting their mistake.
No one had expected the surveillance system on Whole Cake Island to be so extreme.
As a Logia-type Smoke-Smoke Fruit user, flight was Smoker's greatest advantage.
Yet, despite this, he had been discovered almost immediately after landing on Whole Cake Island and was quickly surrounded by the Big Mom Pirates.
Fortunately, the clay figures created by Prince Grus had given Smoker a chance to escape.
Prince Grus shook his head. "It's not just underestimation. We might have been set up."
As he spoke, he gave Stussy a deep look. "Don't you owe us an explanation?"
Drake and the others also turned their eyes to Stussy.
The criticism was valid.
The members of the Blade Unit were unfamiliar with the situation on Whole Cake Island, but Stussy definitely knew better.
Yet, she hadn't mentioned anything to any of them.
In a way, Smoker's predicament was largely Stussy's fault.
"What should I say?" Stussy chuckled lightly. "I have no obligation to provide you with information proactively. After all, I'm a CP0 member, while you belong to Marineford. Oh, wait—that's not quite right either. In a way, you're no longer Marines."
Drake and the others were left speechless.
Stussy smiled, walking toward the door while shaking her head. "Though I don't know why Marineford decided to form the Blade Unit, it's clear that you're not suited for covert operations. Stay here quietly and don't wander around. I'll figure out a way to help Smoker escape Whole Cake Island."
"Wait!" Drake said in a low voice. "What about our mission?"
Stussy paused at the door, her hand resting on the handle. She turned back slightly and gave a faint smile. "Isn't your mission to stop Dr. Reddy from obtaining the target's Bloodline Factor?"
Drake fell silent, watching thoughtfully as Stussy pushed the door open and left.
"Are we just going to wait here?" Peacock muttered unhappily, walking to the window to look at the chaos outside.
A large number of Chess Soldiers had quickly arrived and set up a tight perimeter around the castle, ensuring no one could escape without alerting them.
"We need more people with special abilities and talents," Peacock said, spotting even more Big Mom Pirates officers arriving. She sighed.
If not for Stussy's help in covering for them, everyone here would likely be finished.
Tina lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled smoke slowly. "That's a matter for the future. Right now, we need to think about how to cooperate with Stussy to complete the mission."
"Linlin, what's going on?"
Stussy, led by a Chess Soldier, found Big Mom.
At the moment, Big Mom was furious that Katakuri and the others had allowed Smoker to escape into the castle. When her old friend asked, she waved it off impatiently. "Just a little rat sneaking into the castle. We'll catch him soon."
"Do you need my help?" Stussy didn't mind Big Mom's mood and offered her assistance.
"No need," Big Mom said darkly, rejecting Stussy's goodwill outright.
Letting her help? The Big Mom Pirates' pride wouldn't allow it.
"Then I'll just look forward to the tea party," Stussy said with a charming smile. As she turned to leave, she added in a dreamy tone, "I heard you prepared a delicious cake especially for the tea party. I'm really looking forward to it."
"Cake?" Big Mom froze, then her expression darkened. "Send more people to guard the cake!"
Hearing Big Mom's roar behind her, Stussy's lips curled upward.
In her eyes, the so-called Blade Unit was a joke.
Sending a group of soldiers to carry out spy missions was absurd.
That wasn't how espionage worked.
Fighting?
Combat was to be avoided unless absolutely necessary.
Often, just a single sentence or a seemingly insignificant action was enough to steer someone in the desired direction.
That was the essence of being a spy.
For example, just now, she had casually mentioned the cake Big Mom had specially prepared for the tea party.
Since Smoker had chosen to flee into the castle as a last resort, if he noticed a heavily guarded area inside, he would undoubtedly try to break in for survival.
If the cake was destroyed, triggering Big Mom's eating frenzy, the irrational Big Mom would easily clash with Reddy.
Thinking of this, Stussy's smile deepened.
"Smoker should be able to pull it off."
A squad of Chess Soldiers hurried past.
Smoker watched them go before dropping down from the ceiling.
His decision to flee into the castle had been correct.
The complex environment allowed him, as a Smoke-Smoke Fruit user, to move freely, easily evading wave after wave of Chess Soldiers.
More importantly, the Big Mom Pirates' officers didn't dare cause large-scale destruction inside the castle, forcing them to rely solely on visual searches.
"How do I get out?"
Smoker was growing restless.
There were pros and cons to hiding in the castle.
His nicotine cravings were acting up, but he didn't dare light a cigar to relieve the stress.
Footsteps echoed in the hallway again.
Smoker had no choice but to turn into smoke and hide on the ceiling once more.
Soon, another squad of Chess Soldiers rushed by.
"How many is that now?"
Smoker watched them leave, then suddenly froze.
Only now did he realize that in such a short time, multiple squads of Chess Soldiers had passed by, all in a hurry.
"What's over there?"
Smoker looked in the direction the Chess Soldiers had gone, sensing something.
That place might be the key to his escape.
With that thought, Smoker's lower body turned to smoke as he silently followed.
The journey was agonizing.
His original plan had been to tail the last squad of Chess Soldiers to figure out what lay ahead.
But more and more Chess Soldiers kept converging.
Even though he could turn into smoke and hide in the nooks and crannies of the hallway, avoiding the growing numbers was nearly impossible.
"I have to force my way through!"
Smoker's eyes flashed with determination. Gritting his teeth, he made his decision.
A squad of Chess Soldiers was hurrying toward the kitchen when a thick cloud of smoke suddenly surged from behind.
In moments, the smoke swept past, leaving the hallway littered with unconscious Chess Soldiers.
Smoker, in smoke form, rushed forward.
Everywhere he passed, Chess Soldiers suffocated and collapsed.
The assassination potential of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit was on full display.
It wasn't until he reached the temporary defensive line outside the kitchen that the Chess Soldiers finally noticed Smoker.
By then, Smoker held nothing back, unleashing his abilities to their limit.
The hallway was instantly filled with smoke.
Within moments, the Chess Soldiers lost consciousness.
"That must be it!"
Smoker pushed through the Chess Soldiers' defenses and spotted Montd'or guarding the kitchen door.
At the same time, Montd'or also saw Smoker and grinned viciously. "White Hunter, you're not getting away!"