"Are you telling me there's a warship here?"
Michael looked at the large gate in front of him and asked Borsalino sincerely.
Since it required Borsalino to personally handle the handover, Michael already knew that this warship was definitely not docked at the Marine Headquarters pier.
So, after following Borsalino and taking quite a long detour...
They arrived at a hidden base tucked away in a mountain ravine.
...Who the hell parks a warship in the mountains?
Borsalino didn't answer Michael's question and simply opened the gate to the base.
What came into view was a base with a completely different style from the outside world.
Nestled in the rugged mountain ravine was a base filled with a cold, metallic aesthetic.
At the deepest part of this base, there was a hidden river leading out to the sea.
And on that dark river, moored quietly, was a warship quite unlike any standard vessel.
First of all, its size and tonnage were clearly larger than a regular Marine warship, but still much smaller than the personal ships of elite Vice Admirals like Garp.
And it wasn't just a scaled-down version—it was obviously built for speed and maneuverability.
The more Michael looked at this ship, the more he liked it.
Its design perfectly suited a covert special operations unit.
But after observing it for a while, Michael realized—he couldn't find any sign of weapons like cannons or turrets.
"Borsalino, are my eyes playing tricks on me, or does this warship really have no weapons?"
"Michael, you're not blind. This warship was designed entirely with function and mobility in mind. To save space, there are no cannons."
After speaking, Borsalino turned into a beam of light and vanished once more.
His voice lingered in the air:
"All the unconventional areas are labeled with operation steps and caution notes. Figure it out yourself."
"This ship is yours now."
Michael looked at the stunned teens and smiled as he said:
"Alright, boys, time to set sail!"
"This beauty is Vegapunk's creation—top tier craftsmanship!"
Rosinante was the first to snap out of it. He looked at Michael and asked,
"Where exactly are we headed?"
"Well..."
As soon as the topic of 'destination' came up, Michael's expression turned vaguely pervy.
The younger Smoker and Hina even took a step back, silently checking whether Michael also went by the name Epstein...
"Boys, have you ever heard of the legendary... Pleasure Street?"
Once that name left Michael's lips, everyone's expressions turned odd as they stared at him.
Even Rosinante, who always saw him as an older brother.
"Michael, we're Marines!"
"Sure, but the person we need to recruit isn't."
...
Grand Line, New World.
Pleasure Street.
This was the largest red-light district in the entire world of One Piece.
However, its industries weren't as one-dimensional as most would think.
To be precise, this place offered just about every form of "entertainment."
For example... casinos.
With the Casino King Tesoro no longer in the picture, the Pleasure Street casino naturally became the largest and safest in the world.
After all, this place was essentially a grey zone under the control of the World Government.
And the woman who ruled over it—"Queen of Pleasure Street" Stussy—was a CP0 agent directly under the Celestial Dragons.
Of course, it was common knowledge…
She was a clone. And an undercover agent working for Vegapunk.
But right now, Stussy had yet to expose her true identity. On the surface, she was still one of the reigning emperors of the underground world.
At this moment, her desk was covered with a variety of unofficial intelligence reports on Michael.
The source?
Big News Morgans, who sat across from her.
"Morgans, the intel you brought this time… is way too limited. This kind of stuff I could have dug up myself."
"Give me a break, Stussy. Other people might not know, but I sure do. You're CP0, overflowing with power, while I'm just a humble, hard-working journalist."
Morgans held a glass of red wine but didn't drink from it.
His expression at the moment wasn't good.
He had witnessed Michael's strength firsthand—and been threatened by him.
More importantly...
Morgans had gotten dragged into Michael's entire strategy for Wano.
At first, he thought it was just a forced courier mission.
But when Wano's situation flipped dramatically and Kozuki Oden suddenly made a comeback, driving the Beasts Pirates out of the country...
That's when Morgans realized!
He had unknowingly boarded Michael's pirate ship!
But...
What could he do?
If that old bastard Garp punched him for real, he'd be half-paralyzed from one hit!
All he could do was accept his fate!
So, when Stussy came asking for intel on Michael, Morgans didn't even hesitate—he just handed over the most superficial stuff.
And at the same time, he was subconsciously wondering…
CP0's got their eye on Michael? Meaning what he did on the Sabaody Archipelago pissed off the Celestial Dragons?
Should he be warning Michael?
"Hmph, everyone knows you old bird are more reliable in intelligence-gathering than CP's spies... Fine. If you don't want to share, forget it."
Stussy's expression remained calm.
Asking Morgans for intel was her official CP0 mission.
But...
As a double agent, she had no intention of completing that mission!
This was all just a performance.
Are you kidding?
Vegapunk had taken a personal interest in Michael's abilities, even setting aside time to design a warship for him.
How could she let CP0 or the Celestial Dragons lay a hand on someone Vegapunk liked?
So the two schemers sat across from each other, each pretending to outwit the other while actually fighting ghosts in their own heads.
Just then, a woman with heavy makeup and a revealing outfit—though key areas were tastefully covered—burst through the door.
"Lady Stussy! Trouble!"
"There's a group of Marines outside our casino!"
"Their leader says... he's here to crack down on illegal content!"
Stussy glanced at the woman who broke the awkward silence. The corner of her lips curled up ever so slightly. Then, she stood and began walking outside.
Her office sat in the very heart of Pleasure Street.
The casino was just over a hundred meters away.
At that very moment, inside the casino...
A handsome Marine with platinum-blond messy hair was sitting in a chair in the center of the hall.
Across the round gambling table from him sat a middle-aged man leaning on a cane.
Two long scars running down from his forehead completely obscured the light in his eyes.
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