"The King barked like a dog in public?!"
An exclamation rang out in the office.
Coffee spilled from the cup, staining the base commander's expensive suit.
He hastily wiped it with a silk handkerchief, his eyes fixed on the intelligence report before him. As he scanned line after line, his expression grew increasingly grim.
"Send this information back to headquarters. Report that these despicable Pirates not only humiliated the King but also set fire to two royal palaces."
"But... but..."
"Silence. No buts."
The base commander bent down to pick up the Justice Cloak from the floor, his voice dark as he said:
"Gather the troops. We're going to put out those fires!"
No matter how vicious the Pirates were, they weren't his concern. But if headquarters found out about his bribery, his career as base commander would be over.
So before headquarters personnel arrived, he needed to eliminate all possible evidence.
...
"Alright, time to dive and make our escape."
Dier stood up from the bathtub, stretching leisurely.
He hadn't yet acquired immunity to seawater, so his relaxed demeanor was entirely due to this specially designed bathtub.
The bathtub was about forty centimeters tall, with a wooden board covering it at the thirty-five centimeter mark, leaving a gap.
Water filled the space above the board to about three centimeters deep, while the area below remained completely empty. Dier used his body to block the gap in the board and employed telekinesis to fill the remaining spaces with rubber, ensuring no water could leak through.
This created the illusion that he was fully submerged in the bath.
Additionally, he had prepared a large blue backdrop along with several smaller blue panels.
The large blue backdrop stood behind the bathtub.
Using telekinesis, Dier made the smaller blue panels float, blending them seamlessly with the backdrop. Items like apples and bananas were hidden behind these smaller panels.
Combined with lighting effects and other equipment, this setup perfectly simulated the act of reaching into a Storage Space to retrieve objects.
Actions speak louder than words. An estimated ten thousand people from both royal cities had witnessed this live demonstration.
Leaving aside the major abilities of time and space manipulation, the concepts of Storage Space and seawater immunity were likely to gain attention now.
Of course, the Hypnosis ability remained the most crucial aspect.
"I don't understand!"
Madson frowned in confusion as he packed their belongings:
"If, as you said, the World Government and Flevance's royal family have long known about Platinum Lead's toxicity...
Why did we need to specifically claim that all of Flevance had been deceived?
Isn't this just saving face for those bastard royals?"
"Exactly. That's precisely the point—to let them save face."
Dier nodded, well aware of the World Government's nature.
If they directly exposed the truth—that the World Government and royals had allowed Platinum Lead Disease to spread through inaction—it might trigger another extermination event.
In the future, the royals and World Government would label Platinum Lead Disease as contagious.
A simple public announcement could have allowed citizens to leave and potentially find cures.
Yet they did nothing, letting neighboring nations blockade Flevance until Law remained its sole survivor.
This outcome undoubtedly reflected the royals' and World Government's desire to use neighboring countries to silence witnesses.
By allowing them to save face, they could avoid desperate, reckless actions.
"But you can use Hypnosis, right? Why not infiltrate Flevance and control the royals like you did with those two Kings?"
Then there's no need to worry about royal dignity. The royals can be judged just like those of Visa and Lia Kingdoms.
"You're missing the point. The royals aren't important—the World Government, which wasn't mentioned in the script, is the key."
Dier raised a finger as he analyzed:
"Assume I'm the World Government.
If Flevance's royals die by their people's hands, I'd immediately send troops to massacre all of Flevance under the pretext of suppressing rebellion.
Then, I'd recruit outsiders to continue mining Platinum Lead, taking over the entire industry for massive profits."
"Moreover, whether Platinum Lead Disease becomes public knowledge also depends on the World Government's stance."
After all, they collaborate with Morgans' newspaper and control the media.
"Another crucial point—I've worked hard for ten exhausting days and truly have no energy left for Flevance."
"Let's go, Doctor. We're about to submerge."
"Aye, Captain."
Madson nodded, carrying supplies as he followed Dier.
After ten days of research, he found no possibility of curing Platinum Lead Disease.
For Law and Lami's sake, he could only trust Dier and play along in this act.
After this incident, he'd likely be branded a pirate.
Plus, curing Platinum Lead Disease takes time—his family would need long-term treatment aboard the Storm Petrel.
For these reasons, Madson decided to officially join this pirate crew that didn't seem like one.
Click~
The door closed as the Storm Petrel began descending with a low hum.
...
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
In a castle-like building, rows of stern-faced Marines in justice cloaks sat in solemn assembly.
"Woof woof~"
Dog barks broke the tense atmosphere.
Brandnew, 37, newly promoted to Lieutenant Commander, paused the footage and pointed at the two kings on screen:
"The kings of Visa and Lia Kingdoms—Flevance's neighboring World Government affiliates—
They barked like dogs before tens of thousands, discarding all royal dignity.
According to branch reports, both kings died in palace fires.
The mastermind behind this..."
Slap!
Brandnew slapped a wanted poster on the board,
"Kali Dier, the Facilitator who vanished for nearly a year before resurfacing in North Blue!"
The footage resumed, now showing Dier's self-introduction.
"Flame Power, lightning, water manipulation, spatial storage, unaffected by the sea's curse.
We don't yet know his Devil Fruit Ability, but these powers aren't particularly troublesome."
Multi-Ability Users are rare but not unprecedented.
Big Mom's Soul-Soul Fruit employs diverse elemental attacks.
Kaido's Azure Dragon Fruit lets him summon sky-lifting winds by coiling, plus dragon flames and slashes.
Shiki's Float-Float Fruit can even levitate and control seawater.
So Marine HQ isn't concerned about how many elements Dier controls—flashy tricks can be overpowered by sheer force.
"What's truly terrifying is his Hypnosis ability!
He can silently seize control of minds, turning people into obedient puppets. This time it's non-affiliate kingdoms—next time it could be World Government members!"
Moreover, he had assassinated a king a year ago, making him a specialist in targeting royalty—the most heinous criminal!"
Several years prior, Roger had ushered in the Great Pirate Era, leading to a surge in pirate numbers.
Yet, these pirates rarely engaged in such thankless tasks as killing kings.
"One million Belly is far from sufficient to account for his crimes."
Slap!
Brandnew pinned a new Wanted Poster to the board. The photo showed a white-haired boy on the deck of the Storm Petrel, surrounded by three elemental orbs of fire, lightning, and water, smiling at the camera.
The bounty listed beneath the photo... 100 million Belly.
"Hypnotist Kali Dier, originally set at 60 million Belly, has had his bounty raised to 100 million Belly at the request of the King of Flevance."
"In addition, according to intelligence provided by Flevance, Trafalgar Madson, the former chief physician at their national hospital, has become an accomplice to the Hypnotist.
A bounty of 5 million Belly is hereby issued for him."
"The Hypnotist's two other companions, Nico Robin and the girl Hina, have also had their bounties increased by 1 million Belly each."
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Three more Wanted Posters were affixed to the board.
On the left was Madson, wearing square-framed glasses and a white open lab coat, pointing somewhere with his right hand.
On the right was Hina, dressed in a wine-red suit, tightening her right glove with her gloved left hand.
In the center was Robin, seated at a desk, glancing sideways at the camera.
Alongside the smiling Dier, the four photos on the board looked less like wanted posters of vicious pirates and more like an ordinary family album.
A man at the conference table frowned and asked,
"Where were these photos taken?"
Though photographers in this world were remarkably resourceful, often capturing shots from the most unexpected angles, these four photos were clearly staged—especially Hina's, which even featured a deliberate pose.
"Madson's photo was provided by Flevance—a promotional shot taken for the hospital's publicity."
"The others were obtained by branch Marines from the chief of police in the Visa Kingdom, who was also under the Hypnotist's control but has since recovered."
Brandnew pulled another photo from his pocket, this one of Perona flashing a peace sign.
"And this little girl—we couldn't confirm her identity, so no bounty was issued."
A cloaked man snorted coldly.
"Leaving photos behind intentionally—what an arrogant bastard."
"Contact the newspapers to distribute the Wanted Posters. Such evil must be brought to justice as soon as possible."