Then Roy saw the agent whom Laffitte had called very special.
She was a woman. A very beautiful woman.
And on top of that, she was a woman bound tightly in iron chains to keep her from escaping.
"The Queen of the Pleasure District, Stussy?"
Roy looked at Stussy below him. She was clearly a mature, elegant beauty, yet she insisted on putting on a delicate, helpless act. Then he looked at Laffitte beside him, who was acting as if he saw nothing and knew nothing, his gaze turned up toward the ceiling. Roy shook his head speechlessly.
He understood what Laffitte meant.
Just from the way Stussy had been bound, it was obvious this was the work of an old hand with many years in that particular field.
"Go out, Laffitte."
"Understood, Captain!"
You understand nothing!
Watching him withdraw with a wicked grin that practically said, "I understand everything," Roy was truly speechless.
Was he the kind of person who lusted after beauty?!
Absolutely not!!!
"Thunder Emperor-sama~"
Seeing that only the two of them were left in the Golden Palace, Stussy could not help shrinking back slightly and speaking in a very gentle voice:
"I'm really not a CP0 agent. You have to believe me~"
She wore a pitiful, tearful expression.
"Your acting is quite good~"
"Thunder Emperor…"
"If you want me to take action against you right now, then keep lying."
Stussy immediately fell silent.
"You are a World Government agent. That is beyond doubt. Even I know your identity."
Looking at Stussy, who had stopped pretending and now wore a calm expression, Roy paused, then continued, "I'll give you one chance. Are you willing to join my pirate crew? I mean truly join. You should know that I am an abnormal being with the ability to tell whether people are speaking the truth or lying."
Stussy listened, fell silent for a while, then sighed.
"After all, I am a World Government agent."
"I understand."
He was not surprised. As the highest level within Cipher Pol, CP0 naturally only allowed people to join after layer upon layer of screening had confirmed their loyalty to the World Government.
Roy nodded, then walked forward and stared at her calmly.
"You… what are you going to do?"
A rare flicker of panic flashed through Stussy's eyes, but she still forced herself to remain calm.
Although she was the Queen of the Pleasure District, she had clearly never experienced a situation like this.
After all, she was a CP0 agent, and she had to collect intelligence at all times.
This time, she had merely received orders from above to visit Raijin Island for the first time and investigate whether she could establish contact with the Thunder God Pirates, just like when she had previously attended Big Mom's tea party.
But before she could take any measures, she was stopped by a blind man leaning on a cane. Then she felt a tremendous force press directly down on her, causing her to lose consciousness.
When she woke up again, she was already bound and on the road to the Golden Palace.
Now, she had a faint guess about what Thunder Emperor Roy might do next.
"Many years."
Roy suddenly spoke.
"?" Stussy looked at him.
"Honestly, I haven't had a proper rest in many years either."
It was already the year 1509 now. He had arrived in this world in 1502. A full seven years had already passed!
Stussy vaguely sensed something bad. Then, in the next instant, her eyes widened.
…
"Has the Op-Op Fruit finally appeared as well?"
After relaxing a little, Roy looked at the Devil Fruit Radar in his hand, which had been copied by Chameleone, and at the news Tamago had brought him. After thinking for a moment, he stood up.
After these three years of Roy's Four Bodies Technique clones continuously searching for Devil Fruits, almost all the Devil Fruits in the world had finally fallen into Roy's hands.
Other than a few that had slipped through the net, as well as those that had already been eaten and turned people into ability users, they were basically all with Roy now.
"Since the Op-Op Fruit has already surfaced, and I also happen to want to go out and take care of something, I'll make the trip while I'm at it~"
As for Stussy, Laffitte, who was very good at reading the room, had already taken her away and made proper arrangements.
Before his words had even finished falling, Roy's figure had already vanished…
North Blue, Minion Island!
This island in North Blue was a rare winter island. Because the climate was extremely cold and it snowed year-round, no one lived there.
At this moment, a pirate crew that could not be described as either incredibly lucky or terribly unlucky had occupied this island, silently waiting for the World Government's representative to bring five billion Berries for the transaction.
"It's hard to imagine that such a small thing could actually have such an enormous value!"
The former Marine officer and current captain of the Barrels Pirates, Diez Barrels, held the red heart-shaped Op-Op Fruit in front of his eyes. His eyes were filled with amazement, and his butt chin was extremely conspicuous.
Beside him were many members of the pirate crew, as well as his son, the future fallen Marine rear admiral, "Red Flag" X Drake.
"Still, when you think about it, that does make sense. As long as a doctor eats it, he will immediately become a famous doctor countless people flock to!"
"Apparently, someone in history ate the Op-Op Fruit and performed miraculous, unbelievable operations, curing all kinds of difficult and incurable diseases!"
"But for a group of pirates like us, it only shows its value once we sell it!!"
Barrels talked to himself as he carefully locked the Op-Op Fruit inside the box on the table in front of him.
"Captain, Thunder Emperor Roy is extremely enthusiastic about Devil Fruits. If we bring this fruit to the Thunder Emperor, we will definitely be able to obtain his protection, live freely on the sea, and never again fear the Marines or the World Government!"
One crew member was clearly unwilling to trade the Op-Op Fruit to the World Government.
"But the Thunder Emperor is in the New World, after all!" Barrels's face instantly filled with helplessness.
He also wanted to head to the New World and find the Thunder Emperor, but with the status of his pirate crew and his identity as a Marine traitor, he would probably be arrested in the first half of the Grand Line.
As a former Marine officer, Barrels knew very well just how strong the Marines' control over the first half of the Grand Line was!
And as for his strength…
"So we can only have Doflamingo contact the World Government."
While Barrels and his group were sighing in frustration…
(End of Chapter)
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