Chapter 149: Interrogation
"It's time for you to leave."
Iceberg looked at Axel and made no effort to hide the rejection in his tone.
"I've already given you what you wanted. Now I hope you can get Mr. Tom out as soon as possible."
It was a clear dismissal.
This kid was extraordinary, yes. But he was also every bit as irritating as Franky.
Axel had no intention of staying either.
Tom had already been taken to Enies Lobby. By now, he was almost certainly being interrogated by Spandam. As for the result, there was no need to guess. The fact that CP9 later infiltrated Water 7 was proof enough.
Axel glanced down at the Pluton blueprints.
Then, with a casual motion, he folded the item that could make half the world go mad and stuffed it into his pocket.
Iceberg stared at him, momentarily speechless.
That attitude was far too careless.
Those blueprints contained the wisdom of generations of shipwrights. To see them treated like an ordinary stack of papers left him feeling vaguely sorry for his predecessors.
After leaving Water 7, Axel returned to the Marine base.
By then, it was already the next day.
The moment Levi heard that Axel had returned, he hurried over.
He pushed open the office door, stood straight, and gave a crisp salute.
"Captain Axel, I've come to report on the situation over the past few days."
"We'll talk about that later."
Axel raised a hand and interrupted him.
"Contact Enies Lobby for me. Tell them I have official business there and prepare a ship."
Levi was puzzled.
As far as he knew, there should not have been any current work that required direct contact with Enies Lobby.
Still, he did not question the order.
"Yes, sir."
He left quickly to make arrangements.
After arriving at the shipyard, Levi immediately found the officer in charge.
"Bring out the best warship we have."
The officer paused.
"Has a pirate group appeared?"
"No," Levi said. "Captain Axel requested it. This time, he's going to Enies Lobby."
"Enies Lobby…?"
The officer's expression remained calm, but his eyes sharpened.
"I'll prepare it immediately."
"Good."
Levi laughed.
"With Captain Axel personally leading this trip, we'll show those complacent bastards at Enies Lobby that we're Marines too."
Although the San Faldo Marines and the Enies Lobby Marines both belonged to the Navy, competition existed everywhere.
The San Faldo base was weaker militarily and had always been mocked by the Marines stationed at Enies Lobby. That resentment had been building for a long time.
Captain Axel had only asked for a ship and given no other instructions, but they did not want to appear weak in front of Enies Lobby, not even in the quality of their vessel.
Fortunately, after working together for the past period, the base had already recognized Axel's strength.
This was a good chance.
They would let Enies Lobby see that their commander was stronger than theirs.
Before long, the best warship in the base had been brought to the port.
When Axel arrived and saw the fully armed ship and the Marines standing ready, he could not help asking, "What is all this?"
Did they foresee that I'm going to Enies Lobby to cause trouble?
That seemed unlikely.
If they really knew, they would not look this excited. They would probably look more like men attending their own funeral.
The officer in charge stepped forward and saluted.
"Reporting to the Captain. We are fully prepared and can depart at any time."
"Uh… all right."
Axel did not bother correcting them.
At the same time, in Enies Lobby.
Inside a cold interrogation room, Spandam stood before a cage reinforced with thick steel bars. The cage was so sturdy that even a full-grown bear could slam into it with all its strength and fail to shake it.
Tom sat inside.
His body was covered in wounds.
The injury on his chest had only been treated enough to stop the bleeding. It had not been properly bandaged, nor had anyone made an effort to help him recover. The intent was obvious.
They wanted him weak.
Iron chains as thick as ropes wrapped around his body, binding him tightly in place. The chains pressed against his wounds without mercy, and faint traces of fresh blood had already soaked into his inner clothes.
Spandam glared at Tom through the bars.
He had used his authority to summon Tom here, but several days of interrogation had produced nothing.
His patience was running out.
"You bastard!"
Spandam's voice echoed through the room.
"It's been days! How long are you planning to keep this up? Tell me where the Pluton blueprints are, and I'll let you go. You get your freedom, I get my merit. Isn't that good for both of us?"
Tom slowly opened his eyes.
He looked at Spandam, his voice weak but steady.
"I don't know what you mean."
Speaking tugged at his wounds, and he let out a low groan.
Spandam's face twisted.
"I've heard that line dozens of times already! Stop denying it. The government's intelligence cannot be wrong. No matter how many times we trace the history of Water 7, the result is the same. The blueprints are in your hands!"
"I don't know what you mean," Tom repeated.
"Damn it…"
Spandam's face reddened.
"Damn it! That line again! Hand them over. I get promoted, you walk out alive. Why can't you understand something so simple?"
He raised his hand as if to smash the cup beside him.
Then he hesitated.
The cup was a masterpiece made by a famous artisan. It was priceless, something he had brought out mostly to show off. Smashing it would be too wasteful.
After a brief struggle, Spandam carefully placed the cup back on the table.
Then he grabbed the teapot instead and hurled it to the ground.
Crash!
Or rather, it should have been a crash.
In the world of One Piece, if luck could have Conqueror's Haki, then Luffy and Buggy would have luck strong enough to shake the sea.
Spandam, on the other hand, possessed Conqueror's Haki in misfortune.
Tripping on flat ground, having oil barrels fall from above, getting caught in cannon fire—these things happened to him with alarming regularity. Over the years, he had developed a surprising tolerance for absurd accidents.
The teapot hit the floor with a loud bang.
But it did not break.
Instead, it bounced at a strange angle and struck Spandam squarely on the chin.
The hot water inside splashed out at the same time.
"Ow! Hot, hot, hot!"
Spandam clutched his chin and danced backward.
Then he turned on his subordinate in embarrassment.
"Damn it! Why didn't the teapot break?"
The subordinate quickly answered, "Lord Spandam, this was made according to your instructions. You said you were upset about breaking too many teapots, so you ordered us to replace them with unbreakable ones."
Spandam froze.
His face flushed with anger and humiliation.
Then Tom's laughter filled the room.
"Hahahaha!"
It was loud, hearty, and completely unrestrained.
Even though laughing pulled at his wounds, Tom did not stop.
Spandam's anger immediately found a new target.
"What are you laughing at?"
Tom was not intimidated.
He raised his head as much as the chains allowed and laughed again.
"A man laughs with his head held high! Hahaha!"
Spandam's face darkened.
This time, he did not immediately curse.
Instead, he slowly calmed down.
A chilling smile spread across his face.
It was the kind of smile that could give a child nightmares for several nights.
He remembered the foolish boy from that day.
The one who had dared to attack him.
The one who had later tried to stop the Sea Train with his own body.
If he recalled correctly, the newspaper had said that boy was adopted by Tom.
Then their bond must have been deep.
…..
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I Became the Alien God in Tokyo