Hale Nock's eyebrows twitched.
The World Government was too deeply entrenched.
The biggest intelligence broker in the underworld was a World Government agent.
It was humiliating just to say it.
Who were the dark forces then...
Stussy smiled and said,
"I've already shown so much sincerity."
"But Boss Hale Nock doesn't seem to welcome me."
Hale Nock chuckled lightly,
"What do you think?"
His index finger tapped incessantly on the armrest of his throne.
No one would be in a good mood knowing such a thing. After dominating the dark underworld for decades, he discovered that the biggest intelligence broker was a World Government operative.
Then, weren't all the people in this so-called dark underworld, all the kings, a joke?
Like monkeys, all monitored by the World Government, how could he be in a good mood?
Stussy shrugged,
"I've brought considerable sincerity."
"Otherwise, I wouldn't have said it so directly."
"After all, we have a common enemy."
Hale Nock said slowly,
"Common enemy?"
"My only enemy now is the Navy..."
After all, the news of the World Government's rift with the Navy was only known to a few high-level World Government officials, with most of the world kept in the dark.
Therefore, the unknowing Hale Nock was somewhat perplexed about what the World Government was trying to do.
Stussy below chuckled,
"That's right."
"It's the Navy."
As he spoke, he bent down and opened a small box at his feet. Inside was a thick stack of documents.
Stussy pushed it forward, stood up, and said,
"This contains information on the deployment of some Navy islands."
"And an analysis of the Navy's objectives and Sakazuki's aims."
"All of this is funded free of charge by the World Government."
Hale Nock's expression became increasingly serious. He stared at Stussy for a few seconds, trying to discern the truth...
But Stussy remained smiling, making it impossible to tell.
Hale Nock beckoned, and the air below flowed.
A gust of hot air blew into the small briefcase brought by Stussy. The documents filling the case, neatly arranged, flew towards Hale Nock on his throne.
Hale Nock reached out and took the documents falling from the air, starting to read.
The hall fell silent for a moment, with only the rustling of paper.
After a long while...
Whoosh—
As he finished flipping through the last document, Hale Nock's voice turned cold,
"The World Government is trying to use me as a pawn."
These documents didn't require any reconnaissance; they were undeniably true. The layouts and firepower points on some of the islands currently being attacked were identical.
Sakazuki's ambition was also revealed through these documents; he intended to annihilate all the pirates in the New World.
And with the information provided by the World Government, even knowing he was being used as a pawn, he couldn't refuse...
He hadn't felt this way in years...
It was like when Whitebeard was still alive, and he was struggling for survival in the territories of Charlotte Linlin, Golden Lion, and Whitebeard...
It was so maddening, so infuriating...
Stussy shook his head and smiled,
"Boss Hale Nock."
"This is cooperation. Both parties in cooperation achieve mutual benefit."
"There's no such thing as one using the other as a pawn."
Hale Nock's icy gaze fixed on Stussy, and then he suddenly laughed,
"What if I refuse to cooperate?"
His Conqueror's Haki erupted, accompanied by an unparalleled, violent killing intent, pressing down on Stussy.
Outside the hall, dark clouds gathered in the sky, and thunder rumbled. The pirates on the island shivered, looking towards the main hall in the center of the island, wondering what had angered their boss so much.
Inside the hall.
Although Stussy was quite skilled, facing the Conqueror's Haki and killing intent of Hale Nock, one of the Four Emperors, he was clearly outmatched.
He slumped to the ground, panting heavily, sweat pouring down his face,
"Hoo—"
"Hoo—"
His earlier nonchalant demeanor was gone. Stussy struggled to look up and face Hale Nock,
"These... are entirely up to you..."
Hale Nock stared at Stussy with cold eyes. After a few seconds,
"Get out."
Boom—
A wave of heat erupted.
It sent Stussy flying, crashing through the hall, tearing through several houses before finally rolling to a stop.
The surrounding pirates dared not approach, merely watching the ruins.
Within the ruins.
Stussy painfully climbed to his feet,
"Cough cough..."
Feeling the state of his body, he let out a wry smile,
"Really... such a temper..."
He had multiple fractures internally, but his mission was considered complete. Although Hale Nock's tone was cold, it was entirely due to the pride of an Emperor.
The fact that he wasn't dead was the best proof. However...
"Linlin is still cuter..."
-----------
New World, Land of Wano.
Kuri, the ruins of Oden Castle.
The former residence of the Kuri daimyo, Oden Kozuki.
What was once a prosperous great castle had long since turned into ruins.
Years ago, after Oden Kozuki was defeated by Kaido, he was executed by boiling and died.
Following that, a great fire buried Oden Castle and Oden Kozuki's wife and children.
However, no one knew that Oden's wife, Toki Kozuki, who possessed the Toki Toki no Mi ability, had sent her son twenty years into the future before her death...
Only a few insiders were desperately awaiting the return of their young master to take revenge on Kaido...
Swish—
Carol's figure appeared in a secluded corner of the Oden Castle ruins.
The war had raged on to this point. As Kaido's stronghold, Wano Country had very few defensive forces, all having been sent out to engage in a protracted battle with the Navy.
Moreover, even if Kaido were present, he might not necessarily discover Carol, given the island's vast size.
It wasn't everyone like Enel who could use Observation Haki combined with magnetic fields to monitor the entire island with almost no effort.
Oden Castle ruins were neither excessively large nor small.
With Carol's teleportation ability and Observation Haki, he scanned all the nooks and crannies in a short time.
He found the target.
Swish—
He took out the Devil Fruit Retrieval Device and activated its ability, his figure disappearing.
Meanwhile.
Deep within an underground ruin at Oden Castle.
Behind a short, stout woman in pink ninja attire who was meditating.
Carol's figure suddenly appeared.
The woman in pink ninja attire, who was meditating, was startled. Just as she had the thought of retaliating, her body was pierced through the heart by the Devil Fruit Retrieval Device.
The Seastone needle at the tip filled her entire body with powerlessness.
Before she died, she tried to turn her head to see who it was, but Carol's large hand grabbed her neck, preventing her head from moving. With a slight squeeze.
Crack—
A crisp sound came from her neck.
Her lifeless body fell to the ground, never seeing her enemy before she died...
Carol looked at the fruit forming within the blood-dripping retrieval device at the tip of the needle and nodded.
The mission assigned by Admiral Sakazuki was complete.
The appearance of the fruit was the same as recorded in the Devil Fruit Pokedex:
"The Toki Toki no Mi is in hand."