One day, an article with a flashy, attention-grabbing headline appeared in several of the major newspapers circulating throughout the New World, Paradise, the first half of the Grand Line, and even the Four Blues.
[Asmodeus Zechs Arrested? Is This the End of the World's Most Handsome Man?!]
That was the headline.
The article beneath it read:
'According to anonymous sources, the infamous Playboy pirate Asmodeus Zechs, better known as the World's Most Handsome Man and carrying a bounty of 900 million Berries, recently clashed with the rising Marine Rear Admiral Sengoku the Buddha... and was defeated.
Following his defeat, Zechs was reportedly captured at Marine Base G-17… and in the near future will be set to be personally escorted to the Great Prison, Impel Down, where he will spend the rest of his life paying for his crimes.'
Alongside the article was a black-and-white photograph.
It showed Rear Admiral Sengoku standing atop a Marine warship that was half-submerged and engulfed in flames.
At his feet lay the body of a defeated pirate.
The pirate's face, body, and other distinguishing features were impossible to make out in the grainy photograph. But if the article was to be believed... That defeated pirate was Asmodeus Zechs.
Soon after the article was published, chaos erupted across the seas.
"Good riddance... that bastard is finally getting what he deserved!"
"Wooo... that bastard chopped up my little brother, then forced me to listen while he fucked my wife and my twin daughters on my own bed... woo... every time I remember those sounds, I hate him even more... now I can finally sleep in peace... that bastard deserved this...!!!"
"Are you reading this news, you bitch...? Haaah... haaah... wherever you are...? That bastard's tyranny is finally... guhhh... coming to an... spurt... spurt... end... haaaah... haaah... I wonder how my wife is doing after hearing this news… She should be livid, right? Humph, serves her right… for cheating on me with him…!!"
"Long live Rear Admiral Sengoku!!!"
"Long live the Buddha! You finally brought justice to the most hateful bastard in the world...!!!!"
Many people celebrated the news of Asmodeus Zechs being captured.
But not everyone was happy about it.
"W-what? Zechs-sama has been captured...? Ahhnn... h-how could that happen? Shlick... shlick... Ahhn... Zechs-sama... y-you couldn't have fallen like this... right?"
"Mama... mama... is Zechs-sama really captured? Lick... lick... He couldn't have been captured, right?"
"I-I don't know, my dear daughter... aaahnn... b-but… d-don't worry... ahhnn... don't worry... Zechs-sama... he won'tttt… gush... gushhh..."
"Sister... let's go save Zechs-sama. We can't let him be sent to that prison, Impel Down..."
"Queen Mother, the ship is ready to sail to G-17. We can go save Zechs-sama in time..."
While many men, especially the men who were jealous of Zechs' records and handsome appearance, or were cucked by him at some point in their lives, celebrated his 'capture', the women reacted very differently.
They were furious, desperate, heartbroken... and more than willing to set sail and intercept the Rear Admiral to save him.
The Marines and the World Government still had no idea that women across the seas were already preparing to sail out and rescue Asmodeus Zechs.
Meanwhile, Admiral Kong and Rear Admiral Sengoku had already returned to Marine Base G-17 after finishing matters in the Standing Kingdom. They, too, were reading the article.
"I don't like that I'm the one being given the credit here..." Sengoku muttered.
"If this plan is going to work, then I can't be the one who supposedly captured Asmodeus Zechs, and I definitely can't be the one escorting him; this might make the other party reluctant and afraid…" Kong said with a shrug. "That would make things too difficult. So it has to be you, Sengoku. Besides... this was your plan."
"I know, but still..." Sengoku said quietly, clearly uncomfortable.
If he had actually captured Zechs, then taking the credit would have been fine. But receiving praise for defeating a man he had never even met left a bad taste in his mouth... even if the whole thing had been his own idea.
"It's for the sake of justice. Sometimes, things like this are unavoidable," Kong said, patting him on the shoulder. Then he added, "Besides... didn't you capture that pirate with the 600 million Berry bounty? What was his name... Ochoko?"
"Ochoku," Sengoku corrected.
"Right... you still captured that Ochoku fellow, and he's no weakling either," Kong said. "So this is still acceptable. Once everything is over, we'll simply publish a correction stating that the captured pirate was Ochoku, not Asmodeus Zechs. That solves the issue."
He waved his hand dismissively. "Besides, this article is just something the newspaper publishing companies got from an anonymous source. It isn't an official statement from the Marines or the World Government, so there is no real problem."
"I... suppose that's fine..." Sengoku sighed, finally accepting it.
"The more important question is..." Blue Grass murmured, "Will Charlotte Linlin actually take the bait and come to rescue 'Asmodeus Zechs'?"
That question silenced the room.
The entire thing was obviously a trap. If it failed, then all of this would have been for nothing.
"Tsuru-chan, how are things going with the monitoring of the Transponder Snail? Did the Communications Department finish setting it up?" Sengoku asked Tsuru.
"Using the Transponder Snail number Streusen gave us, the Communications Department has been trying to trace Charlotte Linlin's Transponder Snail," Tsuru reported. "But so far... There has been no activity from her. She also hasn't tried to contact Asmodeus Zechs. Other than briefly determining her approximate location during the fake call we made, we have nothing for now."
"And what about Asmodeus Zechs' Transponder Snail?" Sengoku asked.
"Nothing. The call doesn't even connect," Tsuru replied. "Most likely, that Transponder Snail is already dead."
"Is that so...?" Sengoku murmured as he stroked his chin.
Based on that, it was difficult to predict what Linlin would do next. If she had tried to make a call to Asmodeus Zechs, they could at least have gained some clue about what she was thinking after hearing the news of Zechs' capture.
But there had been no activity at all. No calls. Not even an attempt to contact him.
That made her impossible to read.
"Well... all we can do is wait and see," Kong said.
Privately, he hoped Charlotte Linlin would take the bait and come directly to Marine Base G-17 with the intention of rescuing her fiancé.
This was Sengoku's plan…
Although Streusen had told them that Charlotte Linlin had accepted that Asmodeus Zechs was probably dead... There was still no actual proof of Zechs being dead.
And because of that, they believed she would rather cling to the hope that he was still alive.
That was the very weakness Sengoku's plan aimed to exploit.
Charlotte Linlin had spent more than a month depressed and miserable after Zechs mysteriously disappeared. Eventually, she had forced herself to believe that he might already be dead.
But now, if he had suddenly resurfaced. Or at least, that was what the newspapers claimed. Surely she would want to see him, wouldn't she? Surely she would want to rescue him from the Marines, right...? It would be just like when Zechs had helped her against Admiral Kong.
And if she does try to rescue him, whether on G-17 or on the seas… That would make capturing her much easier…
'I sure hope the Asmodeus Zechs Pirates and the Charlotte Linlin Pirates are panicking right now...' Kong thought.
…
On Charlotte Linlin's pirate ship, the atmosphere was indeed grim.
"Asmodeus Zechs fell into the Marines' hands?" one pirate muttered.
"Isn't this Rear Admiral Sengoku the same guy who was chasing us with Admiral Kong? Did he capture Big Bro?" another pirate asked.
"What are we going to do? What is Ane-san going to do?" a third pirate murmured.
All of them turned toward Linlin, who sat there calmly drinking orange juice with a newspaper in her hand.
Rob, sitting nearby and reading the same article, muttered, "It's a trap... for you, Charlotte-san."
"It's too obvious," Linlin replied with a nod. Then she added, "But it's a good trap. If I hadn't already been in regular contact with Zechs... I definitely would have taken the bait and tried to rescue him."
"I wouldn't have been able to stay calm either," Rob admitted. "Fortunately, I already know Captain's condition... so I don't need to worry that much."
Because Linlin had been speaking with Zechs almost every night in her dreams, she had already assured Rob that Zechs was alive and currently stranded on some isolated island.
Knowing that, Rob had no reason to believe the newspaper story. He was completely certain that the Marines had not captured Zechs and that the whole thing was nothing more than bait meant to lure Linlin into a trap.
"Still... I do wonder how the Marines came up with the idea of using Captain's 'capture' to lure you in, Charlotte-san," Rob added.
The scheme would have worked. Not just on Linlin, even the rest of them would have desperately tried to rescue their captain.
Rob was honestly a little disturbed that the Marines had come up with something so nasty.
"At the very least, they must know how important Captain is to you, Charlotte-san," he said. "Otherwise, they would never have bothered with a plan like this."
And that was the suspicious part.
Rob had a bad feeling that this was not a simple matter.
"While fighting that guy Kong, Zechs and I did tell him that we were going to get married," Charlotte Linlin said thoughtfully. "Maybe this is connected to that conversation."
"Is that so...?" Rob murmured. He did not reject the possibility, but he was considering other explanations as well, like the possibility of a traitor or someone on the inside feeding information to the Marines.
'Could that bastard Streusen be behind this?' he thought.
After all, Streusen had been thrown off the crew by Linlin after being humiliated. It would be completely normal for him to hold a grudge against her.
And because he had been part of her crew, he knew a lot. More than enough to tip the Marines off with information they should not have known.
But Rob had no proof, so he kept those thoughts to himself.
"In the end, it doesn't matter..." Linlin wasn't particularly concerned, nor did she care much about what the Marines thought of this scheme. What mattered more to her was that the Marines had actually dared to come up with such a plan against her. That alone made her angry.
"I wonder if I should completely destroy a Marine branch...?"
Rob's lips twitched when he heard that.
But he said nothing. He neither tried to dissuade her nor agreed with her outright. He wasn't the captain, nor was he officially part of her crew.
Of course, if she chose that route, he would definitely help.
After all, the Marines had claimed they had arrested his captain. As the navigator of the Asmodeus Zechs Pirates, he felt those bastards needed to be taught a lesson for even daring to imply that they could capture his captain that easily.
As for Linlin... after briefly considering it, she nodded to herself.
"Yosh... let's do it. Let's destroy a Marine branch and let that bastard Buddha, or whoever the hell he is, know that his petty tricks won't work. If they want to capture me, they'd better come after me directly."
Now that Linlin had made her decision, the ship slowly changed course and headed toward a Marine base.
It wasn't G-17.
It was some other base.
…
A few days later, at Marine Branch G-17—
A sailor sprinted through the corridors before bursting into the Vice Admiral's office.
"Admiral... Admiral Kong..." he reported hurriedly.
Seeing the sailor's serious expression, Kong, Blue Grass, Sengoku, and Tsuru, who were all gathered in the office, immediately looked at him expectantly.
"Is she here? Charlotte Linlin?" they asked.
"A... a ship has indeed arrived... b-but it isn't Charlotte Linlin's..." the sailor stammered. "It belongs to the Royal Family of the Rommel Kingdom... Queen Victoria, Princess Elizabeth, and Princess Diana are aboard and requesting permission to dock. T-they want to—"
He trailed off, trembling, because he could already see the veins bulging on Kong's forehead.
"What the hell is with all these women?!" Kong roared, slamming his fist onto the table in exasperation.
Tsuru stood up. "I'll send them away, just like the other ships," she said before walking out of the office to deal with the matter.
The others nodded and sighed.
"This is really troublesome... I didn't expect that pirate to be this popular with women. Even queens and princesses from different nations are after him..."
Ever since they published that newspaper article claiming that Asmodeus Zechs had been arrested, women all over the world seemed to have lost their damn minds.
Well... the women in Paradise and the Four Blues were still somewhat reasonable.
But the women of the New World... they had gone completely crazy.
One ship after another kept arriving at G-17, requesting permission to dock, all because they wanted to see Asmodeus Zechs. Of course... they didn't just want to see him. They wanted to take him away.
And the worst part was that many of these women held positions of power and status, making the entire situation even harder to deal with.
"It's not just queens and princesses we have to worry about..." Blue Grass reminded them. "What are we supposed to tell Saint Bavette, Saint Manmayer, Saint Roswald, and the other Celestial Dragon women who are demanding that Asmodeus Zechs be brought to the Holy Land? They want him as their slave..."
"All these women are really going crazy... over one damn pirate..." Kong muttered, rubbing his forehead in frustration.
If they had actually captured Asmodeus Zechs, that would have been one thing.
But they didn't have him at all.
They had only faked his arrest to lure Charlotte Linlin out.
Who the hell could have predicted that women from all over the world would go crazy and start sailing here to 'rescue' him?
"What's the status of Charlotte Linlin? Have any of our scouting ships spotted her yet?" Kong asked.
Blue Grass shook her head. "No sign of her approaching the base so far..."
"Did she not take the bait...?" Sengoku muttered.
Just then, another sailor came running all the way to the office and hurriedly reported, "Admiral... we have news... about Charlotte Linlin..."
Those words immediately drew everyone's attention. "Is she here?" they asked at the same time.
But the sailor, sweat pouring down his forehead, shook his head. "N-no... she isn't coming to G-17..." he stammered.
"If she isn't coming here... then what the hell is she doing?" Kong demanded.
The sailor swallowed, cold sweat running down his back. "W-we received a report from G-31... the entire base... the entire base has been destroyed..."
"What?!" Kong, Sengoku, and Blue Grass all shot to their feet, their expressions changing instantly as the pressure in the room spiked.
The sailor continued, his voice shaking, "Vice Admiral Gamma… he got severely injured, and he is still unconscious… and many sailors died as well... It... it was done by Charlotte Linlin's crew and the crew of Asmodeus Zechs..."
Bang!
Kong slammed his fist down so hard that the table shattered completely.
"So the bait plan... failed?" Sengoku murmured.
That had to be it.
Charlotte Linlin was supposed to come to G-17 to rescue Zechs. Instead, she had gone to G-31 and destroyed it.
It was as if Linlin were telling them directly that she had no intention of taking the bait.
Sengoku hadn't expected this at all, and guilt immediately welled up inside him.
It had been his plan.
Because of that plan, Charlotte Linlin had attacked G-31. If he hadn't suggested it, perhaps the Marines who died there, and Vice Admiral Gamma, wouldn't have suffered through that.
Seeing Sengoku blaming himself, Kong spoke up. "Sengoku... don't let this guilt consume you. If you believe you're responsible for their deaths, then direct that guilt where it belongs and make sure Charlotte Linlin is brought to justice."
"I... I understand, Kong-san..." Sengoku nodded, clenching his fists. He wouldn't allow himself to drown in guilt. He would use it to make sure Charlotte Linlin paid.
Satisfied, Kong turned his thoughts to the other issue. "But why the hell would Charlotte Linlin suddenly attack G-31?"
It had been completely unexpected and had caught even him off guard.
Blue Grass suggested slowly, "It could mean that she already knows this is a trap. Maybe she's drawing attention to herself and trying to lure Kong out to sea so G-17 won't have the strength it currently has. Then she could send someone else here to rescue Asmodeus Zechs from behind..."
Hearing that, Kong and Sengoku fell silent, considering their next move.
Should they give Linlin what she wanted? Send Kong out to sea and continue with the plan, letting her believe that her strategy was working before catching her off guard?
'No... Her actions were far too unpredictable. And what if she sent someone troublesome to G-17 while Kong was away? Someone capable of freeing Ochoku from the prison here?'
Letting her dictate the pace was definitely the wrong move.
'In that case…' he decided they needed to escalate things.
"This Ochoku bastard has to be sent to Impel Down eventually anyway..." Kong said. "So let's go through with it."
He believed that if Charlotte Linlin learned that Asmodeus Zechs was being transferred to Impel Down, she wouldn't be able to sit still and attack other branches. She would become desperate and directly come for the ship that is supposedly escorting Asmodeus Zechs to Impel Down.
The same should apply to the members of Asmodeus Zechs' crew currently aboard Linlin's ship.
Of course... There was still the possibility that she wouldn't take the bait.
But Kong decided to take that risk anyway.
With that in mind, he turned to Blue Grass. "Send Tsuru to G-31 and have her take command there until Vice Admiral Gamma regains consciousness and is in proper shape. We can deal with that situation later."
Then he continued, "For now, Sengoku and I are going to escort this pirate to Impel Down."
After a brief pause, he added, "Also, contact the newspaper publishers and leak that Asmodeus Zechs is being transferred to Impel Down... along with the route we are likely to take. Let's see whether Charlotte Linlin becomes desperate enough to rescue her fiancé."
His eyes narrowed. "And make sure the newspapers only mention Sengoku as the escort. Don't mention me."
"Hmm... understood..." Blue Grass nodded and immediately began contacting the newspaper publishers.
In this era, a figure like Big News Morgans did not yet exist, so the World Government maintained tight control over the newspapers. The publishers printed whatever the World Government and the Marines wanted them to print, making schemes like this relatively easy to arrange.
…
On Charlotte Linlin's ship—
"They're still going on about it? Mama mama... it seems that Kong, or probably Sengoku, really thinks their plan is going to work..." Linlin laughed, openly mocking the Marines.
"Ane-san... what are we going to do now? Attack another Marine branch?" one of the pirates aboard Linlin's ship asked.
Linlin thought for a moment before shaking her head. "No. Forget it... let's hide somewhere for a while. I'm in the mood to relax..."
"Got it, Ane-san... then we'll lie low for now," the pirate replied.
And with that, the ship changed course and headed toward some remote island to hide, completely unconcerned about whatever the Marines were planning.
…
Lulusia Kingdom, in the first half of the Grand Line—
A muscular pirate with spiky white hair streaked with dark blue, a lightning-shaped scar over his left eye, and black clothes sat inside a tavern, drinking while reading the newspaper.
He swirled the rum in his glass as he read the article about Rear Admiral Sengoku escorting a pirate named Asmodeus Zechs to Impel Down.
"Defeated by this chump Sengoku and being escorted to Impel Down... Asmodeus Zechs..." he scoffed. "What a disappointment."
The man had actually held a fairly good opinion of Zechs. A pirate with a bounty of 900 million berries was no small thing.
Although he had never met Zechs personally, he had considered him a valuable asset and had even thought about recruiting him when he ventured into the New World.
But if a man like that could be defeated by a mere Rear Admiral, then he was too pathetic. Not worth recruiting at all!!
With a snort, the man tossed the newspaper aside and continued drinking his rum.
Seeing him casually toss the newspaper aside, the barmaid slammed her fist onto the counter, "Rocks... you bastard... how dare you throw away a newspaper with Zechs-sama's picture in it?! I'll skin you alive...!!!"
Without a doubt, this man was none other than Rocks D. Xebec, currently in the initial phase of starting his grand plan.
Rocks looked at the barmaid's cold glare and the almost reverent way she picked up the newspaper and hugged it to her chest.
He scoffed. "What the hell is so good about that guy? He got beaten by a mere Rear Admiral. Meanwhile, I even killed an Admiral... and you still treat me like this, huh, Eris?"
The beautiful barmaid in front of him was named Eris. One day, far in the future, she might even become Rocks' wife and the mother of his child.
But that was still a decade away.
Right now, she was simply a beautiful barmaid in her late teens, working in a tavern in the Lulusia Kingdom. And like many girls her age, she was completely infatuated with a handsome pirate like Asmodeus Zechs.
It was basically the same as a teenage girl worshipping her favourite idol.
As for Rocks... he knew nothing about that future either. At this point in his life, he was consumed by ambition and didn't particularly care about the woman's affection.
But he was still annoyed.
Eris was glaring at him while treating the picture of some defeated bastard from a newspaper like a treasure. Anyone would feel uncomfortable about that… let alone him who felt a little green for some inexplicable reason.
"What could a crude man like you know? Zechs-sama is the most handsome man in the world..." the barmaid said, clutching the newspaper even tighter. "He's a god... a god..."
"How do you know he's a god? Have you ever even met him?" Rocks raised an eyebrow.
And honestly... he didn't like hearing Zechs being called a god. Not because he was jealous or anything like that. He simply didn't have a good impression of gods… and if he is being honest, Gods are his enemies.
If Zechs is a God, then he is also Rock's enemy.
Of course, such a puny guy who got defeated by a Rear admiral is definitely not worth mentioning in his eyes, so Rocks didn't really care and didn't consider him a God at all.
"Even though I haven't met him... but... but..." Eris bit her lip before snorting. "Humph... why the hell do I even need to explain Zechs-sama's greatness to a crude guy like you? Just pay your tab and get lost. Marines have been asking about you in the streets… I overheard that even Admiral Zilla is coming…"
"Yeah, yeah... fine..." Rocks muttered and became vigilant in his heart, 'Even that guy Zilla is here? I see… it's time to leave this island…'
He didn't want to engage in a pointless battle with that guy who is known as the King of Monster.
Since that was the case—
Glug... glug... glug...
He drained the rest of his rum in one go, then tossed a few coins onto the counter and stood up to leave.
But just as he turned away, Eris suddenly called out to him. "Wait... Rocks..."
He paused and looked back at her curiously, "What is it, woman?"
"You killed an Admiral, right? So... you're strong, right?" she asked hesitantly.
"Vohahahaha...!" Rocks burst into laughter.
Strong? He was strong as fuck.
Hearing his laughter, Eris became even more convinced. She bit her lip for a moment before finally asking, "Can you... Can you rescue Zechs-sama before they throw him into Impel Down?"
Rocks' laughter abruptly stopped before he scoffed, "Rescue him...? Forget it. I have more important things to do."
Then, without paying any attention to Eris calling after him, he turned and walked out.
He had no interest in rescuing some defeated weakling. He really did have more important things to do... like overthrowing the Celestial Dragons and becoming King of the World.
Why the hell would he waste time rescuing some useless womanizer?
If Zechs had been strong, then Rocks would have definitely rescued him and recruited him into the crew. But without strength... he had no interest.
As he walked toward his ship, he muttered to himself, "Strong fighters... capable people... I need them. But even if I win them over with strength, money, or clever words... keeping them tied to the ship will still be difficult. There has to be some common benefit as well... hmm..."
He paused for a moment before shaking his head. "It's fine... there's no hurry..."
With that, he leapt onto his ship and ordered his men to set sail.
They were heading for the New World.
Because only in the New World... could he find the strong and capable subordinates he needed.
…
A few days later... near the G-1 Marine Base, several Marine warships sailed across the sea. Smoke still rose from some of them.
Sengoku walked through the corridors of one of the warships and soon arrived at a room where Kong was eating banana ice cream.
"Fweh... I have to say, Streusen, your cooking really is good..." Kong said. "I've never tasted banana ice cream this good."
Sengoku's eye twitched slightly when he saw Streusen sitting across from Kong.
After spending several days aboard the warship, Streusen had already been uncuffed and was now serving as the ship's chef. Although it was irritating to see a pirate moving around freely on a Marine vessel like this, even Sengoku had to admit that he had never eaten food this delicious.
Streusen's cooking really was that damn good.
Putting that aside, Kong turned toward the rear admiral as Sengoku entered. "Any luck this time?"
Sengoku sat down in a chair before shaking his head. "No... it was just another group of crazy women trying to free Asmodeus Zechs."
Kong sighed. "So it seems... Charlotte Linlin really isn't coming..."
"That appears to be the case..." Sengoku agreed.
So many days had passed, and they were already approaching the Red Port. If Charlotte Linlin still hadn't come to save her fiancé by now, then perhaps she had no intention of saving him at all.
"Is it possible she already knows that it wasn't Asmodeus Zechs we captured... but Ochoku?" Kong asked before turning toward Streusen.
Only a handful of people knew the truth, and Streusen was one of them. If he had somehow warned Linlin, then everything would make sense.
"Don't look at me..." Streusen said, his expression twitching slightly. "I have no way to contact that monster."
If it had been up to him, he would have preferred to tell Linlin that Asmodeus Zechs was aboard this very warship so that she would come. Why the hell would he do the opposite?
Kong licked the spoon clean, set it down, and rested his chin on his hand, "Then why do you think she didn't come?"
"Who the hell knows what she's thinking..." Streusen replied. "Maybe she already lost whatever affection she had for him. She's a monster who could eat the woman who raised her and the children she grew up with. What is one man to her... especially one she's only known for two days?"
Streusen genuinely had no idea why Linlin hadn't attacked the Marine fleet that, in the eyes of everyone else, was escorting Zechs.
Honestly... he thought there was a real chance that Linlin had simply stopped caring about him.
And he wouldn't put that past her.
Kong and Sengoku blinked.
As much as they hated to admit it, his words made sense. Charlotte Linlin really was a monster wearing human skin. Why the hell would she care that much about one man?
"This makes things even more troublesome..." Kong said, rubbing his forehead. "The World Nobles have been constantly breathing down our necks. Not only because of Charlotte Linlin, but also because of Asmodeus Zechs. If we fail to deliver either of them... it'll become a serious problem."
Streusen's eyes lit up immediately. "In that case... how about you finally try my plan?"
Kong and Sengoku both turned to look at him.
"You've already tried your methods," Streusen said bluntly. "Waiting near the waters of Totto Land didn't work. Using him as bait didn't work either. So how about trusting my plan for once? I really do want her brought to justice... and I'm willing to take the risk."
"Are you really willing to take that risk?" Sengoku asked, still unwilling to trust him completely.
"I am," Streusen replied with a nod. Then he added, "But this time... I have a condition."
"A condition?" Kong raised an eyebrow, interested.
A selfless pirate was more dangerous than a greedy one. At least greed could be understood and controlled. So Kong wanted to hear what Streusen was really after.
"If I help you take down Charlotte Linlin and bring her to justice..." Streusen said, "then I want to become one of the Yoncooks in the Marines."
The Yoncooks were a group of four elite chefs who worked for the Marines, and Streusen felt that once Charlotte Linlin was finally brought down, he could retire from piracy by becoming one of them.
It would be safe. He would no longer be hunted.
And as for whether he could actually become one of the Yoncooks... with his talent and skill as a chef, that wouldn't be a problem at all.
"Yoncooks, huh...?" Kong murmured as he began to think it over.
He understood exactly what Streusen's becoming a Yoncook would mean.
Decades of piracy would effectively be swept under the rug. His bounty would disappear. He would become a respectable citizen instead of a wanted criminal.
Hell, he would be working for the Marines.
That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but...
'This matter with Charlotte Linlin needs to end soon... it's dragged on for too long,' Kong thought.
By now, he had been away from Marine Headquarters for nearly two months. He had no desire to keep chasing Linlin across the seas. He wanted this over with before she became a permanent stain on his record.
So after a long silence and even longer hesitation, Kong finally nodded. "Alright... we'll try it. If your plan works, and Charlotte Linlin is brought to justice because of your help... then you'll have the chance to become one of the Yoncooks."
He paused briefly before adding:
"And Linlin will finally receive the punishment she deserves... for all her crimes, and for offending people she never should have crossed."
Streusen smiled, "Then... glad to be working together on this, Admiral Kong."
He stretched out his hand for a handshake.
Kong hesitated for a moment before finally taking the pirate's hand and shaking it.
"Alright then... I'll make the preparations." With that, Streusen rose from his seat and left the room.
Sengoku, who had watched the entire exchange in silence, looked troubled. "Are we really going to cooperate with a pirate?" he muttered. "And just forgive his crimes like that? Even if he might have been forced into helping Charlotte Linlin... he was still a pirate before he ever met her. So his crimes..."
Kong placed a hand on his shoulder. "Compared to Charlotte Linlin, Streusen is a much smaller threat," he said. "And he's willing to retire and turn himself over to the Marines. If we can use a lesser pirate to bring down a greater one... then that's the best outcome."
Sengoku hesitated before asking quietly, "Is that really justice? What about the families of his victims whose lives he took?"
Kong sighed. "Justice can be flexible, depending on the situation... and the people involved."
After saying that, he left the room and followed Streusen.
Sengoku remained behind, alone with his thoughts, "Justice can be flexible... huh?"
…
A few days later… on the red port where ships leaves for many places on the New World… and there are also many passenger ships that try provide safe travel for normal people on board… Streusen, wearing a cloak stood beside it, ready to board it…
As the man began to leave, Kong reminded him somewhat coldly, "You'd better not be planning to play games with us…"
Streusen shrugged, "Admiral Kong already has my Vivre Card… in this situation… I can't run away at all… isn't that assurance enough?"
Kong snorted… still not fully trusting Streusen… but nodded as he tossed a transponder snail to Streusen, "I'll keep in touch and wait for your reports… make sure to pick up the call… as for the code at that time…" he then went on to explain the code that they'd be using to make sure that anyone else if they pick up the call in Streusen's place, doesn't understand anything.
"Got it…" nodded Streusen.
Kong nodded and asked for the last time, "Will you really be able to find Charlotte Linlin's crew and get back on board…?"
Streusen snorted, "Don't underestimate me, Admiral… I may not be strong enough… but… I have been on the Grandline longer than you have… and I have known Linlin for more than a decade… not just her… but everyone on her crew… Within a month or two… I'll be back on her ship… and I'll contact you… then you can come along with enough force and capture her at once…"
"You still haven't told me how you'd deal with her homies…" Kong asked…
"I have my own method…" Streusen said lightly, making it clear that he has no intention of explaining.
Kong was a bit dissatisfied but whatever, and said… "Alright… the ship's about to leave… then… you better get on board…"
"Yeah…" Streusen nodded and got on board… before the ship disappeared in the horizon.
Kong watched it disappeared and murmured to himself, "Hope this works…"
…
Meanwhile, back on the passenger ship, Streusen entered his room and locked the door behind him.
Then, without hesitation, he bent over a wooden bowl and deliberately forced himself to vomit, emptying the contents of his stomach into it.
Along with half-digested food and water, a large seed with a hard, round shell dropped into the bowl. It looked somewhat like a walnut... except it was at least five or ten times larger than a normal one.
How Streusen had even managed to keep something like that inside his stomach was a mystery.
Then again... perhaps his swallowing skills were simply that damn good.
Ignoring the disgusting mess, Streusen picked up the giant walnut and easily cracked it open.
Inside were only two things: a Transponder Snail and a piece of parchment with the name "Linlin" written across it.
He tore off a small corner of the parchment and placed it on the palm of his hand.
Strangely, the scrap immediately lifted off his palm and drifted in a certain direction.
"Good..." Streusen muttered with a smile. "With Linlin's Vivre Card, finding her and scaring the shit out of her Homies won't be a problem."
Unbeknownst to Linlin, Streusen possessed her Vivre Card... and he had kept it for more than a decade.
Back when she was still just a little girl, he had secretly made it without her knowledge. It was a precaution against her Homies, and a way to keep track of her in case she ever got lost or the two of them somehow became separated. After all, she had been just a child back then... and the possibility of them getting separated had been very real.
So he had created the Vivre Card to track her in situations like that.
And now... he was going to use that very same Vivre Card to find Linlin once again.
In truth, he could have handed the Vivre Card over to the Marines. With it, tracking her down would have been easy, and perhaps they might have already brought her to justice.
But he didn't.
For the sake of his own satisfaction, Streusen wanted to play an active role in her downfall. He wanted to be there. He wanted to watch Linlin suffer for humiliating him.
Looking at the small Vivre Card, Streusen smiled. "Linlin... you cannibalistic bitch... I'm coming. Don't worry... very soon, you'll have a slave collar around your neck, and your entire dream will be over. This is what you deserve, you bitch... for taking me for granted... for giving your virginity to that bastard Zechs... and for humiliating me and rejecting me. This is what you'll get—a life of slavery.
Meanwhile, I'll rise through the ranks of the World Government. I'll become a chef for the Celestial Dragons so I can watch you be humiliated and look down on you every single day.
And... once I'm their chef... I'll be in charge of your food too. I'll make sure to feed you my semen over and over again. You bitch who humiliated me and rejected me... this is what you're going to get. Haha..."
It was a pity that Asmodeus Zechs was already dead. Streusen had wanted him to suffer through the same thing as well.
But it didn't matter, he would settle for taking his revenge on Linlin alone.
With that in mind, he gradually calmed his laughter.
Then he closed the walnut seed again, placing the remaining Vivre Card and the Transponder Snail back inside before swallowing it down into his stomach once more.
After that, he wiped his mouth, picked up the Transponder Snail Kong had given him, and dialled a number.
Buru buru... buru buru... buru buru...
The call connected after ringing for a while.
{Moshi moshi... who is this?}
"Ahem... Bel, it's me. Streusen..." Streusen said.
{S-Streusen-san!?The other side exclaimed loudly before quickly lowering his voice. {Streusen-san... what are you doing? You can't contact me... if Ane-san finds out, I'll be in serious trouble...}
"Bel... I... I want to come back..." Streusen said, forcing pain and tears into his voice.
{You can't... Ane-san will kill you!} Bel replied before adding, {I don't know what exactly you did... but she was really angry that day. It's only recently that her mood has improved. If you come back...!}
'So... she didn't tell anyone. I see... that's good for me...' Streusen thought.
Then he began pleading. "Bel... you have to help me. Didn't I convince Linlin to forgive you back then and let you join as my assistant chef? Bel... you have to help me... you owe me a lot!"
{S-Streusen-san... you're making things difficult for me...!} Bel said, sounding troubled.
"Please..." Streusen pleaded.
He even let tears fall, and when Bel noticed them, he finally couldn't bear it anymore and gave in.
{F-fine... I'll help you... h-hopefully Ane-san will forgive you and let you back on board...!}
Streusen secretly smiled. 'Too easy...' Then he asked, "Where is everyone? Did Linlin return to Totto Land?"
{No... not Totto Land. Right now we're at—} Bel replied.
...
Meanwhile, on the Marines' side, Sengoku and Kong, who had been listening to the conversation between Streusen and Bel, immediately learned Linlin's current location.
"Should we go?" Sengoku asked.
Kong shook his head. "Even if we go now, it'd be pointless. She probably won't stay on that island for long. And unless we find a way to deal with her ability to control the sea, there is no point in confronting her." He paused before continuing. "Let's wait until Streusen rejoins Charlotte Linlin. Then we'll make our move. At the critical moment, he'll deal with her Homies, making it much easier to capture her."
"I see..." Sengoku nodded.
Then he left the room with Kong. They still had to escort Ochoku to Impel Down.
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A/N:
Gimme all your Power Stones, let it rain guys.
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