An invisible shockwave slammed into the CP0 agents' minds like a rampaging beast.
For a split second, both of them blanked out.
Cold terror crawled up their spines.
"Th-this brat… actually awakened Conqueror's… Haki…" One of them was so shaken even his speech turned clumsy.
His grip tightened instinctively, making Katakuri's brows knit in pain. Cold sweat slid down his face and mixed with the blood at the corner of his mouth, trailing down like a thin red line that dripped onto the ground.
Vulture ground his teeth, voice trembling. "If this kid grows up… he'll be another king."
"This is… the Rocks Pirates."
Even with CP0's iron training, fear still rooted itself in their hearts.
This age was far too early for Conqueror's Haki.
And on top of that…
After battering Katakuri again and again, Vulture knew all too well that this kid's physique was far beyond his peers. His will…
Was in no way inferior to theirs, the World Government's killing machines raised from childhood.
And on top of that…
He now had something they could never obtain themselves Conqueror's Haki.
It was enough to make anyone's scalp go numb.
Even Katakuri himself was stunned for a moment. "I… awakened Conqueror's Haki?"
He was no stranger to this power. He'd seen it used plenty of times on this island.
Rocks. Ares. Mom. Kaido, and others.
But before he could feel any joy, he was yanked off his feet. Another blow crashed into the back of his neck as the CP0 agents darted through the alley with him in tow.
Pfft
Blood spurted from his lips. The crimson trail ran down his neck and soaked into his clothes.
It bloomed like red flowers on his body.
He looked genuinely miserable.
But he still forced himself to stay conscious and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Help me!!"
"I'm here!!!"
That one roar made the two CP0, thieves mid-crime, panic.
In a fluster, one of them lunged to clamp a hand over Katakuri's mouth.
"Argh "
The next second, Katakuri bit down. His jagged teeth sank deep into the agent's hand. Blood oozed out instantly.
Katakuri tasted the metallic tang of iron. Red veins crawled across his eyes as he doubled down with a feral viciousness, refusing to let go.
He bit harder.
"Y-you little !!" the CP0 hissed, face twitching from the pain, eyelids trembling.
Tekkai.
Forced into it, he shifted into Iron Body to ward off this crazed dog-like biting.
…
From beginning to end, only a few minutes had passed.
In the early morning, explosions and angry shouts were enough to jolt half the island awake.
Inside the Skull Castle.
Pirates stormed out of their rooms, faces twisted with rage.
The corridors were instantly filled with noise.
"What the hell is going on?! Who the hell has the balls to cause trouble on Beehive Island?!!"
"Find the bastards and tear them to pieces, feed them to the dogs!!"
"Damn it, can't a man get some sleep?!"
…
A bunch of hot-headed pirates grabbed their weapons and rushed out on the spot.
Rocks was jolted awake as well. Stepping out of his room, he leaned over the corridor railing, looking down at the pirates below. He muttered, "Must be the Navy or the World Government making a move."
Creak
Not far away, a door swung open. Shakky stepped out in a nightgown, curves outlined perfectly as a wave of perfume drifted with her.
She frowned. "Captain Rocks, what happened?"
"Not sure yet, but with that kind of commotion, I can pretty much guess who it is." Rocks' eyes narrowed.
He looked down at the crowd of pirates and barked:
"Listen up, you brats! Drag out whoever's causing trouble. The Navy and World Government dogs are probably mixed into the island already. Find them!"
"Whoever finds one gets a five hundred million bounty!"
His voice slammed into every pirate's eardrums like a bell.
"Roar!!!"
"Kill the Marines!!"
The moment they heard the reward, the pirates went wild, as if injected with chicken blood. Their howls were like starved wolves.
They surged out in waves. Some of them even shouted in excitement:
"The Marines actually dared come to Beehive Island, hahahaha! They forget whose turf this is?!"
"Hurry up and look! Five hundred million just for finding a Navy or Government dog!!"
"Usually they're the ones chasing us. Now it's our turn to hunt them!!"
"Look at the Marines scurrying around like rats. On this island… we're the ones who make the rules!!"
…
A huge tide of pirates barreled out. Even the castle and the ground seemed to shake.
Shakky walked up beside Rocks. "Most of the pirates have left the Skull Castle…"
She trailed off.
But Rocks already understood what she meant. He smirked, disdain tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Let them come… I just hope they don't chicken out of coming to the Skull Castle."
In his eyes, this was likely the Navy and the World Government playing at luring the tiger from the mountain.
Hearing this, Shakky realized Rocks intended to turn their little scheme back on them.
Only Rocks would be this confident.
Even with most of his subordinates out scouring the island, he didn't feel the slightest bit nervous.
"Go find out what's really going on," Rocks ordered Shakky. "And…"
"Check whether there's any movement at the prison, too. Best if you go yourself and look things over."
"If the Navy and World Government are making a move, their goal can only be Celestial Dragons."
He grinned wildly. "Because they don't dare fight me, Rocks, head-on!"
Rocks knew exactly where the World Government's weak spot was.
Face.
They valued that more than anything.
"Got it." Shakky nodded. She turned and hurried back to change, then rushed off to execute Rocks' orders.
Rocks looked down over the Skull Castle, a cold smile on his face. "I've laid everything out for you. Come on…"
"If you don't come now, your chance is gone."
…
Under the lure of profit, nearly ninety percent of the pirates in the Skull Castle had charged out.
Just outside that same castle.
The two CP0 agents guarding the place were startled by the sudden uproar.
One of them speculated, "Something must've gone wrong with someone's operation. Most of those pirates are running toward the harbor. The question is whether Shakky will come out."
"Look, she's out," the other murmured.
In their line of sight, Shakky stormed out of the Skull Castle.
The two CP0 glanced at each other.
Then silently fell in behind her.
…
Elsewhere on the island.
Wang Zhi and Silver Axe, who got the news first, each led a team and rushed to the scene of the incident.
After questioning the people nearby, Wang Zhi's face turned ashen, growing darker by the second. "Those two took Katakuri away!!"
"This is bad!"
He lashed out in rage. His sword flashed, slicing open a random pirate's throat. Blood sprayed onto the dusty ground and dried almost instantly.
His heart sank. He snarled, "Trash. Even if you gave your life to stall CP0 for a moment, you'd have been worth something!"
Katakuri was a member of Ares' division. And the kid was particularly favored by both Ares and Kaido.
A special exception had been made to let him into Ares' crew.
If Ares found out that Katakuri had been snatched on their own island, wouldn't he tear all of Beehive Island apart?
"It's probably CP0. Those skulking rats," Silver Axe spat, furious, worry thick in his eyes.
"Right now, we have to find Katakuri immediately," Wang Zhi said. "They ran west. Take men and chase them."
"Got it." Silver Axe gathered a large group of pirates and bolted after them.
Wang Zhi turned to one of his subordinates. "You. Go find the best tracker on the island right now!"
"Bring him here. Have him follow the bloodstains and scent!"
The pirate took off at once.
Wang Zhi looked at the two obvious pools of blood on the ground, his face as black as if it had been smeared with coal.
…
In a damp cellar, faint with the smell of mold.
This was where the Navy was hiding.
"Vice Admiral Garp, bad news. The Rocks Pirates' men are sweeping the island, hunting for Navy and World Government agents!"
Garp's eyes widened. "What happened?"
"We're not sure yet, but it looks serious," the soldier said, nervous and worried.
Dragon's eyes lit up. "It must be CP0. They started their plan and stirred up the island."
"Our chance is here."
Garp flexed his wrists, joints cracking, excitement glinting in his eyes. "So we're finally moving?"
"Hiding like this is suffocating."
"No." Dragon shook his head, keeping his cool. "We have to find out what actually happened first."
"There are too many pirates on the island. The Rocks Pirates won't be able to sweep everywhere all at once."
"Send men out in disguise. Find out what sparked this chaos."
A few Marines already dressed like pirates slipped out to gather intel.
…
Outside the town.
Claude and the rest of CP0 had taken Charlotte Linlin's children and hidden in a shabby little hut.
Inside.
Perospero and the other kids were tied up tight, rag stuffed into their mouths.
They huddled in a corner, shivering as they stared at the masked CP0.
They had no idea why these people had taken them.
But there was no way it was for anything good.
Claude stood there, his masked face cold as he stared at them. His voice was like ice. "I know some of you are Devil Fruit users. But…"
"If you try anything and get caught, you'll find out exactly what pain feels like."
"If you want to live, sit still and behave."
They had Seastone cuffs, but not that many.
Big Mom really could give birth, and she clearly seemed intent on collecting Devil Fruits for her kids. Without those powers being used, there was no telling who had eaten what.
Claude looked over at the other CP0. "We'll stand guard in shifts. Watch them carefully. These brats are the key to whether our plan succeeds or fails."
Then his tone turned darker. "Those two idiots, Vulture and his partner, are useless. They can't even handle one child. Who knows if they've gotten out of danger or not."
"Want me to go support them?" one CP0 asked.
Claude shook his head, forcing down his anger. His voice went hoarse. "No. You'll just expose our location. We wait for their update."
What should have been the simplest part of the plan had turned into a huge mess.
In his heart, he'd already cursed those two to hell and back.
…
"Linlin… Linlin… this is bad!! Really bad!!"
Streusen's long face was twisted with panic as his short legs spun like wheels, clacking rapidly across the floor.
He was out of breath, pounding on the door. The solid wood rattled under his fists.
"Linlin!!"
"Linlin!!! Wake up!!!"
He knew all too well how dangerous it was to wake Linlin up like this.
But right now, that was the last thing on his mind.
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