Wang Zhi's face was twisted with guilt and frustration.
"Ares, you finally made it. The ones who took Katakuri were from the World Government's strongest intelligence agency… CP0."
"It was our failure. We didn't cover everything, and CP0 took advantage of the gap…"
He knew very well how much Ares liked that kid Katakuri.
Otherwise, Ares would never have allowed him into his division. As of now, there were only four people in Tengetsu Ares' division, and one of them was Katakuri.
Countless pirates had broken their heads trying to squeeze in.
After all, if you followed a monster like 'Bloodhand' Ares, how could you possibly lack treasure or glory in the future?
"I don't care if it's CP0 or some so–called top intelligence agency," Ares said, his tone thick with killing intent. "They dared abduct Katakuri. I'll make them pay a price they'll never forget."
The murderous aura spilling from him was so intense the air itself felt colder, making the surrounding men's hair stand on end.
Wang Zhi quickly continued, "CP0 will use any means necessary to complete a mission. This time they infiltrated Hive Island and kidnapped Katakuri mostly to rescue the Celestial Dragons."
"My guess is that for now Katakuri and the other kids are still safe. But we need to find them as soon as possible. If we drag this out and get close to the execution date…"
"CP0 will probably use those children as bargaining chips. When that happens, things get really troublesome."
With Rocks' personality, he would never allow his grand plan to execute the Celestial Dragons to fail. He definitely would not trade Celestial Dragons for the lives of a few children.
And at that point…
Once the negotiation failed, CP0 might simply slaughter the kids.
"That's not what I want to hear," Ares cut in, his amber eyes burning like a storm. "How long until you find Katakuri? Is there any clue at all?"
"This…"
Wang Zhi's expression turned even uglier. "For now, we don't have any other leads… CP0 is very clean in how they operate. If Katakuri's will hadn't been so strong, we might not even have noticed his disappearance this quickly."
"Don't worry. I've already sent a large number of men to search. I'm sure news will come soon."
Right then…
One of Wang Zhi's subordinates ran over in a hurry.
Wang Zhi grabbed him immediately. "Is it about Katakuri?"
"N–no…" the man panted, then said, "It's something else. Kaido and Linlin are fighting."
At that, Wang Zhi's brow furrowed so hard it nearly knotted.
"Do they not see what kind of mess this island is in right now? They just had to pick this moment to start a fight."
"Even if you've got personal grudges, you can at least pick your timing!"
The island was already a disaster zone and he was running himself ragged trying to keep a lid on it.
And of all times, Kaido and Charlotte Linlin decided to throw down now, adding fuel to the chaos.
Wang Zhi was practically fuming.
His subordinate hurriedly explained, "Captain Wang Zhi, it isn't over personal grudges. Linlin lost her mind and started rampaging. Kaido stepped in to stop her, and that's how they ended up fighting."
"…Then I blamed Kaido wrongly." Wang Zhi gave an awkward little laugh.
Ares turned to the subordinate and asked, "How's the fight going now?"
Kaido's strength had skyrocketed since obtaining his Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit. In the seas, he now counted as a true powerhouse.
But Linlin was even more terrifying. Her talent was unmatched: monstrous strength, monstrous voice, and skin like iron.
On top of that, her Haki talent was incredible across the board.
At this stage…
Ares knew Kaido still wasn't Linlin's opponent. Not yet, even with the Mythical Zoan.
After all, Linlin also possessed the terrifying Paramecia Soul–Soul Fruit.
"They've already been fighting for a while," the subordinate reported. "Kaido has multiple wounds all over his body, while Linlin… doesn't have a single mark on her."
Ares nodded and glanced at Wang Zhi.
"I'll head to Kaido's side first. You keep assigning people to look for Katakuri. You must find him."
"Relax. As long as they're still on the island, we'll drag them out sooner or later." Wang Zhi thumped his chest.
"Then I'm going to the port."
Ares said no more and headed toward the harbor.
…
Meanwhile.
Inside Skull Castle.
Two CP0 agents had successfully infiltrated the fortress. They whispered to each other as they moved.
"Let's go to Rocks' room first, see if there's any clue. If not, we search the castle's underground levels and the other rooms."
"Right. Skull Castle is one of the two most likely places where the Celestial Dragons could be held."
"Most of the pirates have left this place. It's the perfect time for us to move."
"But we can't let our guard down. There are plenty of monsters in the Rocks Pirates. If they notice us, the whole plan goes up in smoke…"
The two of them melted into the shadows of the castle. Trained since childhood, their infiltration skills were elite even by CP0 standards. They slipped past the sentries and guards in Skull Castle with practiced ease.
Outside Rocks' room.
The two agents carefully glanced left and right. After confirming no one was around, one of them pressed his ear to the door and listened carefully.
After a moment, he whispered, "Sounds like no one is inside."
"Doesn't matter if there is or isn't. We have to check. If there's a clue, it'll be worth the risk," the other CP0 said.
They quietly pushed the door open a crack and peered through the gap.
From that narrow angle…
They could only see a portion of the room, and it looked empty. Only then did they push the door wider and step inside one after the other.
The moment they crossed the threshold
Snap.
The lights in the room flicked on.
Both CP0 agents' hearts nearly stopped. Their instincts screamed at them to retreat immediately, to bolt out of the room as fast as they could.
But the darkness that followed swallowed their figures whole.
The two CP0 agents vanished without a trace, as if they had never set foot in that room.
From the shadows inside…
Footsteps sounded slowly.
Rocks stepped out, that wild, arrogant face wearing a satisfied, predatory smile.
"Just as I thought. CP0 couldn't resist sneaking onto Hive Island while the whole place was in chaos."
"I've been waiting a long time for something to bite."
"Two CP0… Let's see what useful things about the World Government I can pry out of their mouths."
He strode out of the room with the swagger of a dragon and the tread of a tiger, muttering to himself,
"Time to close the net. If we wipe out all the World Government and marine forces on this island…"
"I imagine that kind of loss will hurt them."
He didn't know the full extent of the World Government's hidden strength, but chipping away at them like this, piece by piece, would steadily narrow the gap between the Rocks Pirates and the World Government.
…
At the port.
Kaido had transformed into his four–faced, eight–armed ape demon form, each massive hand gripping a spiked kanabo as he clashed with Charlotte Linlin.
They were like two mythical beasts tearing the world apart.
Kaido's kanabo whirled so fast they howled through the air, every swing sending out a violent shockwave.
Bang.
Bang.
Their clashes were like a storm of continuous thunder.
Two fists could not match eight arms. Kaido's ferocious barrage made it hard even for Linlin's iron fists to keep up. The spiked clubs crashed into her curvaceous body again and again.
Yet blow after blow landed…
And still failed to inflict any real damage. All they managed to do was send Linlin flying over and over, smashing her into the harbor and the ruined buildings.
Meanwhile, the mindless Linlin paid no attention to Kaido's attacks at all. Her fists hammered into his body again and again, pounding him until he was coughing blood.
Right now, the gap in raw physique between the two was still huge.
Maybe…
In a few years, Kaido might grow to the point where he could suppress Linlin. But for now, he was still quite a ways off.
And Linlin herself…
Her talent was monstrous to begin with. With Ares' appearance changing her life's trajectory, she had put far more time and effort into proper training than in the original history.
Which meant that while others were growing…
Linlin was also growing.
More importantly…
Linlin was an out–and–out monster.
By the time Tengetsu Ares arrived at the port…
What met his eyes was the brutal battle between Kaido and Linlin.
Watching Kaido fully immersed in the fight, lost in the joy of battle, Ares muttered to himself,
"Kaido has grown a lot…"
"And Linlin… has become even stronger than before."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, you like the story? Wow, who knew. Go ahead, drop a review and throw some power stones maybe I'll be motivated to keep going.
The story's already ahead on Patron. Go there if you want to catch up faster!
[email protected]/_theon
Change @ to "a"