"Don't be happy too soon."
Mio crossed his legs, looked directly at Stussy, and grinned. "Although I agree to trade with you, it doesn't mean that you can ride a warship into the Black Crow Sea. I think you should know what this behavior means to me."
"Of course I know."
Stussy spread his hands, but his tone was indifferent. "So except for me, everyone else on this ship is a discarded pawn, including this ship. You can do whatever you want with it."
"Heh."
Hearing this, Mio couldn't help but sneer and stood up. "Good trick."
"In order to achieve certain goals, it's necessary to abandon some unimportant pawns, isn't it?" Stussy also stood up and smiled. "Mr. Black Crow, don't you mind if I visit Crow Island as a guest?"
"Of course I don't mind. It would be even better if you could warm my bed," Mio said lightly, turning to walk out of the room.
Stussy followed closely behind with a charming smile. "I'm afraid Mr. Black Crow won't dare get on the bed once it's warmed."
The two walked out of the room one after the other.
They made their way to the deck. The CP members nodded to Stussy, who simply waved her hand and ignored them, then leaped onto the Black Glory along with Mio.
"Let's go," Mio said to Bai Feng.
"Yes."
Bai Feng nodded and steered the ship away.
Just as the Black Glory turned to head back toward Crow Island, Mio raised his right hand and ordered, "Destroy it, Hanba!"
"Roar!"
A deep roar echoed from the depths of the sea. Then, a colossal wave surged upward, and a massive fist—coated in Armament Haki—smashed through the warship from below.
The warship was obliterated in an instant.
The CP agents were thrown into the sea and were quickly dragged under by a giant hand.
Soon, aside from the shattered debris of the warship, blood painted the sea red. After a while, the mangled remains of corpses surfaced, drawing the attention of sea beasts who devoured them without hesitation.
Before long, the scene was captured by newspaper reporters, printed, and distributed across the world.
…
Crow Island
The ship docked.
Mio and Stussy disembarked.
Stussy's reputation in the New World was well known. Upon seeing her, many pirates were visibly surprised.
"Isn't that the Queen of Pleasure Street?"
"Looks like it. I saw her once when I visited Fun Street."
"Damn, I didn't expect her to show up here on Crow Island. Is the boss planning to cooperate with Fun Street? If that's the case, do we get free access?"
"Hahaha, what a joke. With so many of us, if Fun Street became free, they'd go bankrupt overnight."
As they spoke of Fun Street, the pirates couldn't help but daydream.
Fun Street was paradise for New World pirates—filled with women, most of them stunningly beautiful. More importantly, their identities varied: nobles, princesses, even queens could be found there.
Some rare races were even rumored to be among them.
It was also the largest concentration of female slaves in the New World. Most of the women had been trafficked there by underworld brokers. Given Stussy's identity, it wasn't hard to guess that some may have been "donated" by the World Government.
…
Soon, Mio entered the castle, glanced back at Stussy, and said coldly, "Call someone to come pick you up."
"What? Didn't Mr. Black Crow invite me to warm his bed? Changing your mind already?" Stussy chuckled.
"Do you think I'd be stupid enough to let a World Government agent stay in my base long-term?" Mio sneered, curled his lips, and waved his hand as he walked away. "If you leave this castle, you'll leave as a corpse."
Without sparing her a glance, Mio disappeared into the depths of the castle.
"This guy is really cautious…"
Stussy murmured inwardly, ultimately deciding not to leave the castle. She pulled out a Den Den Mushi and contacted her people from Fun Street to pick her up.
She wasn't foolish. If she stepped out, she had no doubt Mio would kill her without hesitation.
…
Navy Headquarters
At this time—
In the Marshal's office.
After finishing the last document, Sengoku looked up at the figure standing before him and smiled. "Looks like you gained quite a bit from Mary Geoise. You're much stronger than before."
"A small gain," Gion nodded, taking a deep breath before continuing in a serious tone. "Marshal Sengoku, I want to ask about the Black Crow."
"Black Crow? Don't you know?" Sengoku was visibly surprised.
"What's going on? Was Black Crow captured?" Gion was clearly confused. She had focused solely on her training. Now that she'd hit a bottleneck, she had returned to Navy Headquarters without much knowledge of recent events.
Crane took a sip of tea and said calmly, "Black Crow has become an Emperor."
"What?!"
Gion was stunned. "Black Crow actually became one of the Emperors? How is that possible? How can he have that kind of strength?!"
"Nothing is impossible," Crane responded coolly. "His growth has been too fast—so fast that we haven't had the chance to kill him. Now, his power is beyond our comprehension. I know why you've been pushing yourself so hard, but your current strength still can't compare to Black Crow."
"Sister…"
Gion looked dissatisfied, but quickly asked, "Marshal Sengoku, I request a transfer to the New World."
"Hmm?"
Sengoku raised an eyebrow, then said, "I was considering sending you to the New World anyway, but I'm worried. You haven't seen Black Crow in a long time, let alone fought him. You have no idea how powerful he's become. I hope you'll be cautious and avoid unnecessary conflict if you run into the Black Crow Pirates."
"An Emperor in the New World is a symbol of absolute influence, commanding the loyalty of countless forces. If Black Crow decides to strike at the Navy and calls for support, pirates from all corners would join him without hesitation."
Sengoku's tone grew more serious.
It seemed that Gion's obsession after being defeated by Black Crow years ago was still lingering—something that made him uneasy.
"I won't act on impulse, Marshal Sengoku. Please rest assured," Gion responded with a steady voice.