Second floor of the bar, private room corridor.
The manager lady, dressed in a sexy uniform of a shirt paired with a black pencil skirt, swayed her curvaceous hips as she led Gurd forward.
"Mr. Gurd, this way please."
"Alright."
Gurd activated his auto-aim mode.
Beautiful!
Once he finished his official business, he was definitely going to buy a bunch of pretty outfits—secretary uniforms, bunny girl costumes, high heels with sheer stockings—and have Yamato try them all on for him back home.
Just thinking about it made him giddy.
"Creak!"
As they walked past one of the private rooms, the door swung open, and a sexy waitress emerged carrying a tray. Upon seeing the manager, she immediately bowed respectfully.
The door remained ajar, and a comical laugh spilled out from inside.
"Shurorororororo~~"
Gurd instinctively glanced into the room. When he spotted the man in a white lab coat with ram horns on his head, he froze for a moment.
He looked familiar, as if Gurd had seen him somewhere before.
The manager leaned slightly forward, her collar somehow loosened to reveal a dizzying cleavage.
"Mr. Gurd, is something wrong?"
"Nothing."
Gurd averted his gaze, dutifully letting his eyes drop to admire the manager's assets, though his mind was preoccupied with the horned man.
Women were nothing compared to business.
He was certain he'd never met the horned man before, yet he still seemed familiar—that alone was telling.
This guy was definitely no nobody.
Gurd flashed the manager a smile.
"Let's go."
"Of course, this way please."
The manager continued leading him until they reached the innermost private room.
"Mr. Gurd, please go in."
"Mm."
Gurd stepped inside, but instead of Stussy, he was met with a masked man in a white suit and cape.
Only one organization dressed like that.
The "strongest intelligence agency"—Cipher Pol Aigis Zero.
They were also the Beasts' trading partners. Stussy merely acted as the middlewoman, providing a discreet venue for their transactions.
The Numbers were failed prototypes of ancient giants, too massive for the World Government to deliver directly to Wano Country.
Meanwhile, in the booth area on the first floor.
Stussy sat across from Oven and his group. After some small talk, she discreetly slipped a note into Oven's hand under the pretense of pouring drinks.
A string of numbers was written on it.
-
Soon, the two parties parted ways.
Oven and his men headed straight for the second floor, trailed by a furtive figure.
Page One.
The hostesses' eyes lit up at the sight of the petite young man—such a cutie compared to the hulking muscleman from earlier!
"Little brother, are you here alone?"
"Sorry, I'm not into women."
Page One lifted his chin haughtily, rejecting the girls' advances.
A lifetime of being bullied by his elder sister had left him with zero fondness for the unreasonable creatures known as women.
Hah! Women would only hold him back from getting stronger!
Right now, the mission took priority.
In the innermost private room on the second floor.
Gurd and Gernica soon finalized the details of their transaction—time, location, and discussions about a collaborative Sea-stone project.
With the surge in Pirate activity, the World Government's demand for Sea-stone had grown exponentially. But Sea-stone was only produced in Wano Country—nowhere else.
The Numbers trade was meant to secure Sea-stone in return.
The meeting concluded on a mutually agreeable note.
Before parting ways, Gurd placed a large gift box he had brought with him on the table and gently pushed it toward the other man, his smile radiant.
"Mr. Gernica, this is a special red bean pie I brought all the way from Wano Country, prepared just for you. A small token of my appreciation—please don't refuse it!"
"Red bean pie?"
Gernica was momentarily stunned, his gaze settling on the gift box. It was woven from bamboo and adorned with red paper.
This kind of thing could actually be given as a gift?
Could it be... an attempt to poison him?!
Gernica quickly pushed the box back.
"Mr. Gurd, no, no, I couldn't possibly!"
"Ah~ Why so formal? We're friendly trade partners now, and we'll be dealing with each other a lot in the future."
Gurd pressed his hand on the box, preventing it from being returned, and said with a grin, "Don't misunderstand, old friend. I just want you to experience the warmth of us Beasts. Even if you don't eat it, at least take a peek—consider it doing me a favor!"
"Well... alright."
Gernica's mind buzzed with suspicion as he lifted the lid of the box slightly. When he caught sight of the stacks of "green" red bean mille-feuille inside, his hand trembled.
Snap!
The box was swiftly shut.
Gernica froze, his expression beneath the mask a mix of shock and disbelief.
Wait, was this for real?
A Pirate—especially one from the notoriously violent Beasts Pirates—was trying to bribe him, playing the same game as those in the political world?!
A rough estimate put the contents of the box at several hundred million. With his meager salary, it would take him nearly a century working for the World Government to earn that much.
Of course, as a Cipher Pol Aigis Zero agent, his income wasn't limited to just his salary. But even so, this amount was an unimaginable fortune for him!
Gurd lowered his voice. "Brother Gernica, I'm a Pirate. No one will know about gifts from Pirates. And as for this red bean pie... once it's in your stomach, it'll vanish without a trace."
"..."
That... made an unsettling amount of sense.
Gernica's conscience warred within him.
No one in this world disliked money, and no one ever had enough—even the noble Celestial Dragons sometimes found themselves short on funds!
He wasn't worried about exposure. After all, as a direct subordinate of the Celestial Dragons in Cipher Pol Aigis Zero, his clearance was already the highest. It wasn't like he could audit his own accounts.
But he was a man of the World Government! How could he accept bribes from Pirates? Where would his morals and principles go?
After three seconds of hesitation...
Gernica cleared his throat and pulled the box back toward himself. Normally, he didn't accept gifts—but this time, the offer was simply too generous!
"Well, since Mr. Gurd is being so hospitable, I'll make an exception this once. Come to think of it, I've never actually tried red bean pie before!"
"Then you must savor it properly!"
Gurd's smile widened as he stood and poured a glass of wine from the table for the other man. "If you like the taste, I'll prepare a batch for you every year from now on. No trouble, right?"
"No trouble at all!"
Gernica was overjoyed.
A yearly serving of red bean pie—how luxurious would that be?!
Gernica quickly raised his glass in a toast.
"Mr. Gurd, a toast to you!"
"No, no—a toast to you!"
Gurd raised his glass as well.
With a drink shared between them, friendship was all but guaranteed.
Clink!
The two downed their glasses in one go and exchanged knowing smiles.
"Brother Gernica, there's actually a small matter I'd like to ask for your help with."
"Say no more! Consider it done!"
Half an hour later...
Gurd returned to the ballroom with a satisfied smile.
Page One was waiting in the booth area and immediately approached Gurd upon seeing him, reporting what he had witnessed earlier.
"Brother-in-law, just now the Big Mom Pirates..."
"Room 208?"
Gurd's gaze sharpened.
Room 208—he remembered it was the private booth where that horned man had been staying. So, the Big Mom Pirates were targeting him.
"Page One, did you see a man with goat horns?"
"No."
Page One shook his head.
After Oven and the others left, he had specifically checked the booth. There were only a few unconscious women inside.
"I see."
Gurd nodded slightly, a glint of excitement flashing in his eyes. So it was that guy—no wonder he had seemed familiar.
The "Evil Scientist," Caesar Clown!
If that was the case, then Punk Hazard must have already had its accident. That Artificial Devil Fruit—he had been coveting it for a long time!
But to obtain that fruit, he would need Caesar to lead the way. There was more than one research facility on that island, all of them scientific installations. Finding it on his own would be too difficult.
Besides, Caesar had another special use.
With the right approach, this guy could be a gold mine!
"Page One, let's go!"
"Where to?"
"To do what Pirates do best!"
(End of Chapter)