“Have they…
left?”
Ten minutes later.
Still the same room.
Konggu stepped inside with cautious, measured steps.
He kept his eyes glued straight ahead, deathly afraid of catching a glimpse of something he shouldn’t again.
“They left.
Probably headed back to the Holy Land.”
Wearing a pair of beach shorts, Carlo leaned back on a leather sofa.
He casually picked up a box from the table, pulled out a thick cigar trimmed with gold foil, and popped it into his mouth.
Then he grabbed a solid gold lighter beside him and flicked it open with a crisp *clack*.
Taking a deep drag, he exhaled a long dragon-like plume of smoke before tossing the box of cigars along with the gold lighter over toward Konggu.
Konggu snagged them out of the air.
A glance at the brand made his eyelids twitch.
“Douglas Cigars?”
“Aren’t these sold individually?
I heard they go for one hundred thousand Berries a stick, and there are twenty in this box…
Just this single box is two million Berries?”
“What kind of salary do you earn?
What’s your rank?
You’re smoking *this*?”
Looking at the world-class luxury cigar in his hand and then at Carlo puffing away across from him, Konggu felt his entire worldview crumbling.
He was a grand Marine Admiral in his late forties or fifties, yet he’d barely smoked cigars of this caliber more than a handful of times in his life.
And this kid, Carlo?
Not even twenty years old.
A mere Marine Headquarters Lieutenant Commander.
And he was extravagant enough to smoke cigars that cost two million Berries a box?
You had to understand—even royalty in the Douglas Kingdom couldn’t bear to splurge on these.
They were top-tier luxury items meticulously crafted by that allied nation specifically to serve as part of the Heavenly Tribute to present to the World Government!
Was his vision playing tricks on him…
or had Carlo gone stark raving mad?
“Are you smoking or not?
If not, give it back.”
Seeing Konggu muttering to himself in shock, Carlo couldn’t take it anymore.
“I’m smoking!”
“Dammit…
It’s free, why the hell wouldn’t I?”
Konggu gritted his teeth and pulled one out from the gold-trimmed box.
He first admired the ornate gold foil patterns running along the surface of the cigar.
Then he placed it beneath his nose and took a deep whiff.
Only then did he bite down on it and light it with Carlo’s lighter.
Taking a massive drag like a whale drawing in seawater, he held his breath for several seconds to savor the flavor before puffing out a long, dragon-like trail of smoke.
Then, with a look of sheer bliss, he slumped onto the sofa.
“*Ahhh—*”
“So damn good—!”
“Now *this* is a real smoke.
Everything I had before was complete garbage…”
After that single drag, Konggu was nearly brought to tears.
He glared at Carlo across from him with a look of indignation.
“Damn it!
Why does a kid like you, a mere Marine Lieutenant Commander, get to indulge in this level of luxury?
It’s not fair!”
However, the indignation on his face soon melted away as he looked around the room’s lavish decor…
…and remembered the women he had seen earlier.
His resentment vanished without a trace.
In its place came a look of sudden realization.
“Ah—I get it.”
“You don’t get shit!”
“This money is just the inheritance from my deadbeat old man, which you damn well know,” Carlo said, his cheek twitching as he resisted the urge to plant a boot on Konggu’s face.
“I get it, no need to explain.”
Konggu’s eyes suddenly glinted with envy and jealousy, and he lowered his voice.
“Carlo…
how did you manage to get tight with…
those ladies?”
Seeing Konggu’s gossipy expression, Carlo crossed his arms and sneered.
“You really want to know?
Fine, then—”
“Never mind, never mind!
I don’t want to know!
Don’t say a word, it has nothing to do with me!” Konggu waved his hands frantically.
What a joke.
Barging in earlier and catching a glimpse of those women still had his heart pounding in anxiety.
Even though they were weaklings he could crush with a flick of his wrist…
…their status as Celestial Dragons—and members of core Celestial Dragon families at that—meant Konggu had no choice but to steer well clear of them.
Let alone pry into their personal relationship with Carlo.
Even as a Marine Admiral, he wanted no part in this mess.
After all, Carlo was the one fooling around with them, not him.
When the cat eventually got out of the bag, Carlo would be the one paying the price.
Noticing Konggu covertly slipping his lighter into his own pocket, Carlo’s face turned dark.
He propped his feet up on the table with an annoyed huff.
“So what are you actually doing here?
Is an Admiral really this free?
You personally came out to inspect a subordinate officer visiting the Pleasure District?”
Konggu’s old face flushed red.
“How could that be?
I came to find you for actual business.”
“What official business could possibly bother a grand Admiral like you to personally seek out a lowly Lieutenant Commander like me?”
For some reason, an uneasy feeling suddenly welled up inside Carlo.
“Heh-heh, it’s like this…”
When it came to official business, Konggu’s demeanor instantly straightened up.
“Carlo, as you know, the state of the world today is turbulent and constantly changing.
Winds and waves stir across the high seas, pirates run amok, and ordinary civilians struggle in the cracks of their rampage, living in absolute misery…”
“Speak like a normal human being!” A vein throbbed on Carlo’s forehead.
He genuinely couldn’t take it anymore.
Carlo finally understood why Garp was always so impatient around Konggu.
The guy was so fucking long-winded.
Konggu cleared his throat.
“Ahem…
I want you to go undercover in the Rocks Pirates.”
“What??”
Carlo, mid-smoke, bounded straight off the sofa and stared at Konggu, who was giving a dry chuckle across from him.
“Me?”
“Go undercover…
in the Rocks Pirates?!”
“Konggu!
Are you fucking kidding me?”
Konggu wiped the smile off his face and stood up.
With a look of apology in his eyes, he reached out, pressed a hand against Carlo’s shoulder to force him back down onto the sofa, and said seriously:
“I’m sorry, Carlo…
I’m not joking with you.
I’m dead serious.”
“Serious?” Carlo crossed his arms, staring at the apologetic Konggu.
“Are you serious…
or do you just want me to go die?”
“You can’t possibly not know how dangerous the Rocks Pirates are, right?”
Konggu nodded.
“I know.
The Rocks Pirates…
are dangerous!
You could say they are currently the single most dangerous pirate crew on the New World seas.
Hachinosu is indeed one of the most perilous places in the world—at least for us Marines.”
“And you still want me to go?” Carlo’s eyes chilled.
“In terms of seniority, I’m just a lowly Headquarters Lieutenant Commander.”
“In terms of strength, my meager ability doesn’t even register at Headquarters.”
“No matter how you look at it, it shouldn’t be my turn to go undercover in a place that dangerous, right?”
“Did you all forget how my unlucky father died?”
“Or rather…”
Carlo fixed his gaze on Konggu, whose eyes grew increasingly repentant.
“You want to leverage my hatred for Rocks so I’ll willingly go undercover in his crew?”
“If that’s the case, then I’m sorry, but I don’t joke around with my life.”
“Setting aside everyone else in the Rocks Pirates, just speaking of Rocks’ strength…
I think you know better than I do.
Even my father, who was a Marine Admiral, was slaughtered like a stray dog on the side of the road by him!!!”