In the town, on the eaves of a roof.
Wang Zhi enjoyed the cool breeze, took a bite of the pizza in his hand, and occasionally sipped from the small wine flask he held in his other hand.
Squinting his eyes, he gazed at the gradually dissipating dust in the distance, a look of utter contentment on his face.
“Hehehe…” Wang Zhi chuckled softly, extending his slender tongue to lick the sauce at the corner of his mouth.
“Has the commotion settled?
Has the show already ended?
Honestly, if that’s the case, that guy is far too weak.”
After saying this, he shook the wine flask, listening to the sound inside before taking another gulp.
Wang Zhi wasn’t worried about any unexpected developments because the “condition” that could lead to such “unexpected developments” was already firmly in his grasp.
Did Ron want to “prove his innocence”?
As long as that “condition” remained in his hands, Ron would never be able to do so.
Even if Whitebeard, Kaido, and Stussy were willing to testify, without “evidence,” Roger simply wouldn’t listen.
“Bruru~~”
“Bruru~~”
Suddenly, the Transponder Snail in Wang Zhi’s pocket rang.
Wang Zhi paused slightly, stuffed the remaining piece of pizza into his mouth, chewed unhurriedly, wiped his hands on his clothes, and then leisurely pulled out the Transponder Snail to answer.
“Hey, you bastard, I’ve been waiting for your call for a long time,” Wang Zhi cursed angrily.
The person on the other end didn’t hold back either, immediately firing back, “Bastard, don’t you know why it took so long?
You…
why didn’t you tell me about Ron’s information earlier?”
Wang Zhi sneered a few times.
“Who could’ve guessed that guy would possess such formidable strength?
Besides…
I had no obligation to do so.
You messed up—it’s just your Navy’s incompetence.”
“You…” The other side sounded flustered and exasperated, as if choked up, pausing for two seconds before squeezing out a single word.
“Hey,” Wang Zhi interrupted, his tone turning serious.
“What about my reward?”
There was a brief silence on the other end before a low voice replied, “What’s the rush?
I’ve already arranged for someone to deliver it to the location you specified.”
Wang Zhi smiled contentedly.
“That’s more like it.” After a pause, he added, “Hey, Sengoku, let’s discuss another deal.”
The Transponder Snail fell silent for a moment before Sengoku’s voice came through again, tinged with caution.
“What kind of deal?”
“I have a woman named Annika here.
She was a slave you were transporting, but her identity is the rescue target of the Kuja Pirates.”
“Hmm?” Sengoku pondered for a few seconds, his voice betraying no emotion.
“What do I need her for?”
“Hehehe…
don’t try to use the ‘useless’ excuse to lower the reward,” Wang Zhi saw through the other’s trick at a glance, his tone laced with mockery.
“What role she can play, you understand better than I do.
I believe someone as clever as you will definitely make this deal with me.”
The Transponder Snail fell silent for a long time.
So long that Wang Zhi thought the other party had hung up.
He lowered his head to glance at the Transponder Snail, which was still mimicking Sengoku’s expression on its face.
“What?
Or are you really not interested?”
After a long while, Sengoku’s voice finally drifted over faintly: “How do you want to complete this transaction?”
“Simple.” Wang Zhi’s tone became cheerful.
“You give me the reward first.
When I leave this island, I’ll tell you where I’ve imprisoned her.”
“What if you’re tricking me?”
“Heh heh heh…” Wang Zhi laughed.
“We’re not making a one-time deal.
I believe the number of times we cooperate will only increase, because, no matter when or where, I can always provide you with information on what Rocks is planning.”
Sengoku hesitated for a moment before finally uttering a single word: “Fine.”
The next second, he added another sentence, his voice turning cold: “However, Wang Zhi, let me be blunt upfront.
If you dare to scheme against us in reverse, I guarantee Rocks will be the first to know you’re betraying him.”
Wang Zhi’s smile remained unchanged as he continued: “Don’t worry…
I have no reason to do such a thing.”
He was right.
Competing with those monsters of the Rocks Pirates for things—how could that compare to cooperating with the Marines for profit?
What Rocks offered was risk; what the Marines offered was real gold and silver.
He understood this calculation better than anyone.
“Fine.
Don’t contact me unless necessary.
Don’t expose yourself around Rocks.” Sengoku reminded him.
He still valued Wang Zhi as a pawn quite highly.
As long as he was used well, the Marines could avoid many unnecessary losses.
“How could that be??”
Wang Zhi suddenly jolted in fright, his voice rising considerably.
His gaze fixed intently on the street not too far ahead, where a golden figure was moving rapidly, weaving through the crowd.
“What do you mean ‘how could that be’?” Sengoku asked suspiciously.
“Nothing.
I’m hanging up now.”
Wang Zhi quickly hung up the Transponder Snail, fumbling to stuff it back into his chest.
It shouldn’t be like this?
That bastard Roger…
didn’t he take action against him?
Wang Zhi’s body instinctively shrank back, hiding behind a chimney, afraid of being discovered by Ron.
“Tsk!!” Wang Zhi snorted disdainfully.
“I overestimated you, Roger.
And here I was, taking the risk to pass the information to you…
and this is how you repay me?”
Just as Wang Zhi was cursing inwardly, Ron on the street suddenly came to an abrupt halt.
Wang Zhi’s breath caught instantly.
The moment Ron turned around, he immediately hid himself properly.
Ron didn’t see anyone, but his [Malice Perception] clearly sensed an extremely intense malice in that direction.
“Who?
Roger?” Ron murmured softly, his brow slightly furrowed before he dismissed the thought.
“No…
Roger didn’t leave in this direction.”
As soon as he finished speaking, his figure instantly flashed and vanished from the spot.
Wang Zhi had already come down from the eaves by now, trying hard to make his expression appear natural.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t taken more than a few steps.
“Swish!!”
A golden figure descended from the sky, landing right in front of him.
Wang Zhi was stunned at first, his steps halting.
But very quickly, a smile appeared on his face.
“I was wondering who it was?” Wang Zhi shook the wine gourd in his hand, speaking in a relaxed tone.
“So it’s you, Ron.”