Nightfall descended. A full moon hung high in the sky.
After spending the entire day using nothing but his sharp tongue to have all the decorations moved onto the ship, Weiss finally seemed ready to rest.
The streets were even livelier at night than during the day. Shops that had remained closed in daylight now lit up with red lanterns, drawing the attention of passersby with warm, enticing glows.
Under Weiss's keen observation, it became clear that the island had changed even in just one afternoon—Canopy Island was now filled with many men in black suits. Coupled with what he'd read in the newspaper earlier that day, their identities were no mystery.
They were CP agents. Their master—a Celestial Dragon—was coming to visit the island tomorrow. Naturally, they needed to investigate everything in advance.
Not because they feared anyone might harm a Celestial Dragon—no one on this island had that kind of courage.
No, their mission was simpler, more dangerous in its own way: to determine the most entertaining, most appealing aspects of the island. If the Celestial Dragon asked what was fun, and they had no answer?
That wasn't a mistake. That was a death sentence.
Weiss ignored the black-clad agents snooping around the island. These men—tall, cloaked, and masked—claimed to be intelligence operatives. Yet they paraded around so conspicuously that it was almost laughable.
He stopped at a bar and walked in. Bars were, after all, the best place to gather information.
"Did you hear? The Celestial Dragon's coming to the island tomorrow."
"Yeah, looks like we better stay indoors. If they don't like the look of you, they'll shoot you dead and no one'll say a word."
"Better hide your daughters and daughters-in-law. I hear this one really likes collecting pretty women…"
Weiss listened to the murmurs of three patrons. It seemed much of the bar was gossiping about the same thing. He also noticed that a few people, after overhearing the discussion, quietly slipped away.
"Mr. Weiss, good evening!"
Matt walked in from outside. Upon seeing Weiss, he headed straight toward him.
"I already told you—I'm not going. You should be grateful I haven't turned you in. Why are you still bothering me? Do you think I'm easy to push around?"
Weiss's expression darkened, his eyes locked onto Matt with a fleeting flash of murderous intent. These idiots were trying to drag him down with them? Were they insane?
Seeing Weiss's eyes, Matt broke into a cold sweat. For a brief moment, it felt like he stood atop a mountain of blades, surrounded by the corpses of beasts—some towering, some small and pitiful. One misstep, and he'd become one of them.
"Mr. Weiss, there's been a misunderstanding! Perhaps our lord didn't explain clearly enough. Our target isn't the Celestial Dragon. It's just their steward."
Matt blurted out the words at lightning speed. Sweat poured down his handsome face.
"Leave," Weiss said coldly, unmoved.
Matt opened his mouth to say more, but the words caught in his throat. No matter how hard he tried, they just wouldn't come out. In the end, he could only sigh and leave the bar in frustration.
Just then, the bar's door was kicked open with a loud bang. Three masked figures entered.
"Someone here has been speaking poorly of Lord Celestial Dragon. That is... not allowed. If you are one of them, step forward now. Otherwise, we'll have to make this unpleasant."
Everyone looked at one another, confused. Why were the infamous CP agents showing up in a bar of all places? Judging by their demeanor, they were here to make arrests.
The three who had spoken earlier were now paralyzed with fear. They hadn't expected a bit of idle gossip would draw such terrifying attention.
Normally, CP agents might not bother with such things. But with a Celestial Dragon arriving soon, there could be no tolerance for even a whisper of "disrespect."
These people had to be silenced.
The bar fell deathly silent. Merchants wore anxious expressions. Pirates reached for their blades, prepared to act at a moment's notice.
You think pirates are scared of you? Even if you're with CP?
The CP trio walked straight up to the three men. These island locals had nowhere to run. They tried hiding behind the pirates, hoping for safety in numbers.
The pirates grew nervous. They had gossiped about the Celestial Dragon too...
"Fight our way out!"
The lead pirate refused to go down without a fight and charged forward with a yell.
"Brothers! Alone we can't escape, but together we have a chance!"
Some of the dimmer ones thought that sounded logical—and charged too.
The first pirate was swiftly kicked across the room, crashing near the bar's entrance, then immediately scrambled away and vanished.
The bar descended into chaos. The locals all fled. Pirates swarmed the CP agents—but sheer numbers didn't seem to matter.
Matt had backed away to Weiss's side the moment CP entered. Weiss never even looked at the agents, sipping his wine with calm indifference.
Three minutes later, only five people were still standing. The bartender was trembling behind the counter.
The lead CP agent looked at Weiss, his gaze lingering for several long seconds, then silently left.
"So… this Celestial Dragon's visit won't be so simple after all," Weiss mused quietly.
"Mr. Weiss—"
"Get lost."
This time, Weiss didn't bother holding back. A surge of murderous aura burst from him like a crimson tide. The sheer force of it knocked the bartender unconscious on the spot.
Matt froze in place, his arm stuck mid-air, every nerve in his body screaming: Say one more word and you'll die.
"Hmph."
Weiss snorted coldly. Did they think he was easy to deal with? Again and again, they dared provoke him.
---
Aboard the Chris, out on the ocean—
Boom!
A geyser of water erupted from the sea, followed by Jack's ecstatic voice:
"I finally did it! HAHAHA!"
After buying all the materials on the island earlier, Jack had rushed back to the ship to continue his experiments. A full afternoon of work—and at last, success.
He'd been working on this for half a year. Only through constant refinement during cultivation did he finally reach this breakthrough.
"Hahahaha! Kadun! With this, my firepower's going to skyrocket!"
As a sniper, Jack's strength was tied directly to his weapon. A stronger weapon meant a deadlier sniper.
"Congratulations, Jack." kadun smiled. Despite their constant bickering, he always had Jack's back when it mattered.
"But don't forget what the Captain said: once we enter the New World, even snipers need to master Observation Haki and Armament Haki."
"The top-tier snipers can coat their bullets in Armament Haki. Only then can you hold your ground in the New World."
That was a real friend—someone who reminded you not to get arrogant in success and lifted you up when you failed.
Jack nodded seriously.
"I know. I'll keep training. I've already grasped the edge of it... I think I'm close to mastering Armament Haki. I'll protect our weakling navigator for sure."
That started off okay—but by the end of the sentence, Kadun's face had turned dark.
"What did you just say, you uptight bastard? Who needs your protection, huh?!"
And just like that, chaos returned once more.
---
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