"They… left?"
A dozen minutes later.
Same room.
Kong slipped in cautiously.
He kept his eyes forward, terrified of seeing something he shouldn't.
"They're gone—headed back to the Holy Land, most likely."
Carlos, in a pair of beach shorts, lounged on a leather sofa.
He lifted a box from the table, drew out a thick, gold-veined Douglas cigar, and wedged it between his teeth.
Then he snatched the gold lighter beside him, flicked it open with a crisp snap, and lit up.
After a deep drag and a dragon-long exhale, he tossed both the box and the lighter across the room to Kong.
Kong caught them mid-air; one glance at the band made his eye twitch.
"Douglas cigars?"
"Aren't these sold by the stick? A hundred grand Berries each, I hear. Twenty sticks in a box… that's two million Berries right here?"
"What's your salary? What's your rank? And you're smoking these?"
Holding one of the world's priciest cigars while watching Carlos puff away, Kong's worldview cracked.
He was an Admiral of the Marines.
A man pushing fifty.
He'd barely tasted tobacco this fine.
And this kid, Carlos,
not yet twenty,
a mere Marine Lieutenant Commander,
was burning through a two-million-Berry box like it was nothing.
Even the royal family of Douglas Kingdom balked at the cost.
The nation crafted them solely as celestial tribute for the World Government—ultimate luxury.
Was his eyesight failing, or had Carlos lost his mind?
"You smoking or not? Give it back if you're just gonna gawk."
Kong's muttering drove Carlos to the edge.
"I'm smoking!"
"Hell… free cigar, why not?"
Gritting his teeth, Kong slid one from the gold-foil box.
He admired the intricate veins of gold laced through the wrapper,
brought it to his nose and inhaled deeply,
then clamped it between his teeth and lit it with Carlos's lighter.
He drew a whale-sized puff, held it for long seconds, and finally exhaled a soaring ribbon of smoke.
Then he slumped back, face slack with bliss.
"Hiss—"
"Heaven—!"
"Now this is a cigar. Everything else I've smoked was trash…"
One puff and Kong nearly wept.
He glared across the coffee table.
"Damn it! How does a lowly Lieutenant Commander afford this? It's not fair!"
But his indignity faded as he took in the room's décor,
recalled the women he'd glimpsed earlier,
and understanding dawned. "Oh—I get it."
"Get what, idiot?"
"It's just my dead old man's inheritance, you know that." Carlos's cheek twitched; he itched to kick Kong in the face.
"No need to explain—I understand."
Envy flickered in Kong's eyes. "Carlos… how did you hook up with… those ladies?"
Carlos folded his arms and sneered. "Really want the details? Fine—"
"Forget it! I don't want to know, keep me out of it!" Kong waved frantically.
No way.
The memory of walking in on those women still made him sweat.
To him they were fragile enough to crush,
yet they were core members of the Celestial Dragons—untouchable.
Digging into their business with Carlos was suicide.
He was an Admiral, but he wanted no part of that mess.
When it blew up, only Carlos would burn.
Watching Kong pocket the lighter, Carlos scowled and propped his boots on the table.
"So why are you here? An Admiral with nothing better to do than raid a junior officer's fun?"
Kong's weathered face flushed.
"Of course not. Official business."
"What business drags a big-shot Admiral to a lowly Lieutenant Commander?"
A bad premonition prickled Carlos.
"Heh, well…"
Kong turned serious.
"Carlos, you know the seas are chaos—pirates everywhere, civilians suffering, the world in turmoil…"
"Speak human!" Veins throbbed in Carlos's forehead.
He finally understood why Garp lost patience with Kong.
The man could out-stall a glacier.
Kong cleared his throat. "Ahem… I want you to go undercover in the Rocks Pirates."
"What??"
Carlos shot off the sofa, cigar clamped in his teeth, gaping at Kong's sheepish grin.
"Me?"
"Infiltrate the Rocks Pirates? As a spy?!"
"Kong! You joking?"
Kong's smile vanished. He stood, pressed Carlos back onto the sofa, and said gravely:
"Sorry, Carlos. I'm dead serious."
"Serious?" Carlos folded his arms, eyes narrowing.
"Serious about sending me to my death?"
"You know how lethal the Rocks Pirates are."
Kong nodded. "I do. They're the most dangerous crew in the New World. Hachinosu is one of the deadliest places on earth for us Marines."
"Then why me?" Carlos's voice chilled.
"Rank—I'm only a Lieutenant Commander.
Strength—I'm not even top tier at headquarters.
By every metric I'm the wrong man for this."
"Or did you forget how my poor old man died?"
"Or… are you banking on my hatred of Rocks to make me walk in there willingly?"
"If so, forget it. I won't gamble my life.
Forget the rest of the crew—Rocks himself is monsters. My father, an Admiral, was swatted like a stray dog!"