Bang!!!
Stussy, whose knee had been blocked by Haki armor, was thrown off balance and sent crashing toward the ground by Kaito.
The violent impact shook the entire White Space.
Stussy landed hard on her back and bounced more than half a meter into the air. The tremendous force of the impact caused her to cough up a mouthful of blood.
Even so, Stussy immediately fought back.
Enduring the pain, she twisted her body in midair as she bounced off the ground. Then she swung her leg toward Kaito's left foot.
Boom!!
Armament Haki instantly wrapped around both of their legs.
Whether it was Stussy or Kaito, both of them coated their legs with Armament Haki at the same time.
The two legs collided violently.
Kaito remained completely motionless, while Stussy, who had launched the attack, let out a muffled groan as the force of the collision sent her leg backward.
Kaito still did not release her fist.
Resisting Stussy's sweeping kick head-on, his expression remained unchanged. He immediately turned around and slammed her down again.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!!
Kaito showed no intention of holding back.
Grabbing Stussy while she was still in midair, he swung her toward the opposite side and smashed her down.
And this was only the beginning.
Again and again.
Amid the continuous violent impacts, Stussy was slammed against the ground and walls dozens of times in a short period.
The repeated impacts were brutal.
Blood spilled from the corner of Stussy's mouth, and the pain throughout her body became increasingly intense. Under the continuous bombardment, it felt as though her bones had nearly been shattered apart.
By the time Kaito finally stopped, Stussy was already in a terrible state.
She could only lie on the ground and breathe heavily, struggling even to get back on her feet.
"Well? How does it feel?"
After finally releasing her fist, Kaito squatted down beside Stussy.
He reached out and gently stroked her head with a smile.
It took Stussy quite some time to recover.
She placed both hands on the ground and barely managed to prop herself up. Then she raised her head and looked at Kaito from her crawling position.
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
After the battle just now, Stussy had long since lost her initial elegance.
She was now in complete disarray.
Her delicate face was stained with blood, and there was a trace of fear in her eyes as she looked up at Kaito.
"I want you to become my subordinate."
Kaito continued stroking her head and calmly stated his purpose.
"My subordinate?"
Stussy's pupils contracted slightly.
Although the fear on her face seemed genuine, it was actually only a disguise she was using to show weakness.
She had already expected that Kaito had captured her because he wanted to subdue her.
But now that her suspicions had been confirmed, she was still furious.
Anger was one thing.
However, after experiencing the battle just now, Stussy also understood that she had no choice.
Unless she wanted to be beaten to death by Kaito, she had to find another way out.
"Yes, sir. Your strength is indeed worthy of my following."
Stussy continued to show weakness.
She deliberately pretended to hesitate for a moment before finally displaying an expression of relief and respectfully expressing her submission.
Kaito smiled.
"Is that all?"
He looked at her calmly.
"Simply saying that you've surrendered isn't enough. Shouldn't you give me some proof of your submission?"
Stussy's heart tightened.
This man really wasn't easy to deal with.
If that was the case, then she could only sacrifice the Marine side.
"I was negligent."
Stussy quickly adjusted her expression.
"I have some valuable information to tell you, sir..."
With the mentality that a dead ally was better than a dead self, Stussy unhesitatingly betrayed the Marine side.
The valuable information Stussy mentioned concerned Marine's movements—or, more precisely, Marine's actions against the War Pirates.
Marine's intelligence network was naturally powerful.
When Kaito had split his forces into two groups at the beginning and sent Lafayette and Mangu to the Capital of Seven Waters to order new ships, this information had obviously failed to escape Marine's intelligence network.
In short, after learning that the War Pirates had ordered ships from the Capital of Seven Waters, Marine had planned to set up an ambush there.
They intended to wait for the War Pirates to arrive and collect their new ships before launching a full-scale assault.
Of course, if that were all, it would not have been particularly significant.
The key point was Marine's lineup.
It was extremely powerful.
"You mean Marine might send two Admirals to ambush me?"
After hearing what Stussy said, Kaito looked at her in surprise.
"Yes. According to the information I've obtained, that is indeed the case."
Stussy nodded.
"However, it has not yet been confirmed whether Marine will actually dispatch two Admirals. After all, Marine Admirals are different from ordinary officers. They cannot simply leave their posts whenever they want."
Stussy carefully explained the situation.
Kaito stared at her.
Stussy was a professionally trained intelligence agent. Obviously, it would be impossible to determine whether she was lying or concealing other information simply by observing her expression.
But Kaito had another way to verify what she had said.
He adjusted his talent attributes and focused them on Observation Haki.
In an instant, Stussy's inner thoughts and memories were completely read by Kaito through his Observation Haki.
His eyes flickered slightly.
From the memories he read, Kaito quickly confirmed that Stussy had not lied.
Marine really was preparing to dispatch two Admirals to ambush him at the Capital of Seven Waters.
Well...
At the same time, Kaito also saw through Stussy's thoughts.
Telling Marine about his movements was merely a way to placate him.
Once he released her, she intended to contact the World Government.
As for Stussy's thoughts, Kaito was not surprised.
Given her experience, it was obviously impossible to make her genuinely submit simply by beating her into submission.
"Not enough!"
Kaito suddenly spoke.
Stussy, who had been secretly observing his reaction, was slightly stunned.
"What does that mean, sir?"
Stussy asked cautiously.
Kaito's hand, which had been resting on her head, slowly moved downward and slipped into the front of her clothing.
Stussy's body stiffened.
Her muscles tensed instinctively, and she subconsciously wanted to resist.
But before she could make a move, she met Kaito's cold gaze.
The thought of resisting immediately disappeared.
Stussy's lips twitched.
Forget it.
If she was going to be humiliated, then so be it.
It was better to sacrifice her body than her life.
'Damn bastard. Once I get out of here, I'll definitely make you pay!'
After comforting herself inwardly, Stussy not only allowed Kaito's hand to remain inside her collar, but also put on a charming smile.
She took the initiative to cooperate with him.
Had she never seen a pig run before, even if she had never eaten pork?
In any case, there was no way to escape at this point.
It was better to cooperate willingly.
Not only would that make it easier to stabilize Kaito, but she could also use the opportunity to have a little fun.
For the time being, this was the only way Stussy could think of to preserve her life while dealing with the dangerous man standing before her.
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