"Kill Saint Xalrons? A Celestial Dragon?" Questioned Janet in astonishment as she looked out at Diddy.
Seeing Janet's surprised expression, I grinned and nodded, expecting her to be even more astonished, and while she was, it wasn't in the way I was expecting it to be at all.
"Wonderful! Do you know what kind of headliners that'll get me!? Chaos Kong, Captain of the Frenzy Pirates, kills Saint Xalrons! You'll be the talk of the world for weeks and go down in history as one of the only people to kill a Celestial Dragon." Exclaimed Janet in glee as she squeezed her face through the cage bars and looked up at Diddy, who tilted his head, slightly surprised by her reaction.
'Hmm, wasn't what I was expecting from her, but she seems really passionate about spreading information.' Thought Diddy with a raised eyebrow as he generously separated the bars, allowing Janet to retract her head before returning them to their previous positions.
"You seem more excited about getting a headliner for your newspaper than being set free; you're a weird one, Janet, though I suppose that's why I like you." Remarked Diddy with a slight smirk as he looked at Janet, who grinned in response.
"And if you actually kill Saint Xalrons, I'll love you! This will be the biggest scoop in history!" Declared Janet enthusiastically as she found it hard to contain her excitement, though thankfully, Diddy dangled a bucket of cold water above her head.
"IF I kill Saint Xalrons, he's still alive, and I'm not entirely sure if we can even kill him; if we make a single mistake, we'll have at least one Admiral on our ass. I love fighting strong people, but I'm not stupid enough to run headlong into a suicidal situation, so if we make a mistake, we're instantly ditching this place and leaving you behind." Declared Diddy seriously as he eyed Janet, succeeding in calming her down while she regained her composure.
"Yes, you're right; I must not get too ahead of myself; a proper news reporter doesn't lose their cool." Muttered Janet with a nod as she neared the bars and looked at Diddy.
"So, what can I do to help?" Asked Janet solemnly as she looked up at Diddy, surprising him even more.
"Help? Do you intend to assist us in taking the life of a Celestial Dragon?" Questioned Diddy with a raised eyebrow as he skeptically looked at Janet, who unhesitantly nodded.
"Yes, and I know the repercussions if we fail or if we happen to succeed, and I currently don't have anything to lose. I'll either get killed after failing to kill Saint Xalrons, or I'll stay as a slave, return to Mariejois, and, funnily enough, If I'm lucky, which I am, I'll simply be raped. However, I have all to gain; if we win and manage to escape, I've got a massive scoop, I'm no longer a slave, and I'll get to reunite with my favorite pirates!" Declared Janet with a nod before lightly smiling towards the end, causing Diddy to chuckle amidst his grinning expression.
"Hehe, we're just your favorite pirates since we didn't attempt to kill you, rape you, or imprison you." Said Diddy, his words causing Janet to smile sheepishly, though she still nodded.
"Well, I like the way you think, but you, unfortunately, can't do anything right now; I'm currently on a stealth mission, and while I could break you out of that cage silently, the other slaves will notice your disappearance, not to mention the world Government agents that walk around this place." Replied Diddy with a smirk before furrowing his brows and shaking his head, causing Janet to frown, though only for a few seconds.
"Heh, if that's the case, while I may not be able to assist you directly, I can indirectly assist you. I've been on this ship for a few days, and I've spoken with the slaves and a few of the passing agents, so I know a thing or two about this ship." Stated Janet with a wicked smirk as she rubbed her hands together like an evil villain and Diddy joined her with his devilish grin.
"Heh, you are proving to be more helpful than Trenza; do you know how to cook?" Asked Diddy while Janet nodded in response, causing a certain marksman to shiver nervously at their conversation.
'Um, C-Captain; e-everything is good, right?' Asked Trenza hesitantly while looking out at sea, eyeing the ship Diddy was in.
'Your value has plummeted immensely; better prove yourself, or I'm replacing you with Janet.' Replied Diddy without hesitation, causing Trenza to laugh nervously.
'Hahaha, f-funny joke, Captain. You're joking, right? Right?' Asked Trenza with a forced laugh, though she didn't get any response since Diddy was busy listening to Janet.
"So, from what I know, there are roughly 500 people aboard this ship, excluding slaves and you; almost all agents, except for the five Vice-admirals and Saint Xalrons himself." Said Janet seriously while sitting with her back against the cage, with Diddy staying atop the cage and simply leaning over.
'Tch, Sebas, you hear that; five Vice-Admirals.' Said Diddy, his words causing everyone to frown slightly.
'Yes, if I had to guess, it was because of Mael's previous attacks that made the World Government increase their security of Saint Xalrons; this could be a little tricky.' Mused Sebas with a thoughtful expression while Male gritted his teeth in anger at the increased difficulty.
'Thanks, Mael; you haven't even been a Frenzy pirate for a week, and you're already making things difficult for us; you're doing worse than those three.' Remarked Freyja with a slight frown as she looked to the right, glancing at Mael, who stood beside Sebas.
'Hmph, how was I supposed to know they were going to up their security!?' Exclaimed Mael in slight anger as he eyed Freyja, who folded her arms in annoyance.
Hearing those two argue like some children during such an important operation, I growled through the mind-link Sebas has connected us to, causing both of them to quiet down.
'Shut up and focus on the mission; also, stop worrying; I'll take the extra Vice-admiral; I can deal with fighting two.' Said Diddy in an annoyed tone as he focused back on Janet.
"Oh, there are also these special agents called CP, I think; I haven't seen them, but I heard one of the agents talk about them, so I'd watch out for them. Other than that, everything else I know about this place is useless information, like what the chef is cooking or which slave Saint Xalrons killed." Replied Janet with furrowed brows before frowning and shaking her head.
"Hmm, well, not much to go off of, but it's better than nothing, especially the knowledge of a fifth Vice-admiral; if they sneaked attack anyone but me, they could've killed someone." Remarked Diddy with a thoughtful expression before smirking like a madman.
"Alright, you stay right here, Janet; I'll continue my recon mission. I still need to find the other two communication rooms." Added Diddy as he leaped from the top of the cage and latched himself back to the roof before crawling toward the other side from where he had initially entered.
"Make sure not to forget about me." Said Janet quietly as she waved at Diddy before lying sprawled in the cell.
___
___
While Diddy was continuing his recon search through the ship, on the first deck of the ship, standing at the bow, was a vice-admiral wearing a Dalmatian dog hat.
"Any movements, Dalmatian? I know it's highly unlikely, but that Sun's Angel has been in this area, so he may attack this ship; we must be ready." Asked another Vice-admiral curiously as he approached Dalmatian from behind before standing right beside him.
"No, I haven't seen so much as a single movement; everything's been fine, though I can't shake this nagging feeling." Replied Dalmatian with a slight frown as he looked at his colleague before shaking his head and focusing back out to sea.
"Heh, you're probably just being paranoid; after all, the security of Saint Xalrons is no joke; if anything happens to the ship, we'll be facing some heavy punishment from Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Don't even get me started on if something unforeseen happens to Saint Xalrons; we may be Vice-admirals, but we're not Admirals; we won't be safe from some serious punishments, if you know what I mean." Said the Vice-admiral lightly as he patted Dalmatian's shoulder, causing him to close his eyes and sigh.
"Haa, I know exactly what you mean, Hosen." Remarked Dalmatian, his words causing Jolly to chuckle.
"Anyways, you've been standing guard for a few hours; let me take over for you; go check the ship or something." Replied Hosen as he pushed Dalmatian away and took his spot.
"Alright, just keep a heads up." Said Dalmatian with a nod as he turned around and walked across the ship before entering the lower levels.
While aimlessly patrolling the lower levels of the ship, passing several World Government agents, I turned a corner and almost immediately stopped before turning around, eyeing down the empty corridor I'd just walked through.
'Weird, I could've sworn I'd felt someone was looking at me.' Thought Dalmatian with a deep frown as he stood in the same position for a full minute before finally lowering his guard.
"I really hope this weird feeling is me being overly paranoid." Muttered Dalmatian with an uncomfortable expression before walking down the previous path, though just as he did so, golden brown fur appeared from behind a wooden beam while his beastly eyes stared at the way Dalmatian walked down.