While gazing all throughout Mariejois, I had an urge to boldly announce my presence, to tell everyone here I wasn't frightened of them and that I desired nothing more than to face them in direct combat; however, despite dearly wishing to, I decided to save it for later when we officially raid this place.
'For now. It's stealthy Diddy time.' Mused Diddy with a feral grin as he silently landed on the ground while his vertical slit eyes observed his surroundings.
Although I wasn't exactly one who was known to be quiet, quite the opposite actually, though that didn't mean I couldn't be stealthy. I had the blood of a feline flowing through my veins; stealth came naturally to me, not to mention that I was required to be stealthy during my time on Karate Island when I was too weak to fight my prey in a fair battle.
I may have rarely displayed my stealth capabilities, but I was damn good when it came to being stealthy, and I was confident enough in my skills that if I wanted to, I could sneak upon any one of my crew mates without being noticed.
'Except for Freyja; her senses aren't as acute as mine, but she'll be able to sense me if I get within about a ten-meter range of her.' Thought Diddy lightly as he dashed across the ground in silence, approaching Mariejois in the distance.
Once I arrived, I concealed my presence with my haki before quietly leaping over the wall. Landing at the top of the wall, I looked around and noticed it was empty of guards.
'Heh, either they thought this bubble could protect them from attacks, or they figured no one would dare attack them.' Thought Diddy with an amused expression as he stepped through the bubble dome that enveloped Mariejois.
Entering the bubble, I lowered myself to all fours while lessening my heart rate and even lowering my body temperature until it reached a point where I would be considered dead. While like this, I was slightly weakened since my muscles weren't getting enough oxygen supply, but that was fine, as it would only take a few breaths for me to return to peak strength.
'I must say, the air quality in Mariejois is freaking amazing. Never realized air could be so good.' Thought Diddy with a raised eyebrow as he took a deep breath, filling his lungs with enough oxygen to last him for days, given his current state.
Observing the numerous mansions belonging to who I could only assume were celestial dragons, I ignored most of them since celestial dragons were nothing but wastes of space with an inflated ego despite being so pathetically weak; they probably couldn't even beath an average civilian in a fight.
Instead, I shifted my focus to the massive manor in the distance that completely towered over every other building; it was incredibly excessive since I couldn't fathom why anyone would need such a big place, but I shrugged my arms, not caring enough to actually think about it.
Walking off the edge of the wall, I fell through the air and quietly landed on all fours before stealthily maneuvering through the miniature city, evading numerous guards, slaves, and even a few celestial dragons that were walking about through the streets, using the mansions, bushes, trees, and whatever else I could find to hide.
However, while navigating through the city, I came across a unique person; she was a tall old lady with black hair, something akin to a knight's attire yet with a cape; she had a sword attached to her waist and walked with grace and strength. Despite being well into her sixties, not only was she pretty hot, but she was also strong, about as strong as King, if I were to guess, which is impressive since I bet she was even stronger in her prime.
'Hmm, interesting, but not surprising. If they don't have at least a few people this strong, I'll be disappointed in the world that they haven't overthrown the World Government.' Thought Diddy as he narrowed his eyes at the old lady, causing her to furrow her brows, yet even so, she continued walking, oblivious to the spying monkey.
Continuing my journey to the manor in the distance, I passed by several other people, but no one notable, not like that old lady, was all that notable either. Once I arrived near the manor, I climbed up a tree that was just outside the manor's wall, and with a burst of strength, I silently leaped off the branch, quietly shooting through the sky as I landed atop the massive manor.
"Hmm, must've been a bird." Muttered the guard as he glanced at a tree before shrugging his shoulders while yawning.
Landing atop the roof, I used my nails to cut a hole into the roof, though I did notice I was required to use some strength.
'Treasure Tree Adam?' Thought Diddy with a raised eyebrow as he glanced at the roof before shrugging his shoulders and entering through the hole he had created.
Entering the manor's attic, I looked around, surprised to find it was being used for storage instead of something else, but I didn't think about it much and silently moved through the attic, searching for a spot where I sensed no signs of life beneath me.
'Here we go.' Thought Diddy as he peeked his head through a small opening he made in the ceiling, allowing him to see the floor beneath him.
With everything clear in sight, I emerged from the hold and silently landed on the ground while quickly dashing through the halls, entering various rooms when I needed to hide from someone walking down the hall, though along the way, I happened to come across the weird sight of a celestial dragon taking a shit.
"E-Eh? W-when did we get a statue?" Said the celestial dragon as he looked at Diddy in confusion, who was sitting perfectly still, akin to a statue.
"Woah, even so lifelike! I must ask Father to get one ourselves!" Stated the celestial dragon happily as he rubbed Diddy's ear before exiting the bathroom, causing him to hiss angrily.
"Tsk, I'll personally kill him invading this place… Only one person can rub my ears." Muttering Diddy angrily as his vertical slit eyes narrowed while he left the bathroom before latching himself onto the ceiling.
Crawling across the ceiling, I made it through a few more hallways until I eventually arrived at a room with double doors, which I couldn't just dismiss; so out of curiosity, I entered the room, only to notice that it looked like a typical room with a table, a couch, and a few chairs, nothing spectacular.
'Boring.' Thought Diddy blandly as he glanced at the singular transponder snail at the center of the table before turning around and heading to the double doors.
Just as I was about to exit the room, I suddenly stopped, only to quickly back away while hiding behind the nearest object, just in time for a group of five old men to enter the room; although I had no idea who these five men were, I could sense their strength, and I was decently surprised.
'Now, this isn't something I was expecting; five conquerors? Hmm, this is quite unexpected.' Thought Diddy lightly as he sneakily glanced between the five elders while they conversed.
Although they were all strong, something about them seemed off; it was just hard to properly figure.
'They smell very old… Like really old.' Thought Diddy in confusion as he furrowed his brows while listening to their conversation.
I was hoping they would talk about something interesting, like the weapon they used to attack me… Twice. However, none of that, instead, they just talked about boring shit, that I had no interest in listenting too, though that was until this 'Imu' was mentioned.
"What is your judgment, Lord Imu?" Asked Peter respectfully as he glanced at the single transponder snail at the center of the table.
"...Spy… Listening…" Said Imu through the transponder snail, their sex indistinguishable based on their voice alone, though their words surprised everyone.
'Ho, they managed to sense me? Hehe, impressive.' Thought Diddy with a bloodthirsty grin while he licked his fangs in excitement.
"SPY!?" "HOW IS SUCH THING POSSIBLE!?" Exclaimed Nusjuro and Saturn, respectively, in anger as they stood up while scrutinizing their surroundings.
With my presence already being known, there was no more point in hiding, so with a powerful burst of strength, I smashed through the statute I was hiding behind and lunged at the closest elder; taking him by surprise, I stabbed my nails into his neck before violently shredding it to bits, leaping off his body I grabbed the transponder snail from off the table.
"Hehe, I don't know who you are, Imu, but I can't wait to fight you; not just anyone would manage to spot me." Remarked Diddy with a feral grin as he held the transponder snail in his hand while standing on the table, his presence causing the elder's gaze to harden.
I didn't know if Imu said anything in response since I crushed the transponder snail while tossing it onto the man I killed… Only he wasn't dead.
"Kong." Muttered Saturn viciously as he eyed Diddy in fury, who completely ignored him, his focus solely on the healing elder.
"I didn't use any haki, but the fact you so effortlessly healed… this is interesting. Unfortunately, you aren't all that strong; you're probably a little bit stronger than an Admiral but weaker than an Emperor; however, I can see how annoying that healing ability of yours could be." Remarked Diddy lightly as he rubbed his chin while gazing at Mars, who dusted his clothes while standing on his feet, glaring at him in anger.