Ruth and the others had no objections to Wood's decision to operate solo this time. After their experience at Enies Lobby, they understood deeply that there was a gap between them and their captain that they could never hope to bridge.
Robin had her own expertise and wasn't counted among the combatants of the crew, but as for Ruth and the others, aside from fighting, they had no significant talents to speak of. This realization only further strengthened their resolve to grow stronger.
Upon landing on Minion Island, Wood didn't immediately seek out Corazon, his fellow Marine undercover. Instead, he first covertly located the pirate crew led by Diez Barrels.
The Diez Barrels Pirates were a small crew, numbering around a hundred at most. From his hidden vantage point, Wood assessed that Diez Barrels, the captain, had an aura roughly equivalent to a Marine Headquarters captain at best.
Given such strength, Wood found it either foolish or incredibly bold for Diez Barrels to attempt to broker a deal with Doflamingo and the World Government, especially for the astronomical sum of five billion Berries.
Did Diez Barrels truly believe he could leave the island with that kind of money? The World Government's money wasn't so easily taken. Or did he think that Doflamingo, the underworld broker, would help him escape?
After observing for a while, Wood determined that Diez Barrels didn't seem like the type who was hiding some extraordinary power. His crew was just a standard pirate group. With that settled, Wood decided to make his move.
To maintain secrecy, Wood used his incredible speed to bypass the guards and appear directly in Diez Barrels' cabin.
Inside the cabin, Diez Barrels, who had been under significant stress for some time, saw a stranger suddenly appear. He immediately sprang towards a wooden chest, assuming a defensive stance and ready to call for help.
But before he could utter a word, the long blade of Tenku left a thin red line on his throat. The blood that dripped was swiftly absorbed by Tenku, making the blade appear even more sinister and sharp.
"Please, no need for alarm, Mr. Diez Barrels. I didn't come here with ill intentions. I'm here to discuss a potential collaboration," Wood said calmly.
Wood didn't kill Diez Barrels outright because he wasn't particularly interested in the Ope Ope no Mi. What caught his attention more was the five billion Berries involved in the deal.
The allure of immortality might have tempted many, but Wood wasn't one of them. After all, eternal life wasn't the same as invincibility. Just because you could live forever didn't mean you couldn't be killed. True power was the only thing that mattered.
The Ope Ope no Mi could grant immortality, but the so-called "eternal life" didn't protect against death from unnatural causes. Otherwise, it would be the strongest Devil Fruit in existence.
If Wood killed Diez Barrels now, he could take the Ope Ope no Mi, but then the deal wouldn't go through. The World Government and Doflamingo would immediately suspect something, and that would only complicate things unnecessarily.
"You certainly don't look like someone here to discuss cooperation," Diez Barrels said, trying to maintain his composure.
As a former Marine officer, Diez Barrels still had a strong mental fortitude. After the initial shock, he managed to calm down and didn't call for his men outside. Clearly, he understood that the man who had just placed a blade at his throat could easily kill him, and if he couldn't defend himself, his men outside wouldn't stand a chance either.
Wood sheathed Tenku, and Diez Barrels visibly relaxed, letting out a heavy breath of relief.
Wood casually took a seat, crossing one leg over the other as he got straight to the point. "I've heard that you possess a Devil Fruit that can grant immortality. That interests me somewhat."
Wood's words didn't surprise Diez Barrels in the least.
After carefully scrutinizing the young man before him, he recognized him as none other than the infamous Marine defector, Wood, who had been making waves across the seas recently.
Although both of them were Marine defectors, Diez Barrels, who had been a pirate for several years, was nothing compared to the man before him—a man who had only been active for about a year yet had already committed several high-profile acts and earned a bounty of one billion Berries.
There had been rumors that Wood's strength was overrated and that his billion-Berry bounty was inflated. But from their brief encounter, Diez Barrels could tell that the young man's power was genuine.
When Wood's blade had touched his throat, Diez Barrels had felt the immense pressure of a true pirate worth a billion Berries—a suffocating aura of inevitability and death.
For someone as powerful as Wood to approach him, a third-rate pirate, Diez Barrels couldn't fathom what his crew could possibly offer to someone of such caliber.
If there was anything, it had to be the Ope Ope no Mi, which was worth five billion Berries and rumored to grant eternal life.
"If you're after the Ope Ope no Mi, I'm afraid you're too late," Diez Barrels began. "Even if you kill me and take it, the World Government and Doflamingo will hunt you down relentlessly. As a former Marine, you should know better than anyone how obsessed those in power are with immortality."
He was outmatched by Wood, but Diez Barrels hoped to use the names of the World Government and Doflamingo to scare Wood off.
"I already told you, I'm here to propose a deal, not to rob or kill," Wood replied, his tone calm. "Do you really think a scoundrel like Doflamingo, who operates in the underworld, would keep his word with someone like you? Don't forget what kind of world the underworld is. Doflamingo might honor agreements with the strong, but do you really think you're one of them?"
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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 320+ at p@treon.com/Betek and change @ to a