The sound of heavy footsteps approached as a large group of guards rushed into the office. Due to their numbers, they were packed at the door.
"Listen up, this is our new boss, Lord Byakuya."
Hank stood beside Su Xiao, clearly showing his support.
The guards around them looked confused, but as soon as Su Xiao raised the appointment letter in his hand, they understood the situation.
"Hello, boss."
"Lord Byakuya, I am Kaba."
"Boss, from now on, the brothers will follow your lead."
Compliments flooded in, and Su Xiao simply nodded in acknowledgment, turning his gaze to Oka's two trusted subordinates.
"These two have been secretly dealing with pirates, intending to disturb the order of the capital..."
Before Su Xiao could finish, the two subordinates of Oka drew their weapons and pointed them at him.
"Brothers, don't listen to him. Oka is our real boss."
Su Xiao was stunned for a moment, surprised by their actions. Were these two not thinking straight?
But it wasn't that they were brainless—Su Xiao's current position and the earlier statement made them nervous.
Su Xiao had already said that they would stay here forever.
"Charge! These two have been caught conspiring with pirates, and now they're openly rebelling!"
Hank, ever sharp, immediately understood the situation.
"Idiots." Su Xiao muttered as he sat behind the desk, not moving. At this point, he didn't need to do anything.
The guards surged forward, and within moments, Oka's two subordinates were utterly doomed.
"Wait, we just wanted to..."
Before they could explain further, the guards had already rushed in and started hacking at them.
The sounds of clashing weapons, gunfire, and flesh being cleaved echoed in the room.
Thirty seconds later, two broken corpses lay in the office, and every guard was covered in blood.
The smell of blood filled the air.
It might seem absurd, but in the world of One Piece, this was the cruel reality. The strong held power, and the weak waited to die.
In this blood-filled office, the palace messenger swallowed nervously. Su Xiao's ruthlessness had made the messenger wary, and any thoughts of trying to gain benefits from the situation quickly vanished.
"Clean up the mess, and you're dismissed."
Soon, only three people remained in the office: Su Xiao, Hank, and the messenger.
Hank didn't leave but stood straight beside Su Xiao.
Su Xiao glanced at Hank but didn't engage him further. He was too unfamiliar with the guard headquarters, so he needed someone experienced like Hank.
A smart assistant with ambition—Su Xiao desperately needed someone like him.
"Lord Byakuya, please have your subordinates step out. I have urgent matters to report."
"No need. He's my 'trusted confidant'."
Upon hearing this, Hank smiled.
"Alright then, here's the deal. Tomorrow night's 'operation'—you must have heard of it, right?"
The "operation" the messenger referred to was the burning of the Gray terminal.
"I've heard of it."
"Good. Well, here's the situation: there are three pirate factions that are suitable for this task. We've made initial contact with them, and now, we need you to approach them and choose one to carry out tomorrow's 'operation.'"
"Eh?" Su Xiao looked at the messenger, his eyes gleaming with interest.
"I get to decide who does it?"
"Yes, you get to choose. After all, we've only heard of these pirates and need to meet them in person before making a decision."
Receiving a clear answer, Su Xiao's heart soared. He had made the right choice—the identity he now held played a crucial role.
"Understood. I'll contact those three factions right away."
The messenger smiled at Su Xiao and was about to turn and leave.
"By the way, there's one more thing. Although there are three factions to choose from, only one can be selected for tomorrow's plan. All the details are in the documents."
The messenger left, escorted by Hank, and Su Xiao picked up the documents on his desk.
Inside was a detailed plan for the burning of the Gray terminal, which essentially involved:
Choosing one pirate faction, providing them with explosives, and having them use it to ignite the scrap station.
There were three pirate factions to choose from.
The first faction was the local pirate group from the Goya Kingdom, the Bulsam Pirates. This was the same group that fought against young Luffy, Ace, and others in the original story.
The second faction was a pirate group recently sailing through nearby waters—the Krieg Pirates.
Su Xiao was somewhat surprised when he saw this faction. The Krieg Pirates were well-known in the East Blue and had clashed with Luffy's crew at the Baratie restaurant in the original story. The Krieg Pirates were wiped out by Mihawk, but they had around 600 members.
The third faction, the Skull Pirates, was weak and immediately ruled out by Su Xiao.
Based on the original story's information, the Bulsam Pirates were average in strength, having been defeated by young Luffy, Ace, and a group of mountain bandits, showing their lack of power.
But Su Xiao had high expectations for the Krieg Pirates, so he decided to meet them first.
"Hank, contact the Krieg Pirates."
Hank awkwardly smiled.
"Well, my lord..."
Hank's reaction made Su Xiao understand.
"I will leave contacting them to you. We need to meet them today."
It was clear that Hank had connections to the Krieg Pirates, and Su Xiao wasn't interested in knowing the details of their relationship.
It was a common occurrence in the One Piece world for government officials to have dealings with pirates. The two parties often had mutual interests.
Hank didn't disappoint. Just two hours later, he arranged a meeting place with the Krieg Pirates.
The location was, of course, outside the capital—no one trusted pirates.
In the slums of the lower city, a narrow, filthy alley, a group of men in large black cloaks and hoods stood vigilantly, scanning the surroundings.
"This is it, Boss Krieg. The old warehouse up ahead is the meeting spot."
A thin pirate with a sailor's knife at his waist stood cautiously behind a tall man.
The man also wore a large black cloak and a hood, but through the gaps in his clothing, golden armor could be faintly seen.
"Mm. You all wait here. Gin, come with me."
Krieg's voice was low, and the sound of his armor clinking echoed as he walked.
"Yes, boss."
Gin, also dressed similarly, hid weapons in his sleeves.
"Boss, I've heard that the new head of the guard is extremely ruthless. We should be careful."
Krieg glanced at Gin.
"Huh? You think I can't handle a Guard captain? If not for the convenience his noble status brings, I wouldn't bother working for the Goa Kingdom."
Arrogance and pride were common traits among pirates.
Gin didn't respond as the two of them headed toward the warehouse.
(End of Chapter)
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Translator's Note :- I am Not that familiar with a lot of the fictional worlds mentioned in the story. So if I make a mistake naming something please correct me by writing a paragraph comment on the mistake. Thank you.