"There's really no other way~" With a leisurely tone, Borusalino commanded the turret to adjust its firing angle.
When Sakazuki called him, hoping he could help extract a Navy spy planted within the Beasts' ranks, Borusalino didn't pay much attention at first.
But after getting bombarded with calls one after another—Sakazuki having completely anticipated his reluctance—Borusalino was ultimately forced to supervise a nighttime rush toward the designated location.
"Alright~ Set the firing angle to the max, load up additional powder~ Fire as far as possible."
The corners of Borusalino's lips curled up in an odd manner. "Honestly, Sakazuki always gives me such tough tasks. Well then, I suppose I'll take this one a bit seriously."
"Fire!"
At the borders of the Beasts' territory, someone was arriving—riding on a cannon shell.
"Is that... Moonwalk?"
The fighters aboard the Mammoth were not particularly strong, but after following the Beasts Pirates across countless battles, they had gained plenty of experience.
"Why would Wano's ambassador know the Navy's Rokushiki?"
A fighter wearing a horned helmet looked at the silver-haired fox darting through the air, visibly confused.
Another crew member, carrying a spiked club, scoffed dismissively: "You're overreacting. Moonwalk and Shave aren't that special."
What he said wasn't wrong—Rokushiki might be considered superhuman martial arts in the first half of the Grand Line,
but in the New World, where bounties exceeding 100 million were common and those under 10 million were seen as mere small fry, there were simply too many pirates with exceptional and formidable techniques.
"No, that's not the point. Moonwalk might not be a big deal, but how is a clueless country bumpkin from Wano using it so proficiently?"
The crew member who had first expressed doubt quickly realized the real issue.
This newcomer—who had been asking about even the most basic knowledge due to Wano's isolationist past—had suddenly become an expert, wielding the Navy's Rokushiki as if he had been trained in it for years.
The stark contrast made the crew members extremely suspicious.
"Could he be a Navy spy?"
"Tch, we can't jump to conclusions. Let's follow him first!"
The Beasts Pirates immediately rushed in the direction Lindemann was moving through the air.
Using Rokushiki in front of pirates wasn't Lindemann's initial intention. However, after careful consideration, the fox decided he was willing to take the risk of exposing his identity if it meant retrieving that fruit.
Even though the battle between Jack the Drought and Moria was intense, it wouldn't last much longer.
Moria, who was already making arrangements for his crew to retreat, would never fight to the bitter end—he would definitely look for a chance to escape.
And once Jack returned to keep an eye on him, Lindemann knew escaping would become exponentially more difficult.
But if he could secure that Devil Fruit—the Paramecia-type Clear-Clear Fruit—from the pirate who held it,
then the Navy's top undercover agent was quite confident in keeping it intact during his escape.
If that pirate had immediately made up his mind and eaten the fruit the moment they met, Lindemann would have had nothing to do with it.
However, the fact that the pirate was still holding the fruit as he ran only proved his hesitation and inner conflict.
Whether or not to eat that fruit—it was a question he hadn't answered yet.
The pirates were bound to become suspicious of his ability to use Rokushiki, but compared to missing such a golden opportunity to escape, Lindemann quickly made his choice.
And fortunately, high in the sky, the fox easily locked onto the fleeing pirate's position. He kicked off the air forcefully and rapidly closed in on the man—
A man who, even while running for his life, had the audacity to steal a pair of women's panties from a random laundry basin.
Absalom, who had just been stabbed from behind, turned around in panic.
Even as blood poured uncontrollably from his waist, even as his newly acquired black-lace panties were clutched tightly in his grasp, his other hand refused to let go of the treasure his captain had granted him.
"I should thank you."
The newcomer had silver hair and a sly smile as he approached Absalom.
"T-Thank... me?"
The frail pirate trembled all over. The man before him, smiling like a fox, suddenly lunged forward, driving his sword straight into Absalom's kidney.
There was no verbal response—only the sharp thrust of a blade that completely severed his arm and shoulder.
Lindemann snatched up the Devil Fruit and, upon confirming that its patterns and color perfectly matched the illustrations in his memory, bit down without hesitation.
"Urgh..."
At that moment, the fox finally understood why every Navy officer who had eaten a Devil Fruit described the taste with such a pained, regretful expression.
A flood of thoughts surged through his mind, but in the end, it all boiled down to one thing—
"This tastes like absolute sh*t."
Fighting the urge to vomit it back out, he pinched his nose and forced himself to swallow the entire thing—skin, pulp, and all.
Exhaling deeply, the Navy spy focused on the changes happening in his body while answering Absalom's earlier question:
"I was gambling. If you had suddenly decided to eat the fruit while escaping, I would have been screwed."
"Fortunately, I won the bet."
Just as Lindemann finished speaking—"Pop!"—a light, barely audible sound rang out.
In the very next instant, the silver-haired "ambassador from Wano" vanished before Absalom's eyes.
The scrawny pirate's eyes widened in disbelief. He had no idea why the man had suddenly disappeared.
Clutching his bleeding waist, he looked around the empty street and murmured, "Did... he leave?"
Then, a voice—unable to suppress its amusement—echoed through the air:
"Of course not!"
An invisible sword came crashing down—piercing through Absalom's chest with ease.
The newly awakened Invisible Man lightly flicked the blood off his blade, then turned and silently ran back.
The most dangerous place is also the safest.
The Navy's top undercover agent would never forget the guerrilla warfare doctrine Sakazuki had drilled into him.
A cannonball falling from the sky shattered the battle between Drought Jack and Moonlight Moria. A tall man in a light yellow striped suit stood in the middle of them as if no one else was there.
He picked up the black Den Den Mushi cuffed to his wrist and called out again and again: "Moshi~ Moshi~ Rear Admiral Lindemann, if you can hear me, respond."
This fearless attitude made both Jack and Moria abandon their thoughts of continuing the fight.
"Why is the Navy here?" Jack, veins bulging on his forehead, was furious. First, that foul-mouthed fox, then the stowaway bat bastard, and now even the Navy had to interfere.
Borsalino turned his head: "Picking someone up~ By the way, have you seen our Marine Headquarters' Rear Admiral Lindemann?"
On the other side, Moria was clearly more aware of the situation than Drought Jack, who relied on brute force for everything. "A candidate for Marine Headquarters admiral personally coming here shouldn't be just to trouble me, right?"
"Yo~ I already said I'm here to find someone." Despite being only in his mid-thirties, the Marine Headquarters vice admiral deliberately referred to himself as "old man" out of habit, making him seem particularly carefree.
"There are no other Marines here. Get lost!" Jack naturally took the other party's casual attitude as provocation. His body swelled once again, and the thick yet agile trunk of the prehistoric beast lashed out at the man.
With a flash of light, Borsalino easily dodged the attack and shook his head: "If I say he's here, then he must be here."
He extended two fingers and pointed at the mammoth that seemed incapable of listening to reason. A strong light flickered at his fingertips: "What a shame. This ancient creature is about to go extinct here today. Laser!"
"!?"
The giant elephant's massive body had no way to dodge; all it could do was let the laser pierce straight through its abdomen.
For the first time since the battle began, Jack had been injured.
Moria, who had been enjoying the show, failed to expect that the Marine would casually fire another shot his way.
"!! AAAAAHHH!!"
Whether it was an Ancient Zoan or some peculiar Paramecia, in Borsalino's eyes, there was no difference.
The user of the Glint-Glint Fruit frowned slightly. Aside from these two pirates kneeling on the ground, he indeed saw no sign of that little brat Lindemann.
"What the hell… Rear Admiral Lindemann…" He raised his wrist, intending to continue calling through the black Den Den Mushi.
"Vice Admiral, that's for eavesdropping…" A weak voice suddenly sounded right beside him.
At that moment, not only Borsalino but even the two great pirates who had been carefully observing the situation were startled.
On instinct, Kizaru reflexively flicked his fingers and fired a laser at the ground beside him. The beam carved a deep, scorched trench into the cobblestone surface.
"Friendly! Cease fire! This damn guy is friendly!" The fox's furious voice erupted from beside Borsalino.
"Eh?" At that moment, the expression on Borsalino's face was as innocent as could be.
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