Chapter 187: Door-door Fruit Acquired
After circling the business district several times, Elus carried Bruno back to the White Oak Hotel.
It was now late into the night.
“Mayor Iceberg, aren’t you going back yet? Your secretary will get suspicious!” As he walked out of the elevator, Elus saw Iceberg sitting on the balcony drinking and was a bit surprised. He had thought Iceberg had already left, and hadn’t expected him to still be here.
“Is this bar owner also a member of CP9? Bruno’s Bar… opened five years ago… Kalifa also joined Galley-La Company five years ago.”
Iceberg didn’t respond to Elus’s teasing,
and walked over, holding his wine glass.
He looked down at Bruno, who was bound and unable to move. “If I’m not mistaken, all of you CP9 infiltrated Water 7 five years ago. Let me think… Besides Kalifa, those who joined Galley-La Company five years ago and are still here include Lucci, Kaku, Milton, Grimly…”
Unlike other shipbuilding companies, Galley-La Company was notoriously difficult to get into, hiring every year but with very few slots. Only a select few outstanding individuals could join Galley-La Company, so the name of every member of the company was stored in Iceberg’s mind.
He remembered all the information clearly, including their joining time and individual performance.
“…There are only about ten people in total. Your companions must be among them.”
As he spoke,
Elus had already untied the chains on Bruno and replaced them with Seastone Handcuffs, suppressing his abilities and preventing him from using his Devil Fruit power to open doors and escape. Given his not-weak physical techniques, he was also fitted with heavy Chain Balls on his feet.
The chain balls on his feet were connected to the marble pillar beside him, restricting his range of movement like a dog leash.
At this moment, listening to Iceberg babbling nonsense in front of him… frankly, Bruno had no mood to pay attention.
His mind was a mess right now.
He felt like he was dreaming, completely unable to understand how he had suddenly ended up in such an unclear situation.
The Black Prince and Iceberg cooperated?
But why? Didn’t the Black Prince worry about provoking the World Government’s anger by doing this?
Even if the World Government wouldn’t fall out with the Black Prince, such a big shot, over a nobody like him, but… it would be hard to say if it involved the Pluton Blueprint. No, wait, it wasn’t even certain if the Black Prince knew about the Pluton Blueprint’s secret.
But,
If the Black Prince didn’t know about the Pluton Blueprint, then why did he do this? What benefit could he possibly gain from attacking their CP9?
And this Iceberg guy, when did he discover them?
And how did he convince the Black Prince to help him?
With so many questions, his already slow brain instantly went into overload. He sat on the ground blankly for a long time without speaking, looking as stiff as a Wooden Man.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
After being stunned for a long time, Bruno finally gave Iceberg a delayed response.
“Pretending to be foolish is useless. As long as we investigate, we’ll eventually catch your tracks.”
Iceberg grit his teeth in anger.
Even with his good temper, facing an enemy who plotted to steal his teacher’s belongings and might not even spare his life, he just wanted to teach them a severe lesson.
“…I told you, I don’t understand what you’re saying. I’m just a bar owner.”
Bruno earnestly played dumb.
The muscles on Iceberg’s face twitched, and his right hand unconsciously clenched into a fist, contemplating whether to punch this big guy who was pretending to be foolish.
At this moment,
“Alright, Mayor Iceberg, there’s no need for such trouble. Your fists won’t make a CP9 tough guy surrender. Agents like them have definitely undergone interrogation training… I’ve already identified all the CP9 spies hidden in Water 7, so there’s no need to deal with this wooden man anymore.”
Elus was drying his hair with a bath towel.
After he returned, he greeted Iceberg and immediately went to the bathroom.
He took a shower and changed his clothes… he had to change. To conceal his identity and prevent Lucci and others from seeing through his crude disguise by scent, he had pre-treated his trench coat to emit a strong smell of alcohol, which had permeated his inner clothing as well.
After finishing his shower,
he came out and saw Iceberg and Bruno in a standoff.
Elus immediately spoke to stop Iceberg from bothering Bruno.
This was prey he had personally captured. He would be heartbroken if it were damaged.
“Thank you, Your Highness Elus.”
Iceberg stopped paying attention to Bruno.
He knew where the priorities lay.
This was Elus’s captive. Since the Black Prince didn’t want him to touch Bruno, he would have to deal with the other CP9 members.
Besides, Bruno had no connection to Galley-La Company, so he didn’t feel any particular resentment about it. In contrast, learning that familiar confidants like Kalifa were CP9 spies was truly heartbreaking!
Elus asked for pen and paper, quickly wrote down the names of Lucci and others, and handed the note to Iceberg.
Looking at the familiar names on the note,
Iceberg’s heart was filled with mixed emotions.
It was indeed the same people he had suspected. These were all talented individuals he had personally promoted, whom he had thought could be entrusted with important tasks. He never expected them to be knives the World Government had placed at his back. If Prince Elus hadn’t warned him, he would have likely tasted the bitterness of ‘being backstabbed’.
“His Highness Elus, please allow me to express my gratitude once more.”
Iceberg sincerely expressed his heartfelt thanks.
“You’re welcome, allies should help each other!”
Elus waved his hand.
“……Um, Your Highness Elus……” Iceberg hesitated for a moment, opening his mouth several times, wanting to talk about the Pluton Blueprint. He still hadn’t explained why CP9 was targeting him, and Elus hadn’t asked either.
But because of this, he became even more conflicted.
He didn’t know whether he should mention the Pluton Blueprint.
It involved a legendary Ancient Weapon, a power that could shake the world. If he told Elus, this ambitious fellow, what would the world become?
“What’s wrong?”
Elus looked over.
His dark eyes were as clear and bright as the finest black gems, as if they could see directly into the depths of Iceberg’s heart.
“……Nothing, I was thinking, it’s getting late, and it’s about time I took my leave.”
In the end,
Iceberg still gave up on mentioning the Pluton Blueprint.
Teacher Tom’s warning still echoed in his ears: the Pluton Blueprint could not be casually handed over to anyone. Without a hundred percent trust, it was better to destroy the blueprint passed down from eight hundred years ago than to let the World Government or villains obtain it.
As for whether the Black Prince was good or bad…
Iceberg decided to wait and see.
……
The elevator slowly descended.
Iceberg left, and Fran and Mr. 2 hid in the shadows and followed. This had been agreed upon beforehand. The two of them would help Iceberg eliminate CP9 spies, and not just the two of them… However, Iceberg only needed to know about their existence.
As for the rest of the plan, Iceberg didn’t need to know so much, to avoid too much pressure…
In the vast space, only Elus and Bruno remained.
The maids and attendants,
had all been sent to the next floor by Elus.
“Are you confused? Can’t figure out why I would move against CP9? Even though I’m a Seven Warlord and also the Crown Prince of a World Government Member Nation… Logically, I should naturally be on the side of the World Government, you… do you think that?”
Elus pulled over a chair and sat down in front of Bruno.
“I don’t understand you…”
“Don’t play dumb. Weren’t you hiding in Water 7 for the Pluton Blueprint? Not only do I know your purpose for coming to Water 7, but I also know that the thing is hidden on Iceberg’s junior disciple, the boss of the hooligans in Water 7’s backstreets now, that pervert Franky.”
“That guy is a cyborg, half of his body is mechanical, not a normal human flesh and blood body. You can hide quite a lot of things inside if you do something tricky.”
“Oh, actually, two years ago, when I first came to Water 7, I had already stolen the real Pluton Blueprint. What’s hidden on Franky now is just a fake, a counterfeit.”
After Elus finished speaking, he felt a bit dry in his throat. He raised his hand slightly, a chain shot out, retrieving a bottle of Ruby Port and a goblet from the wine cabinet. He began to sip his wine leisurely, while using Bruno’s rapidly changing expression, from pale to flushed, as an appetizer.
Bruno’s reaction was indeed a bit slow.
It took him several seconds to digest everything Elus had said.
Realizing that playing dumb in front of Elus was meaningless, he didn’t know how much of Elus’s words were true and how much were false. However, terms like ‘Pluton Blueprint’ and ‘Franky’ weren’t things one could casually talk about, let alone connect the two.
“Black Prince, you… are you going to be an enemy of the World Government?”
Bruno finally grasped the core idea from Elus’s speech.
“It seems you’re just slow to react, not stupid!”
Elus swirled his wine glass.
The Black Prince truly intended to oppose the World Government…
He didn’t want to make any judgment about it, or say things like “seeking your own destruction” or “ignorant of heaven and earth.” He didn’t think he had the ability or the right to define the Black Prince’s actions. That was not something he could do.
In the end,
he was just a member of CP9, an insignificant character in the face of the World Government, that colossal entity.
He couldn’t compare to the Black Prince, who was already hailed as the Fifth Overlord of the New World.
Rather than wasting time on this, it was better to think more about himself.
“…Why tell me all this?” Bruno was silent for a moment, then looked up at Elus. “I’m just a prisoner. There’s no point in telling me this. I don’t understand why I’m worth all this effort. My Rokushiki isn’t formidable, and my Doryoku value isn’t high… Is it the Door-Door Fruit?”
“So, you specifically captured me, just like you said at the bar, really for the Door-Door Fruit?”
“…Your intelligence exceeds my expectations.” Elus raised an eyebrow. “Originally, I wanted to chat to pass the time before defeating you, but… now I’m a little reluctant to defeat you. Hey, why don’t you… surrender?”
Bruno’s slow mind suddenly froze.
Surrender?
Was he kidding?
This is definitely a joke, right? It’s a joke!
“You’re not a die-hard World Government loyalist, are you?” Elus continued to himself. “Working for the World Government or working for me, there’s no fundamental difference. You’re both selling your labor… As for justice and such, let’s not even go there. The World Government has never represented justice, but rather power.”
Bruno’s eyes widened.
Was this person really asking him, a professionally trained agent, to surrender?
“I will not surrender.”
Bruno firmly rejected Elus’s attempt at enticement.
“Don’t rush to refuse. I don’t plan on killing you for now, you have enough time to consider… Also, Mayor Iceberg has decided to deal with your colleagues, and I’ve provided him with support. As you saw, the subordinate who just left was going to help Mayor Iceberg.”
“If you agree to surrender, I can have my subordinates go easy on them, so your companions might survive.”
Elus had Bruno’s lifeline in his grasp.
In the depths of his mind, buried memories contained records of CP9. These CP9 agents, though seemingly ruthless, actually cared a great deal for each other’s safety. To protect Lucci, they went against the World Government and the Navy. To earn money to treat Lucci, several of them busked on the streets using their Devil Fruit abilities to raise Lucci’s medical expenses.
These were strange, but valuable, individuals to exploit.
However,
It wouldn’t be easy to recruit these people!
Fortunately, there was still hope. Threatened by Elus, Bruno no longer stubbornly refused, merely lowering his head and falling into deep silence… This was clearly a sign of wavering. Indeed, compared to the World Government’s justice, Bruno and the others cared more about the partners they had grown up with.
Lucci was probably the most difficult one. This guy genuinely seemed to uphold something like ‘dark justice’.
“When the boat reaches the bridge, it will naturally straighten out… Let’s take our time, one by one.” Elus was now determined to recruit the CP9 members. “We’ll talk about surrendering later. The most important thing now is to remove your ability to escape.”
Hearing this, Bruno shook his head,
looking a bit dazed.
His Devil Fruit ability was already suppressed by Seastone Handcuffs, what escape skills did he still need to remove? Did he intend to break his arms and legs?
Elus stood up, placed the Wine Bottle and Wine Glass in his hand on the Coffee Table, then took an Apple from the Fruit Basket. He returned to Bruno’s front, dangled the apple before Bruno’s eyes, and said, “Look closely. Next… it’s time to witness magic.”
Bruno became even more bewildered.
Too many confusions and puzzles made his already slow Brain operate even more sluggishly.
Before he could figure anything out, Elus’s free left hand landed on his shoulder. It felt like being gripped by a large pair of pincers, and his right hand was going numb… Was he really going to break his arms and legs?
But what was the apple for?
“Don’t think too much, just relax. It’ll be over in an instant, it won’t hurt at all.”
Elus chattered on with nonsense.
Bruno gritted his teeth and said nothing. It didn’t hurt at all… What a load of rubbish! He felt like his shoulder blade was about to shatter. His gaze inadvertently met Elus’s… A pressure as vast as The Sea surged into his Mind along with their line of sight.
In just an instant,
the physical pain was completely forgotten, and his Consciousness even experienced a brief blank.
A complete blank.
For an unknowable amount of time, he felt his Consciousness being stripped from his Body. His vision turned black, his hearing vanished… The Fear originating from his Soul caused him to lose even the ability to think.
“Alright.”
A somewhat familiar voice reached his ears.
His Consciousness returned to his Body.
His vision gradually regained color, and his ears caught faint but clear sounds… Bruno stared blankly at Elus, and it took about ten seconds before he remembered his current situation.
Looking around the environment, it seemed he hadn’t lost consciousness for long?
“Black Prince, you…”
He wanted to question what had just happened.
His gaze swept over the strangely shaped Fruit in Elus’s right hand, and the words he had prepared got stuck in his throat, unable to come out. More accurately, in that instant, he forgot what he wanted to say, his mind filled entirely with that strangely shaped Fruit.
It was a Fruit that looked like a honeydew melon, but was more oval in shape than a honeydew melon. Its entire surface was covered in ‘arabesque’ spiral patterns. Except for the stem, which was light green, the fruit itself was a solid crimson.
Undoubtedly, this was—
a Devil Fruit.
“How is this possible… This… Impossible!”
Bruno was so shocked that his speech lost all logic, muttering contradictory nonsense. It wasn’t surprising, because this crimson Devil Fruit was precisely the Door-Door Fruit that Bruno had eaten.
“Clack!”
The Seastone Handcuffs were unlocked.
Bruno instinctively tried to open an ‘Air Door’, but… nothing happened.
He also sensed the change in his Body. The ‘Devil’ residing within was gone, and the familiar Power had vanished. Though he knew in his mind how to activate the ability to open an Air Door, he simply couldn’t do it…
“How was it? Isn’t my magic interesting?”
Elus smiled maliciously. “As I said, don’t rush to refuse. Think it over carefully; joining me might not be a bad thing. Once I overthrow the current World Government, I will naturally establish a new World, and there will still be people like you needed to maintain justice!”
Staying behind was full of seductive words,
Elus returned to the Room with the Door-Door Fruit.
He had not yet completed the analysis of the Add-Add Fruit, so he could not take the Door-Door Fruit for now. He took out the prepared Box and stored the Door-Door Fruit inside, so that he could carry it with him and prevent it from being lost.
