Carlo leaned back slightly but did not use his powers to dodge.
Just as the dark hand was about to reach his neck, it stopped.
"Carlo?" Bullet stood up, shaking off the snow that had piled over him. The mound of snow had actually been him, sitting silently all along.
"Devil Fruit powers, huh," he muttered.
Carlo exhaled in relief. "Whew. That was close. Your speed is insane."
Bullet gave a faint laugh.
Carlo took out a small package and handed it to him. "Right. This is the fruit Admiral Sakazuki found for me. A Paramecia. The Warp-Warp Fruit."
Bullet looked inside the package, where the vial of virus and the fruit recovery device sat. He nodded and glanced back at Carlo. "Teleportation... very good."
Carlo smiled. "You're not really in a position to say that. If you hadn't stopped just now, I'd already be caught."
Bullet shrugged his shoulders with a helpless look.
Carlo shook his head, smiling as he glanced at his watch. "Two more hours. Then we move."
* * *
Late that night, in the Drum Kingdom palace.
Two figures wrapped head to toe in black suddenly appeared in the dimly lit royal chamber.
Their eyes locked on the obese king on the bed, Wapol, who was snoring loudly with a woman in his arms.
Bullet stepped forward and opened the glass vial filled with the virus. He then poured the contents straight into Wapol's open mouth as the king snored.
Even after swallowing the liquid, Wapol only smacked his lips a few times, rolled over, and continued sleeping.
But within seconds, his face twisted in discomfort. His chest tightened, he gasped for air, and his body felt drained as if he were collapsing.
Groggily, he opened his eyes and attempted to call for his servants, but a large hand clamped over his mouth, startling him awake.
In the faint moonlight, he could make out two people dressed entirely in black standing over him. Panic filled his eyes as he tried to struggle or shout, but his strength was gone.
One of the figures pried open his eyelid and jabbed a needle into it. Blood flowed through a thin tube into a container. Wapol's breathing grew weaker, his terror fading into weakness. His body twitched less and less, until everything went dark.
At the exact moment of his death, the blood in the container merged with the fruit. Before the two figures' eyes, it transformed into a new Devil Fruit.
Carlo slowly pulled the needle out, pressing a button on the device. A small dose of nutrient fluid dripped onto the wound, healing the needle mark instantly without leaving a trace.
He gave a nod, and Bullet carefully adjusted Wapol's body back in its original position.
At dawn, a piercing scream shattered the tranquility of the Drum Kingdom.
* * *
Grand Line, in the Land of Fire's royal palace.
The elderly King Zilavia let out a long sigh after receiving the news. "My old friend... sigh..."
The exiled prince of Drum Kingdom hadn't changed at all after all these years. If he were to be sent back, the kingdom would soon fall apart again.
A nearby advisor furrowed his brows after reading the same report. "Your Majesty, perhaps we should..."
Zilavia shook his head. "No, it's impossible. He's the only heir of a member nation. How could we continue to detain him? The World Government would never allow it."
He sighed again. "Call Musshuru here."
He placed the letter down on the table beside him.
He already knew. In just a few years, Drum Kingdom would vanish from this sea.
After all, his old friend's two sons… there wasn't a worst one, only a worse one. Even that fool Wapol had become king only because he seemed slightly better than his brother Musshuru.
* * *
Somewhere on the Grand Line.
A large ship sailed toward Drum Kingdom, the sound of coarse, unpleasant laughter echoing from the deck.
Inside the cabin, the exiled Drum Kingdom prince, Musshuru, who had been banished for twelve years, lay on the bed, holding a letter.
He rolled from side to side, laughing wildly. "Mushushushu! That idiot's dead! Perfect! Absolutely perfect! I can't believe my luck! Finally, it's my turn! Just you wait, you damned fools! Every one of you who exiled me, those worthless peasants! And that old man Zilavia! You'll all pay! Mushushushu!"
High above, a pair of cold eyes watched silently.
** * *
Several days later.
In the Land of Fire's palace, King Zilavia stretched his shoulders after a long morning of work.
Suddenly, an aide rushed in, pale and frantic.
"Your Majesty! Terrible news! The ship carrying the Drum Kingdom prince has met with disaster!"
Zilavia shot to his feet. "What?!"
The shock hit him so hard that, combined with exhaustion from days of work, he lost consciousness on the spot.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Call the doctors!"
* * *
Impel Down, the great underwater prison.
Inside an interrogation chamber, the Revolutionary Army officer Ivankov hung limply from an execution rack, his whole body covered in blood. The once-bulky man had now grown gaunt and frail.
Two CP agents threw down their tools and stepped outside while talking.
"Damn it, this guy's mouth is tougher than stone."
"Yeah. It's been so long, and he still hasn't said a word."
"What do we do now? If we can't get anything out of him soon, headquarters will be furious."
"Doesn't matter who interrogates him. We've tried everything. He just won't speak."
"Forget it. Let's go eat first."
A while later, as a guard patrolled past the chamber, he tripped and "accidentally" dropped a small note.
It slid into the interrogation room.
Ivankov, barely conscious, noticed the slip of paper at his feet. Confused but curious, he struggled to hook it with his foot and hide it.
That night, lying exhausted in his cell, he finally took out the dusty, bloodstained note. His eyes widened in disbelief as he read.
"So there's a place like that, huh..."
Hope surged in his chest. If he could see this note, it meant someone had already bribed a guard.
There would be a chance to escape…
* * *
Grand Line. Aboard a marine warship.
In the cabin Bullet sat on the sofa eating a dessert.
At the desk Sakazuki placed the two Devil Fruits into boxes and handed them to Carlo.
"Take these to Punk Hazard and give them Vegapunk," he said. "Let the Shroom-Shroom Fruit be eaten by a Pacifista. As for the Munch-Munch Fruit, let him handle that himself. He knows what to do with it."
Carlo tucked the two boxes away. "Understood."
Whoosh!
He vanished in an instant.
Sakazuki turned back and picked up the newspaper on the desk.
The second page's front picture showed Crocodile being hailed as a 'hero' by the people of Alabasta. The photo captured the moment well. Crocodile's hooked left hand had pierced a pirate. He held it high. Dried corpses lay scattered on the ground. Behind him dozens of tearful grateful citizens cheered.
There was a certain distinct aura about the scene.
Of course, a hero who hasn't been certified by the state is technically illegal. But the people of Alabasta were all praising Crocodile. Even if the royal family had objections they could only hold their noses and swallow it.
Sakazuki snorted softly. "Idiot."
It was unknown which one he was talking about... maybe both.
With a rustle, he set the paper down. "Come on, Bullet. Let's find a deserted island."
**
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