Big News Morgans showed zero fear toward Feld's death. In fact, the giant albatross looked downright thrilled, snapping away with his transponder-snail camera as if this were the scoop of the century.
He shot Feld's corpse from every angle he could get, hunting for the perfect front-page moment.
He knew this assassination would explode across the world by morning. After all, Feld wasn't just anyone. He was the underground's wealthiest titan, the infamous King of Loan Sharks.
If the Golden Emperor Tesoro was considered the wealthiest man on the surface...
Then Feld's shadowy Yamikane Family was the true financial overlord beneath it all, controlling the dark underworld with money so deep it made even Tesoro look small.
The underground banks owned by the Yamikane Family held enough cash Berries to drown nations. Their deposits alone exceeded Tesoro's fortune ten times over.
Back before Dr. Vegapunk was captured by the World Government, even their MAD research team had been funded by the Yamikane Family. With their money, Vegapunk and Judge were able to push genetic research to terrifying heights, eventually revealing the existence of Lineage Factors.
That discovery was what finally alerted the World Government.
Stussy herself had been created around that same era, a clone crafted by Vegapunk using Miss Bakkin's genetic blueprint.
Yet now, this very clone had assassinated the man who funded Vegapunk's research in the first place.
Fate had a twisted sense of humor.
While Morgans manically snapped pictures, Stussy—having completed the assassination—slipped into the crowd. She put on a mask of fear and hurried toward the other Underworld Emperors, acting as though she had been nothing but a horrified bystander.
Morgans paused mid-click. His feathery brow twitched. Something felt off about Stussy.
His newspaper syndicate was full of CP agents undercover. He knew they were there, and he allowed it because he enjoyed playing them like pieces on a board.
Sometimes he even fed the CP agents fake news, just to screw with the World Government.
He looked ridiculous on the outside, waddling around like an overstuffed bird who could barely fly. But Morgans had absolute confidence in his physical strength.
Killing a single CP agent was child's play for him.
He had the stamina of a beast. Literally.
Stussy hiding this deeply…
Morgans felt a prick of unease. He didn't know her double-agent nature, but something in him tightened with caution.
He even wondered if he should warn Higashino Araryu—Souta Kiryuu's past alias in the underworld—that Stussy might be a CP operative.
Then another thought hit him: what if Araryu was the one who ordered Feld's assassination?
Morgans' brain never stopped spinning. Every possibility, no matter how absurd, was fair game in his mind.
···
The chaos erupting across the main hall of the Tea Party had every major figure on edge. Powerhouses from every corner of the New World tensed, keeping wary eyes on each other.
Danger could be lurking in anyone.
Katakuri darted to Feld's corpse with incredible speed and began examining the wound.
After a moment studying the blood-ridden hole, he spoke grimly:
"No bullet. No foreign material. Looks like an air projectile. The attacker used an extremely powerful finger strike."
Katakuri usually used his Mochi Armament rounds to eliminate enemies at a distance. A pure air bullet, fired from the fingertip, required years of specialized training.
Only the World Government's CP agents typically bothered mastering such assassination techniques.
Pirates preferred flashy moves, huge area destruction, and wild chaos. Techniques like quiet, efficient one-hit kills weren't exactly their style.
"Gah-hahaha! That's CP's Six Style secret technique: Flying Shigan."
Morgans' eerie laughter echoed across the room.
Katakuri and King Giberson immediately grew more certain of their suspicions.
After all, the Beasts Pirates' former Flying Six member, Fuz Furr, used that very technique. He had originally been an elite CP9 agent.
Flying Shigan was a technique only the top CP operatives mastered.
"Seal the entire island. No one leaves."
Katakuri ordered coldly.
Homies surged into action. Thousands of Chess Soldiers and Biscuit Soldiers surrounded the main venue.
Even the syrupy ocean around Whole Cake Island began to rise. A massive Homie-formed syrup tsunami with eyes and a nose patrolled the coast, preventing any ship from escaping.
Katakuri kept his Future Sight active, searching for any hint of movement from hidden CP agents.
But Feld was already dead. Future Sight couldn't show the past.
The only option was to smoke the killer out.
"Katakuri! You'd better guarantee our safety. Otherwise, arrange a way for us to leave Whole Cake immediately."
The speaker was Doragu Pakuro, wearing a stark white mask and carrying a massive death-scythe over his shoulder.
Even if Feld had been killed by CP operatives, the Big Mom Pirates—as the hosts—were still responsible. A major Underworld Emperor had been assassinated on their territory.
The Underworld wasn't about to let that slide.
Giberson the Warehouse King and Umit the Shipping King stepped forward to stand beside Pakuro.
Morgans and Stussy also quietly moved closer, forming a united front with the other Underworld Emperors.
In public, the Underworld stood as one. Their internal betrayals and power struggles were a different story.
Even some New World factions began grouping together, likely influenced by Pakuro's presence as a representative of an ancient, terrifyingly powerful family.
"Everyone, calm yourselves. The Charlotte Family will give the Yamikane Family—and all of you—a proper explanation."
Katakuri's expression was grim. If this incident wasn't handled well, the Underworld might unite against Big Mom's entire empire.
That would cripple Totto Land's plans to evolve into a stable kingdom rather than a short-lived pirate empire.
···
Meanwhile, the World Government's undercover agents in the Yamikane Family began making moves. They quietly fueled internal conflict, supporting rival members who wanted to seize the title of Underground Loan Shark King.
Civil war erupted within the Yamikane Family.
The World Government then struck at the family's wealth, raiding underground banks and exchange houses across prosperous regions.
Golden Emperor Tesoro, having received a tip from Araryu, seized the moment. He unleashed his forces, swallowing up vast portions of the Yamikane Family's shaken financial empire.
His ambition was clear: to build the second-largest underground banking network in the world, just behind the Yamikane Family.
And in that chaos, he aimed to bite off a huge chunk of their market share.
...
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