The person was startled when Sage pointed at him, and pointed at himself, "Yo-yo-yi, are you referring to me... I'm not a geisha, I'm a kabuki performer!"
"I don't care what you are, come up and dance, ho ho ho ho ho!"
"That's not acceptable, a geisha is a geisha, a kabuki is a kabuki, I need to prove the worth of kabuki, yo-yo-yi!"
When the person spoke, he had a high-pitched voice like an entertainer. He bent one leg and hopped to the front of the stage, spread his fingers wide in front of him with one hand, and stomped the bent leg down, producing a crisp sound with his geta on the ground.
"Yo-yo~yo-yi!"
He closed one eye, opened the other, his expression exaggerated and humorous. With his large body moving rhythmically, he looked very comical, quickly making the surrounding pirates laugh.
"Hahaha, good, very good!"
Sage grabbed a white jade pearl necklace from a small treasure chest at his feet and tossed it to the person, "This is your reward!"
"Yo-yi!"
The person caught the necklace with one hand, his eyes brightening, and performed even more energetically, "A person who recognizes my art is worthy of respect!"
"That idiot..."
In the crowd, a man wearing sunglasses on his forehead, dressed in a black martial arts uniform but with the top open revealing his muscular chest, only wearing a tie, with a long waxed mustache and a goatee on his chin like a strategist, pursed his lips and said in a deep voice, "It's too attention-grabbing!"
"Can't be helped, he got called out, jababa."
Beside him, a round ball-shaped person, not much shorter than the kabuki performer, spoke.
This person was indeed a human, but strange, with a round body and a round head, but short thin legs, resembling an owl. The most peculiar thing was his mouth, which looked like a zipper, with a zipper pull on the left side.
"But if it's attention-grabbing, won't it interfere with us gathering intel here? I say we should head back to Enies Lobby directly. We shouldn't meddle here, it's not our mission, jababa."
"It's all because of that useless officer. Capturing pirates is something the Navy should do, but instead, they sent us to gather intel here. What's so special about a bunch of pirates?" the man in the martial arts uniform said disdainfully.
"Indeed, the officer is useless, with a power level of only 9," the round ball person shouted.
"Forget it, it's an order. We'll find a chance to assassinate Sage and take the money," the man in the martial arts uniform said.
Their camouflage techniques... they didn't even need to hide. In a pirate crew of over a thousand people, slipping in three wasn't noticeable at all.
In fact, they indeed hadn't been detected. Among so many fierce and bizarre-looking individuals, three more were nothing.
Even a body over three meters tall wasn't uncommon among the subordinates, not just Mute. Mute was remembered by Sage first because he was an old hand, a standout from the time of the East Sea, which is why he was recognized early.
With a bounty and having mastered one of the Six Styles, he became one of the combat captains on the ship, enjoying the same treatment as Pearl, making him an ordinary officer.
The Disaster Pirates, after a few robberies, had divided ranks.
The three high-ranking officers remained unchanged, with Hawkins rising through the ranks and being favored by Sage, becoming a high-ranking officer.
Though constantly called a charlatan by Renedia, almost implying he's fading like a candle in the wind, his strength was fearsome to the subordinates, and many were terrified of Hawkins.
An enormous bounty of 249 million aside, the scene of him being attacked but not dying, only having straw dolls emerge, was terrifying enough, especially with his prophetic demeanor that let him predict events just by glancing at someone, making him even more frightening.
No one opposed him being a high-ranking officer.
The issue of becoming an officer, besides high-ranking officers needing his direct selection, ordinary officers were left to Sage. As long as one could gain the respect of their subordinates, they could become an officer.
Pearl, Bellamy, Mute, and that black cat Faust were among this list.
After all, a 1% loot share, regardless of participation, was a coveted goal for all subordinates. Without showing something convincing, it wasn't easy to achieve.
Pearl and Mute were old subordinates, having learned one of the Six Styles, already surpassing ordinary subordinates.
Bellamy was an Ability User, and Faust was from the Fur Race, with impressive combat power, garnering respect among the subordinates.
As for others, gaining respect was harder, like 'Executioner' Roshio, who joined first in Demon Valley Town but couldn't convince others with a 42 million bounty because of insufficient strength.
Among the subordinates now, there were many former captains with 10 to 20 million bounties, proud and arrogant too, especially in the Disaster Pirates, where such bounties were insignificant. Only by demonstrating strength could they impress others.
As for Sage...
The Emperor in Jinluan Hall could only note the ministers and governors in court. Sage hadn't even become a landlord, how could he remember the specifics of over a thousand individuals?
But forgetting them was one thing. Now, he was curious.
He had been pondering about the dance troupe issue for a long time, having no good dancers or atmosphere creators among his subordinates, not even female pirates, who were terribly clumsy.
Could wiggling a bit be called dancing?
Sage wanted a dance troupe that exuded artistry!
But now with this kabuki performer, though comical, he was great at creating atmosphere, making Sage laugh heartily, but after laughing, sensed something amiss.
"Do I have such a person among my subordinates? Who is this?" Sage asked Lily beside him, "The strength is decent, is he an officer?"
"No idea..."
Lily also shook her head, then glanced at the dancing kabuki performer and said, "It's strange, he seems comparable to Gin."
She looked at the crowd, under Observation Haki, found two places with similar aura, and the guy in the martial arts uniform was even stronger than Gin.
"Something's not right!"
Lily placed her left hand on the sword hilt, leaned closer to Sage, and whispered, "Sage, it seems someone has infiltrated..."
The strength was notably different.
She didn't remember the subordinates clearly either, but couldn't help it; the ordinary people, with varying strengths, but such strong individuals should have their names remembered.
She knew Roshio, so it was impossible not to recognize these strong and unique people.
Especially the kabuki performer, so unique, should have been noted by Sage, but he didn't know.
"Hmm?"
Sage raised an eyebrow, pressed down with his hand to stop the kabuki performer's comedy, "What's your name?"
Kumadori spread his fingers wide, planted his feet wide, and jumped down, standing firm on the ground, turning his head clockwise back to its position, and said, "I am Kumadori, yo-yo-yi!"
Sage turned to the two in the crowd, beckoning them, "Who are you two?"
"Captain Sage, my name is Jabra, I'm one of your subordinates!"
The mustached man in the martial arts outfit stepped out, grinning ingratiatingly.
"I'm Owl, 'Otonashi' Owl, jababa."
The round ball also stepped out, his zipper-like mouth opening and closing, producing a sharp voice.
"Strange..."
Sage pondered a moment and asked, "Do I have people like you among my subordinates?"
"Captain Sage, we joined at Demon Valley Town. We haven't caught your eye yet, but we will work hard!" Jabra clenched a fist, adopting an earnest and enthusiastic stance.
"Forget it."
Sage waved his hand, "It doesn't matter, dance well. I really like this kabuki stuff. In the future, when we expand the dance troupe, you'll lead a group."
In a pirate crew...
It's quite normal for odd things to occur.
He wasn't too bothered.
"Yo-yo-yi, a captain who respects art, very good!" Kumadori nodded repeatedly.
Jabra also smiled, that's great, this guy doesn't seem to care too much about them, they can slip by...
"That's great, we got through!"
Owl spoke directly, "In that case, we can plan how to take your head and get the money, jababa!"
With these words, the lively banquet hall suddenly quieted, with everyone looking at the three.
"Hey!"
Jabra's temple veins bulged, shouting, "Why did you say that out loud!"
Owl, belatedly realizing, covered his mouth, eyes wide, "Did it again, jababa..."