This king hid things far too deeply. Even Martha, who had done quite a lot for the king, was unclear about what was going on inside.
No wonder that just a little investigation had led her to be hunted down by unknown gang members to such an extent.
It wasn't just a matter of gangs—there were also the king's hands involved. Rose Island wasn't as fragile as she had thought. As for how many of those unknown gang members there really were, they might truly be capable of resisting pirates.
"The situation is very complicated. If the king really is a pure-hearted man with a bit of foolishness, it's not impossible that he knows absolutely nothing about the gang's affairs."
All that could be said was that both possibilities existed, but one must absolutely maintain a degree of vigilance toward the king.
"Should we give Martha a warning?"
"Up to you, but Martha's subsequent reaction… is very hard to control. Put another way, even if she knew about this, what could she do?"
"The Kingdom Army isn't in her hands, and the gang isn't in her hands either. There's nothing she can do."
I also wouldn't help her overthrow the regime. Whether the Thorn Rose king's methods were truly that despicable or not, his accession to the World Government this time was very likely to succeed.
Overthrowing the regime of a member nation—if that got out, I would definitely become a wanted target of the Marines. I haven't even decided yet whether I want to become a bounty criminal.
Gathering so many subordinates, and recruiting Daz Bonez as well, was all preparation for future uncertainties.
"..."
Lena realized that her so-called "best friend" truly couldn't do anything. If the king really was the direct controller of the gang, then everything was already a foregone conclusion.
Lena left.
...
When night fell, a figure entered Vane's room through the window.
It was Bonez.
Vane wasn't asleep either; the two meeting at night was something they had agreed on beforehand.
"How is it? How did the investigation into the gang leader's information go?"
When Bonez spoke—someone usually so steady—he sounded hesitant, as if he didn't know how to put it. In the end, he squeezed out a sentence:
"You could say I successfully infiltrated the inner circle."
"You became a high-ranking gang member? That shouldn't be possible. Even someone like Lena, who's been a gang member for six or seven years, can't earn their trust. You're a newcomer—how could that be?"
Bonez: "Not infiltrated as a gang member, but infiltrated as the gang boss's pet."
Vane: "...Meowth?"
Bonez nodded.
Alright then. He had indeed heard Lena mention that the gang boss liked cats very much—he just hadn't expected it to be to this extent.
"Fine. That does count as infiltrating the inner circle."
The mindset of a cat lover is something ordinary people can't imagine. No matter how clever the gang boss is, he'd never suspect that the cat he cuddles and pets every day is actually a spy.
"No need to proactively contact Meowth. If it has any important news, it'll naturally pass it along. You just need a fixed contact location."
...
Meowth hadn't expected to get so easily close to the target. The gang boss had more than one cat around him—there were many.
Being with these cats that had no intelligence to speak of made Meowth feel like its own intelligence was being affected as well. Fortunately, this was only a temporary mission; it wouldn't have to stay long.
"Boss, the person in charge of the Gunfire Gang has arrived."
The Rose Island gang boss nodded and prepared to go meet the person in charge.
He glanced at the little cats in his room and decided to take along the new white little fellow he'd gotten today.
Meowth carefully observed the gang boss—a somewhat chubby guy with an utterly ordinary appearance. His expression gave off a natural sense of hypocrisy, a fake feeling.
Holding Meowth in his arms, he truly was someone who liked cats. All sorts of petting techniques made Meowth feel extremely comfortable—clearly something honed through frequent cat-petting.
The gang boss quickly brought Meowth to a secret room.
Meowth glanced at the person opposite—also quite fat, wearing a black suit base with white vertical stripes, with a long coat draped over it.
Stubbly beard, a thick cigar clenched between his lips.
His fingers were adorned with many gemstone rings.
"Welcome, welcome. You must be the second-in-command of the Gunfire Gang, yes?"
Different from Rose Island's gangs, the Gunfire Gang was extremely famous throughout the West Blue, mainly dealing in arms. It was said that even the Marines had dealings with their business.
In terms of quality, the Gunfire Gang's members were worlds apart from those of Rose Island. Whether in capability or equipment, Rose Island was far inferior.
That woman Lena was their gang's top sharpshooter. If their own gang members were sent to deal with her, let alone twenty—even sending forty or fifty people to hunt her down would likely all be killed by Lena.
But when the Gunfire Gang made a move, they dealt with Lena easily, only losing two people to injuries.
The Gunfire Gang's second-in-command bit down on his thick cigar and said, "I brought one hundred and fifty men with me."
Upon hearing this, the gang boss was extremely pleased. Eighty people had already come before, and now another one hundred and fifty had infiltrated. More importantly, they had also brought a large amount of advanced equipment. With these as support, how could great plans fail?
"I've brought the people. You can reveal the Devil Fruit information now, right?"
Devil Fruit?
Hearing the keyword, Meowth half-opened its eyes.
Wasn't the whole reason it came to the gang to obtain information about a Devil Fruit? If it could get its hands on the Devil Fruit, it could leave immediately.
The gang boss gave a look to the person beside him, who then withdrew—apparently to fetch something.
He didn't waste the time in between, continuing to make friendly conversation with the other party.
"I still don't know the second-in-command's name."
The other party took a deep drag on the cigar, pulling off quite a bit at once. After slowly exhaling a smoke ring, he said, "Capone Bege."
The Gunfire Gang held considerable status in the West Blue—completely beyond what Rose Island's gang could compare to. If it were just a matter of paying some money as tribute, Capone Bege would never personally come to such a remote island.
But the other side had offered a Devil Fruit as compensation, which made it worth Capone's personal trip.
Coming from a well-known West Blue gang background, he naturally knew the wonders of Devil Fruits. Ordinary Zoan-type Devil Fruits didn't interest him—or rather, he knew he wasn't good at physical combat, so eating a Zoan-type Devil Fruit wouldn't boost him much.
And what the other side provided was said to be a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit.
Although many Paramecia-type Devil Fruits also need to be paired with physical combat to be effective, there are quite a few that don't demand such high physical ability. If this one happened to be what he needed, it would be a major turning point in his life.
Soon, the person who had left returned, bringing back a photograph and some documents.
Capone Bege also knew that the other side wouldn't possibly hand over the Devil Fruit directly for him to see. He casually picked up the documents and began reading them, and the more he read, the more satisfied he became.
Meowth also really wanted to take a look, but its current identity was that of an ordinary cat—it couldn't do anything that might arouse suspicion.
"Very good. I hope you're not lying to me. Otherwise, no matter who you are, the Gunfire Gang of the West Blue will have a chance to kill you."