"Whether we were pirates or now servants of the World Government, we still end up facing her… guess this really is fate."
A CP0 agent wearing a strange hat and carrying an equally strange musket shook his head and sighed.
He had actually considered avenging Blackbeard at one point. Compared to his companions, his fighting style was long-range sniping—so even if he couldn't kill the enemy, he would still have plenty of time to escape.
Unfortunately, the one who killed Blackbeard was Kizaru. Unless Van Augur was willing to use the Sea-Stone bullets he had treasured for years, there was no way he could do anything to a Logia-type Devil Fruit user.
If it were the elite snipers of the Red-Haired Pirates, they could at least threaten Logia users with Armament Haki. But aside from decent Observation Haki, Van Augur's Armament Haki proficiency could only be described as tragic.
More importantly, Kizaru wasn't just any Logia user—he possessed the Glint-Glint Fruit, the fastest Logia in existence, practically an unsolvable nightmare.
The only power that could rival the Glint-Glint Fruit was the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, which also operated at light speed.
Even without considering that Kizaru himself was a top-tier powerhouse, the abilities of the Glint-Glint Fruit alone were enough to make anyone thinking of picking a fight with him reconsider.
"Try not to get into a fight with that woman… otherwise, we'll probably die a very ugly death…"
The CP0 agent wearing a top hat sat on the parapet, idly twirling his cane as he spoke with a hint of helplessness in his voice.
According to the agreement they had made with Blackbeard back then, once Blackbeard died, the pirate crew would naturally disband.
What none of them had expected, however, was that at some point along the way, people who had always acted alone had grown accustomed to life within a pirate crew.
In the end, through the connections of Burgess's former agent, they somehow ended up pledging allegiance to the World Government. They were then noticed by CP0 and taken in as CP0 reserve members.
"…It's… it's fine… I can help you… preserve the appearance of your corpses…"
The sickly-looking CP0 agent struggled just to finish his sentence. Magellan of Impel Down already had it bad enough with constant diarrhea after eating the Poison-Poison Fruit, but as a Virus-Virus Fruit user, Doc Q's condition was far worse than Magellan's.
Even his mount was affected by the Sick-Sick Fruit, looking as though it were on the verge of dying every single day. And that was despite the fact that Doc Q's horse, Stronger, was a horse that had eaten the Animal-Type Horse-Horse Fruit, Mythical Zoan: Pegasus Model—yet even a Zoan user couldn't withstand the side effects of the Sick-Sick Fruit.
"Actually, this might not be a bad opportunity… This time, it's just that woman alone. If we can join forces and take her down, that contribution should be enough to trade for a powerful Devil Fruit from the World Government, right?"
The abnormally massive and burly CP0 member, Burgess, bared his teeth in a grin as he looked at Esdeath, his gaze filled with naked greed.
Esdeath was almost the most beautiful woman he had ever seen—barely inferior even to the Empress of Amazon Lily, who was known as the most beautiful woman in the world.
If he could capture this woman, Burgess would be satisfied even if he couldn't trade the merit for a sufficiently powerful Devil Fruit.
"Hah? What a joke! Even the captain was chased around and beaten by that woman, and you're in such a hurry to throw your life away?"
Carrying his musket on his shoulder, CP0's Van Augur sneered with undisguised contempt. When he had first joined Blackbeard's ranks, Van Augur still possessed a fair amount of arrogance.
But after experiencing the Paramount War and witnessing more and more truly fearsome figures—especially the snipers of the Red-Haired Pirates, whose presence made even top-tier powerhouses wary—Van Augur gradually came to realize that the marksmanship he had once been so proud of might not be as invincible as he had imagined.
"Hmph. Do you think everyone is a coward like you?" Burgess shot back. "Don't forget that the World Government is backing us right now. This is Mary Geoise—who knows how many hidden trump cards the World Government still has?"
Having his greed stirred, Burgess performed far beyond his usual level. His barrage of bravado left Van Augur momentarily speechless, unsure how to refute him.
"...Burgess has a point. We can give it a try. It'd also be a good chance to show the World Government our loyalty and strength," Lafitte said as he stood up, adjusting his top hat. He then turned to look at Doc Q and his mount.
After Blackbeard's death, these remnants of the Blackbeard Pirates had been using votes to decide the group's direction.
On the surface, there were only four of them, making ties easy to happen—but Doc Q's mount, Stronger, also held a vote. That meant they could still settle matters by majority rule.
"Ah… I still want to live a few more decades… live to a ripe old age…" Doc Q muttered as he shakily propped himself up against the wall. The vote currently stood at two to one—if he sided with Van Augur, it would be a tie.
"Neigh, neigh!"
Before Doc Q could even finish speaking, Stronger—just as sickly-looking as his master—hopped over to Burgess and Lafitte's side, choosing to oppose his own owner.
"…Stronger, you… you stupid horse…" Doc Q nearly died of anger, coughing as he cursed. "Are you really… that eager… to go… die?"
Under normal circumstances, aside from rare exceptions like the Human-Human Fruit, animals that ate Zoan-type Devil Fruits were still animals.
However, their intelligence was usually greatly enhanced. For example, Pierre—the bird who had eaten the Horse-Horse Fruit—became the former "God" of Skypiea and the trusted partner of the Sky Knight, Gan Fall.
All things considered, aside from being unable to speak, Stronger's intelligence was not much worse than that of an ordinary human child.
"Hahahahaha! Then it's three to two now! Get ready to fight!" Burgess roared with laughter as he tore apart his long robe, revealing a body packed with bulging, corded muscles. "Champion Burgess… is about to put on a show!"
"What a headache…" Van Augur sighed, but still removed the musket from his back, preparing for the coming battle.
At this moment, Esdeath continued strolling leisurely toward the city gates, already on the verge of entering the optimal firing range of the defensive artillery.
The Army Admiral candidate responsible for guarding the gates was likewise fully prepared, standing at the ready.
°°°
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