Tesoro, having experienced desperation, understands how to cherish the present more. Stella is his Outrage, his vulnerability. Anyone who tries to exploit this will face his furious revenge.
He works tirelessly for Hundred Beasts Fruit because Yamato helped him at his most helpless moment and offered him a ladder to climb up, continually providing rewards thereafter.
While giving, he receives returns and can see his future. He certainly won't be a traitor, especially when faced with threats like these; he won't choose to compromise.
Compromise is either zero times or countless times. He loves Stella, but once he compromises with other forces because of such matters, it would lay his weakness out in the open.
Doing so would not make Stella safer; instead, it would put her in even more danger.
No matter what he's forced to do, it's a very bad start. Under the expansion of desire, those people would continue to coerce him into doing more dangerous things.
"You... really have some guts."
The gold adornments on Tesoro begin to melt gradually. He is already contemplating how to deal with the CP0 in front of him; this is a signal. His attitude could very likely influence the World Government's subsequent policy direction.
Since the World Government hasn't brought force, it means they haven't planned to flip the table yet.
Tesoro believes the CP0 in front of him is merely probing. If he shows weakness, the World Government will undoubtedly escalate further, crafting policies even more unfavorable to him.
Only by being sufficiently strong can he prompt them to adjust their policies in consideration of the situation in The Sea and the Heavenly Celestial Dragon's attitudes.
Thinking it over, the gradually melting gold adornments return to their original state. Tesoro still doesn't plan to reveal this trump card; he decides to switch tactics.
Swoosh!
Tesoro's fingertips sparkle with a cold glint, leaving a cross-shaped indentation on the ground.
"What a reaction, managing to dodge."
"Tesoro, do you know what you're doing?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? Of course I know what I'm doing; right now, I'm very interested in your life."
"Idiot, you are declaring war on the World Government!"
"No, no, no, don't overestimate yourself. Unless I kill you in a live broadcast before a crowd, that won't happen."
Listening to CP0, Tesoro seems quite carefree. The World Government always treats CP0 as tools. If the tool can't deliver the expected results, the World Government won't mind swapping for a new one.
With the connections from the Heavenly Celestial Dragon, even with the World Government, he can be sure that his own value far exceeds that of a CP0; they wouldn't directly turn against him because of this.
After all, this is just a private scenario; it won't have overly bad effects.
"Do you, such a person, not know what CP0 represents?"
"I think it's you who've been brainwashed too much, thus failing to understand your own status. Why don't you guess—if I agree to join the World Government on the condition of your life—would they agree?
To put it bluntly, in the eyes of the Heavenly Celestial Dragon, whether it's you or me, we're just dogs to them. When two dogs are biting each other and only one can be saved, they'll obviously choose the more dearly loved one.
To put it nicely, we are both pawns, but my value outweighs yours."
Blue compound eyes replaced the original pupils, giant bee needle arms formed, and Tesoro swung the Bee Needle in his hand towards CP0 before him.
The CP0 initially thought Tesoro merely had some self-preservation skills, but upon engagement, he realized how absurd his misconception was; this guy does not resemble a merchant at all.
The two bee needles danced fiercely; Tesoro's powerful Haki couldn't be matched even by him, who had been trained and carried out numerous missions by the World Government since young. After narrowly escaping Tesoro's fatal blow, he found a gold ring encircling his neck.
"Though I've never liked you agents, you're certainly my most despised one. Since you want to please your master, why don't you pay the price."
Under the influence of Tesoro's ability, the golden ring began to contract, swiftly enveloping CP0 in a sense of severe suffocation. Just as he desperately tried to break the hard gold ring, Tesoro delivered a side kick, sending him crashing into the wall.
...
"Your physical resilience is quite strong; let's hope your luck is just as good."
Tesoro didn't directly kill him. After ensuring he lost consciousness, he called over Baccarat. He did not plan to kill him himself.
"Baccarat, your ability should be no problem, right?"
"It can, but this is the first time using it on a live person..."
"No matter, just put all your effort into it. I have contingency plans. If this doesn't work, I'll have to change methods."
"Alright, I will do my best."
Baccarat crouched and placed her palm on the CP0's forehead. With her Luck-Luck Fruit abilities, despite the minimal evident combat boosts, the Rule Type fruit she possessed proved even more indecipherable.
Apart from a few who could use their Haki to negate such fruit abilities, the rest found themselves powerless.
Baccarat's ability can strip others of luck; it's a unique demise known as "dying of misfortune."
Getting killed by a coconut during a beach trip, hit by a speeding truck crashing into your house while sitting at home, or the highest commander shot down by friendly anti-aircraft guns while inspecting the battlefield—these surprising accidents leave others amazed.
Some survive falling off Sky Island, while others die from tripping on stairs; some remain untouched by bombs, yet strong ones inexplicably perish in explosions. Such individuals' luck can't be described as bad—only as lacking a faction buff.
This is also Baccarat's deep exploration into the Luck-Luck Fruit. By intensifying the extraction, she can influence a person's upcoming fate, an ability terrifying enough to trap even Usopp.
Afterward, Tesoro stuffed the CP0 into a sack and tossed him out. Upon awakening, CP0 thought Tesoro ultimately cowered and didn't dare to kill him.
Planning to report to his superior, he found the Radio Snail inexplicably broken, and his teammates similarly out of contact.
Since it was a CP Mechanism Radio Snail, regular Radio Snails couldn't infiltrate, forcing him to seek the nearby safe house. The moment he stepped in, a fire broke out, nearly burning him alive.
Aiming to sail back to Red Earth Continent, the ship hit rocks midway and sank. He barely commandeered a pirate ship, but as he approached his destination, a Magma Fist gradually grew larger in his view...