"..."
Blackbeard Teach's eyes rolled around.
This kind of thing…
was actually just what he wanted.
Because Teach desperately needed to get into Impel Down and recruit some powerful pirates to expand his strength; he had no intention of being some small fry for his whole life!
He wanted to become the King of the World!
However, with how scrappy his current pirate crew was, trying to attack Impel Down was a bit difficult; they might not even get through Impel Down's main gate before being wiped out directly by its guards!
"Zehahaha…"
Blackbeard Teach let out a feral laugh, then carefully looked at the red‑haired youth in front of him. His pair of treacherous eyes deliberately feigned innocence and confusion: "You need this crude little pirate crew of ours to coordinate with the Konoha Pirates to attack Impel Down?"
"No…"
"You're going on your own!"
Red Sand Sasori shook his head and pointed at Blackbeard Teach.
"…"
Blackbeard Teach's face instantly drooped. He rubbed his palms together and started grumbling: "We're willing enough to do some things for the Konoha Pirates as thanks, but this is something that's simply impossible for us to pull off…"
"Someone will help you infiltrate Impel Down."
Red Sand Sasori looked at Blackbeard Teach and reminded him coldly: "Go find a World Government official named Spandine, and have him help you sneak into Impel Down. You help him take out a Vice Admiral named Akihara Kagura; his son was killed by that Vice Admiral…"
"Zehahaha… that makes it much easier."
The corners of Blackbeard Teach's mouth stretched out as he chuckled: "But… are you sure that guy Spandine will help us?"
"I can't be sure…"
"It all comes down to your luck…"
The answer Red Sand Sasori gave left Teach momentarily speechless, and he even twisted the knife twice more: "Maybe he'll sell you out to curry favor with the Heavenly Celestial Dragons; and maybe Spandine doesn't have the authority to get into Impel Down in the first place."
"Anyway…"
"I'm just giving you a path…"
"Whether this path is walkable, and whether you choose to walk it, is up to you…"
"…"
The Blackbeard Pirates fell collectively silent.
In the end…
it was still the pirate captain, Blackbeard Teach, who made the decision.
"Zehahaha…"
"Then we'll take a gamble…"
"It's not like we have any better options anyway!"
Blackbeard Teach threw his head back in a wild grin, the gaps between his teeth making him look especially terrifying: "I believe my luck… has never been bad!"
Blackbeard Teach's face was twisted in laughter, but his hand clenched into a fist. As he led his subordinates away, his chilly gaze swept over the members of the Konoha Pirates…
This bunch of bastards…
actually dared to force him into taking a risk!
Did these bastards think he was their lackey? That his pirate crew was under their command?
Once he'd recruited enough powerful prisoners as his men inside Impel Down, he'd make these bastards from the Konoha Pirates understand who the future King of the World really was!
"Looks like he's quite unhappy…"
Orochimaru smiled faintly as he stood beside Red Sand Sasori.
"It doesn't matter, we don't care."
Red Sand Sasori couldn't care less what Blackbeard Teach thought.
"Arrogance is humanity's greatest obstacle to survival…"
Orochimaru was still smiling as he offered Red Sand Sasori a reminder.
"Orochimaru."
Red Sand Sasori's steps stopped. He glanced at Orochimaru: "I might be an arrogant person, but do you think Kagura is arrogant?"
"Most of the time…"
"Isn't he a little too cautious instead?"
"…"
Orochimaru actually found himself unable to answer that. He could only shake his head and sigh.
Enies Lobby.
Inside the Tower of Justice conference room.
Many people thought that the overly cautious young man was in the midst of committing the sin of arrogance.
"Spandine."
"This is a Navy pre‑war meeting."
Akihara Kagura watched Spandine walk into the conference room, lazily sweeping a glance over him: "You don't seem qualified to attend this meeting. Do I need to throw you out…?"
"Akihara Kagura, I am the Military Governor sent by the World Government!"
Spandine's face instantly contorted with rage, and he loudly proclaimed his authority to the high‑ranking Navy officers present: "I have the authority to monitor you! If any of you do anything that goes against an order from the World Government's higher‑ups…"
"Oh?"
Akihara Kagura folded his hands behind his head, resting them on the back of his chair, and directly cut Spandine off, making him even more furious: "Then we'll just kill you. That way the World Government won't know we disobeyed the higher‑ups' orders, right?"