Guernica had originally calmed down, making a call while continuing to pour wine. Even upon suddenly discovering Sage, they were not panicked.
As experienced CP0 agents, they accepted any situation quickly. It was just another layer of chaos in this disorder, nothing shocking at all.
It wasn't until Sage took out two notorious pirates from the Worst Generation and approached them, exuding the murderous intent that hadn't yet dissipated from his recent kill, mixed with a desire for conflict, that it violently struck their minds.
The two who were playing chess in the back suddenly stood up, both stepping back in unison. As cold sweat dripped from Guernica's forehead, he looked up at Sage, who was standing on the windowsill, overlooking them with gleaming eyes, and shouted:
"Sage, what do you want to do?"
Even he hadn't realized that his voice was slightly trembling.
"Don't worry, I'm not interested in you."
Sage walked into the room and looked at the woman playing the Three Flavors String to the side, her face covered with a paper mask with eyes drawn on it, and said, "Is this Kaido's surveillance system? Tell me about it, I'm quite interested."
He wasn't shy, directly sitting down by the chessboard, gesturing to Guernica, "Come on, finish this game."
"Sage, we're only following orders..."
Guernica hesitated for a moment but still came over to sit down and said, "Whether you win or Kaido wins, it's actually all the same to us."
"I know."
Sage glanced at the Radio Snail in Guernica's hand, picked up a black piece, placed it on the board, and asked, "So, what exactly is to be done?"
"The idea from above is to wait for you and Kaido to determine a winner, and if both are hurt, then seize the opportunity to reclaim Wano Country, as it has precious Seastone."
It wasn't Guernica who said this; the voice from the Radio Snail belonged to Lucci.
"Yo! Captain Sage, it's been a while! I really miss O'hara!"
Immediately, the voice of Jabra came from the Radio Snail, followed by the words of Owl after him.
"Captain, Jabra was saying bad things about O'hara last time; he likes being a big shot for the Government."
"Don't slander me! When did I ever say such a thing!"
"Just a week ago, you said it while drinking at the bar..."
"Owl! Aren't we partners! Can't even a zipper shut your mouth!"
The sound of zippers being ripped apart echoed from the Radio Snail.
"Oh? Everyone's together? What are you doing?" Sage chuckled.
"Escorting some things, the Seraphim..."
Lucci said, "The new weapon replacing the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
"Hey! Lucci!"
Guernica's eyes widened, "Do you know what you're saying!"
"It doesn't matter."
Lucci replied calmly, "This is tacitly approved. If I don't say it, someone else will."
"The Seven Warlords of the Sea..."
Sage paused, "Has your World Conference reached a conclusion?"
"The result has already been agreed upon: proposed by King Cobra of Alabasta, the decision to abolish the Seven Warlords of the Sea was officially made after the allied nations resolved." Lucci said.
"Hmph... Fujitora's long-cherished wish is fulfilled. Does that mean he will put down his burden?"
Sage laughed, "Lucci, if I survive, remember to give me Fujitora's number. As for your Seraphim... if I get a chance, I'd really like to see what it's all about."
"Understood."
Lucci paused for a moment, then continued, "Additionally, if you win, the order from above is to hope you will open up the Seastone trade."
"I'm a Pirate. Business is business. Don't worry, I'm not a binary operator." Sage laughed loudly.
The world is neither white nor black, but a delicate shade of grey.
The larger the scale, the more this statement seems correct.
Preferences are natural, but they do not interfere with business, especially when both sides are unable to do anything to each other.
If the World Government on such a large scale can do it, why can't Sage?
The Radio Snail disconnected, and Guernica, along with the other two CP0s, fell into a prolonged silence.
As CP0 agents wearing masks, their status is higher than those without, giving them access to more intelligence.
They knew the Disaster Pirates were a sieve and that Sage was utilizing their intelligence capabilities, and they even knew that the Five Elders tacitly approved of the situation.
After all, with mutual benefit, they could monitor a large proportion of the movements of a Four Emperor. As for the World Government's intelligence... in the New World, intelligence or lack thereof did not affect Sage's actions, so better just give it to him.
But what they didn't expect was that Sage's status was so high.
That was Lucci!
Who just followed orders like that.
And judging by the conversation... those who used to be part of CP9 seemed to be taking his orders.
So who is really controlling CP0?
What on earth are those above thinking...
"What are you waiting for? Play the game." Sage said to the dazed Guernica.
Guernica snapped back, looked at the board, and after a moment of hesitation, said, "Well... this position is aesthetically pleasing, but continuing to play will ruin its beauty."
The board was quite beautiful from the previous play, but the move Sage made was somewhat abrupt.
"Absurd tradition."
Sage sneered, "Games have winners and losers, and with winning and losing comes competition. Beauty? That kind of thing doesn't belong on a board."
"But..."
Guernica said, "Your move is a bad move. The previously stalemated situation is now at a disadvantage for you."
"How am I at a disadvantage? Look, isn't this four in a row, and neither end is blocked, I'm about to win!" Sage exclaimed.
Guernica: "..."
Gomoku!
"We're playing Go."
"Who's saying 'we'..."
Sage grinned wickedly, staring directly at him, "It's not only your rules that are rules. Here, you must obey my rules! Either play Gomoku with me, or..."
Bam!
He flipped the board with one hand, saying, "Then no one plays!"
He stood up, glancing around at the CP0s, coldly stating:
"Here's a warning: don't cause any funny business. I don't care why you're here; you're welcome to watch. But if you interfere and prevent me from having a proper showdown with Kaido, disrupting my mindset, I'll blast Mary Geoise!"
"Sage... aren't you afraid that if you do this, we'll attack O'hara? We have more troops than you do."
Guernica wasn't threatening; rather, he voiced a doubt in his heart.
Because he had said such things about attacking Mary Geoise more than once.
In terms of scale and strength, they were at an advantage.
"Saying that to a Pirate?"
Sage laughed, "I can always set sail again; can you change places? Want to swap bases with me? Fine, after destroying Mary Geoise, I won't do anything else but specifically target allied nations. I won't even need the money, just destroy one after another. Will you still have your foundation then?"
Guernica pursed his lips, wiped the sweat dripping down his head, and said, "We promise we won't do anything."
In case this guy really gets upset, the world would fall into the greatest chaos, and that would really be a mess.
No one dares to gamble, and no one would gamble.
Who would gamble on whether a Pirate cares about world chaos, especially someone like Sage, with the track record he has? What he says has a high chance of being accomplished.