"What on earth is going on? Why are you two in so much pain, but I feel nothing at all?" Garo asked.
Rosuka hung her head, her gaze fixed on the ground as if she hadn't recovered from the pain.
"I don't know either, but it feels like I can't sense anything now. There's no abnormality." she said.
The Mark of Orochi didn't completely turn a person into a puppet; it was more like they had been subjected to Kotoamatsukami.
Now, apart from having completely surrendered to Ren in her heart, Rosuka showed no other abnormalities.
However, the stronger Kataru felt that something was off.
"This is strange... I have a very strong sense of dissonance..." Kataru panted heavily.
He looked down at his own hands, feeling that something was just not right.
It was as if the things he was seeing were not their original forms; everything was shrouded in a double shadow.
"What's the abnormality?" Garo quickly asked, sensing that Kataru might be the breakthrough.
But Kataru just shook his head.
He couldn't explain the specific situation; the feeling of dissonance was strong, but he couldn't articulate it.
In truth, the Mark of Orochi's control over the three of them wasn't that strong.
This ability wasn't very effective on powerful individuals to begin with, especially since they also had the will to resist.
However, this was a good thing.
It meant they wouldn't be discovered by Garo at the very start.
Moreover, in their subconscious minds, they already had the idea of supporting Ren.
This idea might slowly take root and erode their hearts, completely changing their thoughts over time.
Compared to these spies, there were many powerful individuals among the other pirates.
But since they were already willing to follow Ren, the effect of the Mark of Orochi was much better on them.
Seeing that Kataru's complexion had improved significantly, Garo breathed a sigh of relief.
Right now, they were inside 'Inazuma' and didn't dare to casually contact the World Government.
Den Den Mushi were convenient, but there was a possibility of being overheard.
Unless a particularly urgent situation arose, they wouldn't rashly contact the World Government.
"Still, I didn't expect joining Inazuma to be this easy. It's much simpler than I thought," Rosuka said.
"Don't let your guard down yet. We've only nominally joined. Those people can't possibly trust us so easily. Although we are spies, we must give it our all to serve them if we want to gain their trust." Garo said.
This was a quality every spy had to possess.
Even if Ren were to go against the World Government, they would still carry out his orders as long as it didn't involve critical matters.
Unless a special situation is discovered, they had to prioritize their current mission.
"You don't have to tell us that! We've known that for a long time!" Kurisu said unhappily.
She was a specially trained agent, you know, not some idiot.
"In any case, as long as we are 'loyal,' that's all that matters," Kataru said.
"That's right. The goal is to slowly work our way into the core, and along the way, map out all of their forces. That is our mission. Of course, if necessary, we can also assassinate important members." Garo nodded.
At the same time, he looks down at the black mark on his arm, immediately fell silent, and makes a few hand gestures.
'I was careless just now. This mark might have surveillance or eavesdropping functions. We must be cautious.'
Seeing this, the other three looked at each other and also began conversing in sign language.
'Does this mean we've already been exposed?'
'It's only a possibility... We'll have to be more careful from now on'
After making the gesture, Garo looked around again.
He didn't see anyone closing in on them.
He didn't know if he was being overly cautious or for some other reason, but they would have to be more careful in the future.
After spending some time, Shutenmaru managed to brand all several thousand pirates.
At the same time, he selected some of the more skilled individuals among them.
Among them, Garo's strength was in a league of his own.
As for the spies sent by other pirate crews, their strength was much more lacking.
To say nothing else, take Big Mom's side, for example, they didn't even have many heavy hitters in their own crew right now; the future Sweet Generals hadn't grown up yet.
It was the same for other pirate crews.
Besides the captains having exaggerated combat power, their subordinates' actual strength wasn't all that impressive.
There were many pirates who followed them, but these pirates couldn't be considered confidants.
"Most of you are pirates. If that's the case, then you should know that on this great sea, strength is what ultimately speaks," Shutenmaru said, standing on a high platform and looking down at them.
"The strong rule the weak, and the weak feed on the strong. If you want to earn the adult's favor, then show them your strength!"
"Since you've joined us, you're now members of the Fatui vanguard. But among the vanguard, some can become captains while others can just be squad members. If you want to be a captain, then fight and claw your way to the top!"
Shutenmaru's words ignited the hearts of these pirates.
Who didn't want to be someone superior?
Being a squad captain in Inazuma would to form of honor.
Besides, with only thirteen spots, a single captain can likely think end of 100 subordinates, That number would constitute a fairly substantial pirate crew elsewhere.
"Only thirteen people?" Yukiko asked in a small voice.
"If the seats for officials are filled, there are eleven of them. With only thirteen squad captains, isn't that too few?"
"That's true, but right now there are only you and me as officials," Shutenmaru also replied in a low voice.
"In the future, more pirates will surely be willing to follow us. When that happens, and we have new officials, they can handle the recruitment themselves."
Yukiko nodded, feeling that Shutenmaru had a point.
Different officials might have different personalities and be responsible for different aspects, and the people they want to recruit might also have their own opinions.
The only problem was that she felt that a mere squad captain having over a hundred subordinates was far too many."
"Don't worry. This is a fight to the death, isn't it? By then, I doubt many of them will be left," Shutenmaru said expressionlessly.
He grew up among a den of bandits, so to speak, and had crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood to survive today.
He was much more ruthless than Yukiko.
"Half of these guys surviving would be a good outcome."
"We don't keep dead weight."
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