"Enough!"
Stussy stood up abruptly, her tone bone-chillingly cold.
"Tatsuki, if you're here to amuse yourself, please leave. No matter how much power this token has, it doesn't extend to finances. Unless you have a Handwritten Order from the Gorosei, you won't get a single coin."
After speaking, she made a "please" gesture, her eyes sharp.
Tatsuki looked at the prickly beauty in front of him, the smile in his eyes deepening. He stubbed out the half-smoked cigar, ignored her alertness, and slowly stood up.
One step.
Two steps.
He didn't walk toward the door but circled around the desk, approaching Stussy step by step.
That mountain-like pressure made Stussy instinctively want to retreat, but her pride as a strong person kept her rooted to the spot.
Until Tatsuki walked behind her.
Warm breath brushed against Stussy's sensitive earlobe, causing a slight tremor.
Tatsuki's voice, with a hint of playfulness and magnetism, sounded like a demon's whisper in her ear.
"Don't be so nervous."
"Miss Stussy..."
Tatsuki paused, lowering his voice even further, as soft as a lover's murmur.
"Or should I say... Buckingham Stussy."
Buzz!
Stussy's mind went blank, her pupils dilating to the extreme in an instant.
Tatsuki continued, "You don't want the secret that you're a 'Clone' to be made public, do you?"
That casually spoken phrase was like a bolt from the blue, exploding in Stussy's mind.
In that instant, the composure, disguise, and cunning she prided herself on were utterly shattered.
Her pupils constricted violently and all the blood in her body seemed to flow backward in an instant.
This man... how could he possibly know?!
This was the deepest, darkest taboo buried in her heart. It was an absolute secret unknown to the vast majority of people even within the CP0 Agents.
She was a clone, an illegal creation of Vegapunk and others!
If this secret were exposed, she would no longer be a noble CP0 Agent, but an "experimental sample" that could be destroyed at any moment.
Kill him!
She must kill him!
It was an almost instinctive reaction. Murderous intent surged in Stussy's eyes. Using the turn as cover, she swiftly twisted out a delicate tube of lipstick—a special hidden weapon crafted from highly pure Sea Stone.
"Die!"
A cold glint flashed, swift as lightning, stabbing fiercely toward Tatsuki's throat.
If it were an ordinary Marine Rear Admiral, they would undoubtedly be instantly killed by such a close-range surprise attack.
However...
Clap.
The Sea Stone lipstick, powerful enough to instantly paralyze a Devil Fruit user, stopped one centimeter before Tatsuki's Adam's apple.
A large hand firmly clamped down on Stussy's slender wrist.
Completely immobile!
"What's wrong? Did I hit upon your secret, and now you're lashing out in shame and anger?"
Tatsuki looked down at the utterly astonished Stussy, his tone as relaxed as if he were flirting.
"This... how is this possible?!"
A massive wave surged in Stussy's heart. She desperately tried to pull her hand back but found that Tatsuki's strength was unbelievably great.
Failing the first strike, Stussy did not retreat. Instead, her ferocity was aroused.
Since one hand was restrained...
Whoosh!
A phantom image of a pair of pitch-black bat wings suddenly appeared behind her—her Zoan-type: Bat-Bat Fruit ability instantly activated.
Stussy lunged forward, her lips parting. Her two canine teeth instantly elongated, turning into sharp fangs that shimmered with a chilling cold light. She disregarded everything and bit toward Tatsuki's neck. If she pierced even a little skin, it would cause him to fall into a deep sleep.
Clang!
A crisp sound, like metal striking metal, rang out.
Stussy felt as though her teeth had bitten into an indestructible steel plate, jarring her dental nerves.
Tatsuki's neck was covered by an invisible, flowing barrier of will, which had appeared without her noticing.
"Tsk tsk."
Tatsuki felt the sensation on his neck, and instead of getting angry, he flashed a playful smile.
"So passionate? Are you in a rush to give me a love bite right after meeting? This method of courting is a bit too wild, auntie."
That single word, "auntie," was the final straw that broke the camel's back.
Just as Stussy was about to struggle desperately, a vast, terrifying surge of Conqueror's Haki erupted from Tatsuki.
Rumble!
All the glass in the room instantly shattered, expensive wine bottles exploded into pieces, and red wine flowed across the floor like blood.
Stussy's mind went blank. The suffocating feeling of facing a top predator completely extinguished any thought of resistance. Her legs went weak, and her body uncontrollably collapsed.
She dropped to her knees on the ground, still restrained by Tatsuki gripping one wrist, a posture both humiliating and helpless.
"Impulsiveness won't solve your problems."
Tatsuki used his other hand to cup Stussy's delicate chin, forcing her to look up and meet his unfathomable eyes. In his gaze, there was no pity for a beautiful woman, only naked threat.
"The World Government has eliminated quite a few insiders to completely conceal the Lineage Factor, a technology capable of overthrowing the world."
"Tell me, if they found out there was still a perfect 'living proof,' which is you, alive and well, holding a high position..."
Tatsuki paused, the curve of his lips growing increasingly cruel.
"Who do you think would be the first person they silence to protect the secret? After all, only dead people can keep secrets forever. Am I right, my Clone Miss?"
Stussy's body began to tremble uncontrollably. It wasn't fear of death, but the despair of being completely seen through, her fate firmly grasped in someone else's hands.
She was finished.
The moment this man uttered the word "Buckingham," she was utterly finished.
Her greatest secret, her greatest reliance, had now become the sharpest guillotine blade hanging over her head.
And the person holding the rope was the seemingly harmless Marine Rear Admiral before her.