In the top-floor office,
The Den Den Mushi in front of Tesoro mimicked Rhett's lazy expression, waiting for his report.
"Captain, Giberson has 'spilled the beans'," Tesoro's tone carried a hint of amusement. "Interestingly, they mentioned that Stussy has been actively preventing other 'Kings' from cooperating with us, even going so far as to devise plans to unite them against us. I've found that Stussy might have ties to the World Government."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, followed by Rhett's low chuckle: "Ha, more than just ties. The Queen of Pleasure Street is a World Government operative."
Tesoro's lips curled slightly as he flicked a finger, pushing a confidential document in front of him.
He opened the file and spoke leisurely: "I had Bacara 'confirm' it, and the information is true. Stussy not only participated in the conspiracy but also secretly guided Giberson to set a trap, trying to test our limits."
Tesoro chuckled softly: "Shall I 'visit' Pleasure Street?"
"You don't need to bother," Rhett's voice was eerily calm. "Since they like to play dirty, I'll play something more direct."
Stussy stood by the floor-to-ceiling window on the top floor of the Pleasure Palace, elegantly swirling a glass of red wine, a composed smile on her lips. She had just received news of Giberson's failure, but it didn't surprise her—Crimson Dawn's intelligence network was indeed troublesome, but her goal had been achieved.
"The Gorosei were right, Rhett is indeed an uncontrollable variable," she murmured to herself. "But as long as I continue to stir up chaos in the underworld and hinder progress..."
"Boom—!"
The entire window shattered explosively, shards of glass raining down like a storm.
Stussy's pupils contracted instantly, and she swiftly retreated, but a chain of blood mist had already coiled around her ankle, yanking her to the ground.
"Good evening, Stussy," Rhett's figure emerged slowly from the blood mist, a cold smile on his lips. "I heard... you've been causing trouble for me?"
Stussy suppressed her shock and quickly replaced it with a charming smile: "Lord Rhett, what brings you here? Our Pleasure Street has always—"
"Save it," Rhett cut her off, sealing the entire room. "I know you're CP0, and I know what the Gorosei ordered you to do."
Stussy's smile froze on her face.
Rhett tilted his head, his gaze icy: "Since they like to play double-faced games, I'll make them understand—"
He raised his hand, and the blood mist surged violently, screams echoing all around.
"—that treating me like a fool comes with a price."
The neon lights of Pleasure Street flickered amidst the blood mist, then extinguished one by one.
Rhett stood at the highest point of the Pleasure Palace, overlooking the decadent streets below.
His blood mist spread like a tidal wave, engulfing every corner. The laughter of the nobles abruptly ceased, replaced by waves of screams.
"What's going on?! Why are the lights out?!"
"Guards! Where are the guards?!"
"Ah—!! What's that floating in the sky?!"
The blood mist coiled around their throats, corrosive vapor seeping into their skin, choking them in agony.
Rhett's cold gaze swept over the crowd, a cruel curve forming on his lips.
"Tonight, Pleasure Street is a one-way street."
A king of a member nation, dressed in lavish attire, had been laughing with a dancer when his smile suddenly froze. His skin began to fester, the blood mist seeping into his orifices.
He opened his mouth, but only a gurgling sound emerged, before he collapsed into a pool of blood.
A Marine officer beside him swiftly drew his sword, roaring: "Who's there?! Show yourself!"
The next second, his blade was entangled by the blood mist, the metal rusting and disintegrating before his eyes. He looked up in terror, seeing nothing but the blood mist.
"Marines?" Rhett tilted his head towards Stussy. "Oh, right, did you know? They've been very busy lately, shutting down my businesses everywhere."
"Crimson Dawn... Rhett?!" The Marine officer, somewhat knowledgeable, turned pale and tried to flee, but the blood mist had already coiled around his legs.
Before he could utter another word, his body was entirely consumed by the blood mist, not even a scream escaping.
Several CP0 agents rushed out from the shadows, attempting to stop Rhett's massacre. However, their Rokushiki techniques were utterly meaningless against the blood mist.
"Rankyaku!"
"Shigan!"
Their attacks passed through the mist but failed to reach Rhett's body. He didn't even pause, merely raising his hand, and the blood mist transformed into sharp spikes, pinning the CP0 agents to the walls.
Stussy collapsed to the ground, everything before her spinning in disarray.
Nobles, Marine officers, underworld intermediaries... even a few pawns placed by the World Government—all now turned into ghosts amidst the blood mist.
"It's over..."
Her fingers dug deeply into her palms, blood seeping out, but she felt no pain.
Pleasure Street was the hub of the underworld, the largest entertainment venue.
The deaths tonight involved countless chains of interest—nobles from member nations, high-ranking Marines, pirates... With these people dead, she knew she wouldn't survive either!
War, chaos, a power vacuum...
The order the World Government had painstakingly maintained wouldn't collapse entirely, but protests would surely erupt. After all, these dignitaries wouldn't bet on whether Rhett's mist would fall upon their heads!
Stussy suddenly looked up, staring intently at Rhett, her voice hoarse: "You... do you know what you're doing?!"
Rhett tilted his head, the blood mist swirling around his fingertips, his tone flippant: "Hm? I'm cleaning up trash."
"These deaths will plunge the entire sea into chaos!" Stussy clenched her teeth. "The member nations will riot, the World Government won't let you off! You—"
"Seems like the World Government won't let you off either," Rhett smiled, but his eyes were icy cold. "The Gorosei like to play dirty, right? Then I'll help them out, let the situation descend into complete chaos."
"I'll see if they still have the energy to deal with me."
Stussy felt a chill run through her body.
She finally understood—Rhett didn't care about the struggles of the underworld, nor did he care about the balance of the sea.
He was forcing the World Government to make a choice!
Either give up their suppression of him, or watch the entire world descend into chaos!
A madman... a complete madman!
But Stussy was, after all, an intelligent woman.
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, then slowly stood up, though her legs were still trembling.
"Lord Rhett..." her voice was no longer charming, but carried a hint of resolve. "I admit, I underestimated you."
Rhett raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised by her reaction.
"But have you considered?" Stussy looked directly into his eyes. "The World Government won't compromise. They'll only use more extreme measures against you."