"Pff~!"
A flush of red suddenly surged across Tashigi's face, making her look like a ripe apple.
She quickly lowered her hands and hid them behind her back, flustered and unsure of what to do.
Then she lifted her head and glared at the laughing Kyle, instantly shouting in a girlish fury:
"H-How dare you! You can't tease a girl like that!"
"Eh? Wait a second... Why do you look kind of familiar?"
Memories long asleep began to stir.
Tashigi's eyes widened in shock.
"Ah! I remember now!"
"You're that sword seller!!!"
Recalling what had happened before she passed out, a fiery rage ignited in the young girl's eyes.
"You dared to use a famous sword to frame me?! What were you really after?!"
As she spoke, Tashigi braced with one hand and gracefully leapt off the bed.
But when she reached for her waist, she was stunned to find her beloved Shigure missing.
Without her treasured blade, her combat strength was significantly reduced.
Yet Kyle, who had just entered the room, completely ignored her reaction.
He simply placed his breakfast tray on the desk and smiled at her.
"Relax, Petty Officer Tashigi, the test is over."
"Unfortunately, you failed."
"Test!? What test?!"
Tashigi, who thought she had been kidnapped, was momentarily dumbfounded and immediately questioned him.
But Kyle didn't answer.
Instead, he casually began eating his breakfast and called out into the air:
"Tiga, bring another breakfast, please."
"Our dear Tashigi has woken up."
Still dazed, Tashigi sat on a high stool, eating breakfast alongside Kyle one bite at a time.
The meal was simple—far less nutritious than those served at the Navy base cafeteria.
Just an instant sandwich and a cup of hot milk.
Yet it was the most unforgettable breakfast Tashigi had ever had in years.
She watched Tiga, who occasionally teleported in and out, her face full of astonishment.
After finishing breakfast, she finally couldn't contain her curiosity and looked at Kyle.
"Who exactly are you people?"
"And... what did you mean by 'test' earlier?"
Kyle wiped his mouth with a napkin, his tone calm and collected as he replied:
"A test, just as the word implies."
"Perhaps you still don't know what happened yesterday?"
As he spoke, Kyle took out a fresh newspaper from under the table.
It was the East Blue Daily. Not as authoritative as the World Economic News, but still a common source of information in East Blue.
Tashigi frowned slightly and picked up the paper.
On the front page, a bold, blackened headline immediately caught her eye:
"Shocking! Pirates Brazenly Attack Loguetown Navy Base in Broad Daylight—Kidnap Pretty Navy Girl!!!"
Below the headline was a photo from the incident.
In the picture, Kyle was pointing a gun at an unconscious girl beneath the Tiga ship, his expression cold and eyes filled with murderous intent—a textbook image of a criminal.
Opposing him stood Navy Captain Smoker, his eyes blazing with fury.
To be fair, the reporters in the pirate world were ridiculously good—practically omnipresent.
The photo was taken from an impeccable angle, highlighting the central figures while also showing the panic of nearby civilians, conveying the tension of the scene.
Even Kyle couldn't help but give it a thumbs up.
If only naval intelligence officers had this level of skill, building a spy network would be a breeze!
The article detailed Kyle's supposed crimes from the previous day—how he tricked Navy soldiers using a famous sword to lure Tashigi out, then used her life as a bargaining chip to escape at the harbor.
Strangely enough...
The report was surprisingly neutral, not favoring either side.
Even Kyle's parting jabs at Smoker were printed word for word.
Kyle guessed it was because many of the newspaper's subscribers were pirates, so the press leaned toward objective reporting.
Within minutes, Tashigi looked like her whole worldview had been shattered.
She put down the newspaper, her eyes hollow.
"W-What is going on…?"
"It's obvious. This was a test."
Kyle stood up from behind the desk, face solemn, and extended a hand toward her.
"Allow me to formally introduce myself…"
"I'm an agent from the Navy Marshal's special intelligence bureau, currently assigned to East Blue."
"To be honest, I'm disappointed in your performance."
"Throughout the entire test, I didn't even use much force."
"Yet the Loguetown Navy Base, tasked with preventing pirates from entering the Grand Line, was so easily compromised, even losing key personnel!"
"If this is how you protect the East Blue, I have reason to believe you've grown complacent in your duties."
Kyle's voice grew more intense, pressing down on Tashigi like a tidal wave.
"B-But we really have intercepted so many pirates!"
Shaken by Kyle's imposing presence, Tashigi genuinely started to believe his words and stood up to defend Smoker and the Navy.
After all, they had worked hard.
They'd taken down countless pirate crews since arriving in East Blue.
But Kyle only shook his head.
"Effort in the wrong direction is like poison coated in sugar."
"You fail to understand the severity of the problem."
"The petty pirates you capture—even if they reached the Grand Line, they'd only end up as corpses at the bottom of the sea."
"But those who evade your net and witness real power firsthand will be better prepared."
"Those are the ones who give the Navy and the World Government a real headache."
"You've become tools of the pirates, helping them filter out the true elites!"
"Is this the fruit of all your hard work?!"
Kyle slammed his hands on the table and shouted at Tashigi.
"Th-This can't be…"
Thud.
Terrified, Tashigi collapsed onto the chair, her eyes completely void of light.
...
Seeing this, a slight smile curled at Kyle's lips—though he quickly masked it.
The truth was, everything Kyle said was pure sophistry.
While Smoker and the Loguetown Navy may have incidentally helped weed out the weak, without them, things would be much worse.
Forget Grand Line pirates—even Loguetown's civilians wouldn't be safe.
But to get Tashigi willingly aboard his ship and join the Twilight Pirates, he had to break her spirit first.
//The Author suddenly switched to Twilight Pirates. Should I also switch to that or should I keep the name Dusk Pirates?
She was still young.
The current Tashigi lacked the experience and resilience of the sword-wielding woman she'd become three years later.
Seeing she was beginning to reflect on her mistakes, Kyle knew the persuasion phase was almost over.
Any more, and he might actually traumatize the poor girl.
"Ahem…"
Clearing his throat, he straightened up and spoke solemnly:
"Of course, your methods may be flawed, but your sense of justice is unquestionable!"
"You're the future pillars of the Navy!"
"So, to help you grow stronger, I've decided to request a reassignment for you from the Marshal."
"Think of it as both punishment and encouragement."
As he spoke, Kyle opened the safe and pulled out a Den Den Mushi he had brought from Marineford.
He had brought two sets—one for contacting his strongest supporter, his second uncle, Admiral Kizaru…
And one that connected directly to Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
This time, he picked up Sengoku's.
He placed the large and small Den Den Mushi on the table—the small one served as an anti-eavesdropping device.
In front of Tashigi, Kyle lifted the receiver.
A busy tone rang for a while...
Then—"Click."
In an instant, the Den Den Mushi's expression turned stern, with lips downturned in a scowl.
"Hello, is that Kyle?"
Oddly, the first person to react wasn't Kyle—it was Tashigi, frozen in shock.
She immediately recognized the voice...