Kael toyed with the Den Den Mushi, his fingertip tapping lightly against the receiver.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
On the other end of the line, Morgans was holding his breath, waiting for the final verdict.
"Hmm. The Rumble-Rumble Fruit, CP0, the Seven Warlords, and… Buggy." Kael drawled, sounding like he was counting items on a shelf. "Alright. Since the intel's at least interesting, I'll let you off this time."
"Thank you for your boundless magnanimity, Lord Kael! Your breadth is wider than the sky, your mercy deeper than the sea!" Morgans' voice rose in pitch with excitement, like he was about to burst into tears.
But in reality, his face was full of spite, his beak forming silent curses at the Den Den Mushi while he spewed sweet talk into it.
So he's two-faced too.
Kael listened to the familiar stream of rainbow-flavored flattery without the slightest reaction.
"Your wisdom is like the North Star that guides our course, you…"
"Enough." Kael cut him off. "Stop reciting."
"Y-yes, yes, yes!" Morgans shut up instantly.
Kael finished his black tea in one gulp and set the cup back on the desk with a clean clink.
He shifted into an even more comfortable position and spoke lazily.
"But, Little Mo… you've got a bad habit."
From the other side, Kael could practically hear Morgans' heartbeat.
"Two faces. One to my face, another behind my back."
"What are you talking about, Lord Kael!" Morgans' voice turned sharp. "My admiration for you is as true as the sun and moon! I…"
"Is that so?" Kael chuckled. "Then why don't you look behind you again?"
"…Behind me?"
The line fell into a dead silence.
Kael didn't rush him. He simply waited.
Karon, at his side, remained motionless, like a loyal statue.
A few seconds later, a strangled, distorted scream burst through the Den Den Mushi.
"Aaah!"
At the same time, somewhere in the world, inside the President's office of the World Economy News Paper…
Morgans stiffly twisted his neck. The fawning relief on his face hadn't even fully faded, but it was instantly replaced by pure, concentrated terror.
On the bookshelf behind his desk stood a raven, pitch-black from head to toe, as if it had been carved out of shadow itself.
It made no sound. It didn't move.
Those deep, eerie blue eyes stared at him without blinking, as if they'd been watching for a very, very long time.
The vision was shared.
As for how it worked, go ask Moria's "I think it should work" brand of power.
Morgans understood everything in an instant. Cold sweat seeped from every feather under his wings.
"L-Lord Kael… th-this… what is…" He tried to laugh it off, but his voice shook so badly it barely resembled speech.
"Just a little bird that got lost," Kael's voice drifted from the Den Den Mushi, amused. "It says it likes your office. Wants to stay awhile."
"Likes it! That's wonderful! Welcome! You're extremely welcome!" Morgans snapped into a bright, eager smile so forced it looked more painful than crying. He flashed it at the shadow raven. "How's my office? Should I redecorate for you? Vintage? Minimalist modern?"
"No need." Kael's voice cooled. "Watch your mouth, and watch your pen. Next time I see anything like 'strongest marriage alliance' in the papers again, I'll have Moria cut your shadow out and stuff it into BIG MOM's wedding cake. As for the body, I'll have Mihawk dice you into mince, nice and slow."
"I won't! I swear I won't! Never again!" Morgans nodded wildly at the Den Den Mushi. His top hat flew off his head.
Kael didn't bother with the terrified bird any further. He hung up.
The Den Den Mushi, still wearing Morgans' horrified expression, collapsed on the desk and went limp.
Silence returned to the office.
Kael planted his feet on the edge of the desk again, and the chair began spinning once more, even faster than before, like he was about to become a black tornado.
Karon quietly stepped forward, cleared the empty cup, and replaced it with a fresh one.
Watching his lord's unusual method of stress relief, the admiration in Karon's eyes only deepened.
Using high-speed rotation to simulate the tidal force of celestial bodies, adjusting one's own bio-magnetic field to resonate with the world itself.
What a profound and unfathomable method of cultivation!
Kael, of course, had no idea what his over-imaginative butler was fantasizing about this time.
He was simply organizing the intel he'd just received, while enjoying the blank, floating sensation the dizziness brought.
The Seven Warlords of the Sea…
Hancock was one of his people. Doflamingo was even more his most loyal… lapdog.
Those two slots basically meant the World Government was paying for two undercover agents to help him manage territory. Just thinking about it was funny.
As for Crocodile…
Let him stir up trouble in Alabasta. It would make a perfect beginner's gift pack for a certain straw-hat brat in the future. If Kael got bored, he could even go have some fun there himself.
And then…
Buggy.
The moment Kael thought of that red nose, his grin spread on its own.
Fifty-five million berries!
Well done, Buggy!
Instead of sailing around like in the original timeline with a shabby little ship and a bunch of small fry, robbing tiny villages and doing things that never belonged on a real stage…
This version was better.
Sure, it was probably a chain of ridiculous accidents and dumb luck, beating veteran pirates and earning the love of civilians, but that was the kind of "presence" a Pirate King's crewmate was supposed to have.
The process might be a comedy of coincidences, but the outcome was solid.
Conqueror's Luck, activated.
That was Kael's official verdict on Buggy's "adventure."
And finally, what interested him most…
Skypiea. The Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
A man calling himself "God."
Enel.
In Kael's eyes, Enel was just your classic terminal-stage chuunibyou. A kid who got his hands on an overpowered toy and started acting like a tyrant inside his tiny world.
At the core, he wasn't any different from those mountain bandits bullying civilians in the East Blue. His "scale" was just slightly bigger.
Troublemakers like that were the easiest to deal with.
Beat him into the ground. Beat him until he doubted his existence. Then toss him a pile of gold and tell him the universe has far more interesting things out there.
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