Chapter 133: Keep Acting, Then Keep Acting

"Looks like a little rat has snuck in."

"Although its form keeps changing, that strange air about it never changes."

"I can't let you so easily ruin the harmony of this place."

Having said that.

Fujitora rose, left the money for the drinks on the table, and then followed in the direction Feng Kelei had vanished.

……

The entrance of a small building in the middle of Red Dragon Street.

Having switched to a pirate's face, Feng Kelei easily fooled the guards at the door and tiptoed up the stairs.

"I didn't find it in any of the main areas. The only place left is here."

"The bedroom of Knight Gao Wen."

Feng Kelei's expression remained unchanged, but a fine layer of sweat had already broken out across his palms.

As for intelligence on Gao Wen, he had long since learned everything clearly from the intel provided by Daz- Bones.

The East Sea's strongest swordsman, a Mythical Zoan user, a monster who could take down a Warlord in a single strike—possibly even stronger than the BOSS!

Even he could not help feeling immensely tense at infiltrating the dwelling of such a being.

Especially since the infiltration had gone so smoothly, without encountering a single decent obstacle, which instead made him uneasy.

"A trap?"

"Forget it. At this point, there's no worrying about that anymore."

A few breaths later.

Feng Kelei's figure had already crept up to the outside of Gao Wen's door.

He quietly pressed himself against the door, listening to the steady breathing inside, and for the moment his heart settled by half:

"Must be overthinking it. As expected, the Mimic-Mimic Fruit's ability is just too useful, oh~"

He glanced around, saw no one nearby, deftly picked the lock, and slipped inside quietly.

Click~!

The door closed.

Feng Kelei turned his head and saw a figure hunched over a desk, with his target for this trip resting right beside that person's hand.

A fruit built from white bone.

Feng Kelei's eyes instantly lit up:

"That's it!"

He tiptoed forward, silently approaching Gao Wen, and immediately reached his hand out toward the fruit.

"Mm~!"

Gao Wen, who had been slumped over the desk, suddenly let out a grunt, and then slapped his hand down onto the Bone-Bone Fruit.

Feng Kelei's heart instantly leapt into his throat; his hand froze in midair, terrified of waking the man before him.

Yet his gaze noticed—

The corner of Gao Wen's mouth seemed to curl into a faint, elusive smile.

"Huh?!"

Feng Kelei's whole body jolted; he instantly held his breath, and only after Gao Wen's steady breathing sounded by his ear again did he finally set his heart at ease.

He muttered to himself:

"Good, just a false alarm. Even someone like him is completely unguarded once he's asleep."

He raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, then little by little, pried Gao Wen's hand off the fruit.

Just as success was at hand, Gao Wen shifted his body, and his other hand顺势 pressed down onto the fruit again, even starting to snore outright.

Listening to the rhythmic snoring in the air, the corner of Feng Kelei's mouth twitched:

Alright, alright, alright—so that's how you want to play it!

Blood rushed to his head.

Feng Kelei simply stopped caring so much, increased the force in his hands, directly pried Gao Wen's hand away, and with quick reflexes seized the Devil Fruit in one smooth motion.

"Got it!"

He grabbed the fruit and had just turned to leave when he felt a weight on his body—a hand casually landing on his shoulder.

"You think you can just take my stuff and run?! Baroque Works' Mr. 2~"

Feng Kelei's body instantly stiffened; he mechanically turned his head, only then catching the teasing glint in Gao Wen's eyes, and barely managed to keep his expression in check:

"Captain, I don't know what you're talking about."

"I was just trying to wipe it off for you. Here, I'm giving it back to you now."

The words had barely landed.

Feng Kelei wrenched himself free from Gao Wen's hand, tossed the Bone-Bone Fruit away, and shot toward the door at top speed.

Creak~!

The door opened, but Feng Kelei's footsteps suddenly halted—because the towering figure of Fujitora was already standing at the doorway.

Clank!

The Black Blade was drawn; Fujitora held the sword in one hand and said lightly:

"Such a peaceful place cannot be ruined by your presence."

"You—!"

Before Feng Kelei's words could leave his mouth, the blade in Fujitora's hand had already landed on his shoulder.

In an instant.

A ferocious gravity, like a mountain, pressed Feng Kelei firmly to the ground.

The surrounding floor visibly凹陷ed.

Gao Wen picked up a fruit nearby and slowly walked toward Feng Kelei.

An ability capable of altering one's appearance, even making clothes and voice identical to the target.

In Gao Wen's memory, only two Devil Fruits possessed such power.

The owner of one of them was still imprisoned in Impel Down; with the existence of Daz Bonez involved, the identity of the person before him was obvious.

"The third figure of Baroque Works, Mr. 2, codename Feng Kelei, original name Mr. 2, or Benzam?"

Gao Wen said indifferently.

From the two times he encountered Daz Bonez, he had sensed something amiss, yet he did not know why Baroque Works, which should have been active in Alabasta, had come here.

Now seeing this Devil Fruit in his hand, he already had the answer in his heart.

"So what reason made you pay such a huge price just to obtain this Devil Fruit?!"

Seeing his identity exposed, Feng Kelei stopped pretending; after releasing his ability, he reverted to his original appearance and forced a faint smile at the corner of his mouth:

"How would I, a humble servant, know such things?!"

"However."

"If you wish to pry something from my lips, I advise you to give up that hope."

Having said that.

Feng Kelei closed his eyes, a resolve to die already rising in his heart.

To him, the people of Baroque Works, even if not very familiar in daily life, were comrades within the same organization.

Betraying comrades was something he could never do.

"Is that so?!"

A faint smile played on Gao Wen's lips; regarding the result before him, he had expected it all along.

Feng Kelei could hardly be called a good person, after all, he followed Crocodile in the act of usurping a nation, but if judged purely from the perspective of friends and comrades, his reliability was comparable to Zeff.

In the original story, he sacrificed himself several times, pulling the Straw Hats back from the brink of death.

Gao Wen did not dislike such a person; under normal circumstances, he would even try to recruit him, but if he were an enemy, that was naturally a different matter.

"From the moment you entered the port, everyone on your ship has been under my control."

"I will say this only once: their lives are now in your hands. Submit or die?!"

Feng Kelei's face tightened, trapped in a dilemma.

His eyes shifted constantly, a battle of heaven and man raging in his mind.

The air fell silent for a moment, with only a single breath growing heavier and heavier.

A few breaths later.

Feng Kelei's expression relaxed; as if resigning himself to fate, he said:

"You must promise me that you will not harm the little cuties on my ship; otherwise, even in death, I will bite a piece of flesh from you!"

Gao Wen nodded, a faint smile curling his lips:

"I admire a man who values his comrades. I can guarantee their safety; after all, since you join my ranks, they are my subordinates too."

Hearing this, Feng Kelei spoke:

"I only know that this matter involves a deal between the Boss and an official within the World Government. Once completed, he will cover up our actions in Alabasta; the price is the Bon Bon Fruit."

"This time, I received orders midway to come here and seize this fruit."

"Only you?"

Feng Kelei gritted his teeth:

"Only me."

"What a dishonest fellow."

A faint smile curled Gao Wen's lips:

"That one named Daz Bonez is also from Baroque Works, isn't he?"

"Mr. 1!"

"I..."

Feng Kelei's expression tightened; he was about to argue a few words when the weight on his shoulder increased again.

Blood immediately overflowed from his nose and mouth; his internal organs, unable to withstand the gravity, were already damaged; even his complexion turned deathly pale; he felt darkness before his eyes and then completely lost consciousness.

Gao Wen顺势 summoned several subordinates and dragged him out.

At the same time.

The ship Feng Kelei had moored in the port was also taken under control, led by Van Augur.

Such actions naturally caused a commotion in the port, but it did not last long; the guards who arrived soon calmed it down.

Quickly.

The flow of people in the port continued to pass through, as if nothing had ever happened.

Inside the room.

Gao Wen looked at the Bon Bon Fruit by his hand; what floated in his mind was the face of Crocodile.

A hint of coldness gradually appeared in his eyes:

"One by surprise, one by force; attacking on two fronts. It does have a bit of that fellow's style, but reaching into Raven Port means you truly have no regard for your life."

"In that case, do not blame me."

This place was originally Gaza's property; now it is closely related to Gao Wen's future plans, a retirement home left for comrades who cannot keep up with the pace, and no one is allowed to lay a finger on it.

Fujitora stood aside, fully understanding Gao Wen's current anger; even the anger in his own heart was no less than Gao Wen's:

"For my part, I am even more curious about who exactly the so-called BOSS behind the Baroque Works really is."

Gao Wen did not hide it, stating calmly:

"One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Sir Crocodile!"

"The Seven Warlords?!"

Fujitora frowned.

In his heart, he could muster not a shred of goodwill toward this entity, one of the three major organizations brought about single-handedly by the World Government.

"How can punishing evil with evil possibly achieve a result of justice?!"

"Moreover, how could these villains running rampant in the world be people so easily controlled?!"

A trace of mockery curled at the corner of Gao Wen's mouth:

"What matters most to those people is not some notion of justice, but their own transcendent status."

"Originally, if these fellows had honestly participated in the Martial Arts Tournament, even if they ultimately won that Devil Fruit, I would have said nothing more."

"But now..."

Immediately, Gao Wen ordered A Jin, Xiang Keluo, and the others to act, setting out to capture Daz Bones.

Yet they found nothing but empty air.

Obviously, after Feng Kelei was discovered,

the latter realized that completing the mission and seizing that Devil Fruit had become an impossibility.

He directly chose to give up, fleeing hastily under cover of night.

Upon learning this news, Gao Wen's eyes grew even colder; he had already decided that after entering the Grand Line, his first stop would be Alabasta.

Coincidentally, the Drum Kingdom was also nearby, allowing him to seize the opportunity to take in Chopper, while the whereabouts of the Rumble Ball would also be settled.

(End of Chapter)