Chapter 243

After Drake finished calling Kizaru, he glanced at the island where Blackbeard and Bonney were.

Confirming they couldn't leave anytime soon, he quietly returned to the first half of the Grand Line.

Drake's direction of advance was unmistakably the recently devastated Sabaody Archipelago!

Drake bore the heavy burden of infiltrating the Beast Pirates.

Rather than chasing after Kaido, who was thousands of miles away, it was better to go straight to this closer Beast Prince, the Five Emperors' Luo Xing.

Luo Xing, the Five Emperors, had subdued so many convicts in Impel Down—he must be a man of great ambition who valued talent.

Drake was confident that with his strength and Devil Fruit ability, Luo Xing, the Five Emperors, would gladly accept him.

And once he gained that man's trust, whether gathering intelligence on the Beast Pirates or stealing their god-defying inventions, everything would become twice as effective!

With this thought in mind, Drake calmly arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago.

At this moment, Sabaody had been entirely transformed by the Beast Pirates into a war base.

Its defenses were extremely tight.

Besides the island's garrison, a fearsome three-masted ship, as large as an island, patrolled the waters to the right, forming a pincer with Sabaody.

A vicious criminal army, combined with an undead zombie army—such defenses were virtually impregnable.

Even if the Marines and World Government assembled another massive force to attack, the Beast Pirates could handle it calmly.

Seeing this stern and terrifying defense, Drake couldn't help but feel a silent shock and growing tension.

The moment he set foot on the island, he was spotted by a soldier from the Criminal Army.

The criminal raised his gun and pointed it at him, barking:

"Who are you?"

Drake immediately raised his hands, showing no hostility, and said:

"I am X. Drake, here to join the Five Emperors' Luo Xing."

X. Drake?

The criminal seemed to have heard of Drake's name; his face twisted into a sneer:

"So you're the so-called Worst Generation, huh? Heh, you've got some sense—knowing when to surrender. Fine, wait here. I'll report to Lord Luo Xing."

The criminal hurried off to Luo Xing's residence.

The sneer and contempt he'd shown Drake moments before instantly transformed into utter humility and deference.

The criminal soldier dropped to his knees and said:

"Lord Luo Xing, a Worst Generation named X. Drake has just arrived on the island, claiming he wishes to join us."

Luo Xing, seated above, raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

Then a faint, unreadable smile curled at his lips.

He glanced at Yuki Shiryu beside him and said coolly:

"Does every stray dog and cat now qualify to be my subordinate? Shiryu, go take that man's head."

208. Drake, Unknowingly Killed, and the Clever Use of Bonney's Fruit Ability

Shiryu obeyed without asking why Luo Xing wanted Drake dead; his eyes flickered with bloodlust as he replied:

"My lord, please wait here a moment—I'll return shortly."

Shiryu quickly reached the shore of the Sabaody Archipelago.

When Drake saw Shiryu come out to meet him instead of the Five Emperors himself, he felt a flicker of dissatisfaction.

He had expected Luo Xing, the Five Emperors, to come out personally—he was, after all, the first Worst Generation to approach the Beast Pirates.

Moreover,

he was a Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Ancient Species user—the Beast Pirates ought to have treated him with great importance.

Drake did not let these feelings show on his face.

Instead, he forced a smile and said to Shiryu:

"Great Warden Shiryu, when I was in the Marines, I once met you."

"I never expected that after all these years, we'd now be on the same side."

Shiryu, smoking a cigar, gave a cold sneer:

"Same side? Drake, you overestimate yourself! Do you think anyone can become a subordinate of the Five Emperors?"

Drake's expression changed slightly.

He had not anticipated:

that the Five Emperors Luo Xing not only showed no warm welcome, but had sent Shiryu—who clearly looked down on him.

How arrogant!

A surge of anger rose in Drake—he had never been treated with such contempt before.

Fortunately, as a Marine undercover agent, his patience was strong.

Drake kept his smile and said:

"Great Warden Shiryu, I know joining the Beast Pirates usually requires a token of loyalty."

"I have information about Blackbeard—would the Five Emperors be interested?"

Shiryu, about to draw his blade and kill Drake, paused:

"Oh? Do you know where that black bastard is?"

Drake told Shiryu the location of Blackbeard's crew on a small island at the entrance to the New World.

Drake knew the Beast Pirates and Blackbeard's crew were certainly at odds.

Otherwise,

during the Marineford War, one of Luo Xing's subordinates, Moonlight Moria, wouldn't have ruined Blackbeard's plans.

Drake informed the Beasts Pirates about the Black团的 news.

First, it could indeed serve as a pledge of good faith to gain the other's trust.

Second, he hoped to see the Beasts Pirates and the Black团 tear into each other—after all, they were just a bunch of pirates whose deaths were no great loss.

As long as the Beasts Pirates and the Black团 fought, no matter which side won, it would benefit the Marines and the World Government.

Though Shiryu didn't know Drake's clever scheme, that didn't stop him from cutting people down next.

Shiryu drew his named blade Rain Thunder and smiled cruelly:

"Thanks for this piece of news—might be useful to the Five Emperors, my lord."

"As a reward, I'll take your head as my thanks!"

Hmm!

The moment his words fell, Shiryu suddenly swung his blade, slashing straight at Drake's neck.

Drake, who had not anticipated this situation at all, turned pale with shock, utterly horrified.

Why was Shiryu suddenly trying to kill him?

No—why had that Five Emperor Luo Xing sent Shiryu to kill him without even meeting him face to face?

Could his undercover identity have been exposed?

Impossible—within the Marines, only Sengoku and a few other high-ranking officials knew his identity!

Outsiders absolutely could not have learned of it!

Drake's heart was filled with confusion.

But he had no time to think further—the threat of death was right before his eyes!

Drake's skin took on a deep crimson hue; in an instant he mobilized every ounce of blood and qi throughout his body.

Just as Shiryu's blade was about to reach his neck, he dodged it by a hair's breadth.

Drake tumbled away, gasping for breath, and cried out in terror:

"Why—why are you trying to kill me?"

Shiryu stepped forward with his blade and shrugged indifferently:

"Does killing someone need a reason?"

Hmm!

Another vertical slash.

Drake's face darkened to the extreme.

He hurriedly drew his blade to block.

Yet his blade was split in two by Shiryu's sword in a single strike.

Drake instantly went deathly pale.