A Reluctant Compromise

"So, you left?" The World Government knows about the effects of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, but they don't know about Whitebeard's situation. How can they compare to Teach, a member of the Whitebeard Pirates?

This is important intelligence, of great value. Befriending Teach this time was the right decision. However, she felt that Teach hadn't finished speaking, but that wasn't the main reason.

If we follow Teach's logic, he could have waited until Whitebeard was showing signs of decline before leaving, instead of during the Whitebeard Pirates' rise.

Through his conversation with Stephanie, Teach realized that she was there to gather intelligence. This confirmed that Stephanie was a member of the World Government, possibly CP0, given Stephanie considerable strength.

"Because I want to surpass Pops. I can never grow into the strongest under Pops's wings." Teach no longer referred to Whitebeard as "Pops," but instead called him "Old Man." He still respected Pops very much, both for his strength and his magnanimity.

But that doesn't mean he'll become Whitebeard.

The terrifying aura emanating from his body was perfectly controlled within a three-meter radius, turning the surrounding world into a dark realm, like Black Hole, an abyss that seemed to devour everything.

Stephanie's expression changed. This terrifying Conqueror's Haki was oppressing her. Without any warning, she was caught off guard and struck. The physical pressure was secondary; the more important thing was the mental anguish.

At this moment, she truly realized Teach's terrifying strength, far surpassing her own; she had sensed such an aura from the top monsters in CP0.

I never imagined that Teach would have such a goal—to surpass Whitebeard —but there's no time to think about that now.

Under Teach's terrifying Conqueror's Haki, she felt her body unable to move for a short time before regaining control.

That aura, like that of a prehistoric beast, was perfectly controlled throughout the entire private room.

Stephanie hadn't sensed this terrifying aura many times, since most Conqueror's Haki users were concentrated in the New World.

But that doesn't mean she didn't know. She didn't expect Teach to have such potential. If he didn't have such potential, he wouldn't have left the Whitebeard Pirates.

Considering the rumors circulating outside, everyone underestimated Marshall D. Teach.

Although it only lasted for two seconds, Teach withdrew his Conqueror's Haki as if nothing had happened, if you didn't look at the cracks on the table in front of him.

The glass plate containing the fruit had been split in two, and there were many small fragments.

Fruit was scattered on the table, and an apple had rolled onto the floor.

Stephanie took a breath and looked at Teach. At this moment, Teach appeared extremely dangerous in her eyes, exuding an aura of Haki and even tyranny.

She looked at Teach with some wariness. What Teach had said was a bit too much; she shouldn't have told her what she had just said.

However, she dared not make any rash moves, as she did not sense any hostility or murderous intent from Teach.

"Now that you've asked, it's my turn to ask you." Teach looked at Stephanie and smiled faintly. Stephanie's body stiffened; she felt like she had walked into a tiger's den.

However, with Teach watching her closely, she dared not make any rash moves. Although she was quite strong, she had no confidence in escaping from Teach's clutches.

"Hehe! Go ahead and ask." Stephanie was quite carefree, smiling as she looked at Teach, having recovered as if nothing had happened.

Teach looked at her. "Stephanie, what's your relationship with Stussy?"

Stephanie's face stiffened. "Oh dear! What Stussy? I've never heard of her." She smiled and pretended not to know, but inwardly she was shocked, not expecting Teach to ask such a question.

"Is that so?" Teach's eyes were fixed on Stephanie, gleaming with a dark light. Stephanie stared into Teach's eyes, and for some reason, she felt a sense of fear.

His abyssal eyes held an unparalleled domineering aura, as if the person standing before him was not a human, but a supreme demon god.

But even just being stared at by those eyes can make you feel its powerful intimidation and oppression.

Like an animal being targeted by a predator, its body involuntarily stiffens, and it can probably only unleash 70% of its full strength.

This oppressive feeling reappeared, this time even more terrifying than before—another application of Conqueror's Haki.

In recent days, Teach has not only been training his physique and martial arts, but also his Haki. With the strengthening of his physique and the improvement of his Haki, he has completely mastered the external release of Armament Haki and is now advancing towards the highest level of Haki: internal destruction.

As his strength increased, Teach's Conqueror's Haki also grew stronger. Although Conqueror's Haki cannot be improved through training, and Teach is currently unable to achieve the effect of Conqueror's Haki enveloping him, he has no choice but to find another way.

Teach focused his Conqueror's Haki on his eyes, thus amplifying its power. He could even project the power of Conqueror's Haki directly into the opponent's mind by following their gaze.

This clever method is actually very practical. Just like the eyes of Dracule Mihawk, he expresses his Sword Intent through his eyes, causing those who look into his eyes to feel a sharpness, just like the eyes of an eagle.

Stephanie was completely stunned. Overwhelmed by Teach's Conqueror's Haki, her mind went blank for a moment. Conqueror's Haki concentrated at one point could already cause a huge impact, let alone when it was directly projected into the other person's mind.

Teach relied on his powerful mental strength to control his Conqueror's Haki, transferring it to his eyes and releasing it through them.

Generally speaking, Conqueror's Haki cannot be controlled, only its power and range can be managed. However, Teach is different. He began training in controlling Conqueror's Haki very early on. In order to master the entanglement of Conqueror's Haki, he combined it with his strong willpower to achieve this.

There are two ways to release Conqueror's Haki: one is through the body, spreading outwards, and the other is through the eyes, Rayleigh did in the original work.

However, Teach's Conqueror's Haki is different; it possesses powerful mental damage, and when concentrated into a single point, the mental damage is extremely terrifying.

Stephanie was stunned and stood there, feeling her heart trembling and shaking.

A powerful shock rushed directly into her eyes and her mind; in Stephanie's mind, Teach's image seemed to be branded.

It was just a glance, yet it felt like an endless time had passed. Teach withdrew his Conqueror's Haki, while Stephanie gasped for breath. Having been stunned by Teach's Conqueror's Haki twice in a row, even though she had undergone the rigorous training of CP, she was still severely affected. The fear of Teach seemed to be engraved deep in her heart.

The psychological impact on her will likely take a long time to heal. In the days that followed, Stephanie would feel an involuntary fear whenever she saw Teach.

Stephanie was hesitant to look at Teach, as if looking at him would bring back those terrifying eyes.

Now, the moment she felt Teach's sharp, domineering gaze, she couldn't help but tremble. She even felt something leaking out, causing her to shake all over and her face to flush hot.

She herself was unaware of this situation.

"Tell me, are you mother and daughter, sisters, or something else?" The domineering tone carried an air of unquestionable authority.

"Sisters." For some reason, Stephanie blurted out involuntarily, and by the time she realized it, it was too late.

"So, she's your older sister, and you're also a member of CP0?" Teach couldn't help but ask. It was certain that Stussy was older. Stussy and Big Mom were from the same generation, and judging from their affectionate way of addressing each other, they had known each other for a long time, at least thirty years.

"What?!" Stephanie's eyes widened in disbelief as she blurted out, then stopped herself as she realized what she'd said. But Stephanie tone confirmed it.

At the same time, one can imagine what those two words Stephanie hadn't yet uttered were.

Stephanie felt a pang of regret. Why did she come here? Why did she come into contact with this man? She felt completely manipulated from the very beginning of her conversation with Teach.

Stephanie was mentally manipulated by Teach, and all her secrets were uncovered. Teach had suspected this before, but it was the final confirmation.

"What exactly do you want?" Stephanie realized that Teach was even more dangerous in her eyes. How did Teach know about CP0? And why did he know that Stussy was a member of CP0? Stussy's identity was an absolute secret, and even some people in CP0 did not know it.

"I'm giving you another option." Teach smiled faintly. "I've taken a liking to you. Someone like you shouldn't be a die-hard supporter of the World Government. I need your intelligence and channels."

Stephanie's job is probably similar to Stussy's; both are intelligence gatherers. After all, in such a lively place, a lot of information is inevitably revealed by the customers.

However, Stussy undoubtedly did better; she was not only the queen of the dark world of the New World, but also maintained a good relationship with Big Mom, the future Sea Emperor of the New World.

"What a joke!" Stephanie felt that the man in front of her was not only incredibly audacious, but also made this decision for her so easily. He was talking nonsense about taking a liking to her.

Even someone as composed as her couldn't help but want to swear. What made him think he would agree to her request? Where did his confidence come from?

"I'm serious. I'm not asking you to betray the World Government. Wouldn't it be better to be a double agent? That way, you'll have two paths to choose from. You can leak some of my intelligence to the World Government, but you can control the extent of that yourself. I also need your intelligence. At the same time, you can also gain huge benefits from it; you might get even more." Teach calmly analyzed for her, looking at Stephanie, and couldn't help but chuckle. "Are you sure you don't want to consider it?"

Stephanie calmed down completely and began to think about what Teach had said.

Although the members of their CP were trained by the World Government and are loyal to the World Government, they are not die-hard loyalists of the World Government; they also have their own thoughts.

The World Government can offer them rights, benefits, and other things that other places cannot provide, because the World Government is already the world's largest power and the most powerful backer.

Furthermore, once they break away from the World Government, they will face the risk of being hunted down and killed by the World Government, because they know a lot of the World Government's intelligence and secrets. As an important agency under the World Government with the same status as the Navy, the leakage of some secrets would bring huge losses.

Why would they take such a huge risk to break away and betray others when they're doing just fine now?

It was precisely because they were part of the World Government that they knew its powerful foundation, terrifying strength, and the world's largest intelligence network that was almost omnipresent. Where could they possibly run to? Besides, the World Government had their Vivre Card, so it would be easy to find them if they tried to escape.

Although the World Government has become extremely corrupt, even extending to some of its World Government Member States, its 800-year history is unmatched by any other power in the world.

There's no force that can deal with them, even with just the navy.

Within the World Government, there are also powerful individuals who have secretly established their own factions and betrayed the World Government. It has been discovered that most of them are quickly captured by the World Government and subjected to severe punishments, which are undoubtedly worse than death.

Only a handful of people actually die of old age, but they are constantly being watched by the World Government. Once they die, everything they have—their subordinates, the power they have built—will be destroyed.

It's impossible to truly break away from the World Government unless one can join a force that the World Government fears and dares not act rashly.

The Night Pirates are not yet qualified, but considering Teach's terrifying aura, powerful strength, and how deeply he has hidden himself, which is unknown to outsiders, it shows Teach's enormous ambition.

Thinking about it carefully, it's actually quite possible.

"You've got me cornered." Stephanie gritted her teeth, her eyes fixed on Teach. In this situation, she forgot her fear.

"What do you think?" Teach smiled, but her smile made Stephanie want to punch him, though she knew she couldn't.

Finally, she breathed a sigh of relief; she was on the wrong track. However, just as Teach had said, she could gain a lot from it. If Teach could truly grow to the level of Big Mom, her status within the organization would definitely rise significantly.

"What do you need?" Stephanie finally compromised, weighing the pros and cons. This way, she wouldn't lose out no matter what, unless the World Government discovered her collaboration with Teach.

Now that Teach knows her identity, if she doesn't want to be exposed, she has no choice but to follow Teach down the dark path.

"Important intelligence, providing me with Devil Fruit," Teach laughed, though Stephanie's eyes betrayed a hint of smugness.

"Where would I get so many Devil Fruits? I'm in charge of intelligence; I have plenty of information about Devil Fruit, but I don't have many Devil Fruits." Stephanie shook her head.