CP0 and the Celestial Dragons (Part 1)

"Ah! Big Mom, you can't spare me!" The composure Stussy had barely managed to fake was instantly replaced by pain and terror.

Mousse had already experienced the agony of having one's soul torn apart firsthand. This time, Stussy's soul had been completely divided, making it even more painful. But compared to the pain, the prospect of losing a huge portion of her lifespan—and with it, the youth and beauty women valued most—terrified Stussy even more.

"Mamamama! For the sake of our past friendship, I'll only take fifty years of your lifespan!" Upon hearing Charlotte Linlin's words, Stussy's first thought was to kill herself.

Having undergone brutal training, Stussy was not particularly afraid of death. But suddenly becoming an ugly old woman was something she, who had always been proud of her beauty, simply could not accept.

Although her weapons had been confiscated, Stussy was exceptionally skilled in the Rokushiki technique Shigan. She had even learned the more powerful yet silent enhanced version, Flying Finger Pistol. She could kill enemies stronger than herself with a single shot, let alone herself.

However, just as Stussy raised her hand to give herself a shot, her instinct to survive made her hesitate for a moment.

Because of that brief hesitation, Stussy finally noticed that her fingers were still as fair and smooth as ivory. Delight immediately appeared on her face as she looked up and asked, "I haven't grown old?"

"Auntie, didn't you know? Lifespan is taken from the end first. The fifty years Pedro lost in the manga didn't show any signs of aging either. Auntie, however old you were before, you're still that old now. Of course your appearance won't age," Mousse explained. Then a thought suddenly struck him, and he realized that his previous view of the soul tax had been biased.

Wait, if the lifespan taken comes from old age, then the residents losing one-seventh of their lifespans is far less severe than I originally thought! Many people would probably be willing to trade three years of old age for one year in their youthful prime.

Considering that Totto Land imposed no other taxes, required no corvée labor, and provided its citizens with basic public services such as food, housing, education, national defense, and public security for free—

Clearly, although Charlotte Linlin's motive for taking the residents' souls for her own amusement was far from noble, from the residents' perspective alone, life in Totto Land was already happier than in the vast majority of countries in the world of One Piece.

For ordinary people without outstanding talent, it was practically paradise on earth.

Mousse felt an even stronger sense of belonging toward Totto Land and the family, while Stussy quickly recovered from her brief delight.

Not aging was indeed good news, but the loss of fifty years of lifespan still broke Stussy's heart.

However, now that she had calmed down, Stussy thought it through. She realized that Charlotte Linlin had merely taken most of her lifespan rather than killing her outright, so she must have another purpose.

Could she be trying to use this to threaten me into serving her? Heh, Linlin, you still don't understand how powerful the World Government is. Even with my help, you can't win! You don't have the slightest chance of victory! So what if those fifty years are gone? I can still live another decade or more. But if I board your pirate ship, I'll probably be dead within a year or two. I'm not that stupid!

Besides, as a veteran CP0 agent, Stussy considered herself utterly loyal to her masters. How could a mere fifty years of lifespan be enough to threaten her into submission?

Still, even ants clung to life. Being able to live a few more years was always better.

Stussy naturally had no intention of betraying her masters to reclaim her lifespan, but neither did she want to anger Charlotte Linlin and die immediately.

Therefore, when Mousse asked her to relay information to the BIG Pirates after returning, she agreed verbally.

Seeing Stussy agree to serve as an inside informant, Charlotte Linlin could not help but smile. Thinking of the friendship they had once shared, she even felt somewhat guilty deep down.

But Mousse was not so easily fooled. His smile looked harmless enough, but his words immediately made Stussy's heart tighten. "Auntie, it's wonderful that you agreed. I've been curious about CP0 ever since I was little. Could you stay a little longer and satisfy my curiosity?"

Charlotte Linlin did not understand what her son was thinking, but unexpectedly provided perfect assistance. "Mousse, you can just ask the Homies later. Why waste her time? After all, Independent Homies possess all of their original owner's memories."

Even Stussy, a battle-tested ace agent, could not help turning pale upon hearing that last sentence.

That was right. Homies could obtain their original owner's memories. In other words, she had effectively already confessed every piece of intelligence she knew. Even if she was unwilling in her heart, she had in fact already betrayed her masters.

And since she was already a traitor, a feeling of throwing caution to the wind immediately surged into her heart.

However, Mousse did not withdraw his request because of what Charlotte Linlin had said. In theory, Independent Homies inherited all of their original owner's memories, but even a person could not possibly recount every memory without missing a single detail. Let alone a mere Homies that might not even qualify as a living creature?

Thus, Mousse still insisted on questioning Stussy personally. He could compare her answers with those of the Homies afterward, and also test whether Stussy had truly submitted.

Although the BIG Pirates' intelligence network was reputed to be the best in the pirate world, it was not a professional espionage organization like Cipher Pol.

They devoted vast resources to investigating the information Captain Charlotte Linlin, Katakuri, and other senior officers cared about, and their efficiency in those matters was quite high. But they rarely gathered information that did not interest the upper ranks.

And although Mousse was deeply loved by his mother, he was still too young and did not yet have the authority to make the family's intelligence network do private work for him.

As a result, Mousse's understanding of this world remained very incomplete. He knew even less about an extremely secretive organization like CP0, to the point that he could only begin with its most basic organizational structure.

"Excluding peripheral and temporary personnel and institutions, CP0 currently has five brigades, twenty companies, and sixty squads. You're asking what position I hold? I'm only an 'elite' agent right now, not an 'ace.' If I stayed in Holy Land Mary Geoise, I could probably at most become the deputy leader of a squad, right?" Mousse could not help being shocked upon hearing this.

Someone as strong as Stussy ranked beyond one hundredth place. CP0's overall strength was likely even greater than he had estimated. And the fact that so few people outside knew about such a powerful organization made it even more terrifying.

However, the strength of a faction in the world of One Piece ultimately depended on its top-tier powerhouses. No matter how many second- and third-rate fighters it had, their usefulness was limited. Therefore, what Mousse cared about most was whether the legendary "Celestial Dragons' strongest shield" truly stood on equal footing with a Marine Admiral, as Carmel had once claimed.