The Worry Demon, Geld Chuck

"What? Those Marines were killed!"

At the stern of the warship, Peslo asked in disbelief, looking at his two companions. After a brief moment of shock, they both shook their heads again and again.

"No, we didn't do it!"

"Why would we kill them?"

"If it wasn't you, then who was it?" Xiao glared at the Female CP9. "After you knocked me down, I stayed right there. No one came near me before the residents arrived!"

The two CP9 agents were furious and anxious. They couldn't let themselves be blamed for this. Peslo was a little calmer. He looked at Figo, who was leaning against the doorway, and said, "Warden Figo, I apologize for my earlier rudeness. But you should be able to tell that we didn't do this."

Figo knew they hadn't done it. There was no reason for them to, and their Crime Indexes didn't match.

Was there a third party?

But some things didn't add up.

If someone could get past Xiao and kill the Marines without making a sound, then they should have been able to kill Xiao too!

"Old Xiao, calm down for a moment." Figo couldn't figure it out, so he tried to soothe him. Then he said to Peslo, "You're under serious suspicion now. To win the Giant race's trust more deeply, you might well have done something like this."

"You..." Little Tiger glared.

Peslo was furious too, but then he seemed to think of something. He glanced at Figo's arms and swallowed his anger. "What would it take for you to believe us?"

"There's something I've been meaning to ask." Figo took the opportunity to speak. "All seven Giants were once imprisoned in Impel Down. I've read their files. The last one captured, a Giant named Kevin, was a warrior who repeatedly defended his village from pirate attacks.

"The details of how he became a pirate are a little unclear. I want to know: did CP9 secretly meddle in the matter to recruit the Giants? Were the other six Giants also selected by you..."

"We don't have that kind of power," Peslo interrupted. "Warden Figo, you must mean the death of Giant Kevin's daughter. We investigated that matter, and I even brought some documents as leverage to recruit him.

"The one who really killed his daughter was probably the Worry Demon—Geld Chuck."

"The Worry Demon?"

As expected, Peslo knew about it and had even brought evidence. That was why the clue arrow had pointed to him when the Character Event required Figo to investigate the truth.

This "worry" certainly didn't mean fretting. It meant controlling people's minds.

Figo had spent all his time in Impel Down. Xiao, standing nearby, looked terrified, but Figo still didn't know who this so-called Worry Demon was.

With his hands cuffed, Peslo struggled to pull a few crumpled pages from his clothes and handed them to Figo. The first thing Figo noticed was a wanted poster among them.

The image on the poster showed a middle-aged man wearing a cloak. His cheekbones jutted out beneath his hood, and he had an evil smile and an ugly face. He looked a bit like the aliens people shared online.

The Worry Demon, Geld Chuck.

Bounty: 470,000,000 Berries!

In an era when bounties maxed out at one billion and even Great Pirates were worth only one or two hundred million, a bounty of 470 million would probably rank among the top fifty!

Figo flipped to the next page. It was a news article from more than ten years ago. It told the story of a heroic Marine couple, accompanied by a photograph of the pair embracing as they died, both pierced by the same iron spear.

"That happened at G21 Branch. Pirates attacked the island guarded by that Lieutenant Colonel. He fought for a long time and drove them off, but a spear pierced him from behind, leaving him on the verge of death."

Peslo explained, "Just before he died, his wife came running from a distance. Without stopping, she threw herself onto the spear sticking out of the Lieutenant Colonel and died in his arms."

Hearing only that, it really did sound like a touching story. But Peslo continued, "Look at the next picture. A reporter secretly took it from another angle."

Figo turned to the next page.

It showed the same scene and the same couple, but this picture captured the face of the wife who had died alongside her husband.

Her expression wasn't warm and serene.

It was anguished, twisted, and terrified!

She hadn't chosen to die!

"That was the first time we found evidence of the Worry Demon, Geld Chuck. He's a String-String Fruit Ability User. He loves using the fruit's power to manipulate people and create misunderstandings, tragedies, stories, and coincidences. He's obsessed with controlling people's minds!"

"The String-String Fruit?" Figo murmured.

"He's caused at least a hundred tragedies by manipulating people in much the same way. The death of Giant Kevin's daughter bears unmistakable traces of his work! He's also one of the Kings of the Underworld. He's even secretly incited coups in small countries. He doesn't care about his own interests; he's a pure villain who just wants the thrill of manipulating people!"

As soon as Peslo finished speaking, Giant Kevin's Character Event changed. The half of its requirements about investigating the clues disappeared, replaced by... killing or capturing the Worry Demon, Geld Chuck!

Figo focused his thoughts. A directional arrow appeared, and he quickly dismissed it.

Then he glanced at the unconscious Nun and said, "All right, what you've told me about Giant Kevin checks out. Next, I'm going to investigate the Marines' deaths at the town's execution ground.

"Old Xiao, calm down. Those three probably didn't do this. While I'm gone, keep an eye on all four of them. Don't let your subordinates get close, and make sure they know who they are."

As Figo left, the three CP9 agents all breathed a sigh of relief, though they still felt aggrieved. Looking at Xiao, who stood before them with one hand on his sword hilt and distrust written all over his face, they weren't feeling so charitable.

"You're a Marine Lieutenant Colonel, and you were so scared you ran back without even examining how your men died?!"

"You didn't make a single judgment of your own. You just decided we killed your subordinates?!"

"Idiot!"

Xiao was furious. How was he an idiot again? Kinch had called him that seven years ago, so he'd transferred out of Impel Down in the middle of the night. Now he'd transferred out, and they were calling him that too! Hadn't he transferred out of Impel Down for nothing?!

He wanted to draw his sword and chop those three CP9 agents to pieces, and then... he really did unsheathe it with a metallic scrape.

He froze. The three CP9 agents froze too. Little Tiger snorted disdainfully. "You've got some nerve now, huh? Go on, kill me!"

Then Xiao really did shakily raise his sword high above his head, as if about to bring it down.

"No, something's wrong." Peslo noticed Xiao's trembling, unnatural movements and shouted, "Xiao, what's happening to you?!"

Xiao trembled, unable to answer.

"Stop messing around." A clear female voice rang out. The Nun, who had been unconscious until now, opened her eyes. "The helplessness of being cuffed with Seastone Handcuffs isn't any fun."

She struggled to sit up and spat out a mouthful of blood. In a low voice, she said, "The World Government really is full of unreliable people. Lord Chuck, while that troublesome man is away, we should finish this as quickly as possible."

Lord Chuck? Peslo's heart jolted.

"Yee-hee-hee-hee..." A bizarre laugh suddenly rang out. A cloaked figure had appeared silently in the cabin doorway.

He stretched out his right hand, curling his five fingers toward Xiao as if controlling a marionette.

The sunlight illuminated the face beneath his cloak.

The three CP9 agents turned deathly pale.

Speak of the devil!

"The Worry Demon... Geld Chuck?"

"Why? Why would you?"

"Yamauba is a notorious human trafficker, but her standing in the Underworld should be far below yours. Why would you come to rescue her?!"

"Fools," the Nun said coolly. "You still haven't figured it out? It was Lord Chuck's idea from the start to work with you and deceive the Giant race. Without Lord Chuck, why would I have dared to cooperate with people like you?"

The Worry Demon's idea?

Deceive the Giant race, win their friendship, build Home of Lambs to take in orphans, then secretly sell them to the World Government... So that was it.

Peslo understood everything. He closed his eyes helplessly. "Damn you, Worry Demon. The World Government won't let you get away with this."

"Yee-hee-hee-hee... The World Government has never stopped hunting me, has it?" the Worry Demon rasped with a laugh. "Although the plan failed, I have to admit your actions were quite impressive. As expected of the World Government—you're even better at manipulating people."

"Then, as a reward, I'll give you a quick death!" He swung his right hand down.

Xiao's sword slashed toward Peslo!

"Big Brother Peslo!" Little Tiger and the Female CP9 cried out in terror.

Just as the blade was about to strike Peslo's head, Xiao suddenly regained control of his body. The sword stopped just short of Peslo's head!

Phew... Xiao let out a huge breath and slumped to the floor, drenched in sweat.

Peslo opened his eyes in surprise. A familiar, towering figure had appeared behind the Worry Demon, looming over him in shadow!

"Warden Figo..."

"Yee-hee-hee-hee..." The Worry Demon laughed strangely again. "How curious. You ruined CP9's operation, and these three CP9 agents must hate you by now. They'll probably report you to the World Government in the worst possible light. Surely you can see that. If I were you, I'd have shown up a minute later and let me kill them. Wouldn't that have been perfect?"

"You killed the Marines and left Old Xiao alive to report back, all to give me a convenient excuse to be away?" Figo asked.

"Yee-hee-hee-hee... Isn't it fun?" the Worry Demon asked in return.

"Utterly pointless."

Figo drew his sword and struck!

5000 words—please vote for the story. Also, my contract has arrived, and its status will change soon. If you haven't invested yet, hurry up and do it. You'll lose out big if you don't.