Seastone Weapons

[Ghost Bamboo] Vergo, the highest executive of the Donquixote Family, a top master of Armament Haki.

A few years ago, he followed Doflamingo's orders and infiltrated the Marines to become an undercover agent.

In the future, this man will be one of the reasons for the death of the Marine undercover agent Donquixote Rosinante.

After that, this man spent more than ten years climbing to the rank of Vice Admiral, earning the deep trust of the Marines, and becoming the base commander of the Marine G5 Branch.

Finally, at Punk Hazard, he was defeated by the combined efforts of Smoker and Law, his body was cut into several pieces by the Ope Ope no Mi's ability, and he was caught in the laboratory's large explosion, presumed dead.

As for now, Vergo is still meticulously carrying out the undercover mission assigned by Doflamingo, currently holding the rank of Commodore.

A few days ago, Vergo intercepted a call from Kuro from his subordinates.

Kuro claimed to have discovered the whereabouts of [BOSS] Lynn Barek and wished to reach some kind of deal or cooperation with the World Government side, provided it was safe.

As the highest executive of the Donquixote Family, Vergo had certainly heard some insider information. He knew that the bounty placed on Linley was not issued by the World Government, but by the Celestial Dragons behind it.

Doflamingo had always paid considerable attention to matters concerning the Celestial Dragons.

Therefore, the sharp-minded Vergo did not bother with the steak stuck to his face and immediately contacted his young master.

Upon receiving the news, Doflamingo quickly formulated a plan.

For some reason, he had to join the Shichibukai and become a "legally recognized" Pirate by the World Government.

Therefore, to smoothly achieve this goal, he needed a reason that the World Government could not refuse him.

Or rather, a handle concerning the World Government—

For example: a scandal involving dealings between Celestial Dragons and Pirates.

As long as this matter could be proven, Doflamingo would have enough leverage to make the World Government agree to his request to join the Shichibukai.

This matter was of particular importance to his future plans.

Therefore, Doflamingo directly ordered the family's highest executive, Vergo, to execute this plan.

First, he had Vergo, in the capacity of [JOKER]'s agent, contact Kuro's side.

Then, he had Kuro's side contact the World Government's CP0 to confirm the assassination plan targeting Lynn Barek.

From beginning to end, Vergo was collecting evidence of the cooperation between the Celestial Dragons and Pirates.

As soon as Linley was dead, and Kuro's group was slightly protected, this evidence would be solidified, becoming the leverage the World Government held in Doflamingo's hands!

To ensure the smooth execution of the plan, Vergo used his position to personally come to Loguetown to meet Kuro and his Pirate Alliance, Krieg.

Looking at these two ants with bounties of ten to twenty million Beli before him, Vergo's eyes behind his sunglasses couldn't help but move slightly.

He remembered the last words his young master had entrusted to him:

"Vergo, you can be an observer or a participant, you judge the situation on the scene, I trust you."

Vergo understood that his young master meant for him to judge how to handle the situation.

Therefore, this meticulous man had long since made his decision.

If Kuro's group succeeded in taking Linley Barek's head, then everything would proceed according to the young master's plan, and Kuro's group would be secretly transported to the North Blue using a warship.

If Kuro's group failed, then—

Everyone who had seen his true face, including Linley Barek, would be executed!

Vergo remained silent.

Seeing this, Krieg shook his head helplessly, "What a weirdo."

"Be careful, brother Krieg."

Kuro smiled and said, "Perhaps Lord Vergo is plotting to execute all of us after our plan fails!"

"..." Vergo remained silent, neither confirming nor denying.

"Fail? Haha!"

Krieg laughed heartily and said, "I might worry about other things, but when it comes to taking Linley Barek's head, I am absolutely confident!"

"After all, the World Government gave us a lot of 'interesting' things!"

As he spoke, Krieg stood up, and the armor on his body made a clanging sound.

Suddenly, Vergo noticed something amiss.

According to intelligence, [Admiral] Krieg habitually wore golden armor on his body, which concealed various weapons.

However, at this moment, although Kuro was also wearing armor, it was black!

The twilight glow filtered through the gaps in the curtains, shining on Kuro's armor, giving it a metallic sheen.

Vergo's gaze sharpened.

That sheen was... Seastone?

Krieg was actually wearing specially made armor mixed with Seastone during its casting!

"It seems they asked for quite a lot from the World Government to deal with Linley Barek, a Devil Fruit User."

Vergo remained silent as he pondered, "Seastone-specialized armor, its value is absolutely astronomical. In this world, perhaps only the Celestial Dragons have the ability to forge it!"

Wait...

No, that's not all!

Vergo's gaze shifted to the cat's claws in Kuro's hand, and even to the swords of the pirates lying on the ground nearby.

These weapons actually carried the aura of Seastone!

At this moment, Vergo's expression finally changed.

He frowned slightly, unable to help but exclaim in his heart, "The Celestial Dragons really paid a hefty price!"

Krieg, meanwhile, had finished stretching and picked up the large battle rifle beside him, chuckling, "I'll go and set up an ambush in the streets."

With that, Krieg left the room.

Seeing this, Vergo also suddenly turned and left.

Kuro asked in surprise, "Mr. Vergo, where are you going?"

"It's none of your business."

Vergo simply uttered four words and then vanished without a trace.

A few drops of cold sweat broke out on Kuro's forehead.

As expected of the proxy for [JOKER], that speed was even beyond his own Silent Step!

Meanwhile, on the streets of Loguetown.

Linley placed the two Den Den Mushi whose earpieces and monitors he had crushed on the side of the street, then walked alone directly into the town.

As the "Town of Beginning and End," Loguetown was very prosperous, with various streets intricately crisscrossed.

With Linley in the midst of it all, it was almost impossible for him to find the location of Kuro's crew by himself.

He was starting to worry if the three unlucky individuals he had buried in the port's cobblestone were specifically sent by Kuro to contact him.

"So many people!"

Linley scratched his head.

It was currently evening, the time when the streets of Loguetown had the highest foot traffic.

Linley stood in the middle of the street, suddenly feeling like a villager who had just entered the city.

And some people seemed to share that thought.

An enthusiastic young man grabbed Linley's shoulder and said with a grin, "Young man, this is your first time in Loguetown, right? Do you need a guide? One hundred Beli will get you a tour of Loguetown!"

Linley looked at the young man and said calmly, "The smell of blood from the knife at your waist is already seeping out."

Shuua!

Instantly, the young man, who had been full of goodwill moments before, suddenly showed a ferocious glint in his eyes and retracted his right hand, attempting to draw the sharp blade at his waist.

But his grasp seemed to have grasped nothing.

"What?"

The young man looked down, only to find that his wrist had been broken at some point, and his entire right hand hung limply.

"Who sent you, Kuro?"

Linley frowned, rolled up the young man's sleeve, and saw a skull flag insignia tattooed on it.

Not Black Cat.

"Krieg Pirates?" Linley raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "So Kuro found a Pirate Alliance."

Then, Linley reached for the young man's waist and drew out the dagger hidden there.

His fingertips lightly touched the blade of the dagger, and a sense of powerlessness washed over him.

Linley finally understood where Kuro's confidence came from.

"It's a Seastone weapon."