Pervert!

The moment he said that, the effect was immediate!

Hina's eyes widened. Her fierce high kick had already swept through the air, but the force behind it suddenly slackened, allowing Jogo to easily catch her slender ankle and block it beside his face.

A silky, delicate sensation came from his palm. Her white stockings were semi-transparent, as if he could see the snow-white skin of her calf beneath them.

But Jogo was in no mood to admire it.

Cold sweat seeped down his back—out of the corner of his eye, he saw that a black spear had appeared in Hina's hand behind her maid skirt at some point.

If he had not shouted that just now, he might have ended up with two more holes in his body.

Clearly, she had no intention of continuing to fool around with him.

However, Hina's reaction also confirmed something for Jogo.

"So this really is a disguise. Are you pretending to be someone else to do something?"

Jogo loosened his grip. Hina pulled back her leg, pressed down her skirt, and retreated two steps, glaring at him through gritted teeth.

"Shameless!"

"Hina hates you!"

Jogo shrugged.

Two days ago, you said you liked me!

And you didn't even give me a Trait.

So it was fake love after all!

That said, Jogo had no intention of fighting Hina to the death under these circumstances.

"I like you, all right... I mean, calm down. I think there's been a misunderstanding between us."

Trait switch!

[...

Conqueror's Haki (Awakened)

Trait equipped: "Otherworldly Soul (Silver)" "Helpful (White)"

...]

Helpful came from the good deeds he had done during his time in Ohara to test how Traits could be acquired.

Equipping it to his Conqueror's Haki allowed his Conqueror's Haki to give off the aura of a good person.

"Since the direct effects of Conqueror's Haki aren't working well, I'll try changing my own temperament instead!"

Conqueror's Haki released: 1%

Hina stared at Jogo in confusion. Perhaps it was just an illusion, but she suddenly felt that he looked a little more approachable.

But what use was looking approachable?

There was something seriously wrong with this guy!

"You're not a Marine?!" she suddenly asked.

Jogo nodded. "It's a long story..."

"Then tell it. Hina is listening!" Hina planted her hands on her hips, refusing to let the matter go with great vigor.

However, Jogo sharply noticed that as she said this, Hina's eyes furtively drifted in a certain direction.

"That direction... Oh, so it's that thing."

Seeing the scattered items on the floor from their earlier fight, Jogo's lips curled into a faint smile. He immediately came up with a plan and began recounting his experiences at an unhurried pace.

"I have a grudge against the Capone Family. As for the details, I won't go into them. Anyway, that day at the harbor... (2,000 words omitted) I was forced into it too!"

Leaving out the whole process of using Traits, killing Gotti, attacking the Marines, fabricating the source of the intelligence, shifting blame onto others, and so on, he embellished the story from beginning to end, emphasizing how treacherous the world was and how helpless he had been.

Hina frowned at him, not believing for a second that this guy was so innocent.

Yet she could not find any reason to refute him.

She knew far too little about him!

But...

"You're actually saying you killed the head of the Capone Family."

"You think Hina would believe that?"

Hina raised her chin smugly. She felt that she had caught a flaw in Jogo's words.

Although the Capone Family head really was dead, and no one knew who had done it.

He was not someone who could be casually claimed by a guy who could not even beat her!

On the surface, Marine Headquarters had concluded that a major had done it, but Hina knew that was only because the upper ranks of the Marines wanted to conceal Captain Nezumi's corruption and push all the credit onto the major.

Jogo let out a deep sigh, as though deeply hurt, and said helplessly, "If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do."

"What a pity... What a pity..."

"What's a pity?" Hina frowned at him.

"It's a pity that I had originally planned to hand over the Capone Family account books and confidential documents I collected to you."

Jogo shook his head, his face full of regret.

"Who would have thought that you wouldn't believe me?"

"We fought together as comrades, after all. Sigh..."

"Since that's the case, I can only find a chance to give them to some other Mari—"

Before he could finish, Hina had already rushed in front of him. Leaning forward, she was practically pressed against his face, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him.

"Wait, wait, wait... just a second!"

"Are those really the account books the Capone Family head carried with him?"

She had been suspicious of it earlier.

The notebooks and documents that had slipped out during their fight bore handwriting and seals very much in the style of the Capone Family.

—She had done plenty of homework on that matter in order to earn merits!

She had been planning to find an excuse to inspect them later.

She never expected that Jogo had already intended to give them to her.

"So the Capone Family head really was killed by Jogo?"

"Did this guy hide his strength?"

No, now was not the time to think about that.

So there really was such a thing as a huge achievement falling into her lap!

"Hina is so lucky!"

"Sorry, Hina was wrong to hit you just now!"

Hina's attitude changed instantly as she looked at Jogo expectantly.

A faint fragrance lingered at the tip of his nose. At such close range, it seemed that if he lowered his head, he would be able to see the snowy-white cleavage beneath the carefully tailored maid outfit.

Yet Jogo looked utterly uninterested as he pushed Hina away.

"What's the point of saying that now? Since you don't believe me, I can only..."

He did not dare let Hina get close. What if she suddenly made a move and cuffed him?

"I believe you!"

Hina clung to him and grabbed his hand without the slightest reservation.

"Hina believes you!"

Seeing the gleam in her eyes, Jogo suddenly recalled how the captain of the Acne Pirates had described this group of Marine graduates.

—Mad dogs!

—They would do anything for merits!

...It really was an exact description!

Jogo pulled his hand free and looked at Hina. "You believe me?"

"I do!"

"You really believe me?"

"Really!"

Hina nodded vigorously.

"We fought together as comrades!"

She had actually considered taking them by force.

She would not feel the slightest guilt about robbing a big liar like Jogo.

But after their earlier exchange, she also knew that Jogo was no pushover, especially since he had hidden his strength.

Although his martial arts were inferior to hers, he was still capable of destroying the items before she got them.

Jogo finally relented.

"For the sake of having fought together, it's not impossible to give them to you."

Hina's eyes lit up. "Really?"

Jogo nodded.

"Not only that, aside from those account books and documents, I can also let you stay in this room for the time being."

Hina blinked her beautiful eyes, somewhat confused.

"Why would Hina stay here with you?"

Jogo said calmly, "You're currently undercover, right? Honestly, you chose a rather poor identity."

"Do you have time to move freely?"

"And on top of that, you need to spend a lot of energy dealing with harassment from other guests, right?"

His voice was full of temptation.

"But if you stay with me, things will be different."

"You can tell everyone that I've hired you exclusively. I'll pay the fee. After that, you can move freely, and you can blame all your actions on me. No one will suspect you!"

Hina's eyes lit up.

It really was the perfect choice!

"Hina chose this identity because she could start working immediately, and because she could freely move through any area of the ship.

But to maintain that identity, she had to deal with those annoying people."

She had been troubled by that exact issue for the past few days!

"But now, if Hina stays with Jogo, Hina won't have to work and can still investigate freely!"

She needed this assistance far too badly!

"Of course... that said..."

Seeing that the girl had taken the bait, Jogo suddenly changed his tone.

He took a step back, his gaze sweeping over Hina's stunning figure. An inscrutable smile curled across his lips.

"You know, these things aren't free.

Even though we're like comrades-in-arms, if you want them... you understand. You'll have to give something first."

Give something?

Give what?

Hina looked at Jogo's meaningful gaze and blinked. For some reason, she suddenly thought of the embarrassing, heart-pounding things that "big sister" had taught her yesterday.

The next second, her face flushed crimson. Holding down her skirt and covering her chest, she quickly retreated and stared at Jogo warily.

"You, you, you, you, you..."

"Pervert!"

At the same time, on Dendrobium Island, inside a low-key yet luxurious building.

Capone Bege sat in a soft chair, his fingers interlaced as he watched the last visitor of the day leave his office.

Click!

The sound of the door closing rang out.

Bege immediately slumped against the backrest. The cigar hanging from his mouth drooped lifelessly as he let out a weary breath.

He was exhausted.

"So being the head of the family means handling this many problems every day?"

He stared blankly at the magnificent ceiling overhead.

Although he had gradually begun receiving the training expected of a family head in recent years, he was still far from truly taking over.

According to his father's plan, it should have taken at least another five or six years.

Who could have expected something like this to happen so suddenly?

At this moment, he deeply understood that the head of a mafia family could not rely on personal strength alone.

Especially under such abnormal circumstances of succession.

Tests from all directions were mixed into ordinary affairs, forcing him to carefully consider every word he said and every decision he made.

His nerves were constantly stretched taut.

It was not only external pressure, either. There was also the pressure within the family.

Thinking of his restless uncles, he let out a tired sigh amid his anger.

"Father..."

Knock, knock, knock!

Someone knocked on the door.

Bege reflexively straightened up and lowered his voice.

"Come in!"

The door opened, and Vito hurried into the room.

Seeing who it was, Bege slumped back into his chair.

"Vito, I hope you've brought good news."

Vito lowered his head. "Lord Bege, we found the assassin you wanted!"

Bege's eyes lit up.