One Piece: My Uncle Is Kizaru

Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Deception, Continued...



The groggy Tashigi sat on a high stool, eating breakfast with Kyle bite by bite.

The breakfast was quite simple, far from the nutritious meals served at the naval base cafeteria.

It consisted of just a quick-made sandwich and a cup of hot milk.

Yet, it was the most memorable breakfast Tashigi had eaten in recent years!

Watching Dijia, who kept teleporting around, her little face was filled with amazement.

After finishing breakfast, she couldn't hold back her curiosity any longer and looked at Kyle with inquisitive eyes.

"Who exactly are you people?"

"And..."

"What did you mean by that test you mentioned earlier!?"

"..."

Kyle took out a napkin, wiped the crumbs from his mouth, and spoke in a calm, unemotional tone:

"The test is exactly what it sounds like."

"Perhaps you're unaware of what happened yesterday?"

As he spoke, Kyle pulled out a fresh newspaper from under the table.

It was the East Blue Daily. While not as authoritative as the World Economic Times, it was still a primary source of information for people in the East Blue.

Tashigi frowned, puzzled, and picked up the newspaper from the table.

On the front page, a bold, black headline immediately caught her eye:

**[Shocking! Pirates run rampant, brazenly attack the Roguetown Naval Base in broad daylight, kidnapping a beautiful young navy officer!!!]**

Below the headline was a photo related to the incident.

In the picture, Kyle, standing under the Dijia ship, had his gun pointed at the head of a sleeping girl, his eyes filled with murderous intent, his face icy cold—a typical image of a criminal.

Opposite him, facing off against Kyle, was Navy Captain Smoker, his eyes blazing with fury!

It had to be said.

The reporters and paparazzi in the world of pirates were truly outrageous, almost omnipresent.

The angle of this photo was simply perfect.

It not only highlighted the central figures of the event but also conveyed the tension of the situation through the expressions of the civilians on the scene.

Even Kyle couldn't help but give a thumbs up!

If the navy's intelligence personnel were this skilled, building a robust intelligence agency would be a breeze!

The report detailed Kyle's criminal activities from the previous day.

It described how he had deceived navy soldiers, lured Tashigi out with a famous sword, and then used her life as leverage to force the navy to let him go at the port.

Strangely...

The entire report was fair and impartial, not favoring any side.

Even the taunts Kyle had thrown at Smoker before leaving were faithfully recorded.

Kyle guessed that this might be because a significant portion of the newspaper's readership were pirates, so the articles tended to stick to the facts.

In just a few minutes, Tashigi seemed to have gone through some life-altering experience.

After putting down the newspaper, her eyes were completely unfocused.

"What... what exactly is going on?"

"Clearly, it was a test."

Across the desk, Kyle's expression was serious as he answered Tashigi's questions, standing up and extending his hand to her.

"Let me introduce myself..."

"I am a special agent of the Navy Headquarters' intelligence agency, currently in charge of intelligence operations in the East Blue."

"Frankly, your performance has been disappointing."

"Throughout the entire test, I didn't even use any force."

"Yet, the Roguetown Naval Base, tasked with preventing pirates from entering the Grand Line, was so easily dismantled, even losing a key member of the base!"

"If this is how you defend the East Blue, I have reason to suspect that you've been lax in your duties and responsibilities."

Kyle's tone grew heavier, and a suffocating pressure bore down on Tashigi.

"But... but we really have intercepted a lot of pirates!"

Seemingly intimidated by Kyle's demeanor, Tashigi actually believed what he was saying and couldn't help but stand up to defend Smoker and the Roguetown navy.

After all, they had been working hard.

Since arriving in the East Blue, they had taken down countless pirate groups.

But Kyle shook his head at this.

"Effort in the wrong direction is like poison laced with sugar!"

"You haven't grasped the severity of the situation."

"The small-time pirates you've captured—even if they made it to the Grand Line, their ultimate fate would just be to become another corpse at the bottom of the sea..."

"Meanwhile, those who manage to evade your pursuit, after witnessing true power, become even more prepared and experienced."

"These are the ones who, upon entering the Grand Line, truly give the navy and the government headaches."

"You've become accomplices to the pirates, helping them sift out the real elites!"

"Is this the result of all your hard work!?"

Kyle slammed his hands on the table, shouting angrily at Tashigi.

"This... this..."

"How could... this be..."

Thud.

The frightened Tashigi fell back into her chair, her eyes completely devoid of light.

"....."

Seeing this, Kyle's lips curled into a slight smile, but he quickly hid it.

In truth, anyone who thought about it carefully would realize that Kyle's argument was pure sophistry.

While Smoker and the Roguetown navy did serve as a filter for elite pirates, without them, the situation would only be worse.

Not only would the Grand Line be overrun with pirates, but even the civilians of Roguetown would struggle to live in peace.

But to get Tashigi to willingly join the Twilight Pirates, Kyle had to first break down her defenses with such tactics.

She was still young, after all.

At this point in her life, Tashigi's experience and courage were far from those of the seasoned swordswoman she would become three years later.

Seeing that she was already reflecting on her mistakes, Kyle knew the psychological manipulation had done its job.

Any more, and he risked giving the poor girl a full-blown psychological complex.

"Ahem..."

He cleared his throat, and when Tashigi looked up at him, he put on a serious expression.

"Of course, while your methods may have been flawed, your sense of justice is undeniable!"

"You are all future pillars of the navy!"

"So, to help you become even more outstanding, I've decided to request a reassignment for you from the Fleet Admiral."

"Consider it both a punishment and a motivator."

As he spoke, Kyle, in front of Tashigi, pulled out a Den Den Mushi from the safe he had brought from Marineford.

He had brought two sets of Den Den Mushi.

One was for contacting his most reliable ally, Admiral Kizaru...

The other was for directly contacting Fleet Admiral Sengoku.

This time, he took out the one for Sengoku.

Two Den Den Mushi—one large, one small—were placed on the table.

The larger one was for communication, while the smaller one was for anti-eavesdropping.

Under Tashigi's watchful gaze, Kyle picked up the receiver.

There was a brief dial tone...

After a while, there was a "click."

Instantly, the Den Den Mushi's expression changed, its mouth turning down into a serious frown.

"Hello, is this Kyle?"

As soon as the call connected, it wasn't Kyle who reacted first, but the stunned Tashigi.

She immediately recognized the voice—it was the Fleet Admiral's!

Though she had only heard it once during her training at the naval academy, she would never forget that voice.

Instantly, she held her breath, not daring to make a sound.

Seeing this, Kyle smiled inwardly.

This was exactly the reaction he had hoped for.

"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"

Kyle responded with a serious tone.

On the other end, Fleet Admiral Sengoku seemed puzzled as to why Kyle was calling and asked:

"Is there something going on, Kyle?"

"Yes..."

Kyle paused for a moment before replying:

"There have been some developments."

Without waiting for Sengoku to inquire further, he continued:

"Fleet Admiral, didn't you ask me to investigate the underground arms dealers in the East Blue?"

"I have something to report regarding that."

"...Go on."

Sengoku's steady voice came through.

Kyle nodded at the air and then said:

"Are you aware of what happened yesterday in Roguetown, East Blue?"

"Roguetown!?"

Hearing the name of the city, Sengoku was clearly taken aback, then said:

"Well, there's been some turmoil in the New World recently, so I've been preoccupied with that."

"Did something happen in Roguetown?"

As the Fleet Admiral in charge of the entire world's navy, if he had to keep track of every minor pirate incident, he would have been overwhelmed long ago.

So, he genuinely wasn't aware of Kyle's actions from the previous day.

"Yes, something did happen."

Kyle had anticipated Sengoku's response.

"Yesterday afternoon, under the guise of the Twilight Pirates, I kidnapped the deputy officer of the Roguetown Naval Base."

"Oh?"

Sengoku made a sound of acknowledgment but didn't say much more.

He trusted that Kyle had his reasons for such actions.

Kyle then proceeded to explain.

"After arriving in the East Blue, I carefully considered the intelligence you provided."

"Particularly, I focused on the incident where a single cannonball pierced a navy warship."

"After thorough analysis, I concluded that..."

"Our naval forces in the East Blue may have a serious problem!"

If you enjoyed this novel, please consider leaving a review and supporting it with power stones. Your feedback and support mean a lot and help keep the story going!


Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters.