"Brother, this is the situation."

Charlotte Brûlée told Katakuri everything she had heard through the mirror.

She possessed the Mirror-Mirror Fruit, allowing her to appear and disappear through mirrors at will. As a spying ability, it was almost unbeatable.

"Thanks to you, Brûlée."

"If I hadn't brought you this time, they really would have gotten away."

A faint smile curled beneath Katakuri's scarf.

Tesoro's plan was indeed flawless.

If not for Brûlée's ability, they would have been deceived by Tesoro's night operation.

"If there were a mirror on that submarine, you would have to go through it again tonight," Katakuri told her.

Brûlée's ability allowed her to take people into the Mirror World and travel through mirrors to different locations.

If there was a mirror on the submarine, they could go directly to the source.

"It's okay, as long as I can help my brother."

Brûlée, who looked like a witch, smiled happily.

However, that smile only made her already frightening face even scarier.

"Mm."

Katakuri, however, held no prejudice toward her appearance. Instead, he only felt distress and guilt.

Her face had become like this because, when he was a child, his shark-like teeth drew unwanted attention. Those who disliked him retaliated by hurting Brûlée.

Although he killed those people afterward, Brûlée's face could never be restored.

After that incident, he began wearing a scarf to hide his teeth, hoping to protect his younger siblings from suffering the same fate.

…

On Lu Feld's flagship.

Feld and Peclo had temporarily joined forces to deal with Tesoro together.

After all, Tesoro had Umit as an ally. If they attacked separately, they would never be able to handle him.

At that moment, the two men sat together in front of a radio, listening intently to the sound of clinking wine glasses.

The small black bead hidden on Tesoro's cuff was, of course, Peclo's handiwork.

Even Tesoro had not detected the signal transmitter Peclo had planted.

"So that's how it is. They're leaving tonight. Ten ships to cover their tracks, and they'll depart in a submarine."

"One move leading to another. A brilliant plan."

Peclo sorted out the intercepted information, sneering.

It was indeed a flawless plan. No wonder Tesoro was so confident about taking Caesar Clown away.

It seemed the Golden Emperor's current position was not just because of the Gold-Gold Fruit.

He had clearly underestimated Tesoro before.

"You're impressive. If you hadn't been monitoring him in advance, he might have succeeded."

Feld exhaled cigar smoke with a sigh.

Such a perfect plan was almost foolproof.

If he hadn't teamed up with Peclo, he would have been completely played.

"Heh, as long as we know his plan, it'll be easy."

"With that transmitter, even if they're under the sea, they won't escape my pursuit."

Peclo's sinister smile returned.

Ever since arriving in Dressrosa, he had suffered losses, but now he finally felt like the King of Killers again.

"Then let's give him a surprise tonight and let him see how strong we are."

Feld grinned.

Once a secret plan is no longer secret, its success becomes a joke.

…

Soon, the sun set and darkness covered the land.

Dressrosa's port was brightly lit.

To be precise, some ships had turned on their lights, illuminating the ten vessels belonging to Tesoro and Umit.

In order to monitor Tesoro, every major force had gone to great lengths.

Even though they believed Tesoro would remain in Dressrosa for two more days, some still kept a close watch on his movements.

Swoosh!

Boom!

Ten ships raised their sails with a loud, echoing sound.

"They're moving! Tesoro's ten ships are moving. They're all leaving the port!"

The surveillance crews immediately reported to their leaders.

"What? He's leaving now, instead of waiting two days?"

Many people were jolted from their sleep or left the gambling tables, startled by the news.

They had been certain Tesoro would depart at Caelan's deadline.

Their arrangements before had just been precautions.

No one expected Tesoro to act so decisively, leaving without waiting even a single night.

The sudden move threw everyone into disarray.

People from various factions watched as the ships sailed off in ten different directions.

Confusion spread instantly.

"There are ten ships. Which one are Tesoro and Caesar on?"

An elderly man stared wide-eyed, unable to decide.

The ten ships were identical and heading off in different directions.

No matter which they chose, there was a risk of picking the wrong one.

"They've used seastone to block Observation Haki, making it impossible to detect."

Another leader frowned grimly.

Anyone bold enough to attend the auction for artificial Devil Fruit technology was no ordinary person, so it was unsurprising that many of them had Observation Haki.

However, with seastone blocking it, their Kenbunshoku Haki was useless, leaving them uncomfortable and frustrated.

"Which ship are they on, or are they all just decoys?"

The uncertainty made it nearly impossible for any force to make a sound decision.

"Forget it, just pick one at random."

In an instant, the port erupted into chaos as each faction scrambled to chase one of the departing ships.

…

"Haha, just as I expected."

Inside the submarine, Tesoro grinned as he looked through the periscope.

The situation above was a complete mess, exactly as planned.

While chaos unfolded at the surface, the submarine had already launched successfully.

Its noise was masked by the surrounding commotion, so no one noticed a thing.

Gradually, the submarine sailed away from the waters near Dressrosa and entered another sea area.

Everything around remained calm, including the submarine moving silently beneath the surface.

Through the porthole, Tesoro saw only darkness, with the occasional strange glowing fish drifting past.

Everything was going smoothly, exactly as he had planned.

"Umit, this is indeed a genius plan!"

Tesoro spoke with self-satisfaction.

"Maybe, but we can't let our guard down until the very end," Umit replied quietly.

This was the experience he had gained from years of work in the shipping world. A journey of a hundred steps could still fail at the last. Until the ship docks, the voyage is not complete.

"I admire that about you, but you're overdoing it a bit this time," Tesoro said with a smile.

"I hope I'm wrong, but this plan is going a little too smoothly. Those people aren't fools. In fact, they're quite smart," Umit said, looking uneasy.

This kind of instinct had saved his life many times during his long career.

"Haha, you're just overthinking it. With a plan this perfect, as long as no one leaks it, they'll never figure it out. Besides, only the three of us know about it, so there's no way it could go wrong…"

Tesoro's confident smile froze on his face.

From a small mirror, a man wearing a scarf with fiery red hair, along with a long-legged, cool-looking woman, emerged with a group of people and stood before them.

"Katakuri!" Tesoro shouted in disbelief.

He could hardly believe his eyes. Their submarine was thirty meters below the surface. Could Katakuri really find him here?

"Sure enough, danger came as expected," Umit sighed, wearing the expression of someone who had already foreseen it.

His premonitions were always accurate, and trouble had arrived right on schedule.

Fortunately, it was only two of the Big Mom Pirates' three-star generals. They could still handle this.

"Hand over Caesar. I don't want to say it a second time," Katakuri said calmly, his voice carrying an authority that could not be refused.

As he spoke, an overwhelming wave of Conqueror's Haki burst out from him, pressing down on Tesoro and the others.

At this moment, there was none of the cautious demeanor he had shown back in Dressrosa.

The full majesty of the Big Mom Pirates' top commander was now on display.

I bow my head to Caelan-sama, but against you, I strike without hesitation.

Katakuri looked at Tesoro and Umit with disdain.

Even if two kings of the underworld joined forces, he was absolutely confident in victory.

Under the weight of Katakuri's Haki, Tesoro felt the pressure, but it wasn't enough to truly shake him.

This was no easy opponent, but still one he believed could be dealt with. Expecting him to hand over Caesar under these circumstances was far too presumptuous.

"You're too arrogant, Katakuri," Tesoro said coldly, his face dark. "If you want Caesar, then come and get him yourself!"

He still didn't know how these people had suddenly appeared, but that no longer mattered. No matter how Katakuri had gotten here, all that was left was to defeat him.

He was just Katakuri, not one of the Yonko themselves. There was nothing to fear.

Umit stood firmly beside Tesoro, ready for battle.

Katakuri growled, preparing to fight.

Smoothie and the others behind him also shifted into combat stance.

The two sides faced each other, weapons and abilities ready, yet neither made the first move.

They were still thirty meters underwater. If the submarine was damaged, they would all have to deal with the sea, which would severely hinder Devil Fruit users.

This was not an ideal battlefield.

Tesoro and Umit stood protectively around Caesar.

Both sides understood without speaking that the real fight would begin once they reached land.

At that moment, a loud boom rang out, followed by a violent shaking of the submarine.

"Someone is firing artillery shells at us!" Umit's face tightened as he shouted.

He knew that sound all too well. Before becoming the Shipping King, he had both used such shells to attack other ships and endured countless hits from them.

"Someone else found us?" Tesoro said in disbelief.

The plan had been flawless, so how could so many people suddenly appear?

"We have to surface!"

Umit ignored Tesoro's confusion and quickly worked the controls to bring the submarine up.

If it was destroyed underwater, they would all be finished.

Soon, the submarine broke the surface.

Tesoro and his two companions, along with Katakuri's group, climbed out of the hatch and stood on the submarine's hull.

Two large ships had already surrounded them. They belonged to Lu Feld and Peclo.

"Tesoro, leaving without saying goodbye to old friends? That's not very polite," Peclo and Feld laughed.

"How did you find me? My plan was perfect!" Tesoro's expression darkened.

How could so many people have learned about a plan like this?

There were only three people on the submarine, so Caesar had no chance to betray him, and Umit had no reason to.

Could it be… that I was the traitor?

"Your plan was good, but you had something extra on you," Peclo said with a proud grin.

He enjoyed nothing more than seeing the look of shock on someone's face.

"Something extra?"

Tesoro was stunned, then immediately began searching himself.

Following Peclo's hint, he found a small black bead hidden on his cuff.

It had to be the reason his location had been exposed.

Tesoro crushed the bead in one hand, nearly cursing out loud.

After all this… the traitor had been me.

(To be continued.)

***

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