In town, on a rooftop.
Ochoku enjoyed the cool breeze, took a bite of the pizza in his hand, and held a small wine gourd in the other, taking a sip from time to time. He narrowed his eyes and looked toward the smoke and dust gradually dispersing in the distance. The smile on his face was exceptionally carefree.
"Heh-heh..." Ochoku chuckled a few times and stuck out his slender tongue to lick sauce from the corner of his mouth. "The commotion stopped? Has the show already ended? Honestly, if that's the case, that guy was far too weak."
After saying that, he shook the wine gourd, listened to the sound inside, and took another drink.
Ochoku was not afraid of accidents, because the "condition" that could cause an accident was firmly in his hands.
Ron wanted to "prove himself"? As long as that "condition" remained in Ochoku's hands, he would never be able to prove anything.
Even if Whitebeard, Kaido, and Stussy were willing to testify for him, without "evidence," Roger would never listen.
Purururu.
Purururu.
Suddenly, the Den Den Mushi in Ochoku's chest rang.
Ochoku paused slightly, stuffed the last small piece of pizza into his mouth, and chewed unhurriedly. Then he wiped his hand on his clothes before slowly taking out the Den Den Mushi and answering.
"Hey, you bastard. I've been waiting for your call for a long time," Ochoku cursed.
The person on the other end was not about to indulge him and immediately cursed back. "Bastard, don't you know why it took this long? You... why didn't you tell me about Ron's strength before?"
Ochoku sneered. "Who could've imagined that guy would be that strong? Besides... I had no obligation to. If you failed, that was simply because your Marines are incompetent."
"You..." The other side sounded both furious and choked, pausing two seconds before squeezing out that single word.
"Hey," Ochoku interrupted, his tone turning serious. "Where's my payment?"
The other end fell silent for an instant before replying in a deep voice, "What's the rush? I've already arranged for someone to deliver it to the place you specified."
Ochoku smiled in satisfaction. "That's more like it." After a pause, he added, "Hey, Sengoku, let's discuss another deal."
The Den Den Mushi went quiet for a moment. Then Sengoku's voice sounded again, carrying some caution. "What deal?"
"I have a woman here named Annika. She was one of the slaves you were escorting before, but her identity is that of the person the Kuja Pirates wanted to rescue."
"Hm?" Sengoku pondered for several seconds. There was no emotion in his voice. "What do I need her for?"
"Heh-heh... Don't try to reduce the payment by pretending she's 'useless.'" Ochoku saw through his trick immediately, his tone full of mockery. "You know better than I do what role she can play. I believe someone as smart as you will definitely make this deal with me."
The other side of the Den Den Mushi was silent for a long time.
So long that Ochoku almost thought the call had been cut. He lowered his head and glanced at the Den Den Mushi, which was still mimicking Sengoku's expression. "What? Or are you truly not interested?"
After a long while, Sengoku's voice finally drifted over. "How do you want to complete this deal?"
"Simple." Ochoku's tone became light. "You pay me first. When I leave this island, I'll tell you where she's being held."
"What if you're trying to scam me?"
"Heh-heh..." Ochoku laughed. "This isn't going to be a one-time deal. I believe we'll be working together more and more, because no matter when or where, I can tell you what Rocks plans to do."
Sengoku hesitated for a while before finally spitting out one word. "Fine."
The next second, he added coldly, "However, Ochoku, I'll make the ugly words clear first. If you dare scheme against us in reverse, I guarantee Rocks will know immediately that you've been eating from his bowl while serving outsiders."
Ochoku's smile did not change. "Don't worry. I have no reason to do something like that."
He was right. Compared with fighting the monsters of the Rocks Pirates for loot, working with the Marines made far more money.
Rocks offered risk. The Marines offered real gold and silver. He understood that calculation better than anyone.
"Fine. Don't contact me unless necessary. Don't expose yourself beside Rocks," Sengoku reminded him.
He still valued this chess piece called Ochoku. If used well, the Marines could avoid many unnecessary losses.
"How could that-"
Ochoku suddenly shuddered, his voice rising sharply. His eyes locked onto a street not too far away. There, a golden figure was moving quickly through the crowd.
"How could what?" Sengoku asked suspiciously.
"Nothing. Hanging up."
Ochoku quickly hung up the Den Den Mushi and clumsily stuffed it back into his clothes.
This should not be happening.
Did that bastard Roger... not attack him?
Ochoku subconsciously shrank backward, hiding behind a chimney out of fear that Ron would notice him.
"Tch!" Ochoku snorted disdainfully. "I overestimated you, Roger. I took the risk of passing you the information... and this is how you repay me?"
Just as Ochoku cursed to himself, Ron on the street suddenly stopped.
Ochoku's breathing caught in an instant. The moment Ron turned around, he immediately concealed himself.
Ron did not see anyone, but his Malice Perception clearly sensed extremely intense malice coming from that direction.
"Who? Roger?" Ron murmured, his brows tightening slightly. Then he rejected the idea. "No... Roger didn't leave this way."
As soon as his words fell, his figure flashed and vanished from the spot.
Ochoku had already come down from the rooftop and was trying hard to make his expression look natural.
Unfortunately, he had not taken more than a few steps.
Swish!
A golden figure descended from the sky and landed in front of him.
Ochoku froze first, his footsteps pausing.
But very quickly, a smile appeared on his face.
"And here I wondered who it was." Ochoku shook the wine gourd in his hand and said with an easy tone, "So it's you, Ron."