Anna gazed at the slightly reserved female secretary before her, a flash of nostalgia flickering in her bright eyes behind her lenses.
Once upon a time, hadn't she been just like Monet? Serving as that man's full-time secretary, running back and forth for his sake. Now, Anna had taken his place, but where was that Second Generation President who constantly haunted her dreams?
"President Anna."
Monet was unaware of what her boss was thinking. She cast a subtle glance at a certain unconventional nun sitting upright nearby, then handed the documents to Anna, saying respectfully, "Dr. Galafail sent the latest test data for 'Wapolmetal' via Fax Den Den Mushi."
"Oh? Dr. Galafail? That is indeed good news."
Hearing the latest research intelligence from the Mink scientist, President Anna's eyes lit up. She reached for the documents, murmuring to herself, "I truly didn't expect a dignified monarch to fall to such a state. However, his Munch-Munch Fruit ability is indeed quite miraculous."
The events had unfolded like this: The Goldglint Trading Company's primary goal in coming to the Grand Line was to open new markets. While Arabasta and the Sakura Kingdom were the main objectives of this trip, the fleet had visited several small islands along the way in accordance with their principle of intelligence gathering.
Then, by sheer coincidence, on a small island near Drum Island, Anna's group encountered Wapol—who had been sent flying by a certain clueless captain—and a "discerning" big-headed beaver...
After a bit of persuasion, the Mink scientist (who had appeared in the first half of the Grand Line for unknown reasons) and the distressed king who could eat anything both joined the Goldglint Trading Company. They remained on that island to focus on researching Wapolmetal. This miraculously generated alloy had become one of the greatest gains of the Goldglint Trading Company's current voyage.
(I'm sure the World Government's scientists will be very interested in such a high-quality alloy. According to intelligence, one of their projects seems to have hit a bottleneck due to the lack of a suitable metal...)
Realizing the implications, Anna's gaze became fervent. Monet stood quietly to the side, though she was silently running her own calculations.
(Is the heavens truly blessing Goldglint? The Enchanter's trading company is far too lucky; they picked up such a huge gift just after arriving in the Grand Line.)
Although Monet wasn't particularly skilled in business matters, she had spent many years working under the broker Joker, so she understood exactly how immense the potential value of this new alloy was.
(If I present this metal to the Young Master...)
This thought suddenly popped into the mind of the undercover agent from the Donquixote Family, but in the next second, Monet extinguished the seemingly good idea.
(No, I finally earned her trust. If I do anything unnecessary now, it will only alert the enemy.)
Monet looked at Anna through her lenses, which were as thick as the bottom of a milk bottle, recalling why the Young Master had sent her to this East Blue trading company as a spy in the first place.
A little over a year ago, the news of the Goldglint Trading Company's Second Generation President meeting with disaster nearly caused a certain person with a brother complex to go on a total rampage. Even the Heavenly Yaksha, who viewed Sherlock as his only peer, was greatly shocked and enraged. Consequently, Donquixote Doflamingo dispatched his capable undercover subordinate, the Snow Woman Monet, to the East Blue to investigate the true cause of a certain "Four-Eyes'" death.
Monet successfully infiltrated the Goldglint Trading Company. During the most difficult period when the company was leaderless, she followed closely in Anna's footsteps and earned her trust. However, just as Monet's investigation was yielding results, The Enchanter made his sudden reappearance...
Since the man wasn't dead, investigating the cause of death became meaningless. Without orders from the Heavenly Yaksha, Monet didn't dare act recklessly and could only honestly work under Anna.
However, just a few days ago, Monet received a new command from the Young Master: Protect the current President Anna's safety, gain her trust, control her, and then wait and see.
As the saying goes, what a person cares about is often their weakness. Doflamingo's logic was simple: since Sherlock himself was immune to both the carrot and the stick, he would start from elsewhere. As long as he could control The Enchanter's weakness, was there any doubt he could control the man himself?
There weren't many people Sherlock cared about. The Heavenly Yaksha could only confirm two. One of them, "that person" in the New World, possessed strength and influence that were far too terrifying; Doflamingo wouldn't dare provoke them even if he were ten times bolder. Therefore, choosing to squeeze the "softest persimmon," Doflamingo set his sights on the Third Generation President of the Goldglint Trading Company—Anna—who had once betrayed The Enchanter but had nonetheless been forgiven.
(Why does the Young Master value The Enchanter so much? What exactly is so special about that man? It's a pity I didn't see him in person back in Loguetown.)
At this thought, the undercover lady, who was absolutely loyal to her Young Master, felt a twinge of jealousy. Simultaneously, she became increasingly curious about the famous man she had heard so much about but never met.
While Monet was lost in thought, her vision suddenly blurred. Those glasses with lenses thick as milk-bottle bottoms were snatched away by someone.
"Wow! I never expected your eyes to be so big! And your pupils are dark gold—they look just like mine."
Xi Tong had approached at some point. She hid the glasses behind her back, her captivating peach-blossom eyes staring intently at Monet's charming face, her expression one of excitement as if she had discovered a new continent.
"Honestly, since you're so 'delicious,' you shouldn't be wearing such ugly glasses." As she spoke, the pervy nun flashed Monet what she considered to be a very "kind" smile.
(Wait, wait, wait—when did this woman get so close to me?!)
Monet stared blankly at Xi Tong's beautiful, close-up face, her mouth twitching slightly. If not for the need to hide her true identity, she would have loved to instantly freeze this nun—who seemed to have opened a door to a "new world"—into an ice sculpture!
(And... "delicious"?! Is that even an adjective used to praise someone's appearance?)
A faint scent of roses wafted from Xi Tong. This ambiguous atmosphere caused two spots of crimson to rise on Monet's cheeks. Xi Tong's aggressive gaze gave the undercover agent the illusion that everything was being seen through. Immediately, without waiting for her President to say anything, Monet turned and fled in feigned panic.
Bang! The wooden cabin door slammed shut, and the spacious captain's quarters suddenly fell silent.
"Oh my, she was actually so shy that she didn't even want her glasses anymore?"
Xi Tong chuckled as she looked down at the dowdy glasses in her hand, her pale yellow eyes narrowing slightly. Then, she pulled back her smile and turned thoughtfully toward Anna, who was still reading the documents.
"President Anna, your little secretary seems to have some issues... I can sense it; she should be a Devil Fruit user."
A rare serious expression appeared on the face of the provocatively dressed white-stocking nun. She said slowly, "Do you need my 'help'?"
"There's no need for that yet." Anna calmly pushed up her own glasses, looking as though she had long since realized something.
"Oh, that's fine then. After all, our next stop is Arabasta. I heard from Koala that the desert kingdom is extremely hot."
The pervy nun, unable to stay serious for more than three seconds, gave a lecherous grin and said, "If I could hold her while I sleep, it would definitely be very cool."
Anna was somewhat puzzled. She was about to ask why holding Monet would be "cool," but was interrupted by a sharp ringing.
"Purupurupurupuru..."
The Den Den Mushi on the desk, representing the flagship Saratoga, rang incessantly. It seemed there was a problem with one of the other ships in the fleet.
(What happened?)
Anna picked up the receiver, and a deep male voice immediately came through from the other side.
"President Anna, this is the Captain of the Iowa." The "Reaction-King" Den Den Mushi vividly mimicked a respectful expression and continued:
"Just now, three people suddenly fell from the sky and landed right on our ship's deck."
"Fell from the sky?" Anna's brows furrowed slightly as she cast an inquiring look at Xi Tong. The latter shook her head, indicating she hadn't heard of such a strange occurrence either.
"Yes, they fell straight from the sky. A man, a woman, and a young girl. Although their lives aren't in danger, they are unconscious." At this point, the Den Den Mushi's expression changed, and its tone carried a hint of trepidation:
"Furthermore, after cross-referencing with the bounty posters in the newspapers... these three are remnants of Baroque Works!"
--
Support me & read more advance & fast update chapter on my pa-treon:
pat reon .c-om/windkaze