"So, you left?"
Stephanie's tone stayed casual, but Teach could hear the real intent beneath it. The World Government understood the destructive potential of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, yet Whitebeard's health remained a mystery even to them. In contrast, Teach had lived aboard the Moby Dick for decades. There was no comparison.
This alone made anything Teach said high-value intelligence. Their decision to ally with him had been the right one. But she sensed more. Teach wasn't done, and she doubted this was his real reason for leaving Whitebeard.
Through their conversation, Teach had already felt out her role. She was gathering information. Her strength, her demeanor, her training. CP0.
"Because I want to surpass Pops." Teach said it softly but without hesitation. He no longer called Whitebeard by name. Pops was family, someone he respected deeply. But respect was not the same as submission.
"Under Pops' wing, I can never grow into the strongest."
His aura leaked outward before she could react. Within three meters around him, the air dimmed as though reality had been swallowed into a pitch black abyss. A controlled, oppressive force pressed downward like a tidal wave of instinctive terror.
Stephanie's expression changed instantly.
Conqueror's Haki.
Pure, overwhelming, suffocating. Strong enough to feel like a spike in her skull.
She had only felt Haki of this caliber from CP0's top monsters, the kind who stood at the peak of the World Government's silent hierarchy. She had not expected Teach to be on that level. Not remotely.
Under that suffocating pressure, her limbs refused to move. For a moment her body simply locked, frozen in place. Only after the aura withdrew did she manage to breathe again.
The private room around them bore the evidence. Cracks veined across the table, the fruit platter split cleanly in half, shards scattered across the floor. An apple rolled away and tapped the wall with a soft thud.
Stephanie inhaled sharply. In her eyes, Teach no longer looked like a dangerous man. He looked like a calamity waiting to happen, radiating a quiet ferocity that bordered on tyrannical.
He had said too much. She knew it. He knew it. But she still didn't sense killing intent from him.
Teach smiled faintly. "Since you've asked your question, it's my turn."
Her body tensed despite herself. A wolf stepping into a tiger's den.
However, facing him directly, she didn't dare act rashly. Even with her training, she wasn't confident she could escape from Teach alive.
"Heh. Go ahead." Stephanie forced a relaxed grin, regaining her composure.
Teach studied her carefully. "Stephanie, what is your relationship with Stussy?"
Her smile faltered. "Stussy? I haven't heard of her." She delivered it smoothly, but her heartbeat spiked.
Teach didn't blink. His eyes darkened, a cold light flickering inside them.
Stephanie made the mistake of meeting his gaze.
A primal, instinctive fear crawled up her spine. Those eyes didn't belong to a human. They were the eyes of a supreme predator, forcing her body to tense as if submitting to a natural enemy. Her strength drained by instinct alone.
The pressure settled again. A second wave. Stronger than before.
Teach had been training. Body, combat, Haki. His Armament now reached clean external release. His internal destruction was progressing fast. And his Conqueror's Haki… it was not something he could train, but he had found a way to refine it.
He focused it into his eyes.
Stephanie's mind blanked the moment the spiritual shock struck her. It was like his presence carved itself directly into her skull. Just one glance, yet it felt endless.
When Teach withdrew his Haki, she gasped for air, trembling. Twice. She had been struck twice. Even with CP conditioning, her mental defenses had taken deep cracks. A lingering fear now lived in her heart, one that would resurface every time she met his gaze.
Her cheeks flushed unconsciously. Her body trembled. She didn't even realize it.
Teach leaned forward casually. "Tell me. Are you mother and daughter, sisters, or something else?"
"Sisters." The word escaped her before she could stop it.
She froze. Too late.
"So she's your elder sister. And you're also CP0?" Teach asked calmly.
Stephanie's eyes widened. "How did you…?"
She bit her tongue too late. The question already confirmed everything.
She regretted coming here. From the moment she stepped into the room, Teach had been peeling her open layer by layer. She hadn't even noticed until now.
Teach chuckled softly. He had suspected. Now he simply had confirmation.
"What exactly do you want?" Stephanie finally asked. Teach looked even more dangerous now. How did he know about CP0? How did he know Stussy's identity? Even inside CP0, only a handful knew the truth.
"To give you another option," Teach said with a calm, almost amused smile. "I'm interested in you. Someone like you shouldn't be blindly loyal to the World Government. I need your intelligence. Your channels."
Her job was similar to Stussy's. Information gathering. A lively, noisy place like this was perfect for overhearing secrets. But Stussy held better status, an underworld queen tied to Big Mom herself.
"Are you insane?!" Stephanie snapped. "You think I'd agree to that? Based on what?"
Teach didn't flinch. "I'm not asking you to betray the World Government. Why not become a double agent? You control what you leak. You benefit from both sides. And you gain even more. Think about it. Are you sure you want to refuse?"
Stephanie fell silent.
CP agents were loyal, trained, conditioned, but not mindless. The World Government offered stability, status, power. Outside, they would be hunted. Vivre Cards made escape almost impossible. Betrayal meant punishments worse than death.
The World Government's eight hundred years of foundation dwarfed everything. Marines alone were a force no one could challenge.
And yet… some had betrayed before. A few lived. But under constant surveillance, their legacies erased the moment they died.
Unless they joined a power so strong the World Government hesitated to touch them.
The Nightfall Pirates did not qualify. Yet.
But Teach's strength… his hidden potential… his ambition…
Maybe they could.
"You've cornered me," Stephanie muttered, glaring at him. Her earlier fear momentarily forgotten.
Teach only smiled wider, smug enough to make her want to punch him. She would lose, and she knew it.
Finally, she exhaled. "What do you want?"
"In exchange, you provide me with important intelligence. And Devil Fruits." Teach's smile deepened.
Stephanie scoffed. "I handle intelligence, not storage. I have plenty of information about Devil Fruits, but not the fruits themselves."