The dense sound of footsteps drew near, and a large group of guards rushed to the office.
Because of the sheer number of people, the guards crowded at the office door.
"Listen up, this is our new boss, Master Bai Ye."
Hank stood beside Su Xiao, showing his stance.
The surrounding guards were a bit confused, but when Su Xiao raised the appointment letter in his hand, they all understood the situation.
"Hello, boss."
"Master Bai Ye, I'm Kaba."
"Boss, from now on, the brothers will listen to you."
Flattering voices continuously came forth, and Su Xiao merely nodded, looking at the two confidants of Ou Ka.
"These two colluded with pirates, intending to disrupt the order of the Royal Capital..."
Before Su Xiao could finish speaking, the two confidants of Ou Ka actually drew their weapons and pointed them at him.
"Brothers, don't listen to him, Sir Ou Ka is our real boss."
Su Xiao was stunned, somewhat surprised as he looked at the two. Do these guys have no brains?
Actually, it's not that the two are brainless, but Su Xiao's current identity, and his previous words, made them quite terrified.
Su Xiao had said before that he would make the two stay here forever.
"Get them, these two guys colluded with pirates, and now that they've been exposed, they actually want to openly resist."
Hank was very astute, immediately realizing the current situation.
"What fools."
Su Xiao sat behind the desk, not moving, as there was no need for him to act anymore.
The large group of guards swarmed in, and at that moment, the two confidants of Ou Ka were completely hopeless.
"Wait, we just wanted to..."
Before the two could explain, the large group of guards had already slashed with their chaotic blades.
Sounds of weapon clashes, gunshots, and bodies being torn apart followed.
Thirty seconds later, two mutilated bodies lay in the office, with every guard inside the room stained with blood.
The smell of blood permeated the air.
This seemed ludicrous, but it's not.
The rules of the Pirate World are so brutally bare; the strong control everything, while the weak can only await death.
In this blood-stained office, the Royal Palace's messenger swallowed his saliva, Su Xiao's ruthlessness made him somewhat terrified. His initial thoughts of gaining some benefits had vanished into thin air.
"Clean up, you may leave."
Not long after, only three people remained in the office: Su Xiao, Hank, and the messenger.
Hank didn't leave, just stood straight beside Su Xiao.
Su Xiao merely glanced at Hank and ignored him because he was too unfamiliar with the Guard headquarters, so he needed an old hand like Hank.
An intelligent and ambitious assistant, he very much needed.
"Master Bai Ye, please ask your subordinates to step aside, I have an important matter to convey."
"No need, he's my 'confidant'."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, a smile appeared on Hank's face.
"Alright then, the thing is, you might have heard about the 'operation' tomorrow night."
The operation mentioned by the messenger is the incineration of Scrap End Station.
"I have heard."
"That's good, I'll get straight to the point. The intention from above is this: there are currently three forces suitable for this job, and we've had preliminary contact with them. Now, we need you to approach these three forces and choose one of them to execute tomorrow night's 'operation.'
"Oh?" Su Xiao looked at the messenger, a strange light in his eyes.
"I get to decide who does it?"
"Yes, you decide, because we've only heard of these pirates, and we need actual contact to make a decision."
Having received a clear answer, Su Xiao was overjoyed inside. He indeed made the right choice, as his current position played a crucial role.
"Got it, I'll go contact these three forces in a while."
The messenger smiled at Su Xiao and was about to turn and leave.
"Oh, one more thing, although there are three forces, you can only select one to carry out tomorrow's plan. The specific information is in the files."
Under Hank's polite send-off, the messenger left, and Su Xiao picked up the files on the desk.
Inside was the detailed plan for incinerating the Scrap End Station, which roughly meant:
Choose a pirate group, then provide them with explosives to ignite Scrap End Station using the explosives.
There are three pirate groups to choose from.
The first group is an indigenous force from the Goa Kingdom, the Balsam Pirate Gang, who in the original story fought against young Luffy, Ace, and others.
The second group is the Klik Pirate Group, recently sailing into nearby waters.
Seeing the information on this pirate group, Su Xiao was a bit surprised, as it's a pirate group he's familiar with.
The Klick Pirate Group is a relatively famous pirate group in the East Sea. In the original Baratie storyline, the Klick Pirate Group was annihilated by the Hawkeye Group and then fled to the Baratie, engaging with Luffy's pirate crew, ultimately being defeated.
Although this is ten years before the storyline begins, the Klick Pirate Group is not weak, with around six hundred people in the entire fleet.
As for the third pirate group, named the Skeleton Pirate Group, they are not very strong and were directly ruled out by Su Xiao.
Based on original intelligence, the Balsam Pirate Gang was of average strength, defeated by young Luffy, Ace, and a group of mountain thieves, indicating their actual strength.
While the Klick Pirate Group has high hopes from Su Xiao, so he plans to meet this pirate group first,
"Hank, go contact someone from the Klick Pirate Group."
Hank awkwardly smiled.
"Well, sir..."
Hank's attitude made Su Xiao understand.
"I'll leave it to you, I must meet them today."
Clearly, Hank was able to contact the Klick Pirate Group, and as for the nature of their relationship, Su Xiao had no interest in knowing.
Collusion between government officials and pirates is a common phenomenon in the Pirate World, with many possible mutual interests between them.
Hank did not disappoint Su Xiao. Within just two hours, he had arranged a meeting place with the Klick Pirate Group.
The location was, of course, inside the Royal Capital; no one would trust a group of pirates.
----------------------------
In a dirty alley in the civilian district, several men in loose black clothing with hoods stood inside, vigilantly scanning the surroundings.
"Boss Klick, this is it. That old warehouse ahead is the agreed meeting point."
A thin and lean pirate with a sailor's knife at his waist cautiously stood behind a tall man.
The man was also wearing loose black clothing and a hood, but through the gaps in the clothing, one could faintly see that he was clad in a golden armor.
"Hmm, you guys wait here, Ah Jin, come with me."
Klick's voice was deep, and as he walked, his armor clashed noisily.
"Yes, boss."
Ah Jin was dressed similarly, with weapons hidden in his sleeves.
"Boss, I heard that the newly appointed leader of the guards is very ruthless, we should be cautious."
Klick tilted his head to look at Ah Jin.
"Hmm? Do you think I can't handle a leader of the guards? If not for the many conveniences that the noble status brings, I wouldn't even bother doing things for the Goa Kingdom."
Arrogance is a common disease among most pirates.
Ah Jin remained silent as the two headed toward the direction of the warehouse.