Chapter 666: Each Serving Their Own Master
The night on Whole Cake Island carried a sweetness tinged with a hint of gloom.
A sea breeze blew, and a patch of dark clouds drifted across the sky, gently obscuring the crescent moon.
In the room, Arest suddenly opened his eyes and woke up. He left the bed and walked to the window.
Pushing open the window, he glanced outside.
The patrolling guards around the Whole Cake Island castle were rows of toy soldiers. Needless to say, these toy soldiers had also been imbued with souls by Big Mom. Big Mom's soul power seemed to be poured into all sorts of strange things: toys, flowers, trees, even tableware and food. Although it seemed childish, having so many things with souls and personalities scattered across the island kept it in a constant state of surveillance and alert.
No one could easily escape this island, and likewise, no one could approach it without permission...
Arest's gaze shifted to a warehouse on the west side of the castle. He had already found out that it was the cake workshop, where the wedding cake for tomorrow's tea ceremony was stored.
Withdrawing his gaze, Arest returned to the room, found a large bucket, filled it with water, then rolled up his left sleeve and placed his wrist flat over the bucket.
Expressionless, he extended his right hand and slashed across his left wrist, using his right fingernail to cut open the skin.
Blood gushed out uncontrollably, dripping from Arest's wrist onto the water's surface with a steady patter, quickly dyeing the water red.
"Not enough..." Arest muttered to himself, continuing to let blood flow into the water.
After letting an unknown amount of his blood drip down, he felt it was sufficient. He pressed on the wound, found some gauze, and wrapped it around his wrist.
Then, he returned to the large bucket now mixed with water and blood.
"500 CC, Blood Angel, rise!..." Arest spread his hand toward the water surface, and the red blood-water suddenly began to move on its own. First, it coalesced into a clump, then wobbled into a bald, head-shaped humanoid form, standing up from the bucket.
This was the awakened ability of Arest's Blood-Blood Fruit, creating a puppet condensed from his own blood.
This ability could only be made using Arest's own blood; someone else's blood wouldn't work. Such a blood puppet had a unique trait: the more of Arest's blood he infused, the more agile the puppet became, the stronger its combat power, and it could even gain a certain level of intelligence, freely shaping its form.
Arest could have used all his own blood to create such a puppet, making it indistinguishable from a real person. However, using all his blood would be too much for him to bear, as it required a vast amount. That was why he chose to mix blood with water to create the puppet.
A Devil Fruit user's abilities are affected by seawater, mainly due to the salt content. For fresh water without salt, this effect is relatively mild. Users can normally take showers or half-body baths for this reason. By dissolving his ability-infused blood into fresh water, Arest could barely control it.
Moreover, this time, he didn't need the puppet to be very strong—just controllable and usable...
Under Arest's control, the puppet he named Blood Angel began to flow and deform continuously. After considerable time, it finally took on the appearance of a person.
It wore a sleeveless coat, a sword at its waist, bandages and a bell wrapped around its right wrist, a bear-ear hat on its head, and a ponytail tied at the back—a perfect image of Ian!
However, this puppet could only achieve a rough resemblance. Upon closer inspection, it was just a general outline, with facial features blurred.
But... for Arest, that was enough. In the darkness of night, no one would be able to tell the difference.
Under Arest's control, the puppet resembling Ian jumped out of the window. Using the cover of night, it leaped over the castle rooftops and silently landed on top of the workshop warehouse where the wedding cake was stored.
The wedding cake had been completed three days earlier, so although there were guards at the warehouse now, security had become lax.
Because everyone thought no one would dare to target the wedding cake...
But unfortunately, they would never expect that Father Arest, trusted by Big Mom, had his eyes set on this very place...
Yes, using the blood puppet to impersonate Ian, Arest intended to destroy the wedding cake. In his view, the conflict between Ian and the Big Mom Pirates today had already created a rift. Now, all it took was a small spark to completely provoke Ian and the Big Mom Pirates.
Everyone knew how much Big Mom valued the wedding cake. Targeting it was hitting the nail on the head. Imagine: when the wedding cake for tomorrow is destroyed, and the culprit "Ian" is unfortunately spotted by someone, then...
Just as Arest was controlling the puppet, preparing to sneak into the warehouse, a voice suddenly sounded from behind him: "If I were you, I wouldn't do that!"
Startled, Arest spun around and found that an elegant woman had somehow appeared in his room!
This woman who had appeared silently was Stussy, the Queen of the Pleasure District, wearing a lady's hat. She was leaning against the closed door, arms crossed, watching Arest with a smile.
Arest flicked his hand, and the wound on his left wrist burst open again. A stream of blood shot out, forming a dagger that flew toward Stussy.
Although Arest had seen Stussy once when landing on the island, he had no idea about her secret identity. Thinking she was one of Big Mom's people, he immediately decided to kill her.
But facing the blood dagger flying with strong force, Stussy raised a finger and fired a Finger Gun, hitting the dagger and deflecting it. It embedded itself with a thud into the door beside her head, sinking deep into the handle. Then, before Arest could charge at her, she quickly whispered, "Stop! Admiral Arest, I'm with the World Government!"
Arest slammed on the brakes, then looked at Stussy with suspicion.
"Don't doubt it. I'm an agent of CP0, the World Government's secret intelligence organization!" Stussy said in a low voice. "Although you asked the World Government not to reveal your identity for now, we intelligence personnel are not included in that concealment."
These words confirmed Stussy's identity, and Arest no longer doubted her. He pulled up a chair, sat down, and began re-bandaging his wrist while sneering, "I've heard of CP's intelligence agents before, but I didn't expect you to be so pervasive, even infiltrating the side of an Emperor!"
"CP0 is completely different from other CP units!" Stussy said. "From the moment your ship sailed toward Whole Cake Island, I learned of your arrival. The World Government ordered me to cooperate with your actions. I only just found an opportunity to come to your room..."
"Alright, it seems you already know what I plan to do!" Arest nodded. "But why are you stopping me?"
"Given Big Mom's expectations for the wedding cake, destroying it and framing Ian wouldn't be a bad move!" Stussy spread her hands and explained. "But don't forget, we are also guests at tomorrow's tea party. If the wedding cake is gone and Big Mom's craving disorder strikes, even we might suffer..."
Stussy walked over to Arest's bed and sat down, leaning back on her hands on the sheets, crossing her long legs under her short skirt. "I have a better target in mind. Do you want to hear it?"
"What target?" Arest asked.
"The Poneglyph!" Stussy said. "According to our CP0 intelligence, it's confirmed that Big Mom possesses several Poneglyph stones, and one of them is a very important red Road Poneglyph, currently stored in the basement. If Big Mom finds out that Ian is eyeing her collection, what do you think she'll do?"
"..." Arest pondered for a moment, then asked doubtfully, "But if it's something important, the security must be very tight, right?"
"No problem!" Stussy chuckled. "Because today, I happened to discover that someone has arrived on the island, and he was brought by Ian... Former Marine scientist M. Caesar Clown, a Gas-Gas Fruit user. If I remember correctly, his ability can produce sleeping gas..."
"Since he was brought by Ian, do you think he'll cooperate with us?" Arest frowned.