G-3 Fortress.

Kuro has been back for a while now, and he's been idling around doing nothing.

The ocean has been quite peaceful lately, at least within the World Government's control area, which has made Kuro comfortable for a while.

The new world is becoming increasingly chaotic, but that has nothing to do with Kuro.

Big Mom seems to still be on her way to Wano Country. Kuro is curious to see what kind of sparks they'll create in Wano. If they both die there, that would be the best outcome.

"That idiot Teach has made his move?"

Meanwhile, in the office, Kuro frowned and said, "At this critical juncture, where is he going? Does he want to watch Kaido and Linlin fight and then scavenge for the spoils? That's unlikely. Those two are on the same ship. If Teach really wants to go, the two of them will probably team up. Where did he get the intelligence?"

Kro said, "It's headquarters that's telling us to prepare the front lines."

"Where did headquarters get this intelligence... Kuzan? No, that idiot Kuzan, although he teamed up with Teach, isn't actually there. It was intelligence from a spy."

Kuro thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No need to worry about it, just watch quietly. Let them fight it out in this godforsaken place, the New World."

"No, I think Blackbeard's target isn't one of the Four Emperors who are on the same level as him, but somewhere else."

"Uh, where?" Kuro asked instinctively, then suddenly paused.

The sound didn't come from anyone in the office.

Only Lida and Chloe were in the office, and that voice...

Kuro turned his head and saw a tall man with a long mustache squatting in front of the window on the side, his left hand on his chest, bowing to Kuro.

"Nice to meet you, Lieutenant General Jinni, my name is Joe Rudolph..."

He smiled at Kuro and said, "He's a pirate."

Kuro glanced in that direction, slowly lit a cigar, and said, "You've got guts."

"You can't be a pirate if you don't have guts," Rudolph laughed.

“Joe Rudolph…” Kro stared at him, pushing up his glasses. “I’ve heard of that name. He’s a famous wandering bounty hunter leader in the New World. He targets pirates, taking their heads for bounties. But why do you call yourself a pirate?”

Rudolf laughed and said, "I was a pirate to begin with, but in the New World, the rewards for killing pirates are greater than for robbing them."

As he spoke, he jumped into the office and said, "I heard that Vice Admiral Jinni has taken control of the power of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. I brought some small gifts with me this time."

As he spoke, he took a cloth bag from behind his waist and placed it on Kuro's desk. The cloth bag was wet, or rather, the man was soaking wet.

Did they swim over?

"Kuro." Kuro leaned back, not even looking at the cloth bag.

Kro walked over, opened the cloth bag, and was immediately taken aback.

Inside the cloth bag were three wet human heads. The heads appeared to have been soaked, but they were preserved using a special process and had not rotted. This meant that these people had been dead for some time.

They were all old men's heads.

After a moment of surprise, Kuro looked them over carefully and said, "[Swiftwind Pirate] Verdi, [Blue Claw] Elmara, [Lazy One] Skoffee... Mr. Kuro, they are all fugitives from the sixth level, with an average bounty of over 200 million."

"This is my gift to you."

Rudolf laughed and said, "I heard that the Seven Warlords of the Sea under Vice Admiral Jinni's command are missing three. I wonder if I have the honor of being one of them."

Kuro stared at him for a moment, then suddenly laughed, "That's quite interesting. You've run into someone who volunteered to become a Shichibukai. You're not human, are you?"

Rudolph grinned, revealing a row of sharp teeth, and his long mustache twitched as his face twitched. "I am a catfish-man, the leader of the half-fish forces, and I represent the half-fish forces here to negotiate."

"A half-fish?"

Kuro suddenly realized, "That group that is disliked by humans and fish-men?"

There are half-fish people in this world. Doflamingo has one of his subordinates who is one. However, the situation of half-fish people is rather miserable. Most humans don't like them, and most fish people don't like them either. They all think they are freaks. Unless they are lucky enough to meet someone who doesn't care about these things, they are usually abandoned.

But this person said the half-fish people were a force...

Do the merfolk have power now?

Kuro looked at Rudolph. He sensed that Rudolph was quite strong, especially considering he had killed several old men.

"How much is the bounty?" Kuro asked.

Rudolf shook his head: "I don't have a bounty. The things I did in the New World weren't subject to a bounty from the World Government."

Kuro nodded. If he didn't have a bounty on his head, it meant that he hadn't infringed on the interests of the World Government, nor had the Navy reported him to the authorities.

Even among pirates, there are different categories. Before pirates had bounties, the Navy would deal with them entirely based on their mood, but they would generally choose to ignore them.

There's no point in capturing pirates without a bounty, unless they provoke you severely.

It doesn't really matter how many pirates they fight, or how they call themselves pirates, as they haven't done anything to offend the World Government.

That's Rudolph for you.

They may have fame and power, but they are in the New World, outside the sphere of influence of the World Government, so there are no bounties for what they do.

"There's no bounty... so there's no threat level if there's no bounty."

Kuro, puffing on his cigar, said, "The Seven Warlords of the Sea want fame. You might have some reputation in the New World, but I want fame for the entire Grand Line. Besides, a few heads don't mean anything. As a half-fishman, you should be a good swimmer. Maybe you were fished out of the sea."

"But it's not really appropriate for you to set up a bounty now..."

It's easy to set bounties for pirates; they can just attack areas within the World Government's territory. But Kuro must have lost his mind to make him do that.

"Bring a few people here."

Kuro tapped his finger on the table. "I want the living; the dead are useless."

"I see..."

Rudolf bowed and prepared to leave.

"Wait... Kuro, go get the bounty for him. He brought the head over, so give him the cash equivalent," Kuro said.

"yes."

Kro responded and said to Rudolf, "Come with me, I'll give you Pelés."

"Ah... I've been mistaken for a bounty hunter? Oh well, money's no object."

Rudolph smiled, struck a gentlemanly pose, and followed Crowe out.

"Half-fishman..."

Kuro watched him leave, narrowed his eyes slightly, and smiled: "That's quite interesting."

While he was in his G-3, he certainly wouldn't use his Observation Haki to actively sense things, but Observation Haki is actually more of a passive ability; it can basically sense any danger approaching.

This guy named Rudolf should have swum over without anyone noticing, but the fact that he was able to appear in his office without anyone sensing it shows that he's quite capable.

Unsurprisingly, he was the one who killed those old men.