Pirate: I was just slacking off, do you really think I'm bad?

Bellemere nervously swallowed.

"Go ahead and ask."

"Okay, someone once said that after the King's Guard suppressed the village of Povo, they saw you there, along with a fleet of ships, is that right?"

Steele took out a piece of paper and a pen, and asked Bellemere, who was standing in front of him, without looking up.

"One more thing, don't try to deceive me. CP9 was created to interrogate prisoners and gather intelligence."

"Don't think that just because you're in the Navy you can escape CP9's sanctions. After all, we represent the World Government."

Steele's cold words put immense pressure on Bellemere.

In this quiet office, the only sound was the scratching of Steele's pen on paper.

Apart from that, everything was quiet.

It was so quiet that Bellemere could hear her own heart pounding.

"Yes, I went to the scene after the Povo village tragedy."

Steele didn't look up; he simply jotted down Bellemere's words on the paper.

"Very good, whose warship is that, and who is the commanding officer?"

Bellemere remained silent; she did not want to betray Raleigh.

Steele looked up, her lifeless eyes fixed on the short-haired female navy woman in front of her.

"It's no use hiding it. If you do, I'll think you're covering up a crime. Besides, CP9 can track the movement and route of a warship."

"If you don't tell the truth, then I can assume that this fleet is connected to the Mad Blade Pirates."

Upon hearing this, Bellemere clenched her fists in anger.

"Impossible, how could the Navy have any connection with pirates?"

"Heh, you're not being honest. If our intelligence is correct, the person on that warship should be Christine Rowley, the former head of Branch 133."

Bellemere's pupils dilated. She thought she could get away with it, but she didn't know how deep the foundation of CP9, as an organization of the World Government, was.

Although they cannot access some classified intelligence, they are entitled to view the Navy's publicly disclosed operations.

"I'm only giving you one chance. If you still don't tell the truth, then I'll have to ask you to go back to CP9's base for investigation."

Bellemere lowered her head, making it impossible for Steele to see her expression.

"What exactly did you and Christine Raleigh talk about?"

"It's nothing. Colonel Raleigh thought it was a pirate attack, so I explained it to him."

Steele nodded, then quickly followed up with another question:

"What was Raleigh's expression like at the time? Did he say anything to you?"

"Colonel Raleigh didn't show any expression at the time, seemed unconcerned about it all, and didn't say anything to me."

Steele stopped writing and stared at Bellemere with a gaze as sharp as a knife.

"I've investigated. Before this happened, you were a private first class, and your skills were very low."

"But after this incident, your skills improved rapidly. You won many battles and were promoted to private first class in a short period of time. So, you've been hiding something from me."

"No, Colonel Raleigh had high hopes for me back then, so he encouraged me to train hard and become a colonel as soon as possible."

"Oh."

Steele put down his pen and paper, and suddenly appeared in front of Bellemere.

Navy Type 6 - Shave!

"So fast!"

Bellemere only felt a blur before her eyes, and Steele's right hand reached for her throat like a serpent.

Navy Type 6 - Shave!

Before Bellemere could think, he was suddenly forced back.

"Oh, that's interesting."

When Steele saw Bellemere also use the Six Styles of the Navy, a flicker of emotion flashed in his eyes, but he quickly returned to calm.

Even if one had mastered the "Shave" technique from the Six Styles of the Navy, such an opponent would still be no match for him.

Moreover, Bellemere's shave seemed to be a third slower than a normal shave.

Steele suddenly exerted force with both legs, closing the distance to Bellemere at an even faster speed.

boom!

Before Bellemere could escape the attack range, Steele caught up with her and grabbed her neck firmly.

His body was slammed hard against the wall of the conference room.

A feeling of suffocation washed over Bellemere, and the longing for air drove her to punch and kick Steele.

However, Steele simply held Bellemere firmly by the neck and did not react to Bellemere's attack.

Soon, Bellemere's face turned purplish-red due to lack of oxygen.

Seeing Bellemere about to be strangled by him, Steele released his right hand, letting Bellemere fall to the ground.

"Cough...cough...cough..."

Suddenly released, Bellemere had no time to attack Steele.

She lay on the floor, greedily inhaling the surrounding air.

"I advise you to tell me the truth you know, because I'm sparing your life this time, but next time, I'll make you wish you were dead."

Looking at Bellemere lying prostrate at his feet, Steele's eyes showed not a trace of pity.

He was like a cold-blooded killing machine, spending years in the shadowy CP9 organization.

He had long since lost his humanity; all that remained was cold-bloodedness and obedience to orders.

Without warning, a foot stepped on Bellemere's hand.

"ah!!!"

Bellemere's screams echoed through the conference room, giving Steele, the perpetrator, a sense of excitement.

"Belmel!"

boom!

Duncan suddenly flung open the conference room door and rushed in, shouting anxiously.

When they saw Bellemere lying on the ground, her hands still being stepped on by CP9's Steele.

Even this usually composed man got angry.

"Get your dirty feet off my companion's hands!"

Duncan suddenly charged toward Steele.

Although he doesn't know the Six Styles of the Navy, his long battlefield experience has made him not much slower than Shave.

He clenched his right fist and suddenly swung it at Steele.

Steele stared coldly at Duncan, then lightly leaped backward to dodge the attack.

Duncan quickly helped Bellemere up, then turned and roared at Steele:

"The CP9 members are going too far. Cooperating with your investigation is fine, but who gave you permission to lay a hand on our Navy members?"

"Just you wait, I will definitely report your behavior to the Navy Headquarters."

Steele seemed unfazed, simply looking coldly at Duncan and Bellemere and saying:

"This female naval officer withheld some information, which led me astray and delayed the World Government's affairs. You cannot afford to take responsibility for that."

"Since she is unwilling to speak here, I have no choice but to take her back to CP9 for questioning."

"You dare!"

Duncan glared angrily, as if he needed to kill Steele to vent his anger.

With a roar from Duncan, a squad of elite naval soldiers, armed with rifles, stormed into the conference room.

"Let's see who dares to take Bellemere away today!"