The Stage is set

But everything has to end, so he looks deeply at her and says, "Miss.LittleFinger... No, Jeanne De Clisson, you are stripped of your rank and power for withholding critical information and sent to Neathormel prison, where you will stay until your sentence is decided."

..........

Afterwards, Bryan called the guards to take her away. While all this was happening, LittleFinger or Jeanne was momentarily shocked that Bryan knew her real name, but when the guards arrived, she calmed down and went with the guards quietly without resisting or raising her head, accepting her defeat for now.

"Why is Miss.LittleFinger being apprehended?"

"I don't know?"

The agents were surprised and dismayed when they saw LittleFinger in chains and taken away. They didn't understand what was happening. Miss. LittleFinger, one of the Semi-Number agents, was getting arrested? Why?

Those were the thoughts that swirled through the mind of the agents who witnessed her being taken away. They couldn't believe what they saw, especially when they saw her not resisting.

It came as a shock to them. It is known in Eastormel that LittleFinger has one of the largest, if not the largest, groups of supporters in East Blue. Her name is known by almost all the Billion agents for her cruel and efficient way of operating Baroque Works.

Many of the harsh regulations that Mr.1 created were carried out personally by LittleFinger. From the punishment of their failed mission to the Illegal trades, she handled them all efficiently.

And that wasn't all. LittleFinger was the one who appointed almost 20% of the Billion agents in their new position of power as a Hundred or Thousand agents, making them indebted to her.

"All of you! get back to work!" Demain yells at the mob of agents.

"Yes, Sir" They headed his word and returned to work.

Demain then walks toward Bryan with a confused look and asks. "What Happened?"

"You're finally here! How did the meeting with the investors go?" Bryan says with a faint smile emerging on his face when he sees his trusty assistant.

"It went great. Almost all of them have decided to invest but with many conditions ranging from standard ones like assigning agents as their bodyguards and increasing the number of agents on their island to the strange ones like Goa Princess condition to..." Demian paused speaking as his lips kept twitching, and his shoulder shook from holding in his laughter, making Bryan curious at the princess's condition that it would make Demian like this.

"What is her strange condition? Did she want our agents to wear pink clothes or have all the handsome agents as her bodyguard? " Bryan asked with his eyes glistening in interest, making Demian unable to hold in his laughter.

"Bhahahah! Her Condition! Hahaha! Her condition is for your hand in marriage to make our so-called alliance closer Hahahahha."

"What!" Bryan yelled in disbelief as he got struck on his shoulder by the laughing assistant, who even laughed louder than before when he saw Bryan's expression.

After Demian calmed down, Bryan changed the subject by ordering him to call all the Hundred and thousand agents to an emergency meeting, confusing Demain, who didn't know what exactly had happened. Bryan told him he would explain it to him at a later time. For now, he needs to call the Hundred and thousand agents.

Bryan didn't just stop there. He also told Demian to call Miss. LittleFinger's most trusted agents, Miss.Lemonade, who is in charge of the Drug trade and the head cook. And Mr. Merchant, who is in charge of the Slave trade.

Demian nodded his head cheerfully as he understood one thing: whatever was in the intel had helped them beat LittleFinger and also enabled them finally dismantle the illegal trades. So with this thought, Demian went to do his job full of energy.

..........

After Bryan and Demian left TinyGlasses's office to do their jobs.

TinyGlasses returned to her office, but her expression was no longer timid or nervous like the one she usually wears. Instead, it was blank and emotionless.

She closed the door and locked it, then went to her table and dialed a number in the Den Den Mushi.

"Pur... Pur... Purrr! Clack! TinyGlassess... what do you have to report?" An alluring voice said playfully. The Den Den Mushi's expression also became much more feminine and playful as it transmitted the face of the person speaking.

"Good Evening, Miss... Mr.Mountain has apprehended LittleFinger for hiding about the ship being raided by the Krieg pirates," TinyGlasses said as she bowed toward the Den Den Mushi in an act of obedience and started to report everything that happened here.

"Aww... How unfortunate, and here she was so obedient, Doing every command with the utmost diligence. Sigh... How unfortunate, especially for her to fall because of you," The alluring voice said in a fake sad tone.

"I was just following your command, Miss," TinyGlassses said emotionlessly. The alluring voice owner smiles captivatingly and says, "You're right. How could I forget. But it was her fault for not informing Mr.Mountain of the pirate attack. If she had told him, she wouldn't have been imprisoned."

"..." TinyGlasses sat there silently. She agrees with what Miss said since the mistake could have been placed to bad luck or poor order by Mr.0. But LittleFinger is too loyal to Mr.0 to show any of his errors and her desire for power.

"Is that everything?" the voice asked, snapping TinyGlasses from her thoughts.

"Yes, miss"

"I see... If anything happens, report it immediately since we have finally finished setting the grand stage. We can't have any mishaps at this phase, or else... everything we've been striving for would be ruined."

"Yes, Miss!" TinyGlasses said with a faint hint of passion.

"Good, see you late-Oh! Right before I forget, send me the audio tape."

"Yes, ma'am! Clank! Pur... pur..." After hearing what TinyGlasses said, the other side cut the call.

'Will I... Meet a similar fate to LittleFinger and Captain Kurl? Used until their deaths without knowing why they lost their lives... is this the fate of all the agents in Baroque Works...' TinyGlasses thought after the call. She stood there for a little while and then went to send the audio recording of what happened on Armada Island.

..........

At Mr.Mountain's office, we see Bryan and two people in it, one an old man with a scheming look and a woman with blonde hair.

"Starting Today, The Illegal Department is to be shut down with all Illegal substances to be thrown away, and its labs shut down, dismantled, and cleaned so that no traces are left. Am I clear, Miss. Lemonade?" Bryan said with a stern look.

"Ye... Yes, Sir!" Miss. Lemonade said with reluctance and unwillingness to stop her craft, but in the end, under Bryan's cold and callous gaze, she bowed and submitted to his command.

"Mr. Mountain, May I know why couldn't we shut the Illegal Department after the war since we will need the money and the manpower of the slav-" Before The Sly old man what he was going to say, Bryan, cut him to it.

"No! We 'Baroque Works' don't need slaves to fight our battle or funds that came from hurting the citizens we are supposed to protect."

"With all due respect, Sir. While your ideals are noble, we are not the Marines and we have been working in this trade since arriving here. Besides, to help the masses, some individuals needs to be sacrificed for the greater good of everyone."

'Thud! Father, stop! Thud! Father, Stop! PLEASE!'

What the sly old men said made Bryan quiet for a moment as he lowered his head and thought about his past. He then spoke with a vague tone.

"... So this is how all the great forces think of their people... some individuals need to be sacrificed... I see... Jajaja... I see it so clearly now. How you all didn't really care!"

He then raised his head while chuckling bitterly. Afterward, he said the following with a tone that didn't allow for anymore discussion.

"Maybe what you said was right, Mr.Merchant. But you are forgetting something, I'm the leader here, and as long as I lead Baroque Work, nobody will be sacrificed, even if they are slaves or unfortunate individuals. Do you understand"

"Understood, Sir!" Mr.Merhcant said with his forehead getting covered in sweat under Bryan's intense gaze.

"Good! Now go deal with the slaves and destroy all the records or any evidence we ever dealt in this trade. Am I clear, Mr.Merhcant? "

"Yes, Sir!" Mr.Merhcant said loudly as he bowed toward Bryan. Who looked coldly at the two. He knew that dealing with the slaves meant selling or imprisoning them since they couldn't precisely free them as they were pirates in the past.

"Good. If this is all, then both of you are dismissed. You may leave." Bryan said as he looked down at the paperwork he needed to sign and waved his hand as a signal for them to leave.

"Yes, Sir!"

"Yes, Sir!"

Miss. Lemonade and Mr.Merchant yelled, bowed one last time, and then left the room.

'Sigh... Finally, one of the major problems is now solved. Now all that is left is take care of the approaching war...'

Bryan sighed as he finally could relax for a moment to stretch and relax all the tension that was building on his shoulder. The day has been very long and tiring, but he still has a lot of work to do.

'Hmm... I have some time to spare before the emergency meeting, so let's call them.'

Bryan continued stretching a little more, then grabbed the Den Den Mushi and dialed a number.

"Pur... Pur... Pur... Clank! Mr.Sniper, Here. Who is calling?" Masterson's voice and calm expression were transmitted. Bryan's face relaxed a bit when he heard his voice, so he said.

"Hey Sniper, how have you been?"

"I'm fine. Mountain, Did the intel arrive?" Masterson asked, his expression becoming serious and guilty when he saw how exhausted Bryan looked.

"Yes, Call Zoro. I have some good and bad news."

"Okay, one minute... Zoro, come here! Bryan has called!" Masterson lowered the mic, so that Bryan couldn't hear his yelling to call Zoro. Bryan smiled at their antics.

And when Zoro arrives, Bryan informs them of what had happened, the good and bad, without leaving anything.

At the time, Bryan didn't realize how his decision would affect the slaves, especially one slave that He and Zoro had altered his fate not once but twice if you count this.

..........

Author Note:

Hello Everyone, Author here :)

Do you guys know that Miss Lemonade was initially supposed to be Zoro's cook and navigator, but with how the story went, I didn't have any time to introduce her? So while thinking about adding her to the story, I got the brilliant idea to change her career from a chef to a meth cooker, Lol :) So let's welcome Miss lemonade, the head cooker of all the drugs that Baroque Works make.

Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

Lol :) Anyway, this is all for today. Like usual, if you see any spelling or grammer mistakes write them below in the comments, and if you can, please leave a review.

Okay, peace out :)