The place is quiet, void of any human existence within its perimeter. This place quite far from the residential area, private, secured with an advanced security system.
At a glance, many think that this is just a regular mansion owned by one of the millionaires in the city but little did they know that inside is filled with firearms and traps should anyone wants to trespass.
Inside the tightly secured mansion are three women sitting in the spacious kitchen, eating buffalo wings and drinking beer, at least the two of them are as the youngest does not like to drink.
This is their main hideout located at Akagami's territory, quite far from the residential area of the city just like what they wanted. It's a two-story 5 bedroom mansion with an underground facility where they store most of their firearms as well as important documents that they keep.
It has a 6-car garage space that houses the vehicles they rarely use.
"Luffia, hot sauce." Ann said.
"Mm-kay." The youngest mumbles before passing the hot sauce to the eldest of the three. The dining area is silent except for the occasional burps coming from their mouths as they fill their stomach with the food that Sab bought.
They spend a good amount of time finishing the food before that can feed at least 6 people. Yes, that's how much they can eat, making everyone wonder how they can fit all of the food in their stomach.
Had they been like other orphans, buying a mansion like this is impossible. This is only possible because of the fortune that their father left for them, a fortune that the World Government failed to get. None ever managed to unravel the mystery of where Roger's wealth could be. Many speculate that Rayleigh took all of them or that the former members split the fortune, yet they didn't know that it's already in the hands of his children, the children that everyone thinks died on that island.
Thanks to that money, they can move freely to get their much-needed revenge.
"How's Dressrosa?" Sab opened a topic now that they're finally done eating.
"It's still damaged. It's not easy to repair the damage when the factory exploded but it will be fine." Luffia answered.
"Any plans for that city now that you have it?" Ann asks, wiping her hands with the napkin on the table, eyes looking expectantly at the youngest.
"For now maybe stabilize it. We have plans for a new business venture in that city, but we're still not sure what it will be." Planning has never been Luffia's strong suit. Her members would rather throw her in the middle of a battle than ask her for plans.
"By the way, Sab." She calls to the blond-haired woman. "I heard that Eustass Kidd will be released soon." The air in the room suddenly felt cold to Sab's body after hearing that name. She looks at her sisters, their eyes tell her that they are worried about this news.
The three of them share their secrets, no holds barred.
"I know." Sab answered, eyebrows frowning.
"Do you have any plans on how to deal with him?"
Sab looks at Ann, snorting at her question.
"I do not have time for him. Besides, once he's out of prison, he will still need to find his footing in the streets. He won't have time to deal with someone like me." That's a lie, she knows about this. Kidd will never let her sin be forgotten or forgiven. He will do anything in his power to get back at Sab.
The grudge he holds is deep, the scar she inflicted on him is still there, she knows this because that's how Kidd is.
"What if he wants to kill you?"
"He can try with all his might, but he can't." Sab is confident with her abilities to defend herself against any assassins no matter who they are. However, she's not sure how she's going to react should the time comes that they will face each other. Former lovers are now enemies, or at least Kidd views her as his enemy.
"Just don't do anything stupid." Ann said firmly.
"Not as stupid as you going after Whitebeard." Sab countered, making Ann glare at her while Luffia giggles.
The twins held a staring contest, Sab's eyes are challenging Ann's. In the end, the brunette sighed before saying: "It's not stupid."
"I beg to differ. We've been telling you that we should focus on the others. We have Big Mom and Kaido, not to mention the World Government. I do not understand your fixation with the Whitebeards."
"He's an enemy." She insists. "Think about it. Who was the most influential and powerful Mafia leader next to Dad? It's him. Who gained more territories when our father was forced to disband his group? It's him. If there's anyone who wants to get rid of our father, it's him."
"We don't have all the evidence, though." Luffia nonchalantly added.
"Proof? He's got almost half of our dad's territories!"
"But it doesn't mean that he conspired with the World Government and formed an alliance with the Mafia Groups to attack our father. I don't think the proof we have is enough to establish him as one of our targets." Sab countered.
For years since they arrived here, they gathered enough information to list down the enemies they need to target. Starting with the World Government Officials. They have yet to uncover all the people who were involved in the Buster Call 16 years ago and who were behind it, but they are getting there.
As for the Mafia Groups that conspired with the World Government, they tried to get more information and so far, from what they gathered, Kaido and Big Mom are one of them.
It makes sense that the two of them wanted to get rid of their father knowing that Roger defeated the two of them during his reign. Someone younger managed to pull a fast on them, claiming territories after territories and later proclaimed as the Mafia King.
"They're enemies we must get rid of." Ann's determined, making her sisters sigh, shaking their heads at the stubbornness. She still remembers what she saw heard years ago during a mission with the Revolutionary Army.
Whitebeard's men talking about how it was great that Roger is no longer there, dead. Remembering it made Ann's blood boil. She could never forget their marks. With the evidence that they gathered, hearsays from the streets, she knows that Whitebeard is an enemy.
They heard of the battles between two of the biggest Mafia Groups out there, a true legend.
In this cruel world, the strong will devour the weak. People will take all the chances available to soar higher, to get more powerful than they are. Ann refused to believe that Whitebeard is not like this. That man grew up in the streets, someone raised to be part of this chaotic world, a devourer.
Sab can only sigh. There's no stopping Ann when she made up her mind. None of them can prove that Whitebeard did not have anything to do with the alliance formed against their father years ago so she can't defend them against Ann's claims.
Luffia just shrugs it off. Unlike the twins who constantly target the enemies of their father, she's more or less doing the side-jobs. Often, she stumbles on information and gives it to her sisters to use.
Their goal is to avenge their father and kill all of them. This may prove to be too difficult given the number of enemies. They realized how powerful their father was.
"Anyway, let's take a look at what Luffia got." Sab changed their topic. Luffia handed over documents about Kaido and his deals with the World Government officials. This is very common especially when the Mafia Groups can offer a large sum of money, enough to blind the officials to follow the group's demands.
They need this information to target their enemies. They do not want to just attack them blindly without knowing what they are dealing with. That would be stupid and may get them killed.
"They have Wano city as their headquarters. It looks like they've been inviting several World Government Officials in their underground fighting arena." Sab read through the files and carefully looked at the information, only taking note of the important ones.
"It's not uncommon to see World Government Officials as part of the betting game." Ann said.
"Their underground fighting arena does not only include their slaves but also the prisoners from the local World Government branches." Sab answered, giving the papers to Ann.
"These are names. I don't get it."
"I recognized some of the names there because I have the same list in my office. Those are the names of the prisoners in the branch near Kaido's headquarters."
"Are you saying that the World Government Officials are sending prisoners in a fighting arena?"
"It's possible. I'll have to check the local officials in charge of that branch."
"If we get more information about that, maybe we can sabotage it!" Luffia's grin is wide, eyes sparkling at the idea of another sabotage mission.
"Maybe we can. We just need to piece all the details we have before we can formulate a plan against them." It's like killing birds with one stone. If they manage to somehow halt whatever deal the World Government and Kaido have, then it will be better. The more distracted an enemy is, the easier to get through them.
Their mission is not to kill the members of the groups they have on their list, although they do not mind doing so as long as it's for the sake of their mission. What they are aiming for is to kill the root - the leader.
Killing a leader of a Mafia Group is easier said than done. No one can easily find where the leader is and even if someone did, there's no guarantee that anything can be done to harm them, not when the upper echelons of the Mafia Group are there to protect the leader.
The three of them can only target the enemies slowly. With Luffia's group, they can start moving according to their plans. They may be working independently from each other but their goal remains the same.
"Just keep us posted on what you can find from Kaido. Now that his deals with Doflamingo stopped, maybe we can target him next." Ann said.
"Yes, I will. What about you, Lu?"
"Hmm... We have nothing at the moment except clean up the mess that Doflamingo left in Dressrosa. Once that's over, we are looking at targeting Big Mom's territories next. Shishishi!" Straw Hat's group already managed to snatch Ryugu city from Big Mom and this made their group an enemy to them.
"Let's take them on one by one. We have to be careful." Sab reminded them.
"Don't worry! Nami will scold me again if I go and declare war. Well, we are technically at war with them." Luffia pouted a little upon remembering Nami's dissatisfied face.
The twins are thankful that Luffia's members are responsible, taking care of her and making sure she won't do anything stupid more than she usually does. She does a lot of stupid things but at least someone will watch her back for her.
"I'll have to go now." Ann suddenly said after looking at her wristwatch.
"Your part-time job?" Luffia asks.
"Yes."
"Do you want me to drop you nearby? It's a little too far from here." Sab offered.
"No. I'll take a cab on my way there. It's not good if someone chanced upon us." Ann answered, hugging her sisters before she left.
"Do you have somewhere else you need to go?"
"Hmm, nope! Let's play Mario Kart!"
"Fine. Come on. Let's set it up." Sab agreed. It's a shame that Ann is not here right now so they can both tease Luffia whenever she losses. With that, the two played Mario Kart in this mansion while Ann is on her way to the bar.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
"What do you say we drop by to where Bay is?" Thatch asks while he's driving the car on their way back to their territory.
They're currently in Shanks' territory, meeting one of the emperors of Grandline. It is not unusual for two emperors to form deals. Business is business after all and for Whitebeards, they do not mind signing a deal with Akagami's group.
Most of the time, their deals are about shares of stocks in their legal companies. Like Whitebeard's group, Akagami's group also owns a corporation. If one needs to buy a certain business within their territory, they will have to inform the Mafia ruler in that city. That's one of the unspoken rules in the Mafia World, or at least between the Emperors.
"Is she there right now, yoi?" Marco asks. Bay is one of their trusted employees, managing the bars that the Whitebeard Group owns. She was entrusted to manage all of the branches of the Blue Phoenix Bar. The name itself is a dead giveaway of who owns the bar or which Mafia Group it belongs to.
Phoenix, there's only one person who has this nickname in the streets and that's none other than Marco.
"She is. I heard from her that a small branch is getting more popular, so she frequently visits it." Izou answered, looking back at Marco who is sitting in the backseat.
"It's fine, yoi. It's been a while, anyway, but maybe we can just use one of the private rooms in the bar. We don't want any commotion." Marco said. After all, their faces are well-known in the streets. They want to just visit Bay and see how she is doing.
Izou nodded at him before sending a quick text message to Bay that they will be dropping by.
It didn't take long before they arrived at the bar. Just looking outside, they know that it's jam-packed with regulars.
Thatch parked the car before the three of them made their way at the side entrance of the bar that's only for VIPs and employees. Bay is there, waiting for them.
"Is it always like this?" Thatch points at the bar, who is livelier than they expected. The last time they came here, it was not like this. There are no available seats and tables for all of the customers who want to go inside. Some of them are standing in the corner.
"No. It's only on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Mostly on Fridays since that's when people want to get wasted." Bay guided them to a private room, away from the prying eyes of the customers.
"Why only on those days?" Thatch inquired.
"Because of Ann."
"Ann, yoi?" Marco raises an eyebrow, curiosity evident in his eyes.
"Yes. She's our new star singer who works here part-time. She only works on those days for a few hours."
"She must be popular to get this many audiences." Izou commented. "I hope these customers are aware we're not selling prostitutes."
"Don't worry. They all know and the bouncers are very keen on protecting the staff, besides I don't think she's into that kind of work." Bay answered. "Would you like anything to drink?"
"Whiskey, yoi. Thank you."
"Sex on the beach." Izou answered.
"Just a bottle of beer for me."
"Got it. I'll bring it in a moment." It didn't take Bay a long time to bring their drinks for them. Just as soon as she arrives, the cheers of the crowd echoed loudly in the bar, signaling the start of the show everyone's waiting for. "It's time."
The three Commanders of the Whitebeard Mafia Group all looked at the stage from the one-way mirror of the private room. A tall brunette woman walks on stage, wearing denim shorts, black knee-high boots paired with a white sleeveless crop-top, exposing her curves and abs. She's fairly tall, about 5'8 or 5'9.
She looks at the crowd, smiling at them. She holds the mic, greeting everyone with such a sweet voice that made Marco stare at her even more.
She started to sing 'Wolves' and her voice just penetrates deep into the souls of those who can hear it, including Marco.
He sips on his drink, eyes still on her as she dances to the rhythm of the song, swaying her hips even while singing. Marco looks like he's in a trance while looking at her.
He is too distracted by her that he failed to notice the looks of looks his family members are giving him.
"Someone's bewildered." Thatch whistled, making Marco snap out of his dazed state. He looks at Thatch who's looking smug, smirking at the blonde-haired man.
"This is the first time I've seen you look at someone like that." Izou added.
"What are you talking about, yoi?" He feigns ignorance, forcing himself not to look at the woman again.
They only answered him with a smirk, telling him they're not buying anything he says. Maybe he's too obvious. Damn it.
Who can blame him? The woman looks mesmerizing, like an angel that descended from heaven. Marco has seen a lot of beautiful women in his life. None of them is as beautiful as she is. He can't explain it, but there's something in the woman that makes him drawn to her, makes him curious.
"Bay. Could you do us a favor and tell us more about your star singer?" Izou asks, side-glancing at Marco who rolled his eyes at her.
"She started working here for months now. She came here looking for a part-time job because she needs money."
"If it's money, she can take Marco as her sugar daddy." That earned a deadly glare from Marco but the red-haired man jus snickered.
"I don't think she's into that either. She even refuses my offer to lend her a car. Instead, she uses her old bicycle when coming to work." Bay explains. This just makes Marco even more curious about her.
"Do you think you can introduce Marco to her?" Izou's idea just made Marco groan. He knows what they're getting into. "What? It's been a long time since you went out on a date."
"Yes, and it only ended being disastrous." Marco answers. He dated a few women before, but none lasted long, not in his kind of work. He knows the risks when it comes to dating. The risks of spies.
It happened a few times to him, but he caught all of them before he got emotionally attached. Still, it leaves a bad taste knowing that they got close to him to get information about their group.
"I can. If you'd like, Marco. She's single as far as I know and even though many men asked her out only to get refusal as an answer. Maybe you will not be like them." Bay encourages.
"No, thanks, yoi."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Besides, she's far too young, yoi." This is just a curiosity and nothing more.
"She's turning 26 this year, from what I can remember. Not too out of your league." Bay pushes. Marco still thinks she's too young for him. They have a solid 11-year gap even though he looks younger than his age.
"No. Just leave it at that. Anyway, we just dropped by to see how things are going, yoi. Just keep a lookout for any new faces that maybe snooping around."
"I know. With the recent incident, we're keeping our eyes open." The atmosphere turned heavier at the mention of the bombing incident in their warehouse.
"Anything you'd like to share with us?" Izou inquired.
"No, nothing worth mentioning. Although we heard Kurohige's men are out and about in the area but we heard nothing in the streets." Bay answered.
"Good. Just let us know if you chance upon anyone suspicious. If you can also get more information about Firefist, that would be great, yoi. Right now, he's one of the suspects."
"What makes you say that?"
"He targeted Big Mom before and they never managed to get hold of him. He slipped past their clutches so easily after what he did, yoi."
"Doesn't he leave his marks?"
"Yes, he does. We're not sure if he's the one behind the incident, but if we can get one suspect out of the list, that's the best scenario for us to narrow down who attacked our territory." Izou explained. All of them are aware that Firefist always leaves black cloth with his insignia. A fist surrounded by fire.
That's the only indication that he's the one who did the job.
They never found any traces of such cloth during their investigation but they can't just cross his name out of their list when they know that he could be the one behind it.
"Include Straw Hats too, if you can find more information about them, yoi."
"I will let you know once I've come across that information."
"I guess we should leave now, yoi."
"Eh? So soon? Ann's not done performing! It's not every day that you get to see someone who can make you react like that." Thatch is back to his annoying self.
"We got what we came for, yoi. There's no use in staying longer."
"Don't be so stiff, Marco. Live a little, will you?" The beautiful Commander of the 16th Division of the Whitebeard Mafia group sips on her drink while she waves her hand, signaling Marco to sit again.
"She's popular and I can understand why. Look at her!" Thatch points to the woman on stage, singing another song to entertain the customers.
Their cheers and whistles never stopped, they cheered for her name as loud as they can, eyeing her sexual desires that don't sit well with Marco. He tries to distract himself but her voice just makes it hard to do so.
This is like me. He thought to himself as he finishes his drink.
After 3 songs, Ann bid her farewell and told them she will be back after taking a break.
"I can take you to the staff room to meet her if you want."
"No, Bay. We're leaving anyway, yoi." He insists and got out of the private room followed by a whining Thatch and Izou.
They got out of the area with Marco still trying to ignore the endless teasing coming from the two people he treats as his siblings.
Still, he left while still thinking about the woman on stage. Something in him awakened after seeing her, made him curious.
It is nothing, he thinks. Maybe he's wrong.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
AN: Here's the chapter you've been waiting for! It's really a slow burn fic so please bear with me.
Also, gonna change my username in Fanfiction to KhristinaMargarrette so it will match my AO3 one. :)
If you wanna be friends on Twitter, you can add me /K_Margarrette This is my One Piece dedicated account that I recently created.