<h4>Chapter 162: Chapter 162: I Am Also an Actor!</h4>


    Hearing this, udius raised an eyebrow and asked curiously, "Li? By the way, where''s the kid? Isn''t he always with you? Why don''t I see him around?"


    For the past few years, Li had been under Spandine''s care. Spandine knew how important Li was to Saint udius, so he didn''t dare mistreat him. asionally, he even let Li go on missions to train him as a potential sessor.


    Originally, Spandine had intended to groom his own son, Spandam, as his sessor. But Spandam was, frankly, hopeless. If they were still in CP-9, it wouldn''t have mattered as much, Spandine was the top figure there and could manipte things however he wanted.


    But now, under Saint udius, his position was significantly higher, and his influence much greater. Former colleagues in the CP organization, who once stood on equal footing with him, now bowed their heads and called him "sir" at every turn. Spandine relished this newfound status.


    The key to his sess was that Saint udius trusted him immensely and gave him plenty of autonomy. udius left the handling of most small- and medium-sized matters within CP-X to Spandine, who so far had not disappointed him.


    In terms of actualpetence, Spandine was a bit mediocre, but his political instincts were exceptional.


    The more time Spandine spent under Saint udius, the clearer one thing became: loyalty and utility were all that mattered.


    udius appreciated capable subordinates, but what he valued most was loyalty. Spandine hade to realize that, at this point, he cared less about the World Government''s interests and more about what benefited Saint udius.


    Spandine also understood that if he pushed his ipetent son into his position and Spandam ended up making some catastrophic blunder that angered udius, there would be hell to pay. He couldn''t risk it.


    So, Spandine stopped entertaining the idea. He had tested his son thoroughly, only to conclude that Spandam was utterly useless.


    Spandam had only two "strengths": he was blindly loyal to udius, thanks to Spandine''s influence, and he excelled at ttery.


    Spandine, ever resourceful, decided to lean into these "strengths." If his son couldn''t excel in other areas, he could at least be an errand-runningckey for Saint udius. With udius''s magnanimous character, he would ensure that even a loyal dog like Spandam would live afortable life.


    As long as their family maintained udius''s favor, their future seemed secure. And who knew? Maybe a morepetent heir would emerge in the next generation.


    Setting those thoughts aside, Spandine quickly responded to udius''s question. "Your Highness, Li is currently locked up in Mariejois''s prison..."


    udius was momentarily surprised. "What? Mariejois? Who in Mariejois dares to imprison one of my men?"


    "What happened? Exin clearly," udius demanded, his brow furrowing.


    Spandine quicklyunched into an exnation. "Your Highness, not long ago, in the first half of the Grand Line, a country was attacked and taken over by pirates."


    Hearing this, udius sighed. The Age of Pirates was rife with chaos. It wasn''t unheard of for a group of powerful pirates to overthrow a nation''s capital.


    "The higher-ups assigned CP-X to handle the situation, so I sent Li," Spandine continued, carefully recounting the events without beating around the bush. Soon enough, udius grasped the full context.


    "So that''s what happened? And this is considered a big deal?" udius said with a wry smile.


    To summarize, a group of pirates had captured the capital of a nation. The king had fled early on, leaving behind many hostages, including a young prince who had failed to escape.


    This prince, to his credit, had concealed his identity and blended in with the other hostages.


    When the king learned that his son was among the captured, he panicked. Lacking the resources to pay the pirates'' ransom, he turned to the World Government for help.


    As a member of the World Government''s allied nations, the situation couldn''t be ignored. The task of resolving the matter fell to CP-X, and udius, busy with other affairs, left it to Spandine to handle.


    Spandine, in turn, delegated the mission to Li.


    Li, however, had a temper and a sense of pride. As a member of CP-X and a subordinate of Saint udius, a Celestial Dragon, he had no intention of bowing to pirates or negotiating with them.


    Instead, heunched a direct assault, killing all the pirates along with the hostages they had taken, including the unfortunate prince.


    When news reached the old king, hepletely lost it. His son had died, and more than 500 hostages were ughtered in the process. He used Li of reckless ughter and demanded justice from the World Government.


    As a result, Li was arrested and imprisoned in Mariejois. Spandine, meanwhile, was reprimanded. Since udius had been upied with matters on Fish-Man Ind, he was unaware of the situation until now.


    "It''s no big deal," udius said casually. "It''s just a minor issue. They can put on a show, act like they''re punishing someone, but in the end, it''ll all blow over."


    "But, Your Highness," Spandine interjected nervously, "the atmosphere in Mariejois hasn''t been greattely. After the noise you made there earlier, it seems the Five Elders are looking for an excuse to punish CP-X. Now with this incident, I''m worried it might cause trouble for you."


    udius immediately saw through Spandine''s words. The man was trying to y the victim, hoping to shift the me while seeking reassurance.


    udius smirked, kicking Spandine lightly. "You think I don''t see through your little act? Cut it out. As long as you don''t disappoint me, I won''t treat you badly."


    Hearing this, Spandine rxed. Smiling ingratiatingly, he got up and asked, "Your Highness, how should we handle this? There''s also the matter of the 500 million Berries fine. What should we do about that?"


    "Ah, that''s just a face-saving move," udius replied dismissively. "The Five Elders need something to show for it after all the ruckus I caused in Mariejois. Five hundred million? That''s nothing. I could pull two billion out of thin air if I wanted to. Just go ahead and pay it. Once that''s done, the matter will be over.


    "As for Li, it''s no big deal. When this is all settled, bring him out to see me," udius instructed.


    Spandine let out a sigh of relief. While he didn''t know the full details of the situation, udius''s confident tone assured him that there was no real danger.


    "Understood, Your Highness. Your wisdom never fails. I was overthinking things," Spandine said, quickly following up with ttery.


    ***


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