Stussy suddenly recalled a past event she couldn't bear to look back on.
Even she, the spy queen with an iron will, had nearly reached the brink of mental collapse back then.
However, the Okama King's male and female hormones only changed the body's appearance to be more masculine or feminine; they couldn't truly change one's sex in the biological sense.
Even the Okama King Ivankov himself wouldn't grow new organs every time he changed gender.
Because of this, Stussy had been able to maintain her final shred of sanity back then, avoiding a complete mental breakdown.
Seeing Croco-Delle now, Stussy still felt a chill.
But unconsciously, a faint trace of sympathy appeared in her eyes.
This was an empathy that only those who had personally experienced similar things could have.
Croco-Delle looked back at Stussy, her brow furrowing instantly as she took a sharp drag of her cigar.
She sensitively detected the sympathy in the other's eyes, which made Croco-Delle's face turn cold instantly, while her heart jolted violently.
Croco-Delle was also intelligent, her mind working quickly, and a thought soon surfaced.
"She's... sympathizing with me?"
"Has my identity already been discovered by this woman?"
Croco-Delle's breathing quickened slightly, her high chest heaving once.
For her, a great pirate long famous under a male identity, this was one of the most unacceptable things.
The appearance of the previous Crocodile and the female Croco-Delle were actually quite different.
Being recognized so easily by Stussy at a glance was something Croco-Delle hadn't expected.
At this moment, countless complicated thoughts raced through her mind.
There was nervousness, unease, surprise, shame, but finally, a surge of anger rushed to her head.
She held the cigar between her lips and looked at Stussy with a cold smile.
"Stop looking at me like that, woman."
For Croco-Delle, she could be defeated, verbally attacked by Sig in various ways.
But being pitied by another woman was the thing she found most intolerable.
Facing Croco-Delle's harsh attitude, Stussy remained unmoved, her deep blue eyes still fixed on her.
After a long moment, she sighed softly, her heart unconsciously softening a bit.
Seeing the current Croco-Delle, she seemed to see her past self.
The same powerless rage.
Back then, Stussy had even received orders from her CP0 superiors to continue lurking beside Sig, completely isolated and helpless.
This soft sigh, however, made Croco-Delle react like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, her face darkening several shades more.
"She's still pitying me?"
Croco-Delle's gaze turned icy, and she was about to lash out when she saw Stussy lean close to her ear and whisper said softly:
"Actually, like you, I'm not completely on the same side as Sig."
As soon as these words came out, Croco-Delle, whose expression had been extremely dark and was about to erupt, suddenly froze.
She looked at the beautiful woman in front of her, an unbelievable thought flashing through her mind!
"She's the same as me?"
"Is this implying that she received the same treatment from Sig as I did?"
Croco-Delle furrowed her delicate brows, carefully examining Stussy, cold sweat unconsciously appearing on her forehead.
"Meaning... this woman is actually a man?!!!"
Croco-Delle took a sharp drag of her cigar, finding it hard to believe her eyes.
For a moment, she even suspected she was overthinking, misunderstanding the meaning.
But then, she saw Stussy nod slightly, seemingly confirming her guess.
Croco-Delle felt as if struck by lightning. She took another fierce drag of her cigar, exhaled a smoke ring, trying to calm the turmoil in her heart.
But the shock in her heart surged like turbulent waves, completely uncontrollable.
"Sig, this person, is actually depraved to such an extent!"
"Turns out I wasn't even the first victim!"
Beads of sweat appeared on Croco-Delle's forehead, and she subconsciously took half a step back, away from Stussy.
She instinctively didn't want to get close to this "person who looks like a woman but is actually a man" figure, Stussy.
"Stop joking, I'm not the same kind as you."
Croco-Delle made no effort to hide the faint disgust in her eyes.
On the surface, both she and Stussy were women.
But Croco-Delle had guessed Stussy's "truth": Stussy was essentially still a man.
This made Croco-Delle, who was genuinely a woman, completely unable to feel even a shred of closeness.
And this undisguised harsh attitude, in Stussy's eyes, only deepened the sympathy in the depths of her gaze.
"Still stuck at this stage, I see? Resisting her new identity..."
Stussy's expression became serious as she said earnestly:
"If you don't want others on the ship to discover your true identity, hurry up and follow me."
Stussy's gaze fell on the clothes Croco-Delle was wearing.
Although Croco-Delle had tragically undergone feminization and her body size had shrunk, she was still wearing the luxurious, high-end, boss-like coat from her male form.
After speaking, Stussy stopped talking to her and turned towards her room.
"This hateful woman... no, this man who looks like a woman."
Croco-Delle's face was gloomy, but after pondering for a moment, she could only follow behind Stussy, gradually walking away.
Stussy had already grasped her weakness.
No matter what, she didn't want her true gender exposed to others.
Just as the two walked away, one after the other.
At the corner of the corridor, Kuro, who had just finished his shift, walked over with a much more relaxed expression.
"Boss Sig actually let me off early today... Has he finally found his conscience?"
Kuro let out a long sigh and walked forward with slightly unsteady steps.
But at this moment, he saw the figure ahead.
A golden hook, a luxurious coat radiating a boss-like aura, but that face was clearly... a woman's?
Kuro subconsciously stopped, his face full of confusion.
Previously, he had been taken by Sig to meet Crocodile and had a deep impression of this ruthless great pirate.
In Kuro's view, the Sand Crocodile was completely the same kind of person as him. Kuro even felt a bit of admiration for the Sand Crocodile and had a strong impression.
"No, I definitely wouldn't mistake..."
Kuro stood there dumbfounded, staring at the distant figure...
Croco-Delle had already turned the corner, disappearing from Kuro's sight.
But Kuro, unknowingly, was drenched in sweat.
A pair of hands gently patted Kuro's shoulder.
"Her name is Croco-Delle, she's new on the ship. Remember not to call her by the wrong name."
Turning around, Sig appeared behind Kuro, a strange smile on his face.