Smoker had noticed lately that he kept receiving calls from all sorts of people—some from Fleet Admiral Sengoku, others from Admiral "Aokiji" Kuzan, and now, unbelievably, from CP9.
That was strange indeed. CP9 had always been a completely separate entity from the Marines, answering only to the World Government. For them to contact him proactively was something that left him puzzled.
But after just three minutes of conversation, he quickly swung his legs down from the table, abandoning his usual relaxed posture for a more serious, grave one.
Hanging up the Den Den Mushi, two cigars still clamped between his teeth, his eyes gleamed sharply.
The Davy Jones crew was here, in Water 7?
After vanishing for so long, they had finally resurfaced!
Damn it—of all times, Tashigi and Hina were nowhere to be found. They were probably wandering somewhere in Water 7, enjoying themselves.
Smoker didn't rush into action immediately. Instead, he dialed another number on the Den Den Mushi.
The line connected, and the first thing he heard was a long, drawn-out yawn that nearly infected him with drowsiness as well.
Suppressing his fatigue, Smoker asked,
"Is this Admiral Aokiji? It's me, 'Smoker' Smoker."
"Oh, Smoker, huh." A creak echoed on the other side, as though Kuzan had just leaned back into a swivel chair. Other indistinct voices could also be heard in the background.
"I've got intel here in Water 7. The David Jones crew is in the city."
"Hm? They're in Water 7? Who gave you this intel, and how reliable is it?"
"It should be accurate. The source was CP9—one of their intelligence agents."
Sitting there in his chair, Kuzan gave a wry smile as he glanced at the man standing beside him, watching the man's expression shift from shock, to anger, to embarrassment.
"CP9, huh. Somehow I can't say I'm surprised." Kuzan chuckled. "I'm on Enies Lobby right now, and standing right next to me is CP9's chief, Spandam."
"Well, what a coincidence."
Spandam's long purple hair was in disarray, his previously injured face strapped with a leather brace, a longsword dangling at his waist. He was bowing and scraping obsequiously toward Kuzan while cursing Rob Lucci furiously in his heart.
That bastard Lucci… once again overstepping his authority!
Utterly disregarding me, his commanding officer!
But then again, every CP9 agent had some twisted personality. Not a single one of them was easy to tame, which gave Spandam endless headaches.
Even after he had given two of them Devil Fruits, he still couldn't bring Kaku and Kalifa under his heel.
Kuzan rubbed at the eyepatch hanging over his forehead.
"Smoker, since you've given me intel on Davy Jones, I'll return the favor with a piece of information of my own."
"…What information?"
"Nico Robin is in Water 7 as well."
"Nico Robin? She's here too?"
Kuzan had come to Enies Lobby specifically to pass this information along to Spandam.
The reason was simple: Spandam's father had been one of the masterminds behind the destruction of Robin's homeland, Ohara. Kuzan himself had also been part of that Buster Call.
Although he had once let Robin escape, that didn't mean he stood on her side. On the contrary—he intended to decide, in his own way, whether the "Demon Child" deserved to live or die.
"Smoker, hold steady for now," Kuzan said. "I'll be heading to Water 7 with the remaining CP9 agents stationed here at Enies Lobby. We'll be there within a few hours."
"You mean to wipe out the Davy Jones crew and capture Nico Robin?"
"…That's one way to put it."
Kuzan held little affection for the Davy Jones pirates. Vice Admiral Garp was practically his teacher, and hearing that this crew had slipped through Garp's fingers, humiliating him, stirred no small anger within him.
Sengoku had given him a choice: either make Davy Jones submit, or erase them entirely. In his heart, Kuzan had no hesitation—he leaned toward erasure.
Now the opportunity for two birds with one stone had come.
Robin… if fate truly spares you, then you'll escape our grasp yet again.
Let me see for myself: between the "justice of the Marines," the "evil of pirates," and the "subversion of revolutionaries"—which force truly belongs to the future of this world?
"Whew…"
Chopper wiped the sweat from the fur on his forehead and lifted his hooves from Luffy's body. Turning around, he found everyone watching with worried eyes.
"Don't worry. Luffy's going to be fine."
"Really?"
"That's great!"
Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. Nami and Usopp even collapsed to the floor, their legs trembling from fear that Luffy might have died at Davy Jones' hands.
"Right!" Nami suddenly clapped her hands and pointed toward Zoro and Sanji. "Chopper, check on those two as well!"
"Nami-swaaaan, you really do care about me!" Sanji's eyes filled with hearts, before he quickly added, "But let Chopper check moss-head first. I'm fine—my right leg's already been reattached."
It was bizarre. That man in the spotted cap had only flicked his fingers, and Sanji's leg had returned perfectly intact.
It must have been another strange Devil Fruit ability.
But Zoro's injury was different. His left arm, drained to near bone by Crocodile's powers, could barely grip a sword anymore.
"Alright, let me see." Chopper scurried over to Zoro's side.
Zoro didn't put up any prideful resistance and offered his arm.
After examining for a while, Chopper frowned.
"It'll take some time to recover. Zoro, you'll have to go easy with the swords for now."
Zoro nodded, though it was unclear if he really listened. His gaze drifted around the room before finally locking onto Robin.
"Robin. What exactly did you say to Davy Jones?"
"Oi, moss-head!" Sanji snapped, annoyed. "What kind of tone is that? Suspecting Robin-chan? She must have done it for our sake—otherwise, we wouldn't even be alive right now!"
"It's fine," Robin said, pale-faced, waving her hand weakly. "There are some things that should be clarified. I made a deal with Davy Jones. I told him certain things I shouldn't have told him… and that's all."
"…And how exactly am I supposed to take that?" Zoro frowned.
Robin fell silent.
"…I think I can guess."
Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice drifted in from outside the room.
Everyone was stunned. Someone had slipped onto the Going Merry without them noticing.
Could it be that Davy Jones and his crew had come after them again?
Even Robin thought so, her face draining of blood. She hadn't expected her judgment of Davy Jones to be wrong.
But the figures at the doorway weren't any of Davy Jones' men. Instead, it was a man with a peculiar goatee, a pigeon perched on his shoulder.
Beside him stood a man in a cap with a square-shaped nose, a bespectacled woman in black stockings dressed like a secretary, and a tall man styled like a bartender with hair jutting like bull's horns.
They were Rob Lucci, Kaku, Kalifa, and Blueno of CP9.
The Straw Hats immediately tensed.
Even Sanji, though usually bewitched by beautiful women, showed no sign of leniency toward Kalifa given the circumstances.
Zoro gripped his sword with his right arm, his withered left hanging uselessly. He narrowed his eyes, realizing that both Santoryu and Nitoryu were out of the question.
He'd have to rely on his weakest—one-sword style.
"You're the Straw Hats, right?" Lucci's gaze swept across them before resting on the half-dead Luffy on the bed. With cold disdain, he said,
"I see… I suggest you keep quiet. This will be over quickly."
"Over quickly?" Sanji let out a bitter laugh, as though he'd just heard a bad joke.
"This is Water 7. We've lived here for many years. If possible, we'd rather not disturb the order of our city just because of you."
The pigeon on Lucci's shoulder flapped and gestured animatedly in sync with his words.
"Your way of speaking—it's neither pirate, nor Marine," Zoro judged. "But one thing's certain. You're the enemy. And that's all that matters."
Lucci pressed his fingers to his brow as though weary, then turned to Kalifa and Blueno.
"Capture Nico Robin alive. Eliminate the rest. Leave no witnesses."
"Understood," Kaku, Kalifa, and Blueno replied in unison, trained and precise.
It was only then that Robin realized—they were here specifically for her. Her chest rose and fell as she grasped the truth.
They were agents of the World Government, sent to capture her—just like the countless assassins that had haunted her past!
So it was true. A woman like her, the moment she dared to step into the light of day, would immediately be hunted down for eradication.
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