Pain dealt with Blueno, extracting Blueno's Door-Door Fruit into a milky white Devil Fruit. The fruit resembled a banana but was about three times larger than a normal banana.
As Pain prepared to return to the ship, he suddenly frowned. His senses detected eight identical ships on the sea. Judging by their flags, they were Marine vessels, and they were in a formation, surrounding his ship.
This gave Pain a rough idea of the identity of the person he had just killed. Pain was about to return to the ship to deal with these Marines when his thought wave fluctuated. Pain connected to it, and Reno's Illusion Body appeared beside him.
"Pain, a giant ship capable of floating in the air has been discovered on the East Coast. According to Senior Oden, it's a pirate ship made by a man named Golden Lion, who used the Float-Float Fruit's ability to make an island float."
"I think this pirate ship can meet our current needs for a vessel. Aren't you looking for a suitable corpse?"
"This Float-Float Fruit ability is a good choice. I've already had Senior Oden board the ship to control the Captain," Reno's Illusion Body said, spewing information like a waterfall the moment he appeared.
Listening to Reno's Illusion Body's report, Pain dismissed his original plan to return to the ship and gave an order to Reno's Illusion Body.
"Not far from our ship, there are eight large armed vessels... Judging by their flags, they should be the Marine flags you described... They have already surrounded our ship... You are to return to the ship immediately... If they open fire, you will deal with them..."
"I'll go see the ship you mentioned..."
Reno's Illusion Body acknowledged the command and dissipated. Pain, along with Preta Path, sped towards the East Coast.
Alabasta. Marine Auxiliary Defense Department.
Kaku and Kalifa were both in the office, waiting for their subordinates' report on Blueno's combat situation. This wait lasted for nearly twenty minutes. Just as Kaku was losing patience, the Den Den Mushi on Kalifa's desk rang, gulu gulu... gulu gulu... Kalifa answered the Den Den Mushi, and the terrified voice of Katz, the Captain of the Marine Auxiliary Defense Team, came through.
"Rep... Report, Senior..."
"Off... Officer Blueno was killed by two people in strange attire!... One of them had an ability similar to Cro... Crocodile..."
Katz stammered, reporting the situation in fear.
Kaku's face was filled with Killing Intent upon hearing the news, his fists clenched. Kalifa, however, was terrifyingly calm, directly commanding, "Send back the enemy personnel's appearance and attire." Kalifa hung up the Den Den Mushi immediately after speaking.
"Kalifa!... You are fully responsible for Blueno's death!" Kaku said coldly.
"I know... It was my arrangement that cost Blueno his life... Afterward, I will report to headquarters and request punishment..."
"But now is not the time to assign blame," Kalifa said calmly.
"What do you plan to do now?... The enemy's strength is still a mystery... Blueno also didn't send back any useful information... Based on the current situation, this organization at least has the strength to prevent even Blueno from escaping..."
"We are also short-handed... Do you still plan to report it later!?... Shouldn't we report immediately and request assistance from headquarters!?"
Kaku's voice grew louder with each word, his suppressed anger erupting. Kalifa understood Kaku's feelings but did not directly answer his question, instead falling into deep thought and indecision.
Kalifa was now in a difficult position. CP0 had just been established, and Lucci's first assigned mission was given to Kalifa and her two companions, with Kalifa appointed as the team leader, showing his recognition and trust in Kalifa's abilities.
But the current situation was that Blueno had died under Kalifa's command shortly after they started the mission, and no useful intelligence had been exchanged. Reporting this situation to headquarters would not only result in punishment for Kalifa herself but also provide an opportunity for certain high-ranking Marines to make trouble. This would make Lucci very embarrassed, which Kalifa did not want to see.
And now, if they didn't report and request assistance, Kalifa wasn't sure if she and Kaku could complete the mission, as casualties had already occurred, and Blueno's death couldn't be kept secret for long. Thinking of this, Kalifa dared not act unilaterally. She explained her concerns to Kaku, stating that she wasn't afraid of punishment, but of the significant impact on the organization, and sought Kaku's opinion on what to do next.
After hearing Kalifa's explanation, Kaku's anger subsided slightly, but he was also in a difficult position to decide. This matter seemed to be Kalifa's responsibility, but honestly, if Kaku himself were the team leader, he wouldn't know how to handle the subsequent problems.
If there were no casualties, even requesting assistance wouldn't affect the overall situation. Now that an accident had occurred, resulting in Blueno's sacrifice, the meaning of requesting assistance was completely different.
That would be telling the Marine Headquarters high command that CP0 was useless, failing its first mission and suffering personnel losses, which would disgrace the World Government. Seeing Kaku also in a dilemma, Kalifa had a flash of inspiration, thinking of a major discovery.
"Kaku!... Blueno's death wasn't without any news... Katz's report mentioned Crocodile... One of them was similar..."
"If Crocodile isn't dead... then that means the previous intelligence was wrong... Crocodile wasn't killed, but defected!..."
"Such intelligence caused our personnel casualties... The intelligence itself... No, the source of the intelligence has a big problem... We can directly report that the intelligence error caused these casualties, push the responsibility to the person who provided the intelligence, and then immediately raid the enemy ship to capture them directly, preventing their escape."
"The advantage of doing this is that Sakazuki will take the blame for us, withstand the pressure from the higher-ups, and we will also have enough time to complete the mission again."
After hearing Kalifa's analysis and plan, Kaku had to admit that Kalifa's ability to become a team leader with a combat power lower than his own indeed showed her extraordinary qualities.
The current messy situation gave Kaku a huge headache, yet Kalifa had found a solution, albeit a bit clever. But for the present, it was also the best solution. The two discussed some details of Kalifa's plan and prepared to arrange a surprise attack for the evening. This time, they would not separate; both planned to act together.
The Den Den Mushi rang again. Kalifa answered, and Katz's voice came through.
"Report, Senior..."
"Images of the two enemy personnel have been transmitted via photo print Den Den Mushi. Please check!"
"Understood..."
"Your fleet is to immediately withdraw from the enemy's sight... Dispatch submarines to closely monitor the movements of the enemy's ship..."
Kalifa calmly arranged the next steps after hearing the report. In the corner of the office, a bug-shaped device much larger than a Den Den Mushi opened its mouth and spat out two photos.
The photos showed Preta Path and Pain, who was observing the battle from the side. The Marines had used a camera Den Den Mushi to take candid shots when they approached for observation as ordered. Kalifa picked up the photos and examined the people in them. One of them, without surprise, had the image of Crocodile, but with different eyes, clothing, and slight facial differences.
The other person, appearing to be in his twenties, wore the same clothes as Crocodile—a black robe with red clouds that covered his slender figure. His handsome face, combined with a stern demeanor, inspired awe and also made women's hearts flutter. His unusual eyes made one feel as if they would be drawn in after just two glances.
"Wait... unusual eyes!?..."
Kalifa examined closely and found that Crocodile's eyes and the handsome enemy's eyes were identical. This discovery made Kalifa instinctively feel that it was a major finding, surely hiding some unknown secret. Kalifa handed the photos to Kaku and walked out of the room.
Alabasta. Somewhere on the East Coast.
By the time Pain arrived, it was already dark, but the Rinnegan was unaffected by darkness; he could see as clearly as in daylight. Looking up at the massive object floating and moving above him, he couldn't help but marvel at the wonders of this world.
Pain gathered Chakra at his feet and leaped, his body bouncing high as if weightless, soaring towards the floating ship...