In Reynold's eyes, although there were only two Marines leading the charge, Reynold could feel that he was no match for either of them.
Reynold observed one of the men, who wore a black baseball cap, with a long nose that was level with the brim of his cap. A black casual outfit highlighted Kaku's slender figure and unusually tall stature.
Then he looked at the other woman: her long golden hair was tied back, and gold-rimmed glasses rested on her high nose bridge. Her beautiful face, paired with a well-fitting professional women's suit, made her appear even more exceptionally elegant. Kalifa stood with one hand on her hip, the other adjusting her glasses, allowing the other party to size her up while she did the same.
In Kalifa's view, the person opposite was someone from their intelligence, with a photo but no information related to his abilities. Seeing that the clothes he wore were the same as those in the photo of the two people, she could be absolutely certain that this was a member of their target organization. Neither Kaku nor Kalifa made another move. Kalifa asked Reynold, "Did you kill Blueno?..."
Kalifa had still not seen Blueno's corpse. The Marines sent to search the place where Blueno and his group had previously fought also found no trace of Blueno's body, which made her hold onto a sliver of hope that Blueno was still alive.
"Who is Blueno?... I've killed many people. Blueno might be one of them... But who knows?... I don't know their names..."
Reynold deliberately spoke in a rambling manner, considering the return time of Pain and his group, and was willing to talk to them to stall for time, waiting for Pain and his group to return.
"Regardless of whether you killed Blueno or not... it has been confirmed beyond doubt that you are a member of that organization... Since that's the case... do not attempt to resist... otherwise, we will directly eliminate any resistors..." Kalifa coldly issued the ultimatum.
"I say... which department of the World Government are you from anyway?... You show up and immediately start shouting about killing us... We don't seem to have provoked your World Government, have we?" Reynold, fully aware of the situation, tried to use questions to stall for time. If Reynold wanted to escape, there would be no problem at all, but once he fled, the ship would definitely be lost. The ship was a minor matter; the Materials loaded on the ship were the major concern.
He didn't know where the World Government would take them. By then, even if Pain and his group returned, it would be too late. Although Reynold couldn't defeat them, he was confident that the opponents couldn't keep him. Since that was the case, he would stall for as long as possible.
"Kalifa... he seems to be stalling for time, waiting for reinforcements... It looks like his other companions aren't here... Let's finish this quickly... Arrest him early and then wait for his other companions to walk into our trap..."
Kaku saw through Reynold's intention at a glance and said to Kalifa. Kalifa certainly knew that the opponent was trying to stall for time. Moreover, since Kaku had already suggested taking down this person first, then they would do so. As for intelligence, they could interrogate him after he was captured. Thinking this, Kalifa no longer bothered to answer Reynold's question. She nodded slightly to Kaku, signaling to act directly.
It was Kaku who made the move. The word "Soru" had barely left his lips when he appeared in front of Reynold. "Finger Pistol: Pierce!..." The attack came very quickly, instantly striking Reynold's abdomen. Kaku appeared before Reynold even faster than Blueno using "Soru." This move also caught Reynold quite by surprise. Reynold, who had originally thought the opponent wouldn't directly attack, was hit directly.
Reynold's abdomen bled as if it had been pierced by an armor-piercing bullet, and his body flew backward uncontrollably. A scream escaped Reynold's mouth, and he spat blood in mid-air. Before his body even landed, Kaku's attack struck again, "Tempest Kick: Disorder!..." Kaku attempted to severely wound the enemy with Tempest Kick, making the enemy lose their fighting ability before capturing them. Unfortunately, this attack missed. Reynold reacted just in time as Kaku's "Tempest Kick" was about to hit him, and his body vanished.
Yes, this time he disappeared and did not reappear. Kaku scanned his surroundings, confirmed he didn't see the enemy, and turned back to Kalifa's side.
As Kaku's second attack was about to land, Reynold, still injured, used Flash to escape, appearing outside the Marine encirclement. Reynold knew the disparity was too great; if he didn't leave now, he might not be able to. The abdomen, injured due to a momentary lapse of attention, throbbed with Pain, and blood flowed freely.
Reynold endured the Pain and concentrated his Mental Energy to perform the "Projecting Image Technique." It took several attempts before he succeeded. The Pain made it difficult for Reynold to concentrate his Mental Energy, but he finally managed to force himself to focus and successfully cast the technique, though it made his Illusion Body unstable.
Pain's thought wave fluctuated during his journey. He stopped his pace, and the thought wave connected, revealing Reynold's unstable Illusion Body.
"Pain... the Marines... the Marines ambushed our ship... I tried to stall for time but... but I couldn't hold them off... Both of them are very strong..."
"You... you guys hurry back... Don't let the Marines take the ship... Ugh..." Reynold's Illusion Body flickered in and out of existence. He endured the Pain and spoke intermittently until, before Pain could reply, the Illusion Body dissipated. Reynold, having used his remaining Mental Energy to inform Pain, fainted under the dual pressure of his injuries and Mental Energy exhaustion.
Pain looked at Reynold's dissipating Illusion Body, knowing that its instability must have been due to injury. He turned to Oden and said, "Let's speed up... Reynold must be injured..." After speaking, he and Oden accelerated their return.
"Kalifa... the enemy escaped and isn't around. What do we do next?..." Kaku asked Kalifa. Kaku had not expected his casual strike to hit the opponent. In Kaku's view, the opponent shouldn't have been so weak.
He also hadn't expected the opponent's ability to manifest in escaping.
"Quickly take control of their ship... Their people are definitely on their way back... We can just wait for them to return and then arrest them..." Kalifa ordered the other Marines while answering Kaku's question. The two quickly headed towards Pain's ship. At this moment, Pain and Oden had already arrived near the coast, not far from the ship, and stopped.
The "Rain Tiger at Will Technique" was released: the number of warships on the sea was clear, the Marine movements were clear, and Reynold's unconscious location was clear. The ship had been controlled by the Marines but had not been sailed away. It seemed they were waiting for them to return. Since these Marines were confident enough to wait for them, Pain felt there was no need to rush back to the ship, at least they wouldn't leave until they had captured them.
"Oden... the Marines are already guarding our ship... You go lure them over... to prevent our battle from affecting the ship..." Pain ordered Oden.
"Pain... I can go lure them over... But once I show myself and fail to keep them... then the fact that I'm alive might be exposed to the World Government... Are you confident in facing the consequences of my exposure?..." Oden asked solemnly.
"Hmm... Yes... Go..." Pain replied confidently.
On Pain's ship, Kaku and his group looked at the drizzling rain falling from the full moon sky, without any surprise. Because they could already confirm that this should be the ability of one of the organization's members. The specific effect was unknown, but the falling rain meant that the people of this organization had returned.
Kalifa and Kaku exchanged glances, then wordlessly jumped off the ship together. A man suddenly appeared in the rain curtain, wearing the same clothes as the person who had fled earlier. The two carefully examined the man's face, feeling as if they had seen it in some intelligence report somewhere.
Kalifa and Kaku stared at Oden's face, illuminated by the Gekko, scrutinizing him. His peculiar hairstyle and a face that felt vaguely familiar made Kalifa and Kaku search their memories, but they couldn't recall who this person was, only recognizing a sense of familiarity. Oden, after appearing, said nothing. Realizing he had successfully attracted their attention, he turned and ran towards Pain's direction.
Oden hadn't expected these Marines to be CP0 personnel, but the fact that these two Marines didn't recognize him also made Oden feel a sense of confusion. In truth, what Oden didn't know was that various factions had long believed him to be dead, and much of his information had been classified as top secret. Now, only older generations would recognize him.
At most, these younger generations had seen his photos from twenty years ago and his appearance in sealed archives. However, the current Oden had undergone significant changes in both his appearance and attire. It was normal for the younger generation who had seen his photos not to recognize him immediately.
Kalifa and the other person saw that the newcomer fled without a word and no longer pondered who the opponent was. Without hesitation, they turned and pursued him...