Alabasta. West Coast.
Reno slowly woke up on the ship and asked Oden, who was sitting next to him, for the time. He found that he had been unconscious for a day. Looking at the bandages wrapped around his abdomen and Oden guarding him, Reno felt the warmth of being cared for the first time, a feeling he hadn't experienced in a long time.
"Thank you, Senior... I've caused you trouble..." Reno thanked him gratefully.
"It's nothing, nothing... just a small matter..."
"Heh, hahaha..." Oden, touching his strange hairstyle, chuckled, a rare display of embarrassment.
"It's good that you're awake... Pain is waiting for you to wake up so we can sail the ship to the East Coast... Is that a problem?..." Oden asked with some concern.
"No problem... We can leave now..." As he spoke, he tried to get up and walk out. The moment he stood up, he pulled his wound, causing Reno to grit his teeth in Pain, yet he still tried to persevere.
Oden, seeing Reno's struggle, quickly stopped him, "It's not that urgent... The Marine forces sent this time suffered heavy losses... They'll probably be quiet for a while... You can rest for a few days before we talk about it..."
Oden was actually trying to comfort Reno, but deep down, he was still anxious to leave, as his identity had already been exposed. Their easy handling of the situation before was due to the Marine's intelligence errors. If they were to wait here for the Marine to arrive again, it would definitely not be a situation they could easily handle.
After telling Reno to rest well, Oden got up and left the room. On the deck, Pain was gazing at the sea, lost in thought. After reporting Reno's condition to Pain, Oden also returned to his room to rest.
Pain was actually missing Konan. When Pain was sent by the Six Paths Sage, the Six Paths Sage had said that Konan would also be sent. It had been over a month since Pain arrived in this world, and he didn't know if there was a time difference between this world and that one, or when Konan would be sent.
Pain wasn't in a hurry to set sail now, largely because he was worried that if he went too far, Konan would be difficult to find once she arrived in this world. Pain Cultivated every day without fail, but there was still a significant gap before he reached the Kage-level Chakra amount. Pain knew that Cultivation couldn't be rushed and could only be done gradually.
Under the sea, the monitoring submarine had not withdrawn and continued to monitor Pain's ship.
World Government. Marineford.
Akainu looked at the order from the Gorosei in his hand and cursed inwardly, "These damned old foxes, they've kicked the ball back to me again!"
Akainu was a man of steel. Although he grumbled inwardly, an order was an order, and when an order came, Akainu would strictly execute it. But the thought of Oden, who possessed "Emperor"-level strength, made him frown slightly. The World Government first receiving the news that Kozuki Oden was still alive should have been a cause for celebration for the World Government, but it was also a headache.
Firstly, to prevent the news from leaking to other forces, the World Government could not make a big fuss or openly pursue Kozuki Oden.
Secondly, they couldn't use forces like the Shichibukai to pursue him, because once the two sides clashed, the news of Kozuki Oden being alive would definitely leak. After all, the Shichibukai were not completely loyal to the World Government; they were merely using each other.
Furthermore, if they only sent a covert organization like CP0, they feared they couldn't handle it. If they sent an Admiral, it would draw too much attention. What kind of force or person would warrant a World Government Admiral's intervention? Wouldn't that make all forces pay attention? Considering these issues, Akainu now had a splitting headache.
After much hesitation, he picked up the Den Den Mushi and connected to CP0, "Lucci... You now have a basic understanding of the enemy organization's strength... If I were to task you with capturing Kozuki Oden and his organization members, how confident are you?..."
"Fifty percent... Chief..." Lucci replied after estimating the strength of both sides. Akainu was silent for a moment after hearing this reply, "Fifty percent, huh?..."
Facing "Emperor"-level strength, 50% chance with all of CP0 acting was already quite high, but for Akainu, it wasn't enough. Akainu wanted 100%. Thinking of this, Akainu felt that to ensure a 100% success rate for the mission, he had to risk a little exposure.
"Fifty percent is definitely not enough... To ensure a 100% success rate for this mission, I will have Aokiji secretly follow you... If your situation turns bad, he will intervene... Understood?..." Akainu added.
"Yes, Chief!..."
New Enies Lobby. CP0 Headquarters.
After receiving the order, Lucci began to ponder how to arrange the upcoming operation. Given the failure of the last mission, Lucci intended to personally lead all of CP0 this time. However, Kaku was seriously injured and certainly couldn't go on a mission now. Without Kaku, Lucci felt that their strength was insufficient to carry out the mission.
Thinking of this, Lucci decided to discuss it with everyone to see if they had any good suggestions for this mission. He then ordered Spandam, who was standing by, to notify everyone for a meeting. Spandam took the order and left. Soon, everyone arrived at Lucci's office.
"Everyone is aware of the enemy force's strength and the number of its organization members... Admiral Sakazuki has ordered us to attack again... The focus of this mission is to capture Kozuki Oden... and to eliminate this organization. Admiral Sakazuki will arrange Admiral Aokiji as our backup... He will intervene if necessary..."
"Kaku is still recovering from serious injuries... Without Kaku, I don't have the confidence to complete the mission... Does anyone have any reasonable proposals?..."
Lucci, seeing everyone seated, spoke all at once. Lucci used to be taciturn; the old Lucci was a war machine, striking wherever his superiors pointed. Since reorganizing CP0 and becoming Chief, his personality had become more mature and steady, and he no longer considered problems from a self-centered perspective.
Lucci finished speaking, but it was met with complete silence; no one offered any useful suggestions. Spandam looked at the silent crowd, a sinister smile forming inwardly, knowing it was time for his true scheme to unfold.
"Um... Chief Lucci... I have a plan that can ensure we suffer no losses while also depleting the enemy's strength..."
Spandam spoke, trying his best to maintain a smile, though no matter how hard he tried, his face looked very gloomy. Lucci turned to look at Spandam, not speaking, but gesturing for him to continue.
Spandam continued, "We can use the Shichibukai, Edward Weevil, Whitebeard's Second Son..."
"This kid calls himself Whitebeard's son... but he's a bit simple-minded... He likes to wipe out pirate crews related to Whitebeard... If we hint to him that this organization is related to Whitebeard..."
Spandam chuckled twice and continued, "Then he will definitely charge ahead for us to cause trouble for this organization... We just need to hide and observe from the sidelines, and then take down this organization at the right time. Wouldn't that make the mission easier to complete?..."
After Spandam finished, he couldn't help but burst into laughter. Lucci stared expressionlessly at Spandam, who was chuckling sinisterly, considering the feasibility of this plan.
"Whitebeard's Second Son isn't smart... but his mother is always with him, strategizing! Are you sure your plan is feasible?..." Hattori, the pigeon on Lucci's shoulder, questioned.
"What if Whitebeard's Second Son's mother dies?..."
"Hahahaha..."
Spandam laughed wildly.
The CP0 members understood. Spandam wanted someone to kill Whitebeard's Second Son's mother and then frame the enemy organization, which was a rather clever tactic. Everyone's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and they all nodded in agreement.
"Then... let me assassinate Whitebeard's Second Son's mother..." Itachi Law confidently interjected.
"Then let's do that... Mission Rank... S-Rank... Mission Codename: Break the Akatsuki... Act now!..."
To be continued...