The first half of the Grand Line. Twin Cape waters.
"Sir… how long are we going to follow them?… The enemy ship is almost at Twin Cape… We've been following for almost half a month, aren't we going to make a move?…" Glenn, Spandine's deputy, asked with some confusion.
Spandine's fleet had been following Reno for almost half a month. Spandine, who had originally planned to act as soon as they left Alabasta waters, changed his mind when he saw Reno's ship sailing further towards Twin Cape.
Spandine was very curious why this ship was leaving the main combat personnel and sailing so far; was there a greater secret waiting for him to uncover? Furthermore, although Reno's ship was not as fast as Spandine's fleet, what Spandine wanted was the Materials on board, not to salvage them from the seabed. Besides surrounding Reno's ship, it was impossible to order a direct attack under other circumstances.
It was because of these considerations that Spandinehad been following Reno, trying to dig up what big secret was hidden at Reno's destination, and then take it down in one fell swoop.
"No, no… no need to rush… The duck that's in our mouth won't fly away… Hahahahaha…" Spandine was just like his son; when dealing with opponents weaker than himself, he was so arrogant he couldn't find his bearings, but when he encountered a stronger existence, he cowered like a dog. This was the Spandam family's secret to survival… In the Ancient Island waters, Pain and his group were flying rapidly in the air. This speed was at least twice that of a Marine warship at full speed. Pain's original plan was to take down the Floating Island and then wait at high altitude for Reno to pick up Konan and return to reunite. In the end, he couldn't resist his longing for Konan, and after Golden Lion's injuries improved, he ordered Golden Lion to advance at full speed towards Twin Cape.
Along the way, Oden asked a puzzled question about why they were going to Twin Cape. Pain also told Oden and the others about Konan's existence without any concealment.
On the fourteenth day of Reno's voyage, Pain and the others spent seven days chasing the Floating Island, plus the three days Golden Lion spent recovering from his injuries, so Pain and his group were delayed for a total of ten days. During these ten days, Pain's Cultivate did not stop for a single day. However, his longing for Konan affected his mood, which led to not much increase in Chakra volume during the ten days of Cultivate. Golden Lion's injuries, however, had basically healed during these ten days. He still drank on the bow of the ship as usual every day, and the direction and speed of the Floating Island's flight were not delayed.
The Floating Island had been disfigured in the duel between Pain and Golden Lion, and Golden Lion had also used his abilities to repair it these days. Time flowed quickly during this sea voyage, and Reno finally arrived at Twin Cape. This was the sixteenth day since Reno set sail from Alabasta. On this day, Reno wandered around an open area on Twin CapeIsland. The purpose was to let Konan see his clothes in an unobstructed open area.
At the lighthouse, Konan, as always, used Crocus's telescope to observe the surrounding coast. This behavior had become a habit and had continued for seventeen days. Konan believed that Nagato would definitely come to find her, so she guarded the lighthouse from dawn to dusk every day.
Konan's telescope quickly turned to the beach where Reno was. The telescope stopped, and a familiar outfit but an unfamiliar person's figure appeared in her sight.
Konan held the telescope and looked at that figure, her hands trembling uncontrollably. Although the face in the telescope was strange, wasn't that familiar black-bottomed, red-clouded clothing the uniform of the Akatsuki Organization from her previous life? After scanning the ship and the vicinity of Reno with the telescope, Konan found no sign of Nagato. Although she was a little disappointed, it did not affect Konan's judgment.
"Nagato didn't come, which means he's busy and can't get away… Since he's already sent someone to pick me up… that means I'll be able to see Pain very soon, right?…"
Thinking of this, Konan was excitedly about to set off immediately to meet the person wearing the Akatsuki uniform, but as she was about to put down the telescope, she caught a glimpse of many other ships in the distance out of the corner of her eye, and couldn't help but feel puzzled. With this doubt, Konanbid farewell to Crocus and Laboon. She rose and used Paper Art to create a pair of wings and flew towards Reno's direction.
Reno's attention was not focused on his surroundings at the moment. He was looking around to see if anyone was watching him. When he turned his head again, Konan had already flown in front of Reno. Reno sized up the woman who descended before him like an angel, and for a moment he was a bit dumbfounded. His eyes were wide with shock, staring intently at Konan, as if he had seen a fairy descend from heaven.
After Konan landed, she ignored Reno, who was in a dazed state, and was the first to ask, "Did Nagatosend you to pick me up?…"
Konan's voice was gentle and sweet, but it carried a hint of coldness. If she hadn't known that this person was sent by Nagato, she would have slapped him away long ago. Konan saw that the person in front of her was still staring blankly at her, and couldn't help but ask again, slightly angered, "Did Nagato send you to pick me up?…"
Reno was in a daze because he hadn't expected Painto send him to pick up a woman, and such a beautiful woman at that. At least, Reno believed that in all his years and travels, he had never seen such a beautiful woman in this world.
Reno's daze was entirely due to being stunned; he hadn't clearly heard the girl's question and mechanically nodded. Only after nodding did he realize that the name seemed to be wrong somewhere.
"Nagato… who is that?… I wasn't sent by Nagato… I was sent by Pain to pick someone up… Pain said… the person I'm supposed to pick up on the beach would come looking for me…"
Reno answered Konan's question with confusion, guessing that Nagato might be Pain.
"Are you and Pain from the same place?…"
"Hmm… yes… you said Pain?… Take me to see him… He's the one I'm looking for…"
Konan finished speaking and turned to walk towards Reno's pirate ship. As soon as she turned, she saw seven warships on the sea surrounding the man's pirate ship, and she couldn't help but turn to look at Reno in confusion. Reno, following Konan's gaze, was also full of questions, not knowing who they were.
While Reno and Konan were observing the warships, the warships had already docked. Many people disembarked from the ships, and some of them immediately ran to Reno's ship, seemingly preparing to take control of the vessel. The rest, armed with swords and guns, slowly walked towards Reno and Konan, following the leading figure. A closer look revealed at least two hundred people.
Reno knew that these people were definitely coming for him, but he didn't know which faction they belonged to or what their combat strength was. Konan watched the group slowly approaching them with cold eyes, sizing up the person at the head.
The person at the head was wearing a well-fitting suit, a red-collared shirt underneath, and a large black and white trench coat, walking with a sinister smile to a spot not far from Konan and Reno. These newcomers, following the leader, stopped not far away, all smirking as they sized up Reno and Konan.
"Hahahahaha… Hahahaha…"
"What the… I thought you, kid, secretly left your organization's main combat force to go treasure hunting… Turns out you ran to this godforsaken place for a rendezvous… How disappointing… But well… your taste isn't bad, kid… Such a beautiful girl seems worth your risk, doesn't she?…"
"Hey… you didn't run off with your organization's wealth just to meet your lover, did you?…"
"Ah hahahaha…"
Spandine, like his son, was a sycophant. His personality was also very cunning and arrogant, looking down on people of lower status than himself, and always wanting to climb up by flattery or schemes. Now, encountering what he considered a funny situation, the mocking expression on his face was wildly apparent.
Spandine had accumulated many high-level connections during his time as the former CP9 officer. His son, Spandam, not being severely punished for the failure of the Enies Lobby mission, was largely due to his machinations. The only difference between Spandine and his son was their strength.
Although Spandine had the exact same personality as his son, his Dao power level was 900, slightly stronger than Blueno without his Devil Fruit ability. His deputy, Glenn, was also an old veteran who had followed Spandine for many years, and his Dao power level was also around 400. Making self-righteous judgments and inconsiderate taunts right from the start was a tradition of the Spandam family.
Seeing the newcomers so disgustingly unrestrained with their words towards himself and the woman beside him, Reno became enraged. He didn't care who the other party was and wanted to give them a big slap first.
Without a word, Reno's figure instantly vanished and reappeared in front of Spandine, his right hand slapping towards Spandine's face. The expected result of the enemy being sent flying did not occur. Spandine seemed to know the enemy would attack, and he lightly shouted "Iron Block".
Reno's slap felt like it hit steel, and his right palm was sore from the vibration of the Iron Block. He quickly retreated in front of Konan, afraid that these people would attack Konan.
Reno was not clear about Konan's strength, but considering that she was the person Pain had instructed him to pick up, he was prepared to use Body Integration to escape if he was outmatched.
"Hey, hey, hey… are you getting angry, kid?… Did I hit a nerve, old man?…"
"Ah hahahaha… Hahahaha…"
Spandine was not annoyed by the attack. He felt great watching the kid opposite him look at him as if facing a formidable enemy. This feeling was like a lion looking down on a sheep; no matter how angry the sheep was, it couldn't pose the slightest threat to the lion.
But what Spandine didn't know was that this time, his son's plan would lead Shinigami to take him away, and he would never see the sun of another day.
To be continued…