"Since it was a companion's mistake that led to the mission's failure, I have no face to continue living in this world. Let me commit seppuku to apologize!"
"Kumadori..." Fukurou the Silent was so moved that he nearly shed tears.
Kumadori raised a hand to signal him not to cry, while gripping a short blade with the other hand, forcefully stabbing towards his own abdomen.
"Tekkai!"
A muffled metallic clink sounded, the blade tip was stopped outside his belly, not able to pierce even the skin.
"What a pity, couldn't die at all, yo yo yi!"
"You go die too, you idiot!!!" Jabra's veins popped on his forehead. What kind of sins did he commit in his past life to end up teaming with these two!
By comparison.
Lucci taking Kalifa to work as boatmen in Water Capital was such a coveted task!
Luckily at this time, the vendor grandma finally finished frying their servings, shakily handed them over, and the three each held a tamagoyaki in hand, blowing on them as they walked towards the nearby alley.
Shano watched the three as they walked away, with a hidden smile finally creeping up behind the mask.
"Is this nature's gift..."
Delivered right to my face.
Could things be this favorable?
The last Snow-Snow Fruit was dropped after killing Wapol, and the Flame-Flame Fruit was searched for by everyone in the ruins for half a day.
And now...
He grinned mischievously like a little girl preparing to snatch candy, ordered a tamagoyaki for Ah Yin and let it line up at the stand while he followed the three into the dimly lit alley...
......
Deep in the alley, the CP9 trio sat against a wall, enjoying their tamagoyaki without a care.
"Hmm, not bad," Jabra chomped, "but compared to the frustration of mission failure, this bit of food can't offset it..."
"Don't think too much, you should be used to this by now, right? As long as it's not a crucial mission, we won't get dismissed, cha ba ba!"
Fukurou the Silent mumbled with a mouth full, "By the way, Kumadori, can I have half of your tamagoyaki? I'm not full, cha ba ba!"
"Go ahead and eat, life is short, enjoy it while you can... yo yo yi!" Kumadori looked mournful but still carved a half and passed it over with a fork.
The few were focused on eating when suddenly they felt a chill behind them.
"You guys seem to be enjoying yourselves?"
A light voice came from behind, and the three stiffened, quickly turning around—
A black-haired youth with a white mask leaned against the wall, his shadow stretched long by the moonlight.
"Hey, do you recognize me?" the youth asked with a smile.
"Oh! The passerby walking a dog earlier!" Fukurou scratched his head, "Do you want some tamagoyaki too? But mine's not enough to share, cha ba ba!"
"I'm not interested in that."
The mask was indeed useful, not being recognized made things simpler. Shano grinned, pointing at Jabra's bulging pouch on his waist, "But I'm quite interested in what's in your bag, though."
"Oh no!" Fukurou instinctively covered the zipped mouth, "He heard it, cha ba ba!"
"Is there any point in zipping it now, you idiot!"
Jabra was nearly spitting blood in rage, "If it wasn't for your noisy shouting on the street, this reckless brat wouldn't have noticed us!"
Hmph!
He threw away his tamagoyaki, stood up slowly, and looked up at Shano. The muscles under his black martial arts uniform bulged, eyes flashing a hint of coldness:
"Hey, kid, your family never told you that there are lots of people on the sea you shouldn't mess with? That you dare target even us—do you even know who we are?"
"I know, cha ba ba!"
Fukurou raised his right hand high, "I'm Fukurou the Silent, CP9 secret agent, Dao Power Value 600. Kumadori beside me is about the same, Dao Power Value 610, and the man threatening you is Jabra, he's formidable! Just a bit below Lucci, Dog-Dog Fruit—Wolf Form Ability User and our leader, Dao Power Value 1900..."
"Might as well tell him the color of my underwear!!"
Jabra howled in tears, frantically pinching Fukurou's cheek, "That was too detailed, who introduces themselves like that!"
This trouble-making idiot! Big idiotic fool!
And what do you mean just a bit below Lucci, he would never bow to that man!
Eh, Dao Power Value?
Shano listened in a daze.
He almost forgot about this thing; it's an archaic setting discarded in the trash ages ago.
"Besides you, no one cares about that."
Shano watched this farce, rubbing his temples with frustration, "Alright, just hand over the fruit, and you'll avoid a beating."
"Looks like he really doesn't know what CP-9 is, also..."
Jabra let go of Fukurou and looked over coldly, "How could we expect a country bumpkin like you, with no knowledge, to know what the government's top secret department is."
As soon as he finished speaking.
"Soru!"
His figure instantly vanished from the spot, appearing behind Shano the next second, his right hand fingers together like a knife, bringing with it a fierce slicing wind straight for the back—
"Finger Gun!"
However, just as the fingertip was about to touch Shano's cloak, his wrist was firmly gripped by a long, powerful hand, unable to move an inch further.
How could this be?!
Jabra's pupils shrank, he hadn't reacted yet.
Crack!
A crisp sound of bone breaking echoed, Jabra's wrist bone was forcibly crushed, he let out a muffled groan, cold sweat instantly seeping from his forehead, yet he gritted his teeth to endure the pain, left leg sweeping like a whip—
Rankyaku: Wolf Fang!
A crescent-shaped pale blue slicing wave howled out, but the moment it touched Shano's body, it dissipated like foam.
This guy, something's off!
Jabra's eyes widened in shock, realizing he might be facing a formidable foe he's never seen in his life. Without hesitation, he immediately activated his fruit ability.
His entire body swelled rapidly, fur densely growing all over, about to transform into a giant werewolf several meters tall...
"—Awoo!"
A wolf howl suddenly sounded from the alley entrance!
Jabra's legs abruptly went limp, and he collapsed to the ground.
He painfully arched his body, the transformation halted, his form shrinking back to normal, as if the wolf inside him was too frightened, resisting its emergence.
Shano paused mid-step.
Do you have to interfere? Go eat your tamagoyaki!
He glanced discontentedly at the alley mouth, the just-now dominant Wolf King immediately retracted its neck and obediently backed away.
"Jabra!"
Fukurou and Kumadori shouted in shock and anger.
"Cha ba ba! You bastard!" Fukurou angrily spread his fingers, "Watch my move, since I was twelve, it's called—"
Thud!
Shano's figure appeared like a ghost in front of him, and with a casual kick, Fukurou rolled his eyes and fell backward.
"Dammit, Fukurou, hold on for a bit, Life Return: Hair Binding Skill!"
Kumadori shouted, his white hair suddenly surged forward, entangling towards Shano like living creatures!
However, in the next second, after Shano glanced at him, a multitude of black hair grew from atop his head, twisting into one, rolling forward and severing Kumadori's hair at the roots.
"Yo yo yi?!"
Kumadori touched his bare scalp in shock, "Turned into a monk! You guy, you know Life Return too, how is that possible!"
But Shano ignored him, leisurely walking to the center of the three, bending down to pick up Jabra's fallen pouch.
As he untied the lacing, two peculiarly shaped Devil Fruits rolled out, caught in his palm.