At this moment.
Bruno, sitting anxiously behind the table and wearing a mask, finally awaited the arrival of the man.
—Lucci pushed the door open, with the white dove that had accompanied him for nearly twenty years perched on his shoulder.
He seemed no different than usual, still donned in his boatman uniform, but at this moment, his gaze was distant, and he exuded a dangerous aura.
"Hey, Bruno."
Lucci did not speak, but the dove on his shoulder shouted with arms akimbo, "You look absolutely terrible."
Bruno smiled bitterly, removed his mask, revealing a pale and painful face: "Sorry, Lucci... the mission failed."
"What about Kaku and Kalifa?" The dove's gaze swept over his chest and abdomen wounds, its brows furrowed.
"All caught."
Bruno gritted his teeth, "Those two girls... were strong, stronger than we expected. I only barely escaped using my Fruit Ability."
Lucci was silent for a moment, walked to the window, and gazed down at the bustling dock.
The dove pinched its chin with its wing, frowning at Bruno:
"Explain in detail."
Bruno nodded, took a deep breath, and recounted the events one by one.
Starting from Robin's unusual reaction, to Nojiko's punch shattering his Tekkai, and then the strange injuries on Kaku and Kalifa...
"Logia-type Ability User?!"
Lucci finally stopped using ventriloquism, turning around with a hint of surprise in his eyes, "And two appeared at once?"
"That's what they claim. Only by this can it explain why Kaku and Kalifa's body techniques couldn't harm them in the slightest."
Bruno smiled wryly, "Moreover, they are very familiar with Rokushiki, even more adept than us..."
Lucci's fingers lightly tapped on the windowsill, lost in thought.
"Nico Robin..." he murmured lowly, "When did she start having such companions?"
"Lucci."
Bruno hesitated before speaking, "What should we do next? I think... we might have provoked someone we shouldn't have."
"Oh?"
Lucci glanced at him, "You're scared?"
"Not scared of them!"
Bruno shook his head, "But if ordinary crew members have such strength, then what kind of person is the captain? Thinking about it deeply is unsettling; behind them might stand someone we can't contend with."
"Is that so, interesting... this point, you are indeed correct."
With a calm face, Lucci took out a large stack of warrants from his breast and tossed them over casually.
"These are all the bounty orders collected this year. The ones at the bottom seem to match well with the two you mentioned. Take a look yourself."
Bruno froze, then hurriedly flipped through them.
Soon, he found those two girls who left a deep impression on him.
"Frosty Fist Nojiko, bounty 130 million Belly."
"Orange-haired Nami, bounty 80,000 Belly."
"They truly aren't ordinary people, huh..."
Bruno's face was solemn, "130 million Belly, such bounty is already at the level of a Captain of the Super Rookie, and another one's bounty is as much as 80 thousand... wait, 80 thousand Belly??"
He then widened his eyes and looked carefully again, indeed not counting wrong, only four zeros.
A formidable one who could easily defeat Kalifa, yet the bounty is only 80 thousand?
Bruno was instantly dumbfounded.
"This pirate gang has a pet too, claiming to be a Flame-Flame Fruit Ability User, bounty 100 million Belly."
Lucci shook his head slightly, "Now it seems, entirely the Navy's bunch of idle fools made a mistake in intelligence, causing a farce."
How absurd?
Bruno hadn't yet regained his senses when Lucci's calm voice sounded again:
"More than these, you ought to see who the captain of this bunch is..."
He extended two fingers, pulled out a warrant from behind, and placed it on top.
Bruno instinctively lowered his head, pupils suddenly contracted—
"Great Sword Hero Shano, bounty 1 billion Belly..."
It's him!
Bruno's throat tightened, his voice grew hoarse, he stared fixedly at the photo of the black-haired youth on the warrant, cold sweat trickled down his forehead:
"Nico Robin's new captain turns out to be this man?!!"
"Now you can understand why the Son of the Demon is so fearless."
Lucci's gaze was deep and distant, "With such an extraordinary figure backing him, not even us, CP9, or that mysterious and powerful organization called CP0, would dare to provoke him lightly..."
"What do we do then?"
Broo looked a bit panicked, "Trying to snatch Nico Robin from such a monster is basically impossible, but Kaku and Kalifa are still in their hands. We can't just abandon them..."
"The life or death of those two is a trivial matter."
Lucci's face was cold, yet he curled his lips into a grim sneer, "In comparison, Broo, don't you think..."
"Is a Great Pirate with a billion Belly bounty worth killing!"
The chilling killing intent spread, seemingly causing the temperature in the entire secret room to drop.
"Huh?"
Broo opened his mouth wide, staring blankly upward, completely not expecting Lucci to say that.
"You and I... are going to kill that Shano?"
"That's right."
Lucci's gaze was as sharp as a blade, he slowly stood up, and the dove on his shoulder put on sunglasses, looking imposing.
"Don't forget, CP9's mission has never been just to capture Nico Robin or to vie for that blueprint."
His voice was deep, with an undeniable pressure, "Any entity threatening the World Government, any fool daring to challenge justice, is our target."
The words weren't wrong in themselves.
But isn't this target a bit too ambitious...
Broo swallowed a mouthful of saliva, "Lucci, that's a monster with a billion bounty! The Seven Warlords of the Sea can't do a thing to him, how could we possibly—"
"Fool."
Lucci coldly interrupted, a trace of contempt flickering in his eyes.
"Are we the same as those brute-force pirates?"
He lifted his hand, gently tapping his skull with his fingertips, "Don't forget, we are the secret agents of CP9; never relying solely on frontal assault."
Broo was taken aback, "You mean..."
"As long as we can pinpoint the weak spot, no matter how strong the prey, it will fall under the hunter's gun."
Lucci's gaze was icy cold, "This man named Shano is a Great Sword Master, and for every swordsman, the sword is as important as life itself, but... what if he loses his sword?"
Broo's gaze instinctively moved to the bounty order.
"You see that tachi that is never apart from him?"
Lucci stared into Broo's eyes, enunciating clearly:
"Remember, your target is it."
"Once we find the man, if he is alone, I will go to attract his attention first. Then you will use the ability of the Door-Door Fruit to unexpectedly snatch the sword from behind him and take it directly to the other side of the door."
"After that, it will be my turn to fully unleash."
Lucci also glanced at the not-so-strong-looking boy on the bounty order, slightly twisting his neck, resulting in a crisp popping sound:
"A Sword Master without a sword is like a toothless tiger, despite having many abilities, unable to fully utilize them."
"And I will use my unparalleled body techniques to let this guy experience just how great the difference is in a pure physical confrontation between him and me..."
Broo was still a bit hesitant.
Lucci wasn't wrong in saying that a swordsman would surely lose considerable strength without their sword.
But... that's a monster with a billion bounty!
"But... what if we fail?" Broo couldn't help but ask, "Relying only on the two of us is a bit forced, right? How about asking Spandam for backing—"
"There is no 'what if'. "
Hearing that name, Lucci showed a look of disgust, coldly interrupting, "Do you think I am like you, a bunch of incompetents?"
A billion Belly bounty indeed holds immense weight.
But he is not to be trifled with either.
He is Rob Lucci after all!
He's the coldest killing machine in the history of CP9, the strongest on Judicial Island in 800 years!
If he could eliminate such a major threat for the World Government...
His prestige on Judicial Island would undoubtedly reach a new height.
He might even be recalled, not having to handle the mundane and boring task of finding Pluton.
But directly promoted to become a member of that rumored powerful and mysterious CP0!
With this thought, Lucci's determination grew even more resolute.
Since he had already mapped out his plan, with his temperament, there would be no turning back!
To uphold justice.
Even if there are risks, they can be completely ignored!