To all appearances, El and his crew were simply here to enjoy themselves and take it easy.
"Hmm…"
Lucci fell silent for a moment, deep in thought.
"This man is cunning and dangerous—do not underestimate him."
Before being sent to Sabaody, CP9 had already done their homework.
They knew El's power was terrifying, and they had no desire to clash with him directly unless absolutely necessary.
Still, their mission required them to gather information.
"I have a feeling he may already be aware of us," said one of the agents beside him, a man with a peculiar square-shaped nose.
"Stay calm. They are strong, yes—but so are we. It is not so easy for them to detect us," replied Kalifa, the only female member of the unit, though her tone suggested she was not particularly concerned.
"At any rate, even if we have to keep our distance, as long as we can keep him in sight, our mission is considered a success," added Jabra, another agent whose strength ranked among the top in CP9, though he seemed less than enthusiastic about the task.
Lucci himself shared their unease. They had been shadowing the group for days, yet El showed no sign of moving on to whatever his next plan might be. As a result, CP9 found themselves stuck here as well.
If possible, Lucci wanted to discover what El intended to do next. It was hard to believe such a powerful pirate would arrive at Sabaody without a clear purpose—and that was exactly why the World Government had dispatched CP9 the moment they received word of his presence.
Monitoring threats of this magnitude was the very reason Cipher Pol existed.
Ideally, they would have liked to eliminate such a dangerous enemy of the Government outright—but right now, it seemed there was no opportunity to do so.
"Do not let your guard down," Lucci warned.
"We must never underestimate how strong El and his crew truly are."
"And have you all not noticed the others around him?"
"Crocodile, Doflamingo, even the Pirate Empress—they are all former or current Warlords of the Sea."
It was not that CP9 feared the Warlords themselves…
But the fact that they held that title alone spoke volumes about their level of power.
To break through such a protective circle and strike at El himself was practically impossible.
"And…" Lucci's expression grew serious. "Did you notice… there is also a blind swordsman by his side?"
"Hmm…"
"I can sense it faintly—he is not an opponent to be taken lightly."
He looked around at his comrades. "For now, we must remain cautious."
"Until we receive new orders or find a proper opening, we do not act recklessly."
Even for elite spies and assassins like them, this assignment felt tedious.
They were accustomed to long-term undercover operations, but only when they knew in advance that the task would be difficult or drawn out.
Here, however, they had no idea how long El intended to stay on the archipelago, making it impossible to plan ahead.
Moreover, CP9 had not arrived promptly. They only reached Sabaody after El and his crew had already fought a major battle shortly after arriving.
Much of what they knew of El's earlier actions here came from secondhand accounts.
They did not know who Issho was, but they did not need to.
Just seeing the aftermath of the clash between him and Doflamingo at the auction house was enough to give them a rough idea of how formidable the blind swordsman was.
That said, as a Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, Lucci possessed an unusually sharp instinct—different from ordinary Observation Haki.
While Zoan abilities could not match the raw destructive power of Logia types, nor the endless variety of Paramecia types, they offered their own unique advantages.
Beyond simply boosting physical strength and stamina, a Zoan user also gained the heightened senses and primal instincts of the beast they transformed into.
This often gave them an edge in anticipating danger, even in situations where no fight was taking place.
"That man…" Jabra, also a Zoan user, scratched his long sideburns.
He too had begun to suspect that the blind swordsman was far more dangerous than he looked.
"Should we just find a quiet spot to wait until they leave, and then follow after?" Jabra asked uncertainly.
"Or rather than waiting, why not take a chance and strike now?"
The suggestion came from Blueno—usually the most calm and steady member of the team. It was uncharacteristic of him to be so bold.
"Hold on," Lucci said, raising a hand to calm the discussion.
"We have already followed them for several days. Waiting a little longer will not hurt."
Though he spoke calmly, the truth remained… the World Government's resources were not unlimited.
If there was any chance to act, CP9 would prefer to seize it.
Yet El was never without powerful guards. Even far from Marine Headquarters, the Warlords' strength remained formidable.
Having joined the El Pirates, they now enjoyed authority and benefits equal to what they had once held under the Government—and as part of a pirate crew, their combined influence had only grown stronger in a short time.
This was certainly not a development the World Government welcomed.
From Lucci's perspective, as long as El remained surrounded by such powerful figures, there was no way to get close enough to gather useful intelligence—let alone do anything more.
But eventually, the opportunity they had been waiting for finally arrived.
That day, El and his crew went out to wander the archipelago once more. By now, they had already been in Sabaody for four full days.
A ship coating job only took three days at most, so there was no logical reason for them to stay longer.
That was exactly what made Lucci suspicious—he had begun to wonder if their presence had already been discovered.
It was only a suspicion, of course; he could not be certain, for CP9 agents were trained to remain unseen.
If they could be so easily detected, the Government would never have entrusted them with such high-risk missions.
But on this particular day, after touring the archipelago, El returned alone to his temporary quarters—lodgings arranged for them by Shakky.
It was a rare and perfect opportunity. In all the days they had watched, this was the first time El had separated from his officers.
Even the blind swordsman was nowhere near him.
If they let this chance slip, it might be a long time before another one came along.
"Lucci—you decide! Do we strike or not?!"
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