Robin took the unconscious Smoker and Tashigi away, while Sabo handed over the Demon King Armament's Evil Eye before leaving.
At Chinju Forest, the three CP9 agents fighting Taromaru and Kageromaru were instantly killed. The two dogs didn't have as many scruples as Robin—for intruders, the natural thing to do was turn them into fertilizer.
Meanwhile, Kaku's group in the Flower Capital had a completely different experience.
So far, they hadn't encountered any combat. Instead, they were evading the Tenryo Bugyo's guards while moving through the city.
Though safe, they also discovered a problem—
"At this rate, we won't be able to get anywhere near the Tenshukaku at all." Kalifa said helplessly.
Without approaching the Tenshukaku, everything was just talk. As for the Grand Narukami Shrine, that place was basically a tourist attraction. Even though the Shabugyo, which managed culture, was located there, it held no value for them.
They weren't from that country anyway, so they weren't interested in other people's culture.
"One night is too short. I think if we really want to get any useful intelligence from Inazuma, we'll need to stay long-term." Blueno said reluctantly.
"But the agents previously sent to Inazuma all seemed to lose contact afterward. The Raiden Shogun's subordinates must have someone with abilities that can control others' actions." Kaku guessed. "Moreover, our identities are merchants, and foreign merchants can hardly settle in Inazuma."
Actually, his guess was very close to the truth. It was just that the person with that ability was Ren himself.
After hearing his words, Kalifa and Blueno both felt somewhat helpless. They had to admit that this operation was really putting them in a tough spot. In such a short time, many of the infiltration techniques they'd learned were useless.
"Should we retreat?"
"We have no choice but to retreat."
"I hope Kumadori can get some useful intelligence." Kaku sighed.
It wasn't that they hadn't tried hard—it was truly impossible. The samurai guarding the Tenshukaku were each absurdly strong. Even Orochi had seven samurai experts under his command, let alone Ren.
If they tried to force their way in, they would definitely be discovered.
The three were about to retreat when suddenly they felt a cool sensation on their faces. Turning their heads, they saw a small white snake with red gem-like eyes staring at them.
"A snake?"
Kaku and the others were stunned. In this Flower Capital, how could there be a snake?
After all, the current Flower Capital was different from the original one. Buildings stood in rows, and modern roads had replaced the original dirt paths. Though the greenery was still well-maintained, wild animals were rare within the capital.
This wasn't a zoo.
Moreover, even if it was a wild small snake, how had it appeared silently beside them?
While Kaku was thinking, the white snake suddenly opened its crimson mouth and bit at him. Its speed was like a flash of white lightning—Kaku had no time to react before the white snake's fangs sank into his throat.
Seeing this, Kalifa and Blueno immediately tried to create distance to assess the situation. Putting themselves in danger was clearly not a wise choice.
However, as they used Moon Step to leap into the air, two enormous white snakes appeared from nowhere, coiled around them, and pulled them back.
Ren slowly emerged from the darkness.
He had returned to Inazuma after receiving Robin's message. He hadn't expected to run into these three agents the moment he arrived. So he decided to implant the Great Serpent Mark on them.
He didn't think much of Kalifa and Blueno, but Kaku was actually a promising talent. In the original story, he was the second strongest agent in CP9 after Rob Lucci. It was said he had awakened his Zoan fruit abilities in just two years?
Though the threshold for awakening ordinary Zoan fruits might be slightly lower, and the World Government might have technology to awaken Zoans, reaching that level still proved he had some value.
As for Blueno and Kalifa, they were just extras.
After implanting the Great Serpent Mark, Ren tossed them aside. He hadn't even considered using them to exchange for anything with the World Government.
Given the World Government's nature, these CP9 members were just tools that could be discarded at any time. They wouldn't pay any price for them.
Besides, now that Kizaru and the others had made their move, the evidence was completely sufficient.
Meanwhile, Sengoku was still in the Tenshukaku watching movies. He truly felt the Marines should get one of these. Not only was it comfortable, but it could also make money. Most importantly, the Celestial Dragons would definitely be interested in such novelties.
He really hoped those idiots would spend more time watching movies in the cinema instead of running around causing trouble for him every day.
Sengoku had already figured out in his mind how to negotiate business with Inazuma when the movie screen before him suddenly began to flicker, then the entire image turned to static.
Before he could feel confused, in the next moment, Ren, transformed into lightning, stood before him.
The Raiden Shogun!
Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru both shot to their feet, their hearts leaping into their throats.
'This guy got back from the Seirai Islands so quickly? Could it be he didn't run into Kizaru in Kuri?' Sengoku thought, his face still showing no expression, betraying nothing unusual.
"Mr. Ren, long time no see. I trust you don't mind us visiting Inazuma?"
"Not at all. Inazuma welcomes guests. However, the Marines don't seem to be visiting sincerely, do they?" As Ren spoke, Ayame had already switched the static on the movie screen to a live broadcast of the battles in Kuri and Udon.
"Could the Marine Admiral, Mr. Sengoku, explain why your subordinates are fighting my forces within my Inazuma? Are the Marines planning to go to war with us?"
Hearing this, Sengoku looked at the screen. Seeing only Kizaru and the others, he breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as those agents hadn't been discovered, it was fine. When the time came, Kizaru and the others just needed to firmly insist they had simply gotten lost.
Whether Inazuma believed it or not wasn't important. What mattered was that they themselves had to believe it!
Actually, just as Ren believed the World Government wasn't prepared to go to war with Inazuma yet, the Marines and World Government didn't believe Inazuma had the guts to go to war with them.
If that was the case, then it would just be a matter of arguing back and forth. Though they were indeed in the wrong on this matter and might need to pay a substantial price to settle it.
Now Sengoku just hoped those agents could get some useful intelligence, otherwise they'd really have lost big.
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