A chaotic storm of thoughts churned through Spandam’s mind. The inexplicable sense of unease he’d been suppressing swelled until he could no longer contain it.
"So we’re just supposed to stand here and watch? I have a bad feeling about this."
"A bad feeling?" Iga frowned, clearly displeased.
"Spandam, you’re the Supreme Commander of CP9. You should know better than anyone that Donquixote Doflamingo is no ordinary member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
"If it were any other Warlord, we wouldn’t need to think twice. But Doflamingo was once one of the World Nobles—a Celestial Dragon. That alone means we can’t act against him on our own."
"If the Five Elders learn we overstepped our authority, even CP0 won’t escape punishment."
After a brief pause, Iga added reassuringly,
"Don’t worry. We promised your father we’d handle this, and we will."
"Right now, the newly appointed Marine Admiral is confronting Doflamingo’s men. That standoff isn’t likely to end anytime soon. They’ll probably have to notify Fleet Admiral Sengoku and call for nearby Marine reinforcements."
"We can use this opportunity to pinpoint CP9’s location first."
"And even if the Admiral can’t bring them back immediately, at the very least we can prevent CP9 from slipping away again."
Spandine silently nodded.
Unlike his foolish son, he had climbed from CP9 to CP0 through his own ability.
He understood how to judge the situation.
The current circumstances clearly weren’t suitable for CP0 to interfere directly.
All they could do now was hope everything unfolded just as Iga predicted.
Seeing Spandine remain unusually silent, Iga smiled in satisfaction. Turning to the man beside him, he suddenly frowned.
"Ihe, why do you look so pale? Are the injuries you suffered three days ago still bothering you?"
The memories of what had happened aboard the Flying Six’s ship three days earlier still filled Iga with resentment.
As one of the masterminds who had always manipulated events from the shadows, he’d never imagined they would nearly be blown to pieces before they even had the chance to make their move.
If Ihe hadn’t used his Devil Fruit ability to teleport them away in time...
They would already be dead.
"Iga," Ihe said grimly, "I’m just worried."
"That man can’t be judged by common sense. He won’t care who the Warlord is."
"Don’t forget—he’s the kind of person who doesn’t hesitate to provoke even one of the Four Emperors."
Iga froze.
Instinctively, he looked toward Lucas.
"And what does the Seven Warlords of the Sea have to do with me?" Lucas replied with a faint smile, casually adjusting his glasses.
"Sorry, but I’m here to find someone."
"And you’re blocking my way."
Everyone present stiffened.
Even Pica’s smile froze on his face.
Ever since their young master had become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the privileges that title granted had worked almost everywhere they went.
Especially since Doflamingo possessed the greatest secret of the Celestial Dragons.
Even the Five Elders dared not push him too far.
That was what made Doflamingo such a special existence among the Warlords.
Yet this newly appointed Marine Admiral dismissed all of those privileges with a single sentence.
Pica simply couldn’t accept it.
More importantly, Doflamingo had taken a tremendous risk by sheltering CP9. His intention had always been to use them as bargaining chips in negotiations with the Five Elders.
As long as he secured the benefits he wanted, handing them over afterward would be no great loss.
But Lucas refused to play by anyone else’s rules.
With a few casual words, Doflamingo’s entire plan had been thrown into disarray.
Among the hundreds of pirates, Kumadori stood hidden beneath a black cloak. Behind him, Blueno carried the unconscious and heavily injured Rob Lucci on his back.
As they stared through the crowd at the unexpected newcomer, Kumadori, Jabra, and Fukurou all went deathly pale.
"Damn it," Kalifa muttered through gritted teeth. "Didn’t Doflamingo promise to cover our escape from the Sabaody Archipelago to the New World? How did our whereabouts leak?"
"Lucci’s still unconscious. If we’re trapped here much longer, we’ll never get away."
"Why don’t we use Blueno’s Door-Door Fruit to escape now?"
Then she turned toward Jabra.
"Weren’t you just saying that with Lucci unconscious, you’re now the one in charge of CP9? Why are you suddenly so quiet?"
Kaku and Blueno also looked at Jabra.
As someone who had always competed with Rob Lucci for the title of CP9’s strongest agent, Jabra had never lacked confidence.
Whether facing CP0’s pursuit or negotiating with Doflamingo, he had always been loud and full of bravado.
His sudden silence felt completely out of character.
"No..." Jabra hesitated before speaking.
"You’re all underestimating him."
"We’ve already fought that new Marine Admiral."
"He’s monstrously strong."
"I don’t think we can escape."
"So... I have a bold proposal."
A bold proposal?
Everyone blinked in confusion.
Before anyone could ask what he meant, Jabra suddenly dashed out.
His abrupt action left Kalifa, Blueno, and the others completely dumbfounded.
They had gone to great lengths to conceal themselves.
Yet Jabra had exposed himself voluntarily.
Before they could react, Fukurou and Kumadori also rushed after him.
The sudden appearance of the three CP9 agents instantly shattered the tense standoff.
Pica’s expression stiffened.
He had intended to deny everything and stall for time while contacting Doflamingo.
Jabra’s actions had completely ruined that plan.
"CP9! What are you doing?!" Pica roared.
"Don’t forget our agreement!"
"Shut up, Pica!" Jabra shot back angrily.
"We’ve known all along that Doflamingo planned to sell us to the Five Elders as bargaining chips."
"We were only using your crew to buy time while figuring out how to escape."
"You might be useful against ordinary Marines or other Cipher Pol agents."
"But this new Marine Admiral is ridiculously strong."
"There’s no way you can stop him."
"If we can’t beat him..."
"We might as well join him!"
Jabra immediately turned toward Lucas and bowed.
"Admiral Lucas!"
"CP9 is willing to surrender."
"We’re willing to return to Marine Headquarters with you."
"Please give us a chance."
"We want to join the Marines!"
The enormous plaza fell into absolute silence.
One could have heard a pin drop.
Everyone present was utterly dumbfounded.
Even Lucas stared at the three of them in surprise.
Had what happened at the Plaza of Justice not long ago really traumatized them that badly?
Had the once-proud CP9 actually been frightened out of their wits?
Otherwise, how could they pull off something this unbelievable?
He hadn’t even made a move yet.
They had already surrendered.
No...
This wasn’t simply surrender.
It was outright defection.
So this was the legendary strategy:
If you can’t beat them... join them.
Looking at the utterly sincere expressions on Jabra, Kumadori, and Fukurou’s faces, Isuka and Ain found it almost impossible to believe.
The mission that had plagued Marine Headquarters and the World Government’s intelligence agencies for so long—
the hunt for CP9—
had become almost laughably easy in Lucas’s hands.
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