The Summer Dragon Festival falls on the first Saturday of summer in Tanal Town, and the weather was already beginning to feel a bit hot.
Victor carefully observed the CP agents opposite him.
Leading the group was a well-proportioned man, about 2.8 meters tall, wearing a festival mask. He had a wild, tangled mass of thick black hair. His black suit jacket was casually open, revealing a patterned shirt half-buttoned, half-open, exposing his muscular chest and several scars.
Behind him were three men, each about 1.8 meters tall, wearing different styles of festival masks. One had long, curly black hair simply tied back, with a pigeon perched on his shoulder. Another wore a baseball cap. The third had a braided ponytail.
The leading man chuckled and said, "It's normal that you don't know who we are. The World Government has eight intelligence agencies..."
"Cipher Pol No. 9, known as CP9, the World Government's elite assassin intelligence agency." Victor raised an eyebrow, found a long bench in the shade of a tree, and sat down with Robin, saying casually, "What? Has the World Government finally decided to bring me, a common citizen, to justice? Gentlemen, don't just stand there, you'll attract attention. Please sit."
The tall man in the lead nodded to the other three, then found a bench beside Victor and sat down himself. Of his three subordinates, only the pigeon-man with long, curly black hair remained standing behind the tall man with his hands clasped behind his back; the other two dispersed and disappeared into the crowd.
"Mr. Victor is very knowledgeable about our organization." The tall man's gaze behind his mask was as sharp as a drawn blade.
"Just heard a little something." Victor waved his hand: "Get to the point. What does the World Government want with me?"
"It's simple." The tall man stretched his neck, making a cracking sound: "The government intends to recruit you to join us."
Victor burst out laughing: "Are you kidding me? Since when does CP recruit outsiders?
Isn't your usual practice to train and brainwash the children of your internal staff and orphans collected from a young age, to create perfect and loyal killing machines?"
The tall man shrugged his shoulders: "It's a decision from above, in fact, I don't quite understand it either. But an order is an order, your will doesn't count. Leopard, test his mettle."
The pigeon-man standing behind stretched his shoulders, and the pigeon flew into the air.
Victor raised a finger and waved it: "Hold on, hold on." He speared two pieces of 'Bin Bin Puru' into his mouth, and then bit off half a thin chili. The intense aroma and spiciness of the chili assaulted his tongue, leaving an endless aftertaste!
Victor planned to ask Robin to buy more of the local specialty chili 'Mercy's Blue' later; it was truly a treasure for those who loved spicy food.
He took the handkerchief Robin offered, wiped the corner of his mouth, and stood up, saying casually: "Just a quick bite... Today's an important festival here, don't spoil the public's mood. There's an empty, less crowded spot to the northwest, let's go there."
He took Robin's small hand and walked towards the garden in the northwest.
The pigeon landed back on the curly-haired man's shoulder, cooed twice, then spoke:
"Coo... Is that alright, Lion?"
The tall man, called 'Lion,' nodded noncommittally: "Such small matters don't matter, let him go wherever he wants.
Pinocchio, Big Bad Wolf, follow."
With that, 'Lion' stood up and walked towards the northwest. Two figures darted out from the crowd, following closely behind 'Lion' and 'Leopard'.
Before long, a few people arrived at the garden in the northwest.
It was called a garden, but it was actually an old park site. Two years ago, Tanal Town built a new large garden on the west side of the island, so this place was temporarily abandoned. There were no residential buildings nearby, and due to the festival, most people were at the central street, so no one came here to play.
A perfect battleground.
Victor took off his suit jacket and handed it to Robin, then slowly rolled up his sleeves: "I have absolutely no interest in joining your broken organization. But since you've interrupted my enjoyment, I'll give you a good beating to vent my frustration."
The pigeon-man, codenamed 'Leopard,' also took off his suit jacket and threw it aside. After the pigeon landed on his shoulder, it spoke: "Coo... I've seen plenty of bumpkins from the Outer Seas; you only have a strong mouth. Let Mr. Hadley give this newcomer a profound lesson."
Victor tilted his head: "Ventriloquism? Or a split personality? Aren't you embarrassed by these ridiculous remarks you're making through a pigeon?"
The pigeon flew away, and 'Leopard' sneered, taking off his mask and speaking in his own voice: "...You're asking for death."
His body gradually expanded, quickly growing to nearly 3 meters in height. Smooth, spotted fur, sharp claws, a tail that whipped through the air like an iron whip, and a mouth full of sharp teeth...
Zoan-type Cat-Cat Fruit—Leopard Form!
Victor put his hands in his pockets and whistled casually: "Wow, it really is a leopard. So, 'Lion' and 'Big Bad Wolf' are real codenames too? ...Is CP9 a zoo?"
'Leopard' wasn't annoyed, just sneered and licked his claws.
'Lion', standing nearby, said in a deep voice: "'Leopard', calm down, we need him alive!"
Victor smiled slightly; he had recognized the man in front of him at first glance. The strongest combat genius and killing machine in CP9 history, Rob Lucci! If nothing unexpected happened, the 'Big Bad Wolf' and 'Pinocchio' over there should be Jabra, who ate the Dog-Dog Fruit, Wolf Form, and Kaku, the long-nosed man who hadn't eaten a Devil Fruit yet. Spandam should still be with CP5 at this time; he would soon gain great merit due to 'that incident' and successfully become the director of CP9.
So, this man called 'Lion' should be the current director of CP9.
Lucci sneered and said: "In CP9, we speak with 'Doriki,' not seniority. Don't worry, once I beat you half to death, I'll slowly teach you these rules."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lucci's figure instantly vanished!
Victor, hands in his pockets, shifted his body slightly, just managing to dodge the giant claw that attacked from behind. Then, sparks flew from under his feet as he slid several meters in a strange posture, twisting his body to look at the huge leopard-man who had stopped after missing his attack.
"What's wrong? Keep going." Victor, with a cheeky grin, continued to provoke Lucci's anger.
Rob Lucci remained unmoved:
"...Newcomer, are you so happy just because you narrowly dodged this attack? It seems you don't even know what a 'superhuman' is!"
Lucci let out a low growl, the ground beneath his feet shattered, and his figure shot forward, appearing in front of Victor. He held his index fingers up, weaving a blur of piercing attacks!
"Finger Pistol: Spot!"
"Resin Zipper: Spotted Pouch."
Victor kept his hands in his pockets, swaying from side to side as several zippers on his body opened, 'just happening' to avoid the dense 'gun' rain.
Then he whipped out his right leg, fiercely kicking at Lucci. Lucci reacted quickly, leaping into the air to dodge the whip kick, then stomping out several air bursts and tracing sharp angular patterns as he lunged from the air towards Victor.
But Victor's Observation Haki was far superior to Lucci's current level. He seized a brief opening that Lucci exposed and struck fiercely, landing a heavy punch squarely on Lucci's stomach!
At the moment of contact, the two seemed to pause slightly. With a dull thud, Lucci was sent flying backward, crashing through several garden sculptures and tumbling into a bush.
'Big Bad Wolf' and 'Pinocchio' immediately rushed towards the bush where Lucci had disappeared. 'Lion', meanwhile, unclenched his arms and took off his mask, stretching his shoulders.
It was a stern, square face with a meticulously trimmed short beard around the mouth. Most striking were his thick, intimidating eyebrows.
"As expected of 'Ferocious Chains,' you defeated CP9's most outstanding member in just a few moves." His voice was deep and powerful: "Allow me to introduce myself, 'Lion' Ross. I'll be your opponent next."
Victor's lips curved into a slight smile: "Alright. But if you lose too, I'll have some demands."
'Lion' Ross revealed a cold sneer: "...We'll talk about that after you win."
Round two, begins.
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