Chapter 39: Lunarian
Aside from Nereus, Hermes was the only creature capable of free flight—if a Homie could be counted as a creature.
Because of this ability, Hermes was also responsible for aerial reconnaissance missions. Just now, Hermes had discovered something unusual.
"What's wrong, Hermes? You're in such a hurry. What did you encounter?"
"It's a ship from the World Government, carrying agents from the Cipher Pol agencies. If neither of us changes course, we should encounter them within 20 minutes.
Lord Nereus, their appearance is too coincidental. I think this might be a conspiracy targeting us."
"Don't worry. Tell me what those agents are doing first."
Hermes's personality was a bit peculiar. You could call it cautious, or you could call it persecution paranoia; it really disliked encountering unexpected situations.
Retreating to observe first, and then moving out after confirming the situation—that was what Hermes was used to.
"Um... those agents are chasing a strange person. Black wings, brown skin, white hair... oh, and there's fire burning on that person's back!"
"A Lunarian?"
White hair, brown skin, black wings, and flames burning on their body—when these characteristics gathered on the same person, their identity could only be one thing: a member of the Lunarian tribe.
"Lunarian? I've never heard of that race. Papa, what is that?"
"A very rare... or rather, currently very rare race. It's said that long ago, there was a 'Kingdom of Gods' atop the Red Line, and the Lunarians were the residents of that kingdom.
Because of their racial talents, Lunarians could survive in almost any environment, possessing incredibly strong adaptability."
After coming to this world, Nereus had also tried to find Lunarians, but to no avail. Information about this race was pitifully scarce, with almost no news circulating outside.
Nereus didn't find this strange. After all, according to the original timeline, the Lunarians were practically extinct. Only King (Alber), under Kaido, was confirmed to be a member of this race.
"The Red Line? Isn't that where the World Government is now?"
"That's correct. And that's also why this race is so rare. For all these years, the World Government has never stopped hunting them down.
The Lunarian race is considered a priority target. Just providing information about one will get you a reward of one hundred million Berries from the World Government."
"One hundred million Berries..."
One hundred million Berries was no small sum. People with bounties of this amount were usually tough to deal with; conventional gunfire couldn't do much to them.
Compared to such high-risk targets, the bounty on Lunarians became a sweet piece of cake, driving many bounty hunters into a frenzy looking for traces of them.
To put it in perspective, within the World Government's targeting hierarchy:
Joy Boy and Davy D. Jones—these two figures involved in the Void Century—belonged to the T0 tier.
The Lunarian race and the Buccaneer Tribe followed closely in the T1 tier. Under the World Government's persecution, their numbers were scarce, nearing extinction.
Compared to these races, the Fish-man race or the Giant race were actually relatively better off.
"Sebastian, arrange the Sea Beasts and prepare to enter the Calm Belt. I'll go take a look over there and come back soon."
"Wait, Lord Nereus. This humble one thinks this might be a conspiracy. We should be more cautious..."
"Hermes, you're too careful. Even if they really wanted to target me, they would need bait that ensures I'd definitely go for it. A Lunarian isn't enough.
By the way, what kind of clothes are those World Government people wearing? Are there any wearing white suits and masks?"
Hermes's suggestions couldn't be followed entirely. According to its habits, a 98% certainty would be treated as 0.98. Letting it do reconnaissance could indeed avoid danger.
However, in terms of action, Nereus and his crew usually only needed Hermes's intelligence, not its analysis results.
"No, Lord Nereus. They are all people in black suits. But there should be a Devil Fruit user among them; several of them can fly.
Not using Geppo (Moonwalk) to stay in the air—they can genuinely fly."
"Hmm, I understand."
CIPHER POL refers to the secret intelligence agencies directly under the World Government.
In the public eye, there are only eight CP agencies. Agents from these eight departments are responsible for various covert operations of the World Government.
Their frontal combat capabilities are inferior to the Marines, but these departments are more trusted by the World Government than the Marines.
Besides these, there are two special departments: CP9 and CP0.
CP9 is stronger than the other eight departments, but inferior to CP0.
CP0 is hailed as the "Strongest Shield of the Celestial Dragons" and the "World's Strongest Intelligence Agency," consisting of agents serving the Celestial Dragons.
Their signature attire is white suits paired with various masks. If a ship full of CP0 agents scattered and fled, they might delay Nereus for some time. But other CP departments? They weren't even worthy of stalling him.
...
Meanwhile, to the east of Nereus's group, a ship flying the World Government's cross flag was adjusting its course.
"If this continues, we'll chase them into the Calm Belt. Our ship can't withstand attacks from Sea Kings."
"We've been chasing for a full half-month. Even for a Lunarian, their stamina should be reaching its limit."
"We'll know when those guys come back. This is a target the World Government has been hunting forever. If we capture this Lunarian alive and bring them back, maybe we can get promoted to CP0 too."
On the deck, several CP9 agents were sharpening the blades in their hands. The man leading them was observing a Vivre Card in his hand and adjusting the course accordingly.
"They're back."
As soon as the words fell, two agents also wearing black suits returned to the deck. Each was panting heavily, and one had sustained significant injuries.
"What's the status of the target?"
The CP9 leader didn't care about his subordinate's injuries but asked about the Lunarian's condition instead.
"That woman is injured too. A few more rounds like this, and she definitely won't hold out."
"Very good. Next group, move out!"
Hearing this, the CP9 members who had just been sharpening their weapons stood before the leader and handed him their Vivre Cards.
Then, the CP9 leader grabbed his subordinates and threw them out one by one.
The thrown agents didn't fall mid-way but flew toward the distance at a relatively constant speed.
"Devil Fruit abilities are really convenient. Without this fruit, catching up to that woman wouldn't have been easy. So what if she can fly? Since she ran into me, don't even think about escaping."
The intelligence observed by Hermes wasn't wrong. These CP9 members indeed included a Devil Fruit user, and it was precisely thanks to this fruit's ability that they achieved an effect similar to flight.
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