"How strange — what's so special about this Devil Fruit that they need CP9's elites to transport it personally?"
On a certain stretch of sea, the CP9 agents disguised as Marines muttered among themselves. The agent in question was Fuzufu.
Fuzufu had a head of cherry-red hair, curved horns growing from both sides of his head, sausage-like lips, and stood roughly three meters tall — an imposing figure.
His words dripped with undisguised contempt for the Marines.
At the end of the day, in his eyes, the Marines were nothing more than one of three organizations under the World Government. If he was being honest, as the strongest CP agent in centuries, wasn't his status on par with an Admiral?
And yet here he was, personally assigned to escort a mere Devil Fruit!
Wasn't this a colossal waste of talent?
He truly wondered whether the Five Elders had had their brains eaten by dung beetles.
Fuzufu brooded.
Without Rob Lucci around, this man who considered his talent no less than Lucci's had become CP9's undisputed number one. His ambition and arrogance had swelled accordingly!
But though he complained, he wouldn't dare voice his opinions directly to the Five Elders.
Or rather — even at his current rank, he had no authority to contact the Five Elders at will.
Compared to the Marines, the CP organizations were more like tools in the World Government's hands.
No emotions needed — just obedience!
Even if he had opinions, he had no right to voice them.
"Stop complaining, Paijiu," another agent said immediately. Paijiu was Fuzufu's code name.
"Hmph — don't tell me what to do!" Fuzufu snorted coldly and was about to say more when the lookout suddenly roared.
"East side — pirate flag spotted!"
"Pirates? Can you identify them?" Fuzufu stood and looked east. This time he didn't need the lookout to tell him — he could see the approaching ship himself.
And…
A pirate flag bearing red stripes!
"The Red… Red Hair Pirates!"
"Why are they here?"
"No — why weren't they spotted until now?!"
Fuzufu's eyes went wide, and his heart seized with the terror of being struck by lightning.
What terrified him wasn't just the appearance of the Red Hair Pirates — it was that they had closed to this distance without him noticing in the slightest!
This was deeply horrifying. It meant that the Red Hair Pirates' captain possessed Observation Haki far surpassing his own.
Fuzufu, who had never dealt with a Yonko before, was utterly stunned.
But this fear and shock was less genuine terror and more the startle of someone suddenly confronted by an unexpected object.
After composing himself, much of Fuzufu's fear dissipated.
The Red Hair Pirates — one of the so-called "Yonko" — were, in his view, nothing special. The only reason they could run roughshod through the New World was because the Marines were incompetent.
But looking at it now, their fearsome reputation wasn't entirely unearned.
At the very least, their Observation Haki was formidable. For fleeing, it would be quite handy!
Fuzufu thought smugly.
Meanwhile, on Shanks's pirate ship, several crew members burst into laughter.
"Captain, those fools finally noticed us."
"Those idiot Marines — let's crush them and grab the treasure! I'm dying to go get a drink!"
Shanks shook his head and said with a menacing expression, "I know you're eager, but hold your horses. That ship has someone pretty strong on board."
But his crew wasn't buying it.
"Someone strong?"
"How strong?"
"As strong as Crocodile?"
"Idiot — if the Captain says they're strong, they've got to be at least the long-ears or red-nose level!"
"I bet the Captain's talking about Whitebeard and the Raiden Shogun, right, Captain?"
Shanks: …
As long as you're happy.
"Ahem — don't underestimate the enemy, you idiots. That opponent is at least Marine Vice Admiral level," he said gravely.
Hearing this, Beckman also straightened up.
A Marine Vice Admiral. In the East Blue. Someone Shanks was wary of…
The answer seemed pretty obvious.
"The Marine Hero, Garp? That really would be a problem!"
Shanks: ???
Since when did I say it was Garp? I didn't say it was Garp!
"Ahem — what I meant was, the enemy on that ship is pretty strong. Perfect for An and Ace to get some practice."
Shanks scratched his head.
An and Ace both cracked their knuckles, raring to go.
"Shanks, are you serious? You're really letting us fight?" Ace said incredulously.
He had long grown tired of Shanks's excessive protectiveness.
This one and that one — they all treated him like a child!
"Oh, sorry — I misspoke. Only An, not Ace!" Shanks instantly retracted his offer and, ignoring Ace's furious expression, began picking his nose.
"Stop digging for gold, Shanks! If you keep that up, your nose hairs are going to grow down to the corners of your mouth like your beard!" An shouted.
"Who has nose hairs like that?! You think I'm your dad?!" Shanks truly couldn't take it anymore.
"Heh heh — either way, I'm getting ready to show off!" An grinned, grabbed her sword, and charged forward.
"Wait for me!"
Seeing this, Ace panicked and tried to leap after her, but Shanks grabbed him by the back of the neck with one hand and hauled him back.
"You're not going!"
"Damn it, Shanks — you just said I could go too!" Ace kicked his short legs in midair.
"Idiot — I said the sword on An's hip, Ace! Not you, Portgas D. Ace!" Shanks said immediately.
The other crew members chimed in: "Next time, Ace. You're still too young."
"That's right. An is already fifteen, but you're only twelve."
Ace's eyes narrowed like an angry little lion as he roared: "Quit it — I'm only half a month from thirteen!"
He was indignant, but the reality was that An's strength far exceeded his.
Girls developed earlier, and An had the advantage. She was already a reliable combatant.
Of course, compared to a Marine Vice Admiral, there was still a massive gap. But with Shanks there to watch her back, her safety was never in question.
"Darn it!"
Ace threw a tantrum, rolling around — but it did no good.
Though Shanks protected them fiercely, anyone who thought he would coddle these two was sorely mistaken.
"Well, I'm off. Bye, Ace — I'll fight extra hard for both of us!"
An raised an eyebrow and patted her prized sword.
[
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