"Bang! Bang! Bang..."
Using Moonwalk, the three men scattered and fled in different directions through the air.
Rowan grinned.
"You think you can escape?"
"Boom!"
Compared to them, Rowan's explosive acceleration with Moonwalk was far more terrifying. He caught up with the man who specialized in physical combat in just three seconds.
"Bastard!"
With a furious roar, the man turned around and threw a punch.
From beginning to end, Rowan never unleashed his full-strength slash. The power of such a slash was simply too great, and they were currently in the middle of Loguetown's commercial district.
If he wasn't careful, one slash could split far too many people in half.
"Bang!"
The fist covered in Armament Haki was cleaved apart by the blade, which swept across horizontally.
"Ah!!"
A miserable scream rang through the air as the other two fleeing men accelerated once again.
One arm was severed and fell from the sky.
But Rowan didn't stop there. The shallow blade in his hand swept across again, and a head fell as well.
The next moment, Rowan turned in midair and pursued the other two.
Twenty seconds later, he caught up with the second one.
"Cloaked Man, you who oppose the World Government will only meet your death!"
"You are the ones opposing the will of the countless people of this world. In the end, you will be burned to nothing by the awakening of their thoughts!"
The long blades collided, and the impact sent the opponent crashing directly into the ground.
He spat out a mouthful of blood. Just like the previous man, he was utterly shocked by the Cloaked Man's strength.
This was completely different from the CP0's analysis.
According to their analysis, the opponent's Haki and physical strength should never have reached this level.
And how much time had passed?
How was this possible?!
Rowan descended from the air. After only two strikes, the second man was dead.
Twenty minutes later, every CP agent who had arrived in Loguetown had been eliminated.
Rowan immediately headed for the port. Seeing that his shadow clone had already evacuated the five Revolutionary Army members who had accompanied them, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
A Door-Door Fruit user... With an ability like that, if they had actually managed to take Ginny to Mary Geoise, Rowan would probably have had no choice but to infiltrate the place with his real body.
Thinking back to the woman who had entered the shop, she should have had a transponder snail connected at the time. Telling the shop owner that someone was in the changing room was actually a signal that Ginny was alone and that the operation could begin.
And suddenly attacking Rowan from close range was also intended to prevent him from sending out a warning, eliminating the possibility of an unexpected variable.
Their preparations had been so thorough that if he hadn't happened to come to the East Blue this time, things really could have gone terribly wrong.
At the same time, in the Room of Authority in Mary Geoise.
A man dressed in aristocratic clothing entered, bowed slightly, and spoke.
"The bug has taken the bait."
Red Line, Mary Geoise, Room of Authority.
The Five Elders were currently sitting on the sofas, waiting for something. When a knock finally sounded at the door, all five turned to look.
A guard opened the door. A man dressed in aristocratic clothing, but without a glass bubble over his head, walked inside. The two guards who had opened the door immediately lowered their heads.
Saint Saturn narrowed his eyes slightly. "Guards, leave first."
The door to the Room of Authority closed.
Now, only six people remained in the room, the Five Elders and a member of the God's Knights.
"Saint Williams. Ordinarily, you shouldn't be involved in politics, but because this concerns the deaths of five Celestial Dragons, we've allowed you to participate this time."
Saint Williams nodded slightly.
"Thank you for allowing me to participate. The Cloaked Man killed five Celestial Dragons and even infiltrated Mary Geoise. He has already become a threat to us. That is also one of the reasons I am involved."
Saint Peter looked at him.
"So, do we have the results?"
Saint Williams replied,
"The CP operation has failed, but the bug has taken the bait."
At that moment, the transponder snail on the table in front of the sofas rang. Saint Nusjuro, who was closest, picked it up.
"R-reporting... reporting to the Five Elders. All... all personnel involved in the operation are dead. Every single one... every single one was killed by the Cloaked Man..."
Hearing this, Saint Nusjuro frowned. "With the Door-Door Fruit's ability to relocate, how could you possibly have failed as long as he wasn't constantly watching that woman's side?"
The CP0 executive on the other end of the transponder snail swallowed nervously. Even the snail's imitation of his appearance conveyed extreme fear.
"The target... the target went to Loguetown to choose a wedding dress after the pirates calmed down. We only discovered this after the operation failed."
"And precisely because of that... because of that, the Cloaked Man changed his appearance and accompanied her. We didn't discover him... My lord..."
The trembling report was about to continue, but Saint Nusjuro, already aware of the reason, hung up the call.
Even CP0 executives were nothing more than dogs to them. And if a dog had already lost its fangs, then it had lost its value.
Replacing it was not impossible.
On the other side, Saint Warcury frowned.
"If the Cloaked Man was accompanying the target, then it's understandable that all of CP's preparations failed. However, the bait we prepared has been put to use."
Saint Saturn said,
"The experiment involving that woman is important as well. But before that, let's deal with the Revolutionary Army's cancer."
Saint Mars looked at him, signaling with his eyes but saying nothing.
Saint Saturn, however, shook his head and looked toward Saint Williams, who had kept his head lowered ever since entering.
"Can it be confirmed?"
Saint Williams replied,
"Not with certainty. But judging from the extent to which the Door-Door Fruit's ability made him wary, there is an eighty percent chance."
Eighty percent?
The five exchanged glances.
"Clang."
Saint Nusjuro rested his sword against the floor and spoke.
"All the CP agents involved in the operation were killed. Based on our analysis of the Cloaked Man's childhood, he should have been raised by that woman and Bartholomew Kuma."
"From this, we can infer that in his enraged state, he would have sent that woman away as well. Then the CP9 agent should also have been sent to the same location."
"A safe and reliable base..."
"The only possibility is the Revolutionary Army's headquarters. Only there would that woman be safe from another incident."
The probability was very high!
With that thought in mind, Saint Saturn asked, "Where is the location?"
Saint Williams replied, "The White Land of the Grand Line, Baltigo."
After those words were spoken, the Five Elders fell silent instead.
After a while, Saint Warcury looked at Saint Williams.
"Then leave the subsequent operation against the Cloaked Man to us."
Saint Williams smiled and bowed slightly.
"Of course. That is also the Commander's intention."
After giving another slight bow, he turned around and left the Room of Authority.
Once the door closed again, several moments passed before Saint Saturn finally spoke.
"The probability is high, but we still haven't confirmed it with absolute certainty. If we report it to Imu-sama and have it destroyed, we'll need to enter a period of cooldown afterward."
Saint Nusjuro frowned.
"But this is the simplest way to completely destroy the Revolutionary Army."
Saint Peter looked at him.
"The probability is high, but we still can't be certain. If that place is merely an ordinary base, then sacrificing ten deserted islands just to endure a prolonged cooldown period would be a terrible trade."
Saint Nasujuro replied,
"Then let CP agents go and confirm it..."
Before he could finish, he himself realized how foolish that idea was.
CP was the World Government's intelligence organization. There were indeed some high-level combatants among CP0, as well as Devil Fruit users with special abilities.
But if Baldigo really was the Revolutionary Army's headquarters, then its security would certainly not be simple.
At present, the only people they knew about within the Revolutionary Army were a few high-ranking members, along with some minor fish they had managed to place under surveillance. As for the organization's true structure, they knew almost nothing.
During the East Blue operation, they had discovered that a large number of Revolutionary Army members were active in the East Blue because of that woman's connections, but they still had no idea who those people actually were.
It was clear just how deeply hidden, cautious, and vigilant this organization was.
"Don't forget Water 7 before the Ohara operation, and how those scholars were rescued by the Revolutionary Army."
Saint Warcury reminded him,
"They reduced the ship's weight by lifting it into the air, then used Bartholomew Kuma's Paw-Paw Fruit ability to send it flying away. If those idiots from CP are sent to investigate and end up alerting the enemy, then everything we've gained this time will be for nothing."
The Room of Authority fell silent.
After a while, Saint Mars' long, narrow beard trembled slightly.
"The Devil Fruit ability best suited for infiltration was killed by the Cloaked Man on the Sabaody Archipelago. That Zoan-type Devil Fruit still hasn't been found."
Saint Peter raised his head slightly.
"We need to make a decision as soon as possible."
Saint Saturn tapped his cane against the floor.
"Perhaps we can look at this from another angle."
"From the very beginning, the purpose of the operation in the East Blue, aside from recovering the experimental subject, was mainly to use that woman as bait to force the Cloaked Man's true body to appear."
"The changes in our operations against Revolutionary Army infiltrators before that had the same purpose. Now, at the very least, we know that the woman is in Baldigo..."
"Even if it's merely a base, it can still serve a purpose. If it is the headquarters, then I will personally go there. The hostage will become the Revolutionary Army's headquarters itself."
At this point, Saint Saturn said, "My proposal: I will go to Baldigo. At the same time, I suggest sending the fastest person ahead to investigate. Sometimes catching someone off guard is better than proceeding step by step."
Saint Warcury looked at him. "As for speed, with that Door-Door Fruit user turned into bait, the only one left is the Marine Borsalino."
"But I remember you ordered him to transport that thing to Punk Hazard, didn't you? Because it concerns the energy issue, you had Borsalino escorting it precisely because of his strength."
Saint Nasujuro spoke up from the side. "The escort mission can be handed over to CP's high-level combatants. Borsalino's speed is extraordinary. If Baldigo is merely a base with few Revolutionary Army members, or perhaps just a deserted island, then there is a chance of continuing the plan."
Saint Peter questioned him.
"The brilliance of the Glint-Glint Fruit isn't exactly suitable for infiltration."
Saint Saturn closed his eyes.
"I'll have him descend ahead of time. Borsalino's speed, combined with his Observation Haki, is sufficient for the task."
The Five Elders then finalized their plan in the Room of Authority.
Compared to reporting to Lord Imu and directly using that weapon to destroy Baldigo, they needed to know whether Baldigo was truly worth such a price.
But if Baldigo really was the Revolutionary Army's headquarters, they could use it to lure the Cloaked Man into a trap. The lives of his comrades would prevent him from escaping, and then, once Saint Saturn arrived, they could activate the teleportation array...
It seemed that the price would be... smaller.
And if Baldigo wasn't the Revolutionary Army's headquarters, Borsalino's operation could continue by tracking the locator attached to Bruno.
The only thing capable of catching up to spatial teleportation in the shortest possible time was light.
Ten minutes ago, after killing all the CP members in Loguetown, Rowan glanced at the Marines from the Loguetown branch who had come rushing over to pursue him, then disappeared from the spot.
At the same time, all the Revolutionaries in the East Blue received the highest-level order passed down through the chain of command:
Maintain silence. Stay safe.
Ten minutes earlier, on the Grand Line's White Land Island, Baltigo.
Ginny and Bruno, whom Rowan had directly brought over, appeared in Dragon's office in an instant.
Dragon, who had been continuously writing and drawing while talking through a Den Den Mushi, froze for a moment and looked up at the three people before him, about to ask what was going on.
But Rowan simply left behind a single sentence before disappearing again.
Dragon and Ginny stared at each other for a long while before the Den Den Mushi on the desk rang again, breaking the silence.
After finishing the call, Dragon looked at Ginny, who was still dressed in her wedding gown, and blinked.
"Couldn't you wait any longer? But headquarters only just managed to relax. Belo Betty gave Kuma a bunch of suggestions yesterday. At this time... they should have just arrived at one of the prosperous islands to buy things, right?"
Ginny hurriedly shook her head. "No, something happened in the East Blue."
She quickly explained everything that had happened, including Rowan's decision at the end.
Hearing this, Dragon's expression turned serious. Ignoring the Den Den Mushi that continued to ring on the desk, he found the Den Den Mushi belonging to the East Blue's second emergency contact and called it.
The first contact was right in front of him. Looking at her wedding gown, it was obvious she hadn't done anything wrong, so there was no point relying on her for information.
"Pass the order down through the chain. All members of the Eastern Army are to maintain silence and prioritize their safety. Also... they may withdraw and relocate at any time."
After hanging up the call, Dragon walked over and kicked Bruno on the ground.
Ginny spoke from the side. "His ability is very special. He suddenly opened a door and appeared inside the fitting room. There was also another CP agent with him."
"Little... Mr. showed up and killed that agent immediately, but this man was left alive. To prevent him from using his ability, a seastone nail was driven into his body."
Bruno, who had been lying motionless on the floor, was flipped over and left lying on his back. He closed his eyes.
From the moment the operation had failed, he knew that his fate was difficult to predict. But as a new member of CP9, he also knew very well what would happen if he betrayed the World Government.
"The Door-Door Fruit's ability? You should have a vivre card made for you, right? You're a CP agent?"
Bruno remained silent, keeping his eyes tightly shut.
Dragon frowned.
"Mr. was able to send you here, which means your operation has undoubtedly failed. Staying silent serves no purpose. Or do you think the World Government is going to come and save you?"
However, Bruno continued to remain silent.
----------
Advance Chapters: patreon .com/OneFic