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Chapter 171: The Perfect Lackey
Chapter 171: The Perfect Lackey
The World Government official in charge of reporting was startled. He quickly rushed forward, opening two carriage doors in succession to reach the first carriage.
Seated next to Nico Robin was a white-haired man, lounging on a sofa with his legs crossed, looking as if he were on vacation!
That face...
The official pointed at the man, and his body trembled involuntarily. "Y-you are..."
"A calamity, Norton Sage," came a calm voice from behind him.
"With a bounty of 600 million berries, he has murdered several kings, and every town he has raided has been reduced to ruins. In the eyes of the World Government, he is a true criminal," the voice continued.
Lucci walked around him and stood at the front, his eyes fixed on Sage. "Especially what you did in Carnival City angered the higher-ups. According to intelligence, you are Nico Robin's brother, and you're here to rescue her, aren't you?"
Next to him, the members of CP9 gathered but split into two groups. While Jabra and his companions seemed nonchalant, Kaku and his group appeared tense and vigilant.
Even with his apparent relaxation, the man before them exuded a dangerous aura that they dared not underestimate.
He was nothing like the petty pirates they had encountered before.
Having worked in Water 7 for several years, they had, of course, come across pirates. But those pirates had been weaklings with bounties of merely a few hundred million berries, and the CP9 agents had long looked down on them.
This included Nico Robin's current companions, the most formidable of whom was the 'Straw Hat Kid,' with a bounty of one hundred million berries. He seemed foolish and posed no sense of threat.
However, this man was different. Merely sitting there, he exuded a dense, dangerous aura that sent shivers down their spines.
It was the aura of a notorious, dangerous pirate!
A bounty of 600 million was, in itself, a terrifying matter!
While the Navy assessed pirates based on their danger level, those with insufficient strength couldn't pose much of a threat, and their bounties wouldn't be set too high.
In the first half, the most dangerous pirate was worth barely 300 million.
A bounty of 600 million proved that this 'calamity' was not only dangerous but also exceptionally powerful!
"Are you Rob Lucci?" Sage asked, his interest piqued as he sized Lucci up and down. "Quite an impressive fellow. Hey, how about it? Want to work for me like Jabra and his gang?"
"If the mission requires it, I suppose," Lucci replied nonchalantly, glancing at Robin. "Well, if he wanted to leave, he should have done so already. Seems like he has other intentions. We don't have a mission to capture you, so do as you please as long as you don't hinder us."
"What a perfect lackey," Sage remarked with a smile. "I'm just heading to Enies Lobby. Taking this train is just a coincidence. Oh, and didn't you hear what I said? Bring me some food first. A ten-person portion, and make sure it's tasty."
Lucci gave him another glance but said nothing. He turned and left the first carriage, returning to the rear with his men.
"Lucci!" The reporting agent couldn't contain his displeasure. "Are you just going to let him go? He's a 600 million berry heavy criminal! And he's Nico Robin's brother! What if..."
"What if he also knows the true history?" Lucci interrupted, finishing the agent's sentence. "He does. He has a piece of the Poneglyph on his ship. According to our investigation, it originated from Alabasta, but we haven't figured out why he specifically raided that Poneglyph.
"However, that's none of our business. Our mission is to ensure Nico Robin arrives at Enies Lobby and, as per the agreement, not to kill the 'Straw Hat Crew.' As long as our mission is accomplished, that's all that matters. That 'calamity' won't interfere with our task, and what he does once he reaches Enies Lobby is a matter for later."
"Indeed," Kaku chimed in. "Engaging in a fight with such a dangerous character would likely jeopardize our mission."
"Go and prepare the food, then," Jabra said with a laugh. "Captain Sage is hungry."
After some hesitation, the reporting agent eventually nodded and made his way to the front carriage.
"That guy, Wanze, is somewhere on the train, right? Don't get food from him. The captain is picky about his meals. It would be terrifying if he found out, yoi!" warned Kumadori.
"Hey, why are you all so concerned about that calamity? Who's going to tell on us? Although I, an elder, wouldn't touch Wanze's food either," Kaku said, perplexed.
"How could we not tell?" Jabra rolled his eyes and pointed at the owl. "This guy will definitely spill the beans!"
True to Jabra's words, the owl immediately piped up, "Do you want food prepared by Wanze?"
Jabra grabbed him, "Don't be ridiculous! Do you want our mission to fail? Go and keep an eye on Corgy and see what he's up to!"
The idea intrigued the owl, who loved to pry and dig for secrets. His eyes lit up, and he followed Corgy to the dining car.
Seeing the owl leave, Lucci sat back down on the sofa and thought for a moment before speaking. "Jabra, what do you know about that calamity?"
"Give it up, Lucci," Jabra said. As companions, even though they hadn't seen each other for several years, Jabra knew what Lucci was thinking.
"Even if your Dao power value far surpasses mine, you're still no match for him. All of us in CP9 are not his opponents."
Jabra's voice lowered, "You only heard the intelligence, but I saw him with my own eyes. He's a bona fide calamity. My report also mentioned that it seemed like he was being pursued by Vice Admiral Garp into the Devil's Triangle, but before that..."
He pursed his lips, recalling the scene of them exchanging cannonballs. If it weren't for Garp...
"Warships pose no threat to him, and neither do we. He even faced off against Gekko Moriah, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and returned to his ship unscathed."
"I didn't witness the confrontation, but later, I heard his words. That guy was confident he could defeat Moriah. Such an existence is beyond our capabilities. If this guy successfully enters the New World, we might really end up working under him."
This level of pirate, if they truly entered the New World and didn't meet an early demise, would inevitably become a dominant force. It was a foreseeable outcome.
It was common for the World Government to send spies to keep an eye on these threatening pirates.
"Strange man," Kaku commented. "He doesn't seem to care about our CP9 identities and genuinely wants to hire us as subordinates. Doesn't he fear that we might find an opportunity to strike against him? Even the Four Emperors would be cautious of us, let alone knowing that we're spies."
"The terrifying part is here," Jabra said, his voice almost sighing in resignation. "He's going to the Judiciary Island to attract attention and then successfully rob the Seven Waters City. He bluntly lays out his plans, but we're powerless to stop him."
Mobilizing the Navy would take time.
Even if Sage didn't hide his intentions and informed them of his scheme, what could they do? The Navy wouldn't be able to reach Judiciary Island in time, and a 600-million-berry pirate, while outrageous in the first half, was only worth so much attention. The higher-ups wouldn't focus all their resources on him.
Give up on Nico Robin and Sage and dedicate their forces to guarding the Seven Waters City?
That was even more unrealistic.
The Judiciary Island, one of the three great institutions under the World Government, couldn't be allowed to suffer any mishaps.
From the moment they reported this news, it was foreseeable that the Navy would eventually head to Judiciary Island to capture Sage.
The robbery of the Seven Waters City would undoubtedly succeed.
His plan would come to fruition.
He didn't hide anything or plot intricately; he simply laid out his intentions, yet the situation was irreversibly unfolding according to his predictions. That was the most terrifying part!
As for whether they could stop him...
Jabra held little hope. The longer he stayed on the ship, the more he sensed Sage's audacity and unfathomable strength.
"It doesn't matter if we can't beat him," Jabra continued. "He'll definitely escape! This guy is fearless and excellent at planning; he won't let himself be captured so easily."
"Understood," Lucci slowly nodded. "Then we'll wait for orders from above."
He wasn't stirred by Jabra's words. Whether or not all of CP9 could beat Sage wasn't important.
What mattered to him was the mission, not who could or couldn't overcome whom. As long as Sage didn't make a move on this train, he could turn a blind eye.
As long as the mission was accomplished, that was all that mattered.
If the mission required it, Lucci would take action regardless of the odds of winning, even against a Four Emperor.
Without a mission, he could also stand by and do nothing, even if this man had reduced countless towns to ruins!
(End of Chapter)
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