บท 173: Chapter 173: The Scapegoat and So-Called Justice.
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Enies Lobby,
Time rewinds to after the Buster Call ended.
'Air,'
A circle appeared out of thin air, and Bruno, covered in cherry blossom hoof prints, emerged carrying the unconscious Lucci.
"Is everyone here?"
Relying on the recovery ability of his Zoan-type Devil Fruit, the werewolf Jabra kept watch nearby.
Amidst the ruins were the equally battered Fukurou, the tattered and belly-clutching Kalifa; Kaku with a sword wound across his body; the lion-like Kumadori who looked like a dried corpse; and the unconscious Lucci...
CP9 was entirely injured! They urgently needed treatment, but:
"Fukurou, watch over them."
The fierce-looking Jabra took off his coat and draped it over Kalifa, whose clothes had been torn apart by Roman's attack. Then he turned to Bruno.
"You and I will scout the 'situation.'"
After all, they were the assassination unit CP9, and the consequences for mission failure... especially with a superior like Spandam.
Sure enough, as the two quietly approached the outskirts of Enies Lobby, fully armed agents were slowly searching the area, and the detestable voice of Spandam came through the Den Den Mushi!
"This entire operation failed because of CP9's negligence, failing to protect me... ahem, the criminal Nico Robin!"
"Capture the seven former CP9 members! Dead or alive..."
"Repeat, dead or alive!"
...
"Heh, just as expected."
Jabra sneered. Although he knew they would likely be scapegoats, he still had a sliver of hope...
"What now?"
Facing the honest Bruno's question, Jabra smirked.
"What else?"
Escape!
Although more than half were seriously injured, they were still the so-called 'superhumans' of CP9. Fukurou carried Kumadori, Bruno carried Lucci, and Jabra carried Kaku, leaving Kalifa...
"Kalifa, can you hold on?"
Facing Jabra's question, the secretary wearing his coat nodded.
"I can hold on!"
How embarrassing, just a single hit...
'Air,'
A silent round hole opened in the air, and with Bruno's 'Door-Door Fruit,' they continuously created passages in the air. The seven people and a pigeon finally made it through the agents' search perimeter without incident, and then:
"Keep breathing,"
The four heavily injured carried the three unconscious members and walked on the waves. After all, Bruno's stamina wasn't limitless, and escaping Enies Lobby was already his limit.
"Watch the rhythm!"
Of course, besides Fukurou and Kumadori, all of CP9 are now Devil Fruit users. The so-called 'walking on waves' is actually:
Underneath them in the sea is the sea train track!
They are relying on the track beneath their feet to move forward—thanks to their previous 'Seastone Resistance' training, they can still walk even if their ankles touch the sea.
"How are the three of them doing?"
After all, CP9 are well-trained agents, capable of some first aid and wound treatment, but:
"Lucci is the most seriously injured, his internal organs..."
Taking Luffy's Gear Second + Gear Third + Haki's fatal blow head-on, it's a testament to Lucci's strong physique that he wasn't instantly pierced through!
"Then there's Kumadori, who had all his life force drained by some unknown Devil Fruit ability..."
"Fortunately, his life is not in danger. As long as he gets a lot of food, he should recover."
Kumadori is one of the only two who can use Seimei Kikan among them. Otherwise, the others would be old, dried-up corpses in such a situation.
"Kaku's wound looks terrifying, but it's just a surface injury."
"With his Zoan Devil Fruit's resilience, he might even heal on his own..."
Soon, the fleeing group reached the next island along the sea train track, Spring Queen Town - Saint Poplar.
It started to rain heavily, and the bedraggled CP9 arrived at the hospital. But—
"Did any of you bring money?"
Uh...
They all looked at each other. How could CP9's elite agents worry about 'money'? Besides, at their headquarters, all their needs were provided by Enies Lobby, so they had no use for money. This led to:
"Cough, cough, although you didn't bring money, I can treat you first..."
Despite their bedraggled appearance and injuries, their aura of expertise was undeniable! Plus, their black suits made them look anything but 'good people,' and the hospital feared they might go on a 'rampage.'
"No!"
The fierce-looking Jabra stepped forward.
"Paying for treatment is the hospital's rule, and we have no reason to break it."
"Please arrange beds for them, and we'll raise the money immediately."
Leaving the unconscious Lucci and Kumadori at the hospital, the other CP9 members set out to 'raise money'!
...
"Come see the show, Sanjuan Wolf jumping through a ring of fire!"
After splitting up, the CP9 members started various ways to earn money.
Bruno used the Door-Door Fruit to create a ring of fire, and the transformed wolf Jabra was the performer jumping through it!
"Giraffe slide, only 10 Berry per ride..."
The transformed giraffe Kaku served as a toy, while the big-mouthed Fukurou was the ticket seller.
"Soapy Sheep Cloud 'Tsunami'!"
The soap bubbles filled the entire street, and after a quick mop, everything was sparkling clean!
Soon, coins and wet Berry notes were collected and sent to the hospital.
"I accept your kindness!"
The white-haired old doctor nodded vigorously. With just a casual examination, he had already gathered a lot of information from the two 'patients': such as their well-trained muscles and various old and new wounds...
All of these indicated that this group were 'experts' who had killed countless people!
They were strong enough to dominate ordinary people's lives and everything else.
But this group of experts didn't steal, rob, use force, or threaten. They quietly raised money in the most ordinary way to treat their comrades...
"I will definitely heal your comrades! I swear by the name of 'doctor'."
...
"Phew,"
A few drenched figures sat at the hospital entrance, and Jabra grinned.
"I thought you guys would go find some 'kind-hearted people' to borrow money from."
"That's a crime."
"We represent justice..."
"Hahahaha,"
Facing Kaku's serious response, Jabra laughed out loud.
"But others don't think so, don't see it that way. —In others' eyes, we're just government dogs, now abandoned stray dogs..."
"No matter how others see us, how they think, our hearts will always be 'just.'"
"Fools,"
Jabra grinned, showing a fierce face ready to bite.
"You still believe in justice..."
"Chababa, just now Jabra performed a wolf jumping through a hoop of fire to raise money—"
What?!
My fierce persona...
"Shut up, Kumadori! —How did you know?"
Facing the furious Jabra, the honest-looking Bruno calmly spoke.
"I told him."
??
"You..."
"Hahahahaha~~~~"
In the rainy night, a group of bedraggled experts sat under the hospital eaves, laughing heartily.
---
A few days later, everyone had mostly recovered.
With their strength, even moving bricks would allow them to live well. The CP9 members worked and earned money while waiting for their leader, Rob Lucci, to recover. Such days... didn't seem too bad.
"You're finally awake?"
Facing the recovered Lucci, the hospital doctors were incredulous. With ruptured organs, heart and lung failure, and over a dozen broken ribs, this scarred man had miraculously pulled through.
In the face of such a medical miracle, another dried-up person recovering rapidly after receiving a large amount of nutrient solution seemed insignificant.
"Doctor... thank you..."
"You should thank your comrades. They raised money for your treatment and never abandoned you."
---
A day later,
"To celebrate the boss's discharge, let's go bowling!"
Everyone enthusiastically celebrated Lucci's recovery, but for these superhumans, playing ordinary people's games meant:
Boom—!
The bowling ball thrown by the weakest Kalifa had the power of a cannonball! It instantly smashed through the bowling alley, making the other CP9 members laugh.
"Control your strength, control your strength! Kalifa, we're 'ordinary people' now..."
"Help!!"
?
"Pirates, pirates are landing—"
??
"Where are the Marines? The police?!"
"They've all been wiped out! It's the Candy Pirates with a bounty of 60 million, our town is doomed..."
Crash,
"Let's go,"
The members of CP9 silently got up and headed towards the dock.
"Hahaha, this town is mine!"
The captain of the Candy Pirates, wielding a large sword, loudly declared. At his feet were the bodies of Marines and police officers, along with crying civilians.
"I'm going to rob this—"
Bang!
Covered in bandages, with a pigeon perched on his shoulder, Lucci delivered a swift kick, instantly killing the pirate captain who claimed a bounty of 60 million.
"Who are you—"
"Captain... this can't be..."
"Don't be afraid, everyone, attack together!!"
Facing the swarming pirates, the CP9 members silently stepped forward.
"Big brother, go for it—"
"Hero, take them down~~~"
"Well done, everyone!"
After a one-sided battle... no, it was more like a massacre—
"So... so scary..."
"Don't look, go home quickly—"
"Blood... bodies..."
"Yo, it seems we went a bit overboard."
Jabra stepped on a head lying in a pool of blood and glanced back at the timid townspeople. Just a moment ago, someone had called him 'Uncle Beard,' but now, as his gaze swept over them, the crowd scattered in fear.
"This town,"
Lucci calmly looked back. He had seen such scenes many times.
"We can't stay here."
"Let's go. We are the 'Dark Justice,' never expecting to enjoy the applause of heroes."
Indeed,
They were assassins in the shadows, never expecting flowers and praise...
"Sister,"
Kalifa, who was walking at the back, turned around to see a little girl standing on tiptoes, holding a wildflower.
"Thank you for saving me and my mom! And everyone—"
...
"Thank you,"
Kalifa squatted down to accept the wildflower, wanting to pat the girl's head, but saw her hands were covered in blood!
However, this was enough. This wildflower was the greatest reward for CP9...
At least the smiles on everyone's faces were genuine now!
"Let's go,"
They took the Candy Pirates' ship, tearing down the pirate flag and symbols, and prepared to head to their next destination:
Their hometown.
"It's been a long time, I wonder how our teacher is doing?"
"Hmph, there's no way he can't beat you."
With their bodies recovered, Kaku and Jabra started bickering again. The group noisily arrived at the broken old tower next to their hometown, watching the children training below, along with their teacher.
"Justice always exists, it resides in our hearts."
"Passed down from generation to generation, the 'Great Pirate' era will surely end! One day, this world will welcome peace, and we will no longer need assassins like us. —For this, even if our hands are stained with blood, we gladly accept it."
The cold and ruthless CP9 were nothing more than a group of naive people with a sense of 'justice.'
?!
"It seems we have guests. We can't let them disturb our hometown."
On the coast, a Marine warship was docked, led by Marine Headquarters Captain Berry Good, a Bean-Bean Fruit user!
"Search, the CP9 members are—"
"No need to search,"
From the jungle, shadows of animals were cast: a leopard, Sanjuan Wolf, a giraffe, a minotaur, a lion, an owl, and Kalifa's bubble sheep...
"Little—"
Crash,
Although Berry Good's strength wasn't weak and his subordinates were elite Marines, facing the entire CP9, they could only struggle for a few seconds. Soon, the poor Berry Good was turned into a pile of round balls.
"Lucci, the Den Den Mushi."
As the Den Den Mushi connected, the iconic voice of Spandam, who was covered in fractures and looked like a deformed monster with a face swollen like a pig's head, came through.
"Who?"
"Rob Lucci, your former subordinate."
??!!
"Spandam, we will be back."
!!??
Click,
The Den Den Mushi hung up, leaving Spandam trembling on his hospital bed, clutching his head.
"Damn, those assassins aren't dead yet?"
...
"Hmm, this ship is not bad."
Switching to the Marine warship, Lucci's group nodded in satisfaction. Unless necessary, they would never want to ride a pirate ship.
"Let's go, we're embarking on our escape journey."
And on the coast, there were the scattered round balls, the unconscious Marine Captain Berry Good and many Marine soldiers, and:
A wildflower swaying in the wind, buried in the soil.
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