They already understood the structure of the Tower of Justice.
Caterina led the way, with Kaie and Tobi running behind her, ready for any surprise attacks. The Straw Hat Pirates followed close behind them. The path to the underground passage leading to the Gates of Justice was not a straight line, but a series of intricate corridors. Smashing straight through the walls would have been faster, but doing so would have made it difficult to tell which paths connected and which were dead ends, so they followed the intended route.
But the members of CP-9, tasked with delaying them, were not about to let them pass unchallenged.
"Nami, get down!!"
"Eh!?"
Zoro, who had been running alongside Nami, instinctively pushed her head down. A moment later, a slash passed through the very spot where her head had been. Drawing his swords instantly, Zoro parried the attacker's blow, recognizing him as the man with the square nose from Galley-La—Kaku.
"I didn't expect you to block that."
"With that much killing intent leaking out, it'd be stranger if I didn't notice," Zoro retorted.
He stopped Pedro, who had drawn his own sword to join the fight, and urged him on. "Go on ahead!"
"From here on, getting Robin back is a race against time. If we stop to fight every single one of them, we'll never make it!"
Their top priority was rescuing Robin. They would collect the key if they happened to get it, but they could leave it if it took too long. The most troublesome enemies at present were the four members of CP-0. Kaie and Tobi could likely hold their own, but it would be a tough fight for Pedro and Zepo. Still, since those two were the only ones in the Straw Hat crew who stood a chance, the rest would have to support them. And Zoro had determined that Lucci, likely the strongest of CP-9, was an opponent only Luffy could handle.
"Make sure you get to Robin and bring her back! I'll take this guy down and catch up right away!"
"It's quite insulting to think you can defeat me so easily!"
Parrying a storm of slashes from Kaku's two swords and both feet, Zoro glanced at Nami and the others, who had stopped.
"Go!!"
"…Got it!!"
Luffy nodded immediately and started running toward Caterina, who had paused a short distance ahead. Sanji grabbed the arm of a hesitant Nami and pulled her forward.
"Sanji-kun, wait!"
"Nami-san, that bastard's right. If we all stop here, we'll never get Robin-chan back."
If they stopped to fight every enemy that appeared, they would certainly advance, but it would be impossible to rescue Robin before she reached the Gates of Justice. This wasn't about abandoning their crewmates; it was about entrusting the mission to those who went ahead, believing they would succeed. And since they had been entrusted with that mission, they had to press forward.
"Next! A great wave of bubbles!"
"Sheep Cloud Tidal Wave!!!"
Kaie's voice rang out just before the attack, and a wave of bubbles surged forward, just as she'd predicted. It rushed toward them like a tsunami, blocking their path. Kaie immediately moved to the front, attempting to shift into her beast form to blow it away with her wings. However, she felt the floor begin to creak midway through her transformation and instantly canceled it. If she had continued, the floor might have collapsed.
She clenched her fists, determined to at least protect Caterina, but Caterina's voice came first.
"Bubbles… Franky! The wind!!"
"The wind!? Leave it to me!! 1.0 Cola Cannon—Coup de Vent!!"
His connected arms swelled for a moment before unleashing a cannonball of wind. The blast tore a large hole through the tsunami of bubbles, and by huddling together, they managed to get through. They might have been able to handle it even if they had taken the hit, but the basic rule when fighting an ability user was to never take an attack until you understood its nature. Like Lycoris, who produced a dissolving liquid, taking a direct hit could result in severe damage. This was especially true for an ability user who could attack a wide area. Depending on the nature of the ability, it could mean annihilation.
Kalifa, who had launched the surprise attack, stood at a distance, looking somewhat surprised.
"I can't believe you dealt with that. I may have underestimated you."
"We've seen all sorts of ability users, you know. We're trained to make split-second decisions," Caterina retorted.
Though she was accompanied by guards, Caterina was one of Twilight's most brilliant engineers. There was no shortage of people who would target her. While she had almost no combat ability herself, a quick judgment could be the difference between life and death. Her training was never wasted.
"CP-9, huh. That seems like a troublesome ability. Kaie, you want to take her?"
"I'll do it!"
It was Nami who had volunteered. Sanji was strong, but he would be useless against a female opponent like Kalifa. Chopper or Usopp might have been able to handle her, but given the nature of her ability, Chopper, whose fighting style was based on direct strikes, and Usopp, whose vision would be obscured by the bubbles, were poor matchups. In that case, Nami was the most suitable.
With her Clima-Tect in hand, Nami glared at Kalifa, who was blocking their path.
"I'll be your opponent, miss secretary."
"…Our job is to delay you. We don't necessarily have to fight you head-on."
Gathering the bubbles scattered around the area, she once again created a tidal wave. As Franky prepared to blow it away again, Nami swung her Clima-Tect first, creating a gust of wind.
"Kuh…!?"
"And there's still more—"
"Watch out, Nami-san!!"
"Eh!?"
Just as a loud noise erupted, Sanji collided with someone behind Nami.
The Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Wolf user—Jabra—had aimed for the moment Nami's vision was obscured by the bubbles. Sanji, noticing this, had blocked Jabra's attack and now stood back-to-back with her.
"To aim for a lady's back, you've got no shame as a man."
"Gyahahaha! I'm an assassin who makes a living by killing! Man or woman, if there's an opening to strike from behind, I'm gonna take it!!"
"You guys, go on ahead! I'll handle this one!!"
Spurred on by Sanji's words, Luffy's group, led by Caterina, started running again. As Kalifa tried to gather her bubbles to stop them, she felt a chill run down her spine as she met the slit, snake-like eyes of Kaie, who had glanced back while running. If she tried that again, Kaie would surely come to end her life. Kaie had judged that it was better to take the time to eliminate her here than to be repeatedly ambushed by her unpredictable bubbles.
Leaving the frozen Kalifa behind, Kaie and the others rounded a corner, leaving Nami and Sanji behind.
"Nami-san, I'll take care of that wolf-man. I'm counting on you for her."
"Yeah, leave it to me. We have to take them down quickly and go save Robin—though we might have to find Zoro before he gets lost first."
"No doubt."
With a small laugh, the two of them charged forward simultaneously.
***
"Yoyoi! You shall not pass!!!"
"You're in the way."
The one blocking their path, his hair writhing like an octopus, was another member of CP-9, Kumadori. He stood brazenly in the middle of the path, so Caterina ceded the lead to Kaie to have him punched out of the way. However, perhaps because his hair cushioned the blow, it didn't seem to do as much damage as expected. He stood back up, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
Dealing with pursuers from behind was a nuisance, and they all exchanged glances, wondering what to do. This time, it was Franky who stepped forward.
"I'll take this one. You guys, go on ahead."
"Nmaa, are you sure, Franky?"
"It hurts that I haven't been able to resupply my cola, but this ain't the time to be saying that. I'll manage somehow."
"T-Then I'll stay too!"
"Huh?"
Iceburg looked worriedly at Franky's drooping pompadour. Franky laughed, trying to act tough as he told them to go on, but Chopper stepped up to stand beside him. Chopper was a doctor. He was in a position where he shouldn't be fighting until the very end, but he had chosen to fight alongside everyone for Robin's sake. Even though he was scared to fight, he took inspiration from Zoro, Sanji, and Nami, who had stayed behind, and mustered his courage.
"You don't have to force yourself to stay, you know. As long as they get ahead and bring Nico Robin back, that's all that matters."
"E-Even so! I'm a man too!"
After staring blankly at Chopper's brave declaration, Franky began to laugh.
"What are you laughing at!!"
"Nah… heh heh, you're right. There are times a man's gotta show what he's made of. Alright, let's do this, the two of us!! Don't slow me down, you deer!!"
"I'm a reindeer!!"
Leaving the bickering pair behind, Caterina and the others started running.
Eventually, they came to an iron door, where two men were waiting.
"…Well, I figured it was impossible, but you're here sooner than expected."
"And there are still quite a few of you left. This is getting troublesome."
They were the masked members of CP-0—Joseph and Maha. It seemed that, judging it would be difficult for CP-9 to stop them, the two had stayed behind to delay them. With two CP-0 agents present, they could no longer afford to conserve their strength. But they were in a narrow room in the basement, with only stairs and a door. It wasn't a place designed for fighting, and judging by the size of the room, it seemed difficult for Kaie to even assume her human-beast form.
"If you wish to pass, you'll have to defeat us. If you can, that is."
Next to the thick iron door was a control panel, but it couldn't be opened without a special key and password. If they tried to force it open, the two CP-0 agents would interfere. It was a rather tricky situation.
"…Pedro, Zepo. I'll hold them off somehow. In the meantime, destroy the door and go."
"But… No, understood. I wish you luck."
From here on, the remaining two CP-0 members were also strong, but if they were held up here, their comrades following behind would also run into them. The room was small, but the underground passage was also considerably narrow. They had likely chosen to wait in this narrow room on purpose. It was a difficult place for their opponents to fight, but more than that, being underground, any reckless action could cause seawater to flood in, making the passage impassable. Most importantly, it sealed off Kaie's human-beast form.
The advantage was with CP-0.
And yet, since they had to come back this way after rescuing Robin, they couldn't afford to be held up here.
"I don't have much experience with adversity… but I have at least trained to fight without my ability. I'd appreciate it if you didn't underestimate me."
"We are not underestimating you. If we were, we wouldn't have chosen to intercept you in a place like this from the start."
The clash of their Haki-clad attacks created a tremendous sound.
Pedro and Zepo, while keeping an eye on the non-combatants Iceburg, Tom, and Caterina, tried to open the iron door… but it seemed to be more sturdily built than they had thought, and even Pedro couldn't destroy it instantly.
"It's harder than I thought… Zepo, can you do something about it?"
"It's difficult. Even with a Haki-clad fist, it'll take time to break a hole big enough for a person to get through."
It wasn't that it couldn't be broken, but it had apparently been built to withstand water pressure in case something happened in the underground passage, so it wouldn't break easily.
Luffy, seeing this, pushed the two aside, patted the door, and tested its hardness. Then, judging that he could do it, he moved back a little and put his thumb in his mouth.
"Step back a bit. Gear—Third!!!"
By some logic, he sent the air he had inhaled from his finger into his arm. The arm, which had grown to a massive size, then had the air transferred to his other arm, which he had stretched back, and he smashed through the iron door with all his might. Its appearance was no exaggeration to call it the arm of a giant, hinting at its immense power.
It was a change that made even Kaie and the others stare in amazement, but after the air was released, he shrank even smaller than his original size, causing Caterina to tilt her head and wonder, "Why?"
"Anyway, the path is open now… We're almost there! Everyone, stay on your toes!!"
Not much time had passed since they had arrived at the Tower of Justice. Even with CP-9 and CP-0 delaying them, Robin shouldn't be too far away.
Considering this, Caterina turned to Luffy and spoke.
"From here on, we'll just be a hindrance. If you go straight down the passage, you'll find Robin. If anyone other than those who can fight goes, we'll just slow you down—so, I'm counting on you."
"Yeah, leave it to me! Thanks for getting us this far, lady!!"
"I'd rather you didn't call me that…"
With a wry smile, Caterina saw off the four—Luffy, Pedro, Zepo, and Tobi.
Iceburg and Tom were out of breath from running this far. Iceburg was injured, and Tom was getting on in years. They shouldn't be pushed any further.
That said, staying here would only get in Kaie's way. Considering CP-0's objective, they probably wouldn't be pursued if they went up. In a wider space above, Kaie could freely use her human-beast form, which would force a tough fight on them even with two of them.
"Anyway, let's go up. We'll take on the role of guiding the others who stayed behind."
Besides, even though the two giants were holding the line in front of the Courthouse, they still had to secure a path for their return. Their job wasn't just about fighting directly.
***
—And so.
Eventually, halfway down the passage, Luffy's group caught up to Robin. They noticed that besides the two CP-0 agents, CP-9's Lucci, Spandam, and Robin, there was one other person.
Everyone but Luffy knew his face.
The worst possible enemy for a pirate, one whom they should first think of fleeing from if they met at sea, and never consider fighting.
Marine Admiral Akainu.
"I can't believe it, a Marine Admiral is here…!!"
"An Admiral!!?"
"The Ohara incident concerns me as well. But more than that, I'm surprised you've caught up."
"The ones left behind to delay you… It seems they had at least some effect," Guernica noted.
Their most troublesome enemy, Kaie, was not here. Of course, even if Kaie were here, it would have to be said that she would be at a disadvantage against Akainu. Let alone Pedro or Tobi, they stood no chance.
"So you've come to retrieve Nico Robin. You're devoted to your friends, but I can't let you go."
"Akainu, don't use your ability here. We'll all be burned to a crisp."
"I know."
With just Haki and his physical prowess, he was more than enough to overwhelm the four of them. He didn't even need to use his ability.
Still, perhaps considering the slight chance of something happening, Guernica and Stussy hurried ahead. If they could move to the pillars of the place called the "Bridge of Hesitation," just before the Gates of Justice, they would have a very wide space and could even get out onto the sea.
As Akainu and the others turned their backs and started walking, Pedro had been ready to stab them in the back if an opportunity arose—but no such opportunity came.
Akainu, who had stopped midway, received a report on his baby Den Den Mushi, sighed, and turned to face Luffy's group.
"It seems your friends are nearby… Are you really prepared to wage war with the World Government?"
"Friends?"
"It must be Twilight's reinforcements. To them, we might be treated like subordinates, but…"
"I have no intention of being anyone's subordinate. I just came to save Robin because she's my friend!!"
"I see… In either case, this flow can no longer be stopped."
By moving their forces on such a large scale, the relationship between Twilight and the World Government could be considered to have broken down, one way or another. Akainu had been against the government's decision until the very end, but now that it had come to this, neither side would be able to stop.
In that case, all he could do was his best to secure Nico Robin.
"Issue the Buster Call."
He pressed the button on the Golden Den Den Mushi.