"Ahhh... I'm gonna die!"
Spandine shrieked in terror as a spear came hurtling through the air toward him. His eyes bulged, and his tongue lolled out—but just then, Gomray flashed forward and blocked the strike.
"Iron Body: Steel!"
CLANG!
A sharp, metallic clang rang out as the spear smashed into Gomray's body, but his hardened Iron Body absorbed the blow. Before he could catch his breath, the wildman Taro hurled two more spears and charged forward with a roar:
"Savage Sprint!"
Whoosh—!
Taro launched himself like a beast pouncing on prey, leaping over the gap between the two ships in a single bound. The spears spun through the air, arcing toward Gomray once more. Calmly, he activated Iron Body again and deflected them.
The rebounding spears whirled back, and Taro caught them mid-air with both hands before lunging at Gomray again.
Seeing this, Gomray dodged with a swift sidestep and kicked twice:
"Tempest Kick!"
Two slicing shockwaves blasted toward Taro. He crossed his spears in front of him to block, the twin weapons forming an X-shaped guard.
"Spear Style: Piercing Strike!" Taro shouted, spinning the spears once more.
"Paper Art: Armed Form!"
Gomray weaved away with paper-like agility, evading the flurry of thrusts, then disappeared with a Shave to reappear behind Taro:
"Finger Pistol: Hand Cannon!"
"Spear Style: Cyclone!"
Sensing danger, Taro pulled back both spears and spun them like twin turbines to block Gomray's thrust. Seeing his attack deflected, Gomray quickly retreated—but just as he moved back, a rock came flying toward him and exploded with a boom, knocking him off balance.
"Hey hey~ You government dogs forget about me already?"
Perched on the ship's railing, Bemira tossed a pebble in the air with a wicked grin. Gomray scowled and shouted:
"Spandine! Get someone to hold him off, I need to finish this savage!"
"Uh, uh—You guys! Go deal with that Bemira! Wait, wait—You two stay! Protect me!"
Spandine had crawled to a safe corner and was pointing frantically at several CP9 operatives. But after a moment's thought, he called two stronger ones back to guard him.
Self-preservation was in Spandine's very DNA. The worse things got, the more his cowardice surfaced. He was already preparing a plea for mercy in case he got captured…
"Go! Cut that Bemira down! Don't be afraid! Just use Paper Art to dodge his rocks!"
"Right!"
The CP9 agents psyched themselves up, drew their swords, and launched into the air with Moonwalk. Bemira glanced up, grinning as they approached.
"So full of openings."
He flicked a stone.
"Dodge it! Dodge it now!"
The CP9 agents screamed, but Bemira's flying stones weren't so easy to avoid. With a deafening boom, the pebble exploded mid-air, shredding one unlucky agent into pieces. Without Iron Body active in mid-air, he had no defense.
"M-Mama mia! That's terrifying~"
Spandine was trembling behind the ship's wheel, peeking out with just his eyes. Meanwhile, the other CP9 members landed on the pirates' deck, now dangerously close to Bemira.
Bemira stood up, cracking his knuckles.
"Whew~ Haven't had a real fight in a while. You guys will make good warm-ups."
"Cut the chatter! Take him down!"
The CP9 agents exchanged glances, then charged with their blades. Bemira smiled coldly as they came:
"Idiots. Aren't swords inorganic matter too?"
BOOM!
— — —
"Spear Style: Twin Dragon Fang!"
Taro bellowed, launching both spears like twin dragons lunging forward. Gomray dodged with a swift Shave, then sprang into the air with Moonwalk and followed up with:
"Tempest Kick: Gale Slash!"
SLASH!
BOOM!
Taro was strong, but clearly outmatched. The shockwave forced him back several steps. Before Gomray could press the advantage, he heard a series of thunderous explosions. He turned—and saw his fellow CP9 agents lying in pools of blood.
Bemira stood there calmly, gripping one CP9 operative by the head and lifting him off the ground.
"N-No! Please—!"
The agent trembled in pure terror.
"Goodbye, boy." Bemira said with a grin.
His arm bulged with power—
BOOM!
The CP9 agent's head exploded like a watermelon.
"Disgusting." Bemira muttered, wiping the blood and brain matter off his hand with the agent's uniform. He looked up at Gomray in the air and smirked darkly.
"Your turn, officer. Flying Stone."
BOOM!
Another explosive rock burst into the air as Bemira vaulted onto the CP9 ship, joining the fray in earnest.
Now with two pirates whose bounties exceeded 50 million berries attacking at once, even someone as powerful as Gomray couldn't hold them off. He could escape—Moonwalk made that possible—but he didn't dare.
Their ship carried cargo personally designated by the World Government. If they lost it, even returning to CP9 would likely mean execution.
So Gomray fought on, desperately.
"Boss Blue Eagle, looks like that CP guy's not gonna last. Should we step in?" Turkey asked.
"Why bother? Those filthy CP dogs dying is a win for the sea. When have they ever helped us Marines when we were in trouble? Let 'em rot. It's not our cargo anyway."
The Navy and CP rarely saw eye-to-eye. The Marines—at least publicly—upheld "justice." The CP, lapdogs of the Celestial Dragons, would do anything to achieve their goals, even betraying Marines in collusion with pirates. No wonder they were viewed with contempt.
Likewise, CP agents disdained the Marines. They all served the same rulers, so why did the Marines get to hold their heads high while CP agents were called dogs?
So Firebird's indifference made perfect sense for a regular Marine.
But Rosinante—he saw things differently.
His goal was to overthrow the World Government, to build a new world order—to become the king of the world.
He couldn't afford a narrow view. To achieve his vision, every piece of power was worth considering—even CP9. Winning them over would take effort, but it wasn't impossible.
That said…
Spandine really was revolting.
Saving him went against every value Rosinante held. After all, it was Spandine who had launched the Buster Call on Ohara.
Helping him now? It would feel like aiding evil.
A difficult choice indeed.
Ding—System Detection: Host faces a major decision—whether to save Spandine.
Option 1: Do not save him.
("This repulsive parasite deserves death.")
Reward: Pickaxe (from League of Legends item system)
Option 2: Save him.
("Big-picture thinking. Sometimes you save a maggot for the sake of the greater good.")
Reward: Ruby Crystal (from League of Legends item system)
Option 3: Kill everyone present. Broadcast to the world: from now on, CP9 will be hunted and slain on sight.
("Make your voice heard. Strike down CP9. Declare war on the World Government. Become King of the World!")
Reward: Infinity Edge (from League of Legends item system)
(End of Chapter)
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