As he spoke, he glanced at the frowning Lucci. "Also, the task from earlier is being abandoned. For now, just continue carrying out your previous mission of searching for the Ancient Weapon."
Lucci: "...?!"
Hearing Spandam's words, Lucci frowned, his tone sinking. "Abandoned?"
"That's right. This is the final decision reached by the higher-ups."
Spandam didn't hide anything. He simply spread his hands and smiled as he spoke. "The power that guy showed is already enough for us to treat him with caution. Especially after defeating the captain of the Big Mom Pirates, the intelligence agency has already issued orders to treat the Umbrella Corporation with the same attitude used for the Emperors of the Sea. As long as they do nothing to provoke the World Government and we have no assurance of victory, we won't act rashly again."
"Everything they had guessed up until now was wrong. That guy being able to defeat an Admiral might not have been just because of a Devil Fruit advantage."
"So, our mission can only be given up."
"What about the information on the Devil Child?"
Lucci still frowned at Spandam's explanation. "We're giving that up, too? Didn't you say we needed her to decipher the ancient text?"
"Although it's unfortunate, for now, we really can only give up. Of course, if an opportunity appears, we'll reconsider. An Emperor crew isn't enough to make the World Government completely give up, but at the moment, we must treat them cautiously."
With a tone full of regret, Spandam spread his hands again and swept his eyes over the two of them. "Can't be helped. You two are simply too weak. And I can't apply for more resources for something we have no confidence in succeeding!"
After saying that, he stood up immediately and didn't bother with the two men whose faces had already turned dark.
He reached for the elephant beside him. "Then that's all for this meeting. If there's nothing important, don't bother me. Oh, right—"
Just as he reached the door, he seemed to remember something. He turned back with a cheerful expression and said to the silent Lucci and Kaku behind him: "Don't fail the Ancient Weapon mission too. Otherwise, as your superior, I'll be the one having a headache!"
With those words, he let out a sinister, crafty laugh and left with his pet, leaving behind Lucci and Kaku with dark expressions, and the rest of the CP9 members, who had remained silent the whole time.
Only after that hateful man's presence faded did Kaku finally lose his composure and slam the table in anger. "That bastard! He was the one who gave the orders on his own, and now that it's failed, he's shifting all the blame to us? If not for his father, that useless—"
"Shut up."
Before Kaku could finish, Lucci cut him off with a cold rebuke and said flatly, "No matter what, he is our superior. And there's something he said that wasn't wrong..."
He took a deep breath, his expression darkening again. "We really are too weak."
Even now, though they had survived and returned here, he still couldn't forget how stunning, how terrifying that move had been!
Lucci clenched his fists, anger and fear flickering in his eyes.
Gritting his teeth, he muttered: "God of Sun... Ian!"
...
"Achoo!"
Ian, who was rarely staying at home looking after the baby, suddenly let out a loud sneeze.
The sudden sneeze made Robin and Ain, who were beside him, both show worried expressions. "Ian, is your body still not fully recovered?"
"It's already fine."
But faced with their concern, Ian grinned brightly and winked. "You two should know better than anyone how my body is doing after last night, right?"
"Hmm!"
Hearing that, Ain's cheeks instantly flushed red. As for Robin... She instead shot Ian a playful look. That mature and charming expression made Ian's whole body tremble.
However…
"Hey, hey, I'm still here, you know!"
Zephyr, who had been watching this scene while holding Aikes, grumbled in dissatisfaction. "You youngsters have plenty of energy, but you should at least remember there's an old man here!"
"Alright, what are you here for?"
Hearing Instructor Zephyr's complaint, Ian, holding Aria, looked at him helplessly. "It's rare for me to have some rest, and you came running here? It's pretty rude to disturb someone's marital life, you know! So? Do you need something? If not, please leave!"
"You kid..."
Zephyr looked at Ian, who was trying to kick him out, both amused and exasperated. "Things outside are in a complete mess because of you, and yet here you are spending time with your wife and kids. If those guys knew, they'd probably spit blood in anger. Forget it, let's get to the main point."
His tone shifted as he spoke in a cheerful manner. "According to my informant in Marine Headquarters..."
Ian: "..."
"Hey, hey, what's with that look? He really is an informant! That old guy even said he refuses to associate with us evil forces!"
Zephyr couldn't help laughing at that, but still continued. "The Marine Headquarters and World Government have decided they won't act lightly against us anymore."
"That really is good news!"
Ian looked surprised and nodded. "Seems like we'll get some peace for a while."
"And about Grado's side, according to Binz, who went to assist them."
Zephyr continued: "They can only stop for now because of the Marines' interference. Although they've already swallowed most of the industries of the four families, there's still a large portion they haven't been able to take."
His tone became serious. "So he asked whether you want to take action against the Marines."
"No need. Tell them to stop while they're ahead."
Ian shook his head without hesitation. "With Grado's small numbers, it's impossible for them to swallow all four families' industries. And although the Marine Headquarters has decided not to declare war on us easily, that only means they won't do it lightly, nothing more. We should lie low for a while."
"That's what I thought too."
Zephyr showed a pleased smile at Ian's response. "Alright, that's all. I won't disturb you anymore."
As he spoke, he glanced at the three of them, and finally, his eyes fell on the baby in Ian's arms.