Chapter 41: Just Want to Drag You Down to Hell
"Idiot. Look at the mess your big mouth caused. You ruined the Boss's plan, so you take the lead."
"Oi, oi, oi! Don't joke around at a time like this! Aren't we comrades? Surely we should face something like this together, right?"
Seeing the other CP9 agents genuinely retreating, the one who had felt so clever just moments ago suddenly panicked.
He knew very well that in a 1v1, forget about him—even their Boss wasn't a match for this Lunarian.
The talent of this race could only be described as monstrous. Whether it was their exaggerated defense, their mastery of fire, or their innate ability to switch between speed and defense, they were comparable to a Devil Fruit user.
According to intelligence, this Lunarian had previously been surrounded by CP0 and had broken out while injured. It was only because those CP0 agents lacked their Boss's tracking-oriented fruit ability that this Lunarian managed to escape.
Initially, CP9 had also tried to forcefully surround her, but she managed to break through their encirclement. However, during that process, she was marked by the Mato Mato no Mi (Mark-Mark Fruit). This led to the plan of wearing down her stamina to capture her alive.
Although factually speaking, she was at the end of her rope, a cornered beast fights desperately.
Since she wanted to drag people down with her, taking the lead would likely result in not even having ashes left.
"Boss, it's me. The situation has changed. That big-mouth Barlow blabbed about your fruit ability, and now that woman is getting ready to fight to the death... Okay, I understand."
A nearby CP9 agent ignored him and instead called the CP9 leader, reporting the current situation. Finally, he received notification to wait for backup and that the capture plan would begin ahead of schedule.
As for punishing Barlow for his big mouth, that would wait until they returned.
For loyalty, these CP9 agents were trained by the World Government from childhood on an island called Guanhao Island (localized name based on context, possibly referencing a specific training island in lore or fanfiction, usually assumed to be somewhere in the Grand Line).
Generally speaking, members of an official CP9 team were classmates from similar batches. They had some camaraderie. Although they might not always get along harmoniously, they wouldn't stab each other in the back during missions.
"Backup is on the way. Before they arrive, we have to rely on ourselves."
In the distance, on the World Government ship, aside from the necessary crew to steer the ship, agents capable of Geppo (Moonwalk) and possessing combat ability had all been thrown out by the CP9 leader using his fruit ability.
With a bit more flight time, they would arrive here.
"But this matter won't pass easily. Just wait for your punishment!"
"Easy for you to say... Tekkai! Hey! Why attack me first?! Considering I gave you the info, shouldn't you hit them first?!"
Before Barlow could finish speaking, the Lunarian, who had been preparing just moments ago, rushed in front of him. The flames on her back were extinguished, and her speed reached its peak.
The blade in her hand slashed down at Barlow's head. Even with the defense of Tekkai, it left a wound deep enough to show bone on Barlow's arm.
"Damn it, even in this state, she's still this strong..."
At this moment, Barlow felt genuine fear from the bottom of his heart. If her condition were slightly better, or if his Tekkai had been a split second late, he probably would have been cut in two.
They say Tekkai comes with a self-hypnosis effect, making the user mistakenly believe "I can tank this hit," only to become a background casualty.
But if he hadn't used Tekkai, he might not even have left a complete corpse.
"Flame Phoenix · Scattered Feathers!"
Several slashes carrying scorching flames followed closely, striking at Barlow.
Barlow was very confused. He didn't understand why, with so many people chasing her, she was targeting him alone.
Was it just because he said a couple of extra sentences?
"Don't just watch! Help me!"
The wound on his arm was still there. Even though he used the technique of Life Return (Seimei Kikan) to control his muscles and blood vessels to stop the bleeding, he didn't dare to take another hit head-on.
Life Return was a special physical technique that allowed finer control over every part of the body to accomplish more things.
For example, extending hair to use as a weapon, shifting internal organs to dodge attacks, or rapidly digesting food to recover stamina.
Emergency hemostasis was the most commonly used technique.
Although Geppo allowed humans to fight in the air, compared to actual wings capable of flight, it was still far inferior. Seeing the situation, Barlow immediately cried out for help from the others in a panic.
But the opponent was fighting like a madwoman. Even taking hits from others, she relied on her racial talent to tank them and continued attacking Barlow.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several sounds of breaking air came from the distant horizon. Two shurikens were flying toward them at high speed.
These were weapons thrown by the CP9 leader using his fruit ability. Although thrown by the Mato Mato no Mi user, their flight speed followed certain physical laws (relative to mass/aerodynamics perhaps, or just faster generally).
The flight speed of these shurikens was obviously much faster than people. During the previous pursuit, such weapons would fly over occasionally, preventing her from resting properly.
"Hahaha! It's the Boss's ability! Backup is almost here! Let's see what you can do then!"
Since the thrown weapons had arrived, the other CP9 agents wouldn't be far behind.
This made Barlow breathe a sigh of relief. However, the opponent's actions far exceeded his expectations.
This Lunarian didn't ignite the flames on her back. Instead, she extinguished the last flicker of fire, allowing the two shurikens to strike her shoulders.
In this process, her speed, which had slowed down, surged once again.
"Tek..."
"Squelch!"
Before he could use Tekkai to defend, the flaming blade had already pierced through Barlow's heart. He never expected that she would rather get injured just to kill him.
"You lunatic... if you don't defend against attacks like that, what will you do later?"
"I never planned to leave alive. What does getting injured matter? I just want to take a few more of you with me on the way out. That's all."
Saying this, she kicked Barlow, letting him fall into the sea. She pulled the two shurikens from her shoulders and used the flames extending from her blade to cauterize her wounds.
"Next... who will it be?"
Their comrade's death saddened these CP9 agents, but the sheer madness in the Lunarian's eyes made them involuntarily retreat.
Backup was arriving soon. No one wanted to be targeted by this lunatic at this moment and end up like Barlow.
"That big mouth Barlow... served him right..."
A feeling of resentment arose among the CP9 group. If not for Barlow's big mouth, she might still be trying to flee instead of entering this suicidal state.
Meanwhile, as the Lunarian selected her next target, different thoughts filled her heart.
[I'm sorry, Papa, Mama. I might break my promise. Surviving... might be impossible now. I am ultimately... not strong enough...]
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