Chapter 161: Contact
San Faldo was not far from Pucci Island.
An ordinary merchant ship would take half a day to make the trip, but a Marine warship was built for speed. After only a few hours, the outline of Pucci appeared across the blue sea.
And beyond it, farther out on the water, there was a ship.
At first, it was no more than a black speck against the horizon. As the distance closed, its shape slowly became clearer.
It was a strange vessel.
The materials looked new. The timber was solid, the hull well maintained, and there were barely any signs of weather damage. Yet its structure felt outdated, closer to an old fishing boat than a pirate ship meant for combat.
There were no visible cannons. No reinforced gun ports. No figurehead meant to intimidate enemies.
At a glance, it looked ordinary.
Except for the flag.
A skull hung from the mast, and beside the skull perched a white dove.
In the Great Pirate Era, such a flag carried only one meaning.
Pirates.
Of course, it could have been a prank.
But between the possibility of a prank and the possibility of danger, Axel preferred not to gamble with other people's lives.
Tom noticed the ship too. So did the Marines responsible for steering and maintaining the warship.
"Is that the ship that attacked the patrol?" Tom asked.
"I don't know," Axel replied. "The white dove on the pirate flag matches the report, but that alone doesn't confirm anything. Still, if this really is the ship, then the people aboard are either confident in their strength, or they have another purpose."
Neither answer was reassuring.
Tom looked at him. "Need me to do anything?"
Axel did not bother being polite.
"Prepare underwater. If you hear my order, don't hold back. Sink that ship from below."
"Got it."
Tom pulled off his shirt and jumped straight off the moving warship.
The Marines stared.
With Tom's round build and his usual good-natured manner, most of them had assumed he was only a skilled Fish-Man shipwright with a cheerful temper. Nothing about him seemed dangerous at a glance.
Then, without warning, he had thrown himself into the sea from a moving warship.
For a moment, several soldiers looked as if they wanted to shout after him.
Could he swim with that body?
Was he angry?
Had the captain just sent their new shipwright to drown?
Before anyone could sort out their thoughts, Tom disappeared beneath the waves with hardly a splash.
Axel ignored their expressions and gave his next order.
"Bring us closer."
The helmsman hesitated for half a breath.
Against a pirate ship, the usual Marine tactic was to maintain distance and open fire with superior artillery. Closing the gap meant giving up the advantage of Marine weaponry.
But an order was an order.
The warship adjusted its course, cutting through the waves as it approached the vessel with the white dove flag.
As the two ships drew near, Axel finally saw the people standing on deck.
His expression did not change.
Inwardly, however, he cursed.
Although they were much younger than the versions in his memory, he recognized them.
CP9.
The World Government's secret intelligence agency.
So this was a play they had written and performed themselves.
In the future, CP9 would disguise themselves as shipwrights in Water 7 for years. If they could do that, posing as pirates was nothing difficult.
They had even attacked a Marine warship and sunk it.
Ruthless.
No ordinary person would ever suspect that a group capable of such a thing belonged to the World Government. Without the memories from his previous life, Axel might have mistaken them for pirates too.
He kept his face calm and looked directly at the people on the other ship.
One of them stepped forward first.
He had a rough-looking face, two pointed mustache tufts on his cheeks, a sharp goatee, and long hair tied behind him in a ponytail.
"So you're Captain Axel, the officer in charge of these waters?" the man said, sizing him up. "Just like the rumors said. Still a little brat who hasn't grown up."
Then he grinned.
"I'm Jabra, your long-lost brother."
"..."
Axel stared at him.
A question mark practically formed above his head.
Brother?
Couldn't he at least come up with a lie that sounded like it had been assembled by someone with a working brain?
Jabra clicked his tongue when he saw Axel's reaction.
"Fine, fine. It was a joke."
A man in black stepped out from the group.
He wore a black top hat and carried himself with a cold, composed air. Even before he spoke, the others subtly made room for him. It was not fear exactly, but recognition of authority.
Jabra immediately complained, "Lucci, didn't we agree I'd handle this?"
Rob Lucci ignored him.
His eyes rested on Axel, expression flat and unreadable.
"We have business with you," Lucci said. "I hope you'll cooperate."
Axel looked back at him.
"Then what business does the famous Rob Lucci of CP9 have with me?"
The deck went quiet.
The silence was immediate.
CP9 was not like CP1 through CP8. Those organizations had reputations. Their existence could be mentioned openly.
CP9 was different.
It was a secret intelligence agency directly under the World Government, responsible for assassinations, covert operations, and missions that could never be brought into the light.
Yet Axel had named both the organization and Rob Lucci himself.
No one moved.
Even Jabra's joking expression vanished.
Lucci remained calm, but his gaze sharpened.
"What do you know?"
Axel met his stare without flinching.
His crimson eyes carried a pressure of their own, quiet but unmistakable.
"What you think I know," Axel said, "and a few things I probably shouldn't."
The CP9 members fell silent again.
Where had the leak come from?
Had someone betrayed them?
Or was CP9 not as hidden from the world as the Government believed?
Before they could settle on an answer, Axel bent his knees and leaped.
He crossed the distance between the ships in a clean arc and landed lightly on their deck.
The Marines on his own warship stiffened at once. Many of them instinctively reached for their weapons, nervous at the sight of their Captain boarding a ship that might belong to the enemy.
Axel turned back toward them.
"It's fine," he called out. "They're Government people. The pirates have already been dealt with by them."
His tone was casual, almost as if he had run into old acquaintances during a stroll.
The Marines relaxed slightly.
If they were Government agents, then the danger should have passed.
At least, that was what they wanted to believe.
Lucci watched him calmly.
"Aren't you afraid we'll suddenly attack?"
Jabra lowered his voice, speaking only loud enough for Axel and the nearby CP9 agents to hear.
"Why not just kill the Marines and take the kid back?"
He sounded rough and hot-headed, but he was not stupid. He kept his voice down, threatening Axel while leaving room to deny it if necessary.
Axel did not look worried.
"I know why you came," he said. "But this isn't the time for you to show off. I have a Fish-Man waiting underwater."
Lucci's brow moved slightly.
Fish-Men were troublesome in the sea.
For Devil Fruit users, they were worse than troublesome.
They were a natural counter.
Axel continued, voice still relaxed.
"If word gets out that the World Government disguised its agents as pirates, attacked a Marine warship, and caused Marine casualties, do you really think this ends neatly?"
No one answered.
"So cooperate with me," Axel said.
Lucci stared at him.
"Do you think we will?"
Axel smiled faintly.
"You will."
His gaze swept across the deck, then returned to Lucci.
"Because I believe your justice won't allow you to refuse."
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]