Chapter 162: A Brief Clash
Rob Lucci was known as the strongest and coldest killing machine in the history of CP9.
His justice was extreme.
When he was only thirteen, a kingdom under the World Government had been attacked by pirates. The pirates captured five hundred soldiers and used them as hostages to demand the king's abdication.
Lucci went alone.
He killed all five hundred hostages first.
Then he took the pirate captain's head.
To Lucci, weakness itself was a sin. Justice had to be preserved, even if it meant staining his own hands. He would not allow anyone to tarnish that justice, not even himself.
That was why Axel had said what he said.
It was not empty provocation. It was aimed straight at Rob Lucci's nature.
After a brief silence, Lucci answered, "Fine. We'll cooperate."
Jabra's eyes widened.
He had never seen Lucci back down before, much less in front of a child. His face twisted in annoyance.
"Lucci, don't tell me you're actually scared of this brat?"
Lucci ignored him.
His gaze remained fixed on Axel.
"But we also expect your cooperation. Our mission is to determine whether the Pluton blueprints that passed through your hands were truly destroyed. You only need to allow us to conduct a search."
Axel tilted his head slightly, as if he had heard something interesting.
"And how do you plan to search?" he asked. "Turn my base upside down? Interrogate everyone around me? Bribe my subordinates? Threaten them?"
"Chapapa."
A round-bodied man with no visible neck stepped forward. His mouth was sealed with a zipper, which he unzipped before speaking.
Fukurou smiled as though they were discussing something perfectly ordinary.
"We are CP9, government personnel. Naturally, we'll use proper methods. As for the details of the investigation, those are confidential."
"Is sinking a Marine warship one of your proper methods?" Axel asked.
The words landed quietly, but the air tightened.
The sea between Pucci Island and this place stretched for more than ten kilometers. Even trained Marines could not swim that far after losing their ship. If any had survived the wreck, CP9 would not have allowed witnesses to escape.
Most of the men on that patrol ship were probably innocent.
A samurai-like man stepped forward, his expression full of theatrical grief.
"Yo-yoi! Such shame! Such unbearable shame!" Kumadori cried, drawing his blade. "For the sin of attacking Marines, this Kumadori shall commit seppuku!"
He thrust the sword toward his own stomach.
Clang.
The blade struck his abdomen and rang out like iron hitting iron.
Kumadori froze dramatically.
"Iron Body! Ah, how tragic! I cannot die!"
Axel looked at him in silence.
The performance was absurd enough to make a person forget, for one brief moment, that they were standing among government assassins.
Another man stepped forward. He had bull-horn-shaped hair, a tapered goatee, and a calm, heavy presence.
Blueno spoke in an even voice. "Our orders are our orders. We carry them out. Sacrifices are unavoidable."
Axel's expression turned colder.
"If that's your reasoning, then there's no need for me to cooperate." He looked across the deck at them. "And you should understand something clearly. Right now, I'm the one holding the advantage. If word spreads that CP9 attacked a Marine warship and killed Marines while disguised as pirates, what do you think happens next?"
The answer was obvious.
The World Government would never admit to it.
They would deny the mission, cut ties, and discard the agents involved. No matter how sharp a blade was, once it cut the hand of its master, it became a liability.
A tall woman stepped forward next.
Kalifa adjusted her glasses. Unlike Jabra, she did not rush to anger. She studied Axel carefully before speaking.
"From the way you explained things to your crew just now, it's clear they don't know who we are. Does the Fish-Man underwater know?"
Axel did not answer.
Kalifa continued, "If we eliminate you before you can call out and then deal with the Fish-Man afterward, the problem you mentioned disappears, doesn't it?"
"Do you really believe that?"
Axel's voice remained calm.
"Just a moment ago, you thought I didn't know who you were. I did. Some things aren't as certain as they look."
In truth, Kalifa's guess was correct.
Tom did not know CP9's identity.
But confidence was a weapon too, and Axel knew how to use it.
Sure enough, Kalifa's expression shifted. The others also grew quieter. The more uncertainty Axel created, the more dangerous their position became. For a group whose existence depended on secrecy, even a small leak was unacceptable.
A long-nosed man with a square face and a lean build stepped forward. He wore a faint smile, but his eyes were sharp.
Kaku asked directly, "Then what will it take for you to cooperate with our investigation?"
Axel looked at him.
"Bring my dead subordinates back to life."
The smile on Kaku's face froze.
The demand was unreasonable.
More than that, it was impossible.
Even with the World Government's vast intelligence network, no power capable of reviving the dead had ever been confirmed. Axel's meaning was clear.
He had no intention of cooperating properly.
But that was only fair.
Had he failed to recognize them, had Tom not been waiting beneath the sea, CP9 would never have bothered negotiating either. From the moment they sank that Marine warship, they had chosen to wear the face of pirates.
Lucci's expression hardened.
He did not speak at first. Instead, the pigeon on his shoulder bobbed and spoke in his place.
"Cooperate with our investigation."
Axel looked at the bird, then back at Lucci.
"And why should I?"
"Because you only need to obey," Lucci said, his voice flat.
Axel's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Aren't you worried about the news getting out?"
"We'll monitor the nearby islands," Lucci replied. "Once the Fish-Man appears, we'll capture him. Then we'll kill everyone who knows anything. That way, justice will be preserved."
Axel did not doubt him.
Not for a second.
This was Rob Lucci as he was now. Perhaps one day, after losing to Luffy, something in him might change. But at this moment, he was still the World Government's perfect killing machine.
Axel smiled faintly.
"Then let's see whether you can actually do it."
The next instant, their hands met.
To anyone watching from afar, it might have looked like a handshake.
It was not.
The moment their palms touched, force erupted between them.
Lucci's fingers tightened like iron claws. Beneath his glove, his muscles hardened with Iron Body, turning his hand into a weapon meant to crush bone.
Axel did not move.
His ability surged through the point of contact.
Invisible force twisted, redirected, and pressed inward. Lucci's grip, instead of crushing Axel's hand, seemed to fold against itself. The flesh beneath his Iron Body strained. A tearing sensation crawled from his palm toward his forearm.
Lucci's eyes sharpened.
Axel's expression did not change, but his crimson gaze carried a hint of mockery.
Neither of them stepped back.
For a brief moment, the deck was silent except for the creak of wood and the slap of waves against the hull.
Then Lucci withdrew his hand.
Axel did the same.
It had lasted only a few seconds.
The result, however, was clear to both of them.
Axel looked at Lucci with a small, almost lazy smile.
He had not held back.
Lucci's physical strength and Iron Body had interfered with the full effect of Axel's ability, but interference was not immunity.
Lucci turned away.
"I expect an answer the next time we meet."
Then, to the confusion of the other CP9 agents, he ordered the ship to move away from the Marine warship.
Jabra stared at him.
"Lucci, why are we leaving?" he demanded. "Weren't we going to take him?"
Lucci did not look back.
"That kid can't be dealt with quickly."
He said nothing more, but Jabra understood.
Their plan had depended on speed and secrecy.
If they could capture Axel instantly, the rest could be handled later. But if the fight dragged on, the commotion would grow. The Marines would notice. The Fish-Man underwater might act. The situation would become too difficult to cover up cleanly.
Jabra clicked his tongue and spat over the side.
"Tch. Lucky brat."
Lucky?
Lucci lowered his gaze to his hand.
His palm was a mess.
Even with Iron Body, the flesh had split. The damage had dug deeper than it should have. If not for his Zoan-type Devil Fruit's recovery and his own tolerance for pain, he would not have been able to hide it so calmly.
There was still a strange disturbance inside his arm, as though something had briefly twisted where it had no right to twist. His physique had forced it back into place, but the sensation remained.
That child was not simple.
On his shoulder, the pigeon tilted its head.
"Coo... coo..."
It sounded almost as if it agreed.
.....
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