The attack on the Celestial Dragons sent Admiral Kizaru into action, throwing the entire Sabaody Archipelago into chaos. Marines and battles could be seen everywhere.
The eleven Supernovas became the primary targets for the Marines, but against their bizarre abilities, ordinary forces were utterly useless.
Auction House, Grove 1.
"Is it over?"
Gurd arrived at the bridge leading to Grove 1, scanning the auction house area. Marines were everywhere, but no Pirates were in sight.
The battle seemed to have ended.
He had come quickly, but from the moment the Celestial Dragons were attacked to the three captains' escape, the entire ordeal likely took no more than ten minutes.
Chikara pointed to the bridge on the right.
"Lord Gurd, Hajrudin is over there."
"Hmm."
Gurd glanced briefly.
Hajrudin had come to rescue the giant slaves, and it seemed to have gone smoothly—he was followed by a chubby giant.
"Swish!"
A flash at his side, and Who's Who appeared.
"Lord Gurd."
"Who's Who?"
Gurd looked at him, somewhat surprised. "What are you doing here? Oh, right—you were looking for Straw Hat Luffy? Where is he?"
"Straw Hat fled east."
Who's Who looked awkward.
He had originally planned to wait for Straw Hat to emerge and then eliminate him. But upon hearing the news that Straw Hat had assaulted a Celestial Dragon, he immediately abandoned the idea.
That guy was a complete madman!
Not worth provoking!
Who's Who tensed up, lowering his voice to warn, "Lord Gurd, we should leave this place as soon as possible."
"Leave? Why?"
Gurd frowned slightly, but he soon got his answer.
"Move aside!"
Marines surged toward them, with a group of doctors at the center escorting two stretchers, apparently transporting injured individuals.
Given the earlier incident and such high-priority escort, the identities of the injured were obvious.
Celestial Dragons!
Who's Who's expression changed, instinctively stepping back and shielding himself behind Gurd. As a former government agent, he understood the authority and terror of the Celestial Dragons better than anyone.
Being turned into a slave would be worse than death.
Chikara hid on Gurd's other side, clutching his coat tremblingly, her eyes filled with unmistakable fear.
Gurd glanced at the two.
Since when did subordinates shield themselves behind their boss?
Pathetic!
"Hurry up! If anything happens to Father or Brother, I'll have every last one of you turned into slaves!"
A female Celestial Dragon wearing an oxygen mask berated the Marines, her temper flaring to its peak. When she spotted Gurd standing ahead, her fury only grew.
He wasn't kneeling!
"Filthy commoner!"
Charloss angrily drew her gun and fired at Gurd.
"Bang!"
The bullet struck Gurd's arm—only to ricochet off harmlessly.
"Huh?"
Gurd's gaze drifted downward to the spot where he'd been hit.
He was just passing by.
If they hadn't provoked him, he wouldn't have minded stepping aside to let the Marines through. But shooting at him outright?
By now, the Marine escort had reached the bridge, and Charloss stood right in front of Gurd. Seeing him completely unharmed, she frowned in confusion.
Did she miss?
Fine—she'd shoot again!
Charloss raised her gun once more, only for her vision to suddenly darken.
"Smack!"
Her oxygen mask shattered as the powerful slap continued unimpeded, landing squarely on her right cheek and leaving a vivid red mark.
"Eh?"
Charloss was stunned by Gurd's strike.
"Charloss was hit!"
The accompanying Marines were so shocked they stood frozen like wooden chickens, watching as all three Celestial Dragons were struck!
Charloss covered her right cheek, staring at Gurd in disbelief.
"How dare you hit me?!"
Slap!
Her left cheek was also slapped!
"Even my father has never hit me!"
Slap!
"I'll kill you!"
Slap! Slap!
"Waaahhhh~~"
Slap!
Gurd's palms flew back and forth, quickly turning the female Celestial Dragon's face into an unrecognizable, bruised, and swollen mess resembling a pig's head, with her eyes barely visible.
How dare she bare her teeth at him!
Thud!
Charloss staggered back several steps before collapsing unconscious between two stretchers.
The whole family, neatly arranged.
Only then did the Marines snap out of their shock. Just as they were about to arrest the perpetrator, their commodore leader raised a hand to stop them.
"Lower your weapons! This man is the Earth Calamity, vice-captain of the Beasts Pirates. Without orders from above, we cannot act!"
"But, Commodore!"
The Marines glanced at Charloss.
Without orders, they indeed couldn't attack a Four Emperor's crew. But with Celestial Dragons assaulted, doing nothing would surely bring punishment.
"Enough!"
The commodore barked darkly. With their current forces, they couldn't even handle a Supernova, let alone a notorious Pirate like this.
Moreover, protecting the three Celestial Dragons' lives was paramount. Provoking the enemy further now was out of the question.
"Contact headquarters immediately!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Marines watched helplessly as Gurd and his group swaggered away, too intimidated to speak, their hearts filled with frustration.
Chikara tugged at Gurd's collar timidly. "Lord Gurd, won't hitting a Celestial Dragon cause trouble?"
"Done is done. Don't worry."
Gurd chuckled dismissively.
A clash with the Celestial Dragons was inevitable. If not that female Celestial Dragon today, another would provoke him sooner or later.
Those fools knew nothing of courtesy.
Was he supposed to kneel and bow if he encountered one?
Not even the Five Elders would dare demand that of him!
Besides, he wanted to test the World Government's stance.
He was acquiring properties on Sabaody to expand his business into World Government territory—not just the first half of the Grand Line, but the other three seas as well.
If the Five Elders didn't want trouble, today's incident would likely blow over with more noise than consequence. His company could afford to be bolder in future expansions.
Even if the Five Elders refused to play along, the loss wouldn't be significant.
At worst, he'd just fight again.
At this point, the only ones who could challenge him were the God's Knights. The Five Elders likely lacked the resolve for an all-out war.
Gurd smiled at Chikara.
"How did that feel just now?"
"Amazing!"
Chikara's eyes sparkled, her fear of Celestial Dragons fading significantly. For the first time, she realized they weren't so terrifying after all.
She wanted to punch those vile Celestial Dragons too!
"Hah, good."
Gurd grinned, then glanced at the visibly nervous Who's Who.
Tch. Even less guts than the girl.
"Who's Who."
"Y-yes!"
Who's Who jumped like a startled bird, terrified that a Marine Admiral might suddenly appear.
Gurd wasn't afraid—but he was!
Gurd narrowed his eyes. "I just received intel. Judicial Island fell recently, and CP9 is being hunted by the Marines. Any idea where they'd flee?"
"CP9's Rob Lucci!"
Who's Who immediately caught on.
CP9 being hunted by the Marines sounded extremely strange, but as a former government agent, he was well aware of the darkness within.
Clearly, the responsibility for Judicial Island's fall had been pinned on CP9. Those useless officials only knew how to shift blame.
This situation was all too familiar to him.
Back then, when the Gum-Gum Fruit he was escorting got stolen by Red Hair, all responsibility fell on him. Had he not risked his life escaping prison, he would have been eliminated long ago.
"They'll definitely go there!"
Who's Who recalled his childhood experiences.
Every generation of CP9 consisted of orphans carefully selected by the World Government, undergoing brutal training on a certain island from childhood.
That place could be considered their hometown.
And returning to one's roots when in trouble is an instinctive behavior!
Therefore, Rob Lucci would undoubtedly head for that island.
"Jiangxin Island!"
Who's Who asked: "Lord Gurd, are you looking for Rob Lucci?"
"Correct."
Gurd nodded.
His Hoenn Government lacked everything, especially an intelligence department. Recruiting ready-made CP9 agents would be far more cost-effective than slowly training new ones.
Moreover, Rob Lucci was truly a rare genius.
Gurd ordered: "Who's Who, go find Rob Lucci first. Don't let him escape. I'll come for you after this war ends."
"Yes!"
Who's Who grinned.
Finally, he could compete against Rob Lucci!
Meanwhile, on the Sea Train route.
Saint Poplar Island.
Inside the hospital, Lucci lay unconscious after emergency surgery, his body wrapped in numerous bandages.
The other members were performing street acts in town.
The CP9 Zoo was officially open for business.
"Come play, kids! Giraffe slide here!"
"Rawr! Big bad wolf jumping through flaming hoops!"
"Need some cleaning service?"
They worked hard to attract customers.
Though they could have robbed people or forced doctors to treat Lucci, they didn't entertain such bandit ideas. Instead, they braved the rain to earn money through honest performances.
Amid Judicial Island's ruins, they'd overheard Spandam shifting all blame onto them, resulting in their current wanted status with nowhere to go.
In other words, they were now criminals.
But whatever came next would have to wait until Lucci woke up. For now, their priority was raising medical funds!
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