Grand Line, first half · Neverland · Justice Island.
At this moment, Spandine was sitting behind his desk, staring with unabashed infatuation at a Den Den Mushi sealed beneath a specially made glass cover.
He was still the commander of CP-9, but at the same time, he also held the position of commander of CP-0's Operations Division.
Back during the incident when Shiki and the Revolutionary Army set Mary Geoise ablaze, Spandine had bravely stayed behind to cover CP-0's retreat. In return, the Chief at the time promised him the post of Operations Division commander.
Later, that CP Chief was removed from office, but before stepping down, he still fulfilled Spandine's wish for promotion and status.
It wasn't because the former Chief was some man of integrity. Rather, he wanted to leave himself an escape route. Most people within the CP agencies were cold and ruthless, but Spandine was exceptionally smooth and adaptable. In the past, the Chief had treated him as a lubricant between CP and the Marines. Now that he himself was about to be dismissed, compared to those heartless types, he naturally preferred someone like Spandine, who was good at building relationships.
Handing this position to Spandine might earn him some goodwill. If trouble ever arose, Spandine might even lend him a hand, allowing him to enjoy a stable retirement.
Because of this, Spandine was now not only the head of CP-9, but also a core high-ranking member within CP-0.
How high-ranking was that?
CP-0's Operations Division was the key hub responsible for coordinating cooperation between the various CP branches, ensuring joint missions ran smoothly.
For example, if CP-9 needed to work together with CP-5 on a mission, the Operations Division would be the one handling deployment, coordination, and task assignments.
Generally speaking, missions that required this kind of inter-departmental cooperation were high-difficulty, high-level operations, which also meant the intelligence involved was extremely sensitive.
Take Dragon as an example. If the CP agencies ever discovered his whereabouts, they would definitely mobilize large numbers of personnel and have multiple departments work together to capture him.
And such an operation could never bypass Spandine, the commander of the Operations Division. That meant he would inevitably gain access to the relevant intelligence.
That alone showed just how critical his position was.
Even so, despite being the Operations Division commander, Spandine still concurrently held his post in CP-9. Moreover, he no longer wished to report for duty at headquarters in Mary Geoise. For a "double dealer" like him, that place had already become unsafe. As a result, he carried out his work long-term at Justice Island.
In effect, it was as if he had moved the Operations Division out of Mary Geoise entirely.
At this moment, the Den Den Mushi he gazed at so lovingly was completely golden, seamless and whole, hardly resembling a living creature at all. It looked more like an exquisitely crafted golden sculpture.
"A Golden Den Den Mushi… tsk, tsk. No matter how long I look at it, it's never enough," Spandine muttered to himself with satisfaction.
That was right. This was the legendary Golden Den Den Mushi, the device capable of initiating a Buster Call.
A weapon of mass destruction that only Admirals had the authority to use, or to authorize others to use.
Once this Golden Den Den Mushi was pressed, Marine Headquarters and the surrounding Marine bases would immediately lock onto its signal location. After that, a Buster Call fleet would be dispatched without delay, wiping the area out completely, no questions asked.
Earlier, when Spandine had gone to the New World to attend a small meeting with Ortoren, Ortoren had given this Golden Den Den Mushi to his good friend Spandine as a gift.
One of the main reasons for doing so was simple. Among all of Ortoren's friends, Spandine was by far the weakest. Giving him a Golden Den Den Mushi greatly increased his personal security.
Especially now that Spandine still had leverage held by that Dragon fellow, forcing him into frequent cooperation with the Revolutionary Army.
Although Ortoren had stepped in during that small meeting to mediate between Spandine and Dragon, Dragon probably wouldn't go too far.
Still, matters like this couldn't rely solely on someone else's assurances.
That was why, just before Spandine left, Ortoren handed him the Golden Den Den Mushi, a device with the power to trigger a Buster Call. It gave Spandine a much firmer backbone when dealing with Dragon.
Secondly, Spandine now held a high position within the CP organization. Giving him a Golden Den Den Mushi was also Ortoren's way of further strengthening their friendship.
Moreover, Ortoren believed Spandine was reliable. He wasn't the type to recklessly misuse something as serious as a Golden Den Den Mushi.
Clearly, Spandine treasured this gift immensely. Whenever he had nothing to do, he would take it out of the safe and admire it.
And that worked out just fine. The more he looked at the Golden Den Den Mushi, the more he remembered Ortoren's kindness. Little by little, their bond and friendship naturally deepened.
Just as Spandine was admiring it, his personal Den Den Mushi suddenly rang.
The sound startled him badly. For a moment, he thought he had accidentally triggered the Golden Den Den Mushi.
Thankfully, he reacted quickly and pulled out his own Den Den Mushi. The instant he saw its appearance, his expression turned sour, full of helpless resignation.
Clearly, this was a call he didn't want to answer.
Because the signal came from none other than the Revolutionary Army's leader, Dragon.
Reluctantly, Spandine answered, greeting the caller in a listless voice.
"This is Spandine. What is it?"
"I thought we were already friends. But judging by that tone, you still seem to hate me, Spandine," Dragon said with a laugh.
"How could we be friends? I'm being blackmailed by you. If you were willing to burn those photos, I'd be more than happy to be friends with you, Dragon-san," Spandine replied, clearly irritated.
"I told you already, I burned those photos. Why won't you believe me?" Dragon laughed.
Spandine's face twitched.
Yeah right. I'd have to be an idiot to believe that.
Did he really think he was stupid?
He couldn't be bothered to argue about it anymore. By now, he'd cooperated with the Revolutionary Army many times and had more or less gotten used to this situation.
"So, what do you want from me?" Spandine asked dully.
"After our last cooperation in the New World, you, as the operation commander, 'wiped out' more than two thousand of our Revolutionary Army members. That must've earned you quite a bit of merit within CP, right?" Dragon said with a chuckle.
Spandine didn't respond, and Dragon clearly had no intention of waiting.
"In that case, it's time for you to settle this round's payment, don't you think?"
The so-called payment meant providing valuable intelligence.
Obviously, this wasn't their first time doing business like this.
After a brief silence, Spandine spoke.
"There hasn't really been any valuable intelligence lately. Headquarters hasn't launched any major plans targeting your Revolutionary Army either…"
But as he spoke, something seemed to occur to him.
"Oh, right. There is something. I don't know if you'll be interested, but consider it payment for this time. Over in Mary Geoise, they seem to have discovered a Devil Fruit in the East Blue that's being treated as extremely important. CP-2 has already been dispatched to retrieve it."
"A Devil Fruit?" Dragon sounded unimpressed and replied casually. "What kind? One Devil Fruit alone isn't worth much as payment."
"The Gomu Gomu no Mi. It's a Paramecia-type. I checked the compendium, and it's completely ordinary, nothing special at all. I have no idea why they're so fixated on it, treating it like a big deal," Spandine complained.
Hearing this, Dragon sounded even less interested.
"Forget it. Just an ordinary Devil Fruit…"
"Ah, right, right…" Before Dragon could finish, Spandine seemed to recall something else and continued, "While I was in Mary Geoise, I happened to overhear a term associated with this mission. Something about 'Nika.' I don't know what it is, maybe related to ancient history. I suspect the Devil Fruit might just be a smokescreen. That Nika could be the real key."
Dragon's expression instantly turned grave.
"I understand. I'm very satisfied with this payment," he said quietly.
In truth, the Revolutionary Army had always been researching the history of the Void Century, though their progress was limited. They couldn't decipher the ancient script either.
However, beyond the information recorded on the Poneglyphs, there were many pieces of ancient history passed down orally across the world.
The Revolutionary Army had collected a large amount of such information, and many of those accounts mentioned "Nika," a figure in ancient legends believed to be the Sun God.
Because of that, Dragon immediately took the intelligence Spandine provided very seriously.
...
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