It was Blueno, the owner of the small tavern he frequently patronized.
"Blueno?"
At this moment, Blueno was a completely different person; his usually kind and smiling face was now covered in frost, and the large hands that usually wiped glasses were roughly dragging an unconscious figure.
"Iceburg?!" Franky's voice caught in his throat.
He stared intently at the disheveled suit of the person in Blueno's hands—the president of Galley-La Company, the mayor of Water 7, and his most important... family.
Blueno threw Iceburg onto the ground like a broken sack, his leather shoe grinding over the expensive suit: "Long time no see, Franky."
His voice was no longer the gentle tone of a bartender, but carried an iron-like chill, making Franky feel as if he were a complete stranger!
Franky's fists clenched at his sides, but his face still wore that exaggerated smile: "Super~ interesting!" He spread his hands dramatically, "So, Mr. Blueno is an actor too?"
His gaze quickly swept over the unconscious Iceburg; his chest was still rising and falling, good, he was still alive.
Countless possibilities flashed through his mind: These people were not Galley-La Company employees at all, they had been lurking here for many years, and now that they were suddenly making a move, it must be for something.
Now that they had captured Iceburg and come directly for him, their obvious actions made their purpose clear: the Pluton blueprints!
But why today?
"Stop pretending, pervert." Kalifa kicked Iceburg's head with her high heel, and her whip cracked against Iceburg's body: "You should know very well what we want. Hand it over, or watch him die."
Iceburg was already unconscious, but the whip made him frown and groan in pain, slowly waking up in a daze.
Lucci calmly stared at Franky, slowly speaking: "Time to choose... three seconds."
Iceburg's eyelids fluttered slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes, his gaze gradually clearing from a blur; when he saw the scene before him, his pupils constricted sharply, but quickly returned to the calm expression befitting a mayor.
"Lucci... Kaku..." He struggled to prop himself up, his suit covered in dust, "What is the meaning of this?"
His voice carried a deliberately feigned confusion and anger, as if he truly were just an ordinary mayor who had been offended.
Franky stood not far away, his mechanical fingers trembling slightly behind his back; he understood the fleeting hint in Iceburg's eyes—to act like strangers. This was a secret signal they had agreed upon years ago.
"Mayor-san is still so naive." Lucci sneered, his leather shoes making a grating sound on the gravel, "Did you think we lurked for years just to play house with you?"
Iceburg leaned against the wall and stood up, his fingers subtly reaching for the alarm device in his cuff: "Whatever your purpose, leave now, and I can pretend nothing happened."
His tone suddenly hardened, "Otherwise, the Water 7 security force..."
"Save it." Kalifa suddenly whipped out her thorn whip, precisely shattering Iceburg's cufflink, "Your little tricks are useless against us."
Blueno stretched his thick neck, an Air Door flickering behind him: "Don't waste time, Lucci." He glanced warily in the direction of the Thousand Sunny, "The people over there... are not simple."
Lucci's gaze swept over Ron and his group; his beast-like intuition tensed his muscles. Although the black-haired man was just standing there casually, he gave him an extremely dangerous feeling.
Not to mention the three-sword style swordsman next to him, and....
"Last warning." Lucci suddenly burst forward, a Finger Pistol pressed against Iceburg's temple, "Hand over the Pluton blueprints, or—"
"Or what?" Ron's voice suddenly interjected; he had appeared beside Franky at some point, "Kill someone in front of me?"
Lucci and the others' expressions tightened; these guys had finally stepped out!
Ron slowly walked forward, a playful curve on his lips, his gaze slowly sweeping over Lucci and the others: "What a coincidence, I didn't expect to meet CP9 here."
Lucci's pupils suddenly constricted, and the muscles in his face twitched slightly.
As the World Government's most secretive intelligence organization, their identities being so easily exposed was unprecedented. His pigeon-feather cloak billowed without wind, and his voice was like ice: "Since you know what you shouldn't know..."
"Then all of you, die."
Blueno silently adopted a fighting stance; they were Marine Six Powers-proficient agents, not small fries to be easily manipulated. Kalifa pushed up her glasses, her eyes fixed on Robin, Nami, and the others behind Ron, instantly preparing for battle.
Just as both sides were on the verge of conflict,
Usopp suddenly burst into an exaggerated laugh: "Hahaha!" He clutched his stomach, laughing so hard he doubled over, "I, Lord Usopp, have roamed the seas for so many years, and this is the first time I've met someone who can boast even more than me!"
With that, the legendary Sniper King suddenly straightened his back and struck an exaggerated fighting pose: "Listen up! This great me is 'Ghost God Usopp,' with a bounty of 500 million!"
He held up one finger, "I can take down all you CP trash with one hand!"
Franky stared dumbfounded at the long-nosed man who boasted without a care; was this guy really that powerful? He looked like he was just showing off...
Iceburg quietly took half a step back—were these people truly strong or just crazy?
Lucci's face was terrifyingly gloomy, his knuckles white: "Very well..."
As he spoke, his body began to swell, his Animal-type Devil Fruit ability about to activate, "Then let me see how you take us all down with one finger."
Usopp's expression was a bit awkward; his exaggerated threat clearly had no effect.
The CP9 members' cold gazes were like they were looking at a comical clown; even the youngest, Kalifa, merely pushed up her glasses, a mocking curve on her lips.
"Hey, hey... what do you mean by those expressions?" Usopp's voice began to tremble, but the arrow was on the string and had to be shot, "I'm serious..."
Before he finished speaking,
Blueno's sturdy figure suddenly blurred—"Shave!"
Amidst the explosive roar of tearing air, the two-meter-tall, square-nosed giant instantly appeared in front of Usopp!
His fist, the size of a cooking pot, aimed straight for his chest: "I'll deal with you first, weakling!"
"Are you sure?" Usopp's Observation Haki preemptively predicted the attack trajectory, and at the same time, his Fishman super physique erupted in an instinctive burst, "Here, have it back."
"Boom!"
The moment their two fists collided, a bone-jarring crack echoed.
....
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