Chapter 57: Unfortunately, You Have No Way Out
Blue Station Bar.
Blueno, having just locked the front door, walked silently to the counter. He reached down and grabbed the floor tile beneath his feet.
Click.
A door opened in the floor.
Beneath it was a clearly pre-dug tunnel.
Blueno stepped in.
"Tekkai: Drop!"
He plummeted.
After falling dozens of meters and passing through three layers of spiked traps, he landed heavily on the ground.
His body was unharmed.
He stood up, looking around the hidden chamber.
A moment later...
RUMBLE!
A heavy sound came from the direction he was looking.
A figure dropped from another tunnel—a man with a round body and head, looking like a ball.
He had green hair and a zipper for a mouth.
"Fukurou. You're five seconds late," Blueno said calmly.
"Couldn't be helped. This tunnel is for Lucci and Kaku. I'm not even assigned to this mission. If Iceburg didn't have an emergency meeting tonight, keeping Kalifa busy, I wouldn't be here... Chapapa!"
The CP9 agent named Fukurou replied loudly.
"...As a temporary messenger, you are not allowed to reveal information about other agents or missions. That's protocol," Blueno said, his face impassive.
He and the other three agents were in Water 7 to infiltrate Mayor Iceburg's circle and investigate the Ancient Weapon, 'Pluton'.
Recently, however, the agents primarily responsible for Water 7—Rob Lucci and Kaku—had been summoned by the Government to participate in the Tri-Force Demonstration and report on their progress regarding Pluton.
Since the other agent, Kalifa, was busy as Iceburg's secretary, the intel consolidation fell to Blueno, and his contact was this blabbermouth, Fukurou.
Knowing his colleague's inability to keep secrets, Blueno reminded him.
"I didn't reveal any intel!" Fukurou retorted righteously.
Then, he paused, covering his zipper-mouth. "Ah... I think I did just blurt it out again."
Blueno shook his head helplessly. "The intel?"
"Right here."
Fukurou reached behind him and handed a massive briefcase to Blueno.
While handing it over, he couldn't help but chatter. "Chief Spandam said this contains all intelligence gathered from Headquarters regarding the keywords 'Pluton' and 'Water 7' for the past 20 years. And... I heard you also asked for intel on 'Roy Amos'?"
"Did you meet him? Is that Marine strong? Lucci and Kaku are going to the Tri-Force Demonstration too. Can they beat him? Of course they can, right? Oh, I'm definitely not gossiping... Chapapa!"
No, you are definitely gossiping.
Blueno's expression remained unchanged.
He shouldered the massive briefcase. "I haven't fought him. But since he beat a Warlord, he must be strong... I asked for his intel just to be safe."
He didn't answer the question about who was stronger. He knew if he did, Fukurou would blab, and Lucci and Kaku were competitive enough to come looking for trouble.
"Alright. You can go now."
Before Fukurou could ask more tricky questions, Blueno dismissed him.
"Tch. Boring... Chapapa!"
Fukurou grumbled.
Still, he turned around, preparing to use Geppo to ascend the tunnel.
But just then...
SLICE!
Blueno heard it clearly.
As a professional CP9 agent, he instantly recognized the sound—a sharp blade cutting through flesh.
And it was true.
The next instant, Blueno saw Fukurou's massive head fly into the air.
Immediately after...
SHRED!
Fukurou's entire body turned into a mist of blood.
Enemy!
Blueno made the judgment instantly.
Who was it? What attacked Fukurou? When did they enter the secret room? How were they invisible?
Blueno didn't know, and he had no time to think.
Because...
SLICE!
He felt pain in his right arm.
The next moment, his right arm was severed at the shoulder.
THUD!
The massive briefcase fell to the floor.
"A slash... Where did it come from?"
Even now, Blueno didn't know the source of the attack.
But as a veteran agent, pain didn't cloud his judgment.
"He cut off my right arm first—he wants the documents in the case?"
Even in this situation, he analyzed calmly.
"Tekkai: Steel!"
No time to mourn Fukurou. He activated Tekkai—one of his best Rokushiki techniques.
The next instant...
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Countless slashes struck him from almost every angle simultaneously. The intensity and frequency told Blueno clearly: even his Tekkai wouldn't hold for long.
"Seventeen cuts to the neck, seventy to the limbs, cuts to the torso..."
He calmly calculated the gaps in the relentless assault.
And then...
"Now!"
In a split second, he released Tekkai.
SLICE!
Slashes instantly severed his legs and cut deep into his abdomen.
But Blueno forced his remaining left hand out, opened a door in the air, and threw himself inside.
As the door closed, even Blueno breathed a sigh of relief.
Inside the Door-Door Fruit's pocket dimension, he was absolutely safe. This was an iron rule of his reality.
"Simultaneous slashes all over the body... an ability user?"
Doesn't matter. Attacks can't follow him through the door.
"Invisible enemy... stealth ability?"
Doesn't matter. He can observe the outside world from here. He can wait for them to reveal themselves.
But just as Blueno scanned his surroundings... his gaze froze.
For the first time, his wooden face showed an expression of pure, unadulterated horror.
Because right in front of him...
Someone was standing there.
"A decisive choice. Sacrificing your legs and non-vital parts to buy a path to survival. As expected of a CP9 agent."
A man wearing a Rat Mask.
He spoke softly.
"But unfortunately."
"You never had a way out."
"You... You are..."
Seeing the signature Sea Beast Head Mask, Blueno realized the truth.
"I am 'Nezumi' (Rat) of The Zodiac. As you can see... I'm an assassin."
As the words fell, Blueno heard the sound of a blade cutting the air again.
This time, out of the corner of his eye, he faintly saw where the blade was coming from.
It was under his left shoulder, in his blind spot.
There was a hand there.
And the arm and fingers of that hand... reflected a sharp glint.
It was a hand, but also a blade.
It grew on Blueno's body, like a shadow of death that he could never escape.
[Fruit Loadout: Flower-Flower Fruit + Dice-Dice Fruit]
The next instant...
SHING!
The sound of a blade slicing through flesh... is never pleasant.
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