Blueno and his team had been shadowing El and his crew for several days, yet they had never found an opening to gather any useful information.
Now that he had finally managed to get this close, with such a perfect opportunity laid out before him, Blueno was determined to make his move.
"Hnn… hnn…"
The sound of El's steady breathing drifted through the room, leading Blueno to believe his target was sound asleep.
He knew that even the strongest warriors were hard to catch off guard, even when resting—but he could not suppress the urge to try.
"Today marks the end of your life…"
He crept silently beside the bed and slowly raised his right hand.
"Shigan!"
This was one of the Rokushiki techniques—a close-range strike honed to pierce flesh as effectively as a bullet.
After years of training in the Six Powers, the fingers of these World Government elites had become harder than steel. Driving them through a human body was a trivial feat for them.
In an instant, Blueno thrust his finger straight toward El, who lay seemingly defenseless beneath the covers.
Against ordinary officials, nobles, or leaders, this single blow would have been fatal. Blueno had performed this exact move countless times on previous missions.
But today, his finger met no soft flesh. Instead, it felt as though he had slammed his hand into solid iron.
Crack!
A sharp snap echoed through the room—followed immediately by a jolt of excruciating pain. Blueno's finger had broken.
"Ugh!"
His face flushed bright red, and he clamped his jaw shut to keep from crying out.
He was a highly trained operative, raised in secret by the World Government, an elite among elites, whose job was infiltration and assassination.
His strength ranked among the highest in the organization. Yet here he was, striking his enemy and ending up injuring himself instead.
Only his professional discipline kept him silent; any sound would have alerted everyone nearby.
"Armament Haki…"
The moment the pain shot through his nerves, Blueno realized what had happened.
The man lying in bed, appearing fast asleep, had instantly wrapped his entire body—especially his vital points—with hardened Armament Haki, turning his skin into an impenetrable shield.
He was never asleep at all!
Understanding the trap, Blueno did not waste another second. He turned and tried to flee—but El had been waiting for exactly this moment.
After luring his enemy into the open, how could he possibly let him escape?
Boom!
Blueno reacted as fast as he could, yet he was still a fraction too slow compared to El, who had been prepared from the start.
El even knew exactly where every one of Blueno's hidden escape doors had been opened.
A sudden, overwhelming force struck Blueno and hurled him backward across the room.
He crashed hard against the wall, the impact knocking the breath out of his lungs. El had anticipated every direction he might try to run.
"Do you think you can walk into my quarters whenever you please and leave whenever you wish?" El asked, looking down at him with a cold smirk.
"You work for CP9 of the World Government, don't you?"
Blueno's expression remained unchanged, his tone flat and guarded. "I have no idea what you are talking about."
If possible, they preferred to keep their identities hidden. After all, the whole point of CP9 was to operate in the shadows.
If they had to reveal themselves openly, the World Government might as well send in the full force of the Marines instead.
Still, Blueno could not help wondering how El had seen through him so easily. They had taken every precaution, kept their distance, and moved with extreme caution.
To fail so completely and be identified at once was no small shock.
Are all pirates in the New World this formidable these days?
"Understand nothing?" El shook his head and smiled faintly.
"Then it seems your rank is far too low. But that does not matter. Even if you are insignificant, your superiors must be watching. Now that you have failed, your comrades will surely come looking before long. All I need to do is wait for them to walk right into my trap."
"You—!"
At first, Blueno had hoped to stall for time and find an opening to slip away—but El had already thought of everything. His stance blocked every possible escape route.
Worse, the blow El had just struck had been delivered with full force.
Though Blueno was highly skilled in combat and even knew how to use basic Haki, it was nowhere near enough to protect him from such power.
That single strike had already left him badly injured and barely able to stand.
"Though I must say…" El studied him thoughtfully.
"Your Devil Fruit ability is truly unique. If you had developed it to be more flexible and resourceful, even I would have found you much harder to handle."
El spoke the truth. Among all types of Devil Fruits, Paramecia powers were the most varied and unpredictable.
Even the greatest pirates often found themselves caught off guard by abilities they had never encountered before.
El had already realized just how special Blueno's power was. Even though he had been ready for an attack, the Door-Door Fruit had still surprised him.
To be able to open a passage through any surface, or even in mid-air… El could already imagine countless ways such a power could be used.
It was a shame that such an interesting and dangerous ability belonged to his enemy instead of his own crew.
One must always remain cautious when dealing with Devil Fruit users—especially those of the Paramecia type.
__________________
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