Aside from Nereus, Hermes was the only living creature capable of freely flying; if Homies could even be counted as living creatures.
Because of this ability, Hermes was also responsible for aerial reconnaissance, and just now it had spotted something unusual.
"What's wrong, Hermes? You're in such a hurry, did you run into something?"
"It's a World Government ship, and there are Cipher Pol agents on board. If neither side changes course, we should encounter them within twenty minutes.
Lord Nereus, their appearance is too much of a coincidence. I think this might be a scheme aimed at us."
"No need to worry. Tell me first, what are those agents doing?"
Hermes's personality was a bit strange. You could call it steady, or you could call it paranoia. It really disliked unexpected situations.
Withdraw first, observe, confirm the situation, and only then move out. That was Hermes's usual way of doing things.
"Hmm… those agents are chasing a strange person. Black wings, brown skin, white hair, and oh yeah, that person's back is on fire!"
"A Lunarian?"
White hair, brown skin, black wings, a body wreathed in flames—when all these traits were gathered on one person, there was only one possible identity left: the Lunarian race.
"A Lunarian? I've never heard of that race, Dad. What is it?"
"A very rare… or rather, now a very rare race. It's said that long ago there was a Kingdom of Gods atop the Red Line, and the Lunarians were the inhabitants of that country.
Because of their innate racial traits, Lunarians can survive almost anywhere and possess extremely strong adaptability."
After coming to this world, Nereus had also tried to search for Lunarians, but without much success. Information about this race was pitifully scarce, with almost no news leaking out.
Nereus didn't find this strange. After all, according to the original timeline, the Lunarians were nearly extinct, only King under Kaido's command, also known as Alber, was clearly identified as a member of this race.
"Red Line, that's where the World Government is now, right?"
"That's correct, and that's also why this race is so rare. Over all these years, the World Government has never stopped hunting them down.
Lunarians are considered a priority target. As long as someone can provide information, the World Government will offer a bounty of one hundred million Berries."
"One hundred million Berries…"
One hundred million Berries was no small sum. Anyone with such a bounty was not easy to deal with. Conventional firearms were basically useless against people like that.
Compared to those high-risk targets, the bounty on Lunarians became a sweet piece of cake, driving countless bounty hunters into a frenzy as they searched for any trace related to them.
If one were to compare, in the World Government's targeting hierarchy, Joy Boy and Davy D. Jones—figures connected to the Void Century—were classified as T0 level.
The Lunarian race and the Buccaneer race followed closely behind as T1, their numbers dwindling under the World Government's pursuit and nearing extinction.
Compared to these races, the Fish-Men or the Giants were actually doing relatively well.
"Sebastian, arrange the sea beasts and prepare to enter the Calm Belt. I'll go over there to take a look, I'll be back soon."
"Wait, Lord Nereus. I believe this might be a trap. We should be more cautious—"
"Hermes, you're being overly careful. Even if they really wanted to target me, it would have to be bait that could guarantee I'd go. A Lunarian isn't enough.
By the way, what are those World Government people wearing? Any white suits with masks?"
Hermes's advice couldn't be taken at face value. Going by its habits, even a 98% certainty would be reduced to 0.98%. Letting it handle reconnaissance was indeed useful for avoiding danger.
However, when it came to actual operations, Nereus and the others usually only needed Hermes's intelligence, not its analysis.
"No, Lord Nereus. They're all wearing black suits, but there should be at least one Devil Fruit user among them. Several people can fly.
They're not hovering with Geppo, they can really fly."
"Mm, I understand."
Cipher Pol refers to the World Government's directly controlled secret intelligence agencies.
In the public eye, Cipher Pol consists of only eight branches, whose agents handle various secret tasks for the World Government.
Their frontal combat ability is inferior to that of the Marines, but these branches enjoy greater trust from the World Government.
In addition to them, there are two special branches: CP9 and CP0.
CP9 is stronger than the other eight branches, but still inferior to CP0.
CP0 is known as "the Celestial Dragons' strongest shield" and "the world's strongest intelligence agency," consisting entirely of agents who serve the Celestial Dragons.
Their signature attire is white suits paired with various masks. If a ship full of CP0 scattered and fled, they might be able to delay Nereus for a while. Other Cipher Pol branches weren't even qualified to stall him.
At the same time, to the east of Nereus's group, a ship flying the World Government's cross flag was adjusting its course.
"If we keep this up, we'll be chasing her into the Calm Belt. Our ship can't withstand attacks from Sea Kings."
"We've been chasing for a full half month. Even for a Lunarian, her stamina should be at its limit by now, right?"
"We'll know once those guys get back. This is a target the World Government has been hunting for a long time. If we can capture this Lunarian alive, maybe we can even get promoted to CP0."
On the deck, several CP9 agents were sharpening the blades in their hands, while the man leading them was observing the Vivre Card in his hand and adjusting their course accordingly.
"They're back."
As soon as he finished speaking, two agents, also dressed in black suits, returned to the deck. Both were gasping for breath, and one of them was seriously injured.
"How's the target?"
The CP9 leader paid no attention to his subordinate's injuries, instead asking about the Lunarian.
"That woman is injured too. If we do this a few more times, she definitely won't be able to hold on."
"Very good. Next group, move out!"
At his words, several CP9 members who had just been sharpening their weapons stepped forward and handed their Vivre Cards to him.
Then the CP9 leader grabbed his subordinates and threw them out one by one.
The agents who were tossed out didn't fall midway; instead, they flew off toward the distance at a relatively steady speed.
"Devil Fruit abilities really are convenient. Without this fruit, it wouldn't be easy to catch up to that woman. So what if she can fly? Since I've run into her, she shouldn't even think about escaping."
The intelligence Hermes had observed was correct. These CP9 members were indeed devil fruit users, and it was precisely with the help of this Devil Fruit's power that they achieved a flight-like effect.
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