On the other side of Warship Island.
A warship was docked by the port. Countless CP agents in black suits hurried across the deck, overseeing the laborers as crate after crate was loaded aboard.
At the front stood three men in masks, black suits, and striped capes.
The one leading them held a small box in his hand.
"What luck. I never thought we'd find this Devil Fruit on an island like this."
One of the other two stared greedily at the box in the leader's hand, not even trying to hide the desire in his eyes beneath the mask.
Sensing his companion's covetousness, the leader snapped at him without the slightest courtesy.
"Forget it, Yizo. You should understand better than anyone how valuable this fruit is, unless you've already decided to betray CP9 and leave."
As he spoke, the masked man turned a faintly threatening gaze on the man called Yizo.
"Tch."
A cold snort came from beneath Yizo's mask.
Then the third person spoke, her voice soft and alluring from behind her mask.
"Don't be so serious, Lyss. It's a Logia-type Devil Fruit, and one with such incredible potential. Of course Yizo would be curious. Even I want to see what this Devil Fruit actually looks like."
Hearing her, the man named Lyss frowned. He looked down at the box in his hand, then finally rested it on his palm and flipped open the lid.
At once, a Devil Fruit appeared before the three of them. It looked like a white pineapple, its skin patterned like white clouds.
The three people on deck all sucked in a sharp breath as they stared at it.
"Is... is this the Logia-type Kumo Kumo no Mi, the one said to control the weather?"
The woman's voice was clearly trembling now.
Yizo could barely stop himself from reaching out to touch the fruit, but the CP9 superior named Toren blocked him with a warning look. Even he couldn't keep the greed out of his voice as he spoke.
"That's right. This is the Kumo Kumo no Mi. It can create and control all kinds of clouds. Through that power, it can even change the weather itself. It's a dreamlike Devil Fruit."
At that moment, every one of the three CP9 agents was filled with regret.
If only they had come alone on this mission. Whoever found the fruit would have had countless ways to keep it for themselves. Even eating it outright might not have caused much trouble. But instead...
They glanced at one another and saw the same regret and wariness reflected in each other's eyes.
"Alright, Ailin. Once we finish the mission, and with the credit for finding this Devil Fruit, maybe our superior can apply to the Five Elders for a few more. Then all of us might get one."
That was what they said, but none of them looked satisfied.
Ailin understood perfectly well what kind of Devil Fruits they would actually get.
Either some hideously ugly Zoan-type, or some Paramecia-type with barely any use.
How could those possibly compare to a powerful Logia-type Devil Fruit like the Kumo Kumo no Mi?
After all, the Marines' three future Admirals, those monster-like men, all possessed Logia-type Devil Fruits.
Yizo's thoughts went even further.
If he ate this fruit, he would definitely be able to join CP0, enter the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, and become one of those tasked with protecting the Celestial Dragons. The authority that came with that was far beyond anything CP9 could offer.
Perhaps sensing the growing caution in everyone's eyes, Lyss shut the box again.
"Alright, you've seen it. Time to handle the real business."
After that, Lyss turned to the CP agents behind him and asked,
"How much longer?"
A CP7 member in the distance answered,
"Almost done. About five more minutes and we'll be finished."
"Good. Prepare to raise anchor. We're leaving at once."
"Um... sir, we still have people who haven't returned yet."
Lyss's tone turned instantly displeased.
"What's going on? Why are your people still on the island? Weren't you ordered to withdraw everyone?"
The CP7 agent immediately tensed and hurried to explain.
"It's Vegapunk. He's very interested in the Harrot Tribe's abilities, so he told us to bring one of them to him. But that woman's recovery ability was stronger than we expected, and she woke up halfway there. I've already sent people after her, though. They should be back soon."
At the name Vegapunk, even the three CP9 agents had to take the matter seriously.
"Who did Vegapunk tell you to bring?"
"The princess of the Harrot Tribe. Her name is Dana. I heard she's the most gifted of her generation."
Lyss's gaze turned sharp, but he said nothing more. He only lowered his head to glance at his watch.
"Ten minutes. I'll wait ten more minutes. If he's not back by then, I'll consider the mission a failure and let him disappear from this world along with Warship Island."
The CP7 agent froze for a moment, then could only nod.
And so everyone got busy again.
Not far from the warship, deep in the forest under the dim night sky, another group had quietly appeared.
"Boss John, they're from the World Government!"
The lackeys recognized the World Government emblem on the sail at a glance.
Captain John's eyes lit up.
"Looks like being bad with directions isn't such a bad thing after all. Who knew we'd stumble onto a prize like this? Go inform the others and have them bring the ship over. We're going to leave these World Government bastards on this island for good. A warship like that ought to be carrying plenty of treasure."
"Oh!"
The pirate underlings burst into excited cheers.
...
Meanwhile, elsewhere, after hearing the girl named Dana and the CP7 agent codenamed Vulture explain everything,
Yemu said with mild surprise,
"So you're actually a princess."
Dana was already too anxious to keep wasting time. After wiping away her tears and feeling her body recovering, she no longer wanted to say another word to this group of pirates.
"If you won't accept my employment, then let me leave. I have to save my people."
Yemu replied indifferently,
"I'm not interested in stopping you. But even if you rescue the people being held underground, do you have a ship to get them off this island?"
"There has to be a way."
A trace of despair flashed through her eyes, but her gaze stayed firm.
"You've got spirit, I'll give you that. But if you just charge in headfirst, all you'll find at the end is even more despair. So answer me first. How many people are there in your tribe?"
Dana froze for a second, then quickly realized what he meant. Delight spread across her face.
"Does that mean you're willing to accept my employment?"
"Isn't that obvious? Answer the question first. I need to know whether my ship can even hold that many people."
Dana nodded excitedly.
"There are still five thousand people imprisoned underground..."
"Five thousand?!"
That number startled everyone.
Yemu looked at the naïve girl and very nearly asked if she was an idiot, but in the end he just shook his head.
"Even if we cram people in shoulder to shoulder, my ship can't carry more than two thousand."
After saying that, he turned to the Whitebeard Pirates and asked,
"How many can your ship take?!"
Marco was taken aback by how this had suddenly developed, but he still answered,
"Unfortunately, about the same. Our pirate ship can only hold around a thousand people."
"So there'd still be more than two thousand with nowhere to go. What are we supposed to do?"
At that moment, seemingly realizing that if these pirates didn't save those people, he wouldn't be leaving the island either, the CP7 agent called Vulture spoke in a low voice.
"There is one way. At the eastern shore of Warship Island, there's a warship docked there. That ship could carry ten thousand people without any problem..."