In the blink of an eye, four days passed.
During that time, the ship Vane had commissioned Iceburg to build was under construction. For safety and to avoid unnecessary trouble, Iceburg never revealed who the ship was for. In just two more days, the ship would be moved to the Sanya No. 4 Seaport. When the time came, Vane could simply sail away.
Rob Lucci had been on edge the entire time. Kalifa had disappeared without any warning, and now four days had gone by without a single word.
Not that Lucci truly cared about her—after all, as agents working for the World Government under the guise of dark justice, they weren't allowed to harbor emotions. As senior CP9 operatives, they had to be cold and ruthless.
Justice was merely a convenient word.
In truth, whether it was darkness, light, or benevolence, none of it mattered. As tools used by the Celestial Dragons and even Imu to rule the world, there was no real justice to speak of.
More troubling to Lucci was that Iceburg didn't seem to care about Kalifa's disappearance at all. Had he simply forgotten her? Kalifa was his right hand.
Lucci suspected Iceburg knew something.
A nagging feeling gnawed at him—they'd been exposed. But they hadn't even obtained the blueprints for Pluton yet. They had spent four years building trust, and now that trust was crumbling fast.
If their cover was blown and they failed, the consequences would be unimaginable. The fury from above wasn't something they could endure.
It had to be that masked man.
Kalifa disappeared the same night she went to investigate Vane. After that, there had been nothing.
She had either been captured—or killed.
Now, with that realization, Rob Lucci made his move.
It was night again.
At Vane's rented home, Kalifa was there. She couldn't move and could only speak.
Vane sat on a stool, sipping tea. Across from him sat Kalifa.
He said calmly, "Even if you have the Pluton blueprints, you still need someone who can read the language. Someone like Nico Robin—she's the only one in the world who can understand it. That's why the Five Elders ordered the destruction of Ohara. Now, she's the last person alive who can read that text."
Kalifa narrowed her eyes. "What are you planning?"
She remained composed. Her usual noble air had confused countless men, but it didn't work on Vane.
He was beyond such tricks.
Just like a few days ago—he'd struck her multiple times without even blinking.
"I'm not letting the World Government get the Pluton blueprints."
Kalifa scowled. "So you want them for yourself?"
"I don't need that kind of external power. Strength that comes purely from the human body is far more perfect."
She clenched her fists. "What are you planning to do with CP9? Eliminate us?"
"It'd be easy enough to erase CP9 from this world."
"Erase?"
"Gone. Just like Ohara. I have all your names, your faces, your identities."
Kalifa's composure wavered. "You! Aren't you afraid of offending the World Government? Don't underestimate them!"
"I already killed a Celestial Dragon. You think I'm scared of the World Government?"
Kalifa's breath hitched.
"What are you going to do with me? These past few days, you haven't touched me, haven't executed me as a CP9 agent."
"I need a cook on my ship."
"…A cook? That's ridiculous."
Vane said coldly, "You have two choices. Join my crew and cook. Or join the dead—I hear hell has a spot reserved for you."
Kalifa's eyes burned with fury. His message was clear: serve him—or die.
Cook for him? The very idea was humiliating.
Vane added, "Once your mission is exposed and you fail to obtain the blueprints, the World Government will execute you anyway. Do you think they invested all that time and training in you just to let you walk away empty-handed?"
Kalifa fell silent. He was right. If the higher-ups found out she failed, she was as good as dead.
"…But can you even beat Rob Lucci? I don't believe you can."
"You will," Vane said with a quiet confidence.
He chuckled to himself. Rob Lucci had just entered the range of his Observation Haki—he was less than a hundred meters away. Vane stood, leapt out the window, crossed the street to another balcony, and climbed up onto a rooftop.
Ahead, he saw a dark figure in a black suit.
"He noticed me?" Lucci muttered. He had come to find Vane—but Vane was already waiting.
"He's not wearing a mask… That's him—Vane!"
Rob Lucci stopped in his tracks. The young man before him was unmistakable.
No wonder he was so strong. He was the one who had killed the Celestial Dragon.
He hadn't expected to run into him here. But if he could take him down, it would be a major achievement.
Rob Lucci was confident in his power. Even without a Devil Fruit, his strength level was 4,000—he had mastered all six techniques of Rokushiki.
"Rob Lucci," Vane said as he approached.
Lucci's expression darkened. "So it's you."
"The leader of CP9, Rob Lucci."
"…CP9?" Lucci's calm faltered. "You captured Kalifa? Did she betray us?"
Vane shook his head. "I already knew. She didn't need to say a word."
"So you're holding her prisoner?"
"I'm persuading her to defect."
"Defect?!"
"Put simply—I asked her to betray you. And the Five Elders."
"You're insane." Lucci clenched his fists. "You're a dangerous man. The world doesn't need people like you!"
He charged forward.
"Rokuougan!"
Lucci's fists came together, sending out a blast of compressed force so powerful it ripped through the air with violent shockwaves.
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