Lucci quickly issued the mission assignments. As CP9's strongest agent, he was also the de facto leader of this team, and his orders were far more effective than Spandam's.
His strength was obvious to everyone, and the other members were willing to follow his arrangements. As for Spandam...
If it weren't for his decent reincarnation skills, he wouldn't even dream of joining an intelligence agency in this life, let alone becoming the chief of CP9.
Under Lucci's arrangement, Kaku began a feint, and Blueno also opened an air door and slipped into the Door Space, waiting for an opportunity.
There was nothing wrong with this setup in itself. Faced with an unknown giant beast and a man who apparently could control it, they obviously wanted to deal with the handler first. It was just that his assessment of the enemy's strength was a bit off.
If it weren't for the need to save people, Tiger actually had many other ways to handle this matter.
"To be honest, I don't really want to fight you guys. It's just that there are some people I have to take away. How about you leave of your own accord?"
"This is the Sea Train that the World Government uses to transport prisoners. Your actions are a provocation against the World Government, a disruption of the world's order. You're the one who should surrender without resistance."
"Looks like the negotiation's broken down..."
Then Tiger swung a punch out of thin air beneath Feraligatr, and at the same time, Blueno had just opened an air door right there.
As a Door-Door Fruit user, Blueno could open doors anywhere, and when he opened a door in the air, a unique space would appear behind it for him to hide in.
Whether for ambushes or repositioning, it was an extremely convenient ability. Lucci and Kaku had spoken with Tiger earlier precisely to give Blueno a better opening.
It was just that Blueno's attack had long been sensed by Tiger's Observation Haki.
This wasn't Future Sight. Across The Sea, those whose Observation Haki reaches the realm of Future Sight are extremely rare. But the essence of Observation Haki is the prediction of the next move.
Ordinary Observation Haki can actually be considered a form of future prediction as well; it's just not as detailed, and the time window is shorter than true Future Sight.
"A Space Type ability, huh? That's a bit troublesome."
Blueno's ability made Tiger feel it was a headache, and Tiger marked him as a target to be taken down first.
To avoid exposing his real identity, he had already transformed in a place where no one was paying attention before the operation, directly entering his All-Purpose Form.
Blind forbearance can't change reality—this was something Tiger had long understood. He'd given the other side a chance earlier, but no one chose to leave.
So when he attacked, he didn't hold back at all.
Blueno's plan was to launch himself out of the air door to harass Feraligatr, but Tiger had already sensed his movements.
The long-range striking technique of Fishman Karate came into play at that moment. Blueno felt as if his chest had been smashed by a giant hammer, and a large amount of blood immediately spilled from the corner of his mouth.
He wanted to open a door behind himself and temporarily exit the battlefield, but Feraligatr didn't give him the chance. Before the air door could open, Feraligatr's claws were already swinging toward him.
"Tekkai·Go!"
Tiger's earlier strike had left his movements sluggish. Since he couldn't use his fruit ability in time, he could only try to tank it with Tekkai. With Tekkai, he might or might not withstand it—but without Tekkai, he definitely wouldn't.
Even though he gathered all the strength in his body, he still seemed tiny before Feraligatr's attack. The Tekkai-hardened body was torn open by the claws, stark white bone showing through the wounds; the only reason he wasn't ripped into pieces in a single swipe was thanks to his Tekkai.
CP9's strength at this point could be roughly evaluated by "doriki." A Navy Soldier with a weapon had a doriki of 10, while Kumadori's doriki was 810.
In the original timeline's battle on Judicial Island, Chopper, after eating three Rumble Balls and entering Monster Point, knocked Kumadori out with a single palm strike. Blueno's strength was about the same as Kumadori's, with a doriki of 820.
But the giant Feraligatr was much stronger than Chopper in his unconscious Monster Form.
Blueno, having taken the hit, was sent flying like a cannonball, smashing through several train carriages in succession before finally coming to a stop.
"Blueno!"
Watching Blueno being blown away, Kaku called his name anxiously, but he didn't go to check on him. The fight was still ongoing—if they didn't deal with these guys in front of them, it would only lead to bigger trouble.
Lucci didn't speak, but his brows knit tightly together as his body swelled, shifting into his leopard-man form.
"Uncle Tom, you and Feraligatr go save your disciple. Hachi and the others will assist you underwater. Leave this side to me.
The Aqua Gods are almost here; we've got to get everyone out before the tsunami hits."
Tiger didn't care about Blueno being sent flying. If Feraligatr couldn't even deal with someone like that, it would be despised by its "big brothers and sisters."
Listening to Tiger's orders, Feraligatr prepared to take Tom and continue searching through the carriages. But Kaku still hadn't given up resistance; he continued executing the mission Lucci had handed him, trying to harass Feraligatr.
"Hey, Mr. Square Nose, I'd advise you not to butt in. Otherwise, someone might end up dead."
The Rankyaku Kaku launched was crushed in Tiger's hand, and at the same time his fist slammed toward Kaku's neck. Seeing Tiger already make his move, Feraligatr had no intention of bothering with Kaku, leaving its back to Tiger without worry as it swam toward the rear carriages.
It was precisely at this moment that Lucci's figure vanished from where he'd stood.
"Rokushiki Secret Technique: Rokugan!"
Without further probing, Lucci used his strongest move right from the start. It was a skill he'd grasped after mastering Rokushiki and honing each of the Six Styles to an extreme.
It was also his most powerful technique. Tiger's performance had given Lucci a sense of crisis—his instincts told him he must not give this enemy any chance.
Using a combination of Soru and Moonwalk, Lucci appeared beside Tiger, both hands clenched into fists as he swung them out, his bodily strength gathering between his fists and blasting toward Tiger in a shock wave.
Boom!
White smoke puffed off Tiger's body—Rob Lucci's Rokugan had hit dead center—but a layer of pitch-black Haki completely blocked out the power of Lucci's Rokugan.
"Stings a bit. Good impact. But fruit users showing off this much on The Sea isn't exactly a wise idea."
Rokugan carried tremendous penetrating power, but pain also comes in levels—even a mosquito bite can be called pain. Tiger's sensation wasn't that exaggerated, and Lucci's Rokugan failed to deal any meaningful damage.
Several Aqua Rings then slowly formed around Tiger's arms, and as the rings began to spin, the seawater below seemed guided by them, flowing up toward Tiger's forearms.
"Fishman Karate: Suiryu Kanshoken!"