Noyer stood at the bow, coldly watching Enel lying defeated.
This is only the first half of the Grand Line — why do so many people know Haki?
First the person who sold the Devil Fruit, and now this woman.
"Who are you people?" Noyer asked.
The woman turned at the sound, "Mr. Noyer, could we find a quiet place to talk?"
Noyer smiled, "Sure."
The woman brought only the burly man with her, leading him aboard the Celestial Drake. Enel, lying limply on the ground with an ugly expression, was helped up by Wyper.
"Who is that woman?" Enel said irritably, "I can't muster any strength."
Wyper gave him a mocking smile, "You weakling, can't even handle a woman."
"Bullshit!" Enel shouted angrily, "Why don't you try it then?"
Hearing this, Wyper shut his mouth. He hadn't gotten any advantage from that woman either…
Noyer brought the woman to the ship's conference room. She looked at the golden walls and furnishings, "Mr. Noyer… you're quite wealthy."
Noyer smiled slightly. Conis brought out a tray of black tea and placed it on the table. The woman took a cup and tasted it.
Her eyes lit up, "Your crew member has excellent skills."
Conis smiled sweetly, and Noyer nodded to himself. This woman was strong and had good manners.
Courtesy begets courtesy. Coming from a land of etiquette, Noyer said politely, "So, how should I address you?"
The woman straightened her posture, "My name is Christine. I'm a soldier of the Revolutionary Army. His name is Gang. You can call him Little Gang."
Noyer nodded. So it was the Revolutionary Army after all.
Among the world's major forces, only the Revolutionary Army could operate in such an organized manner — aside from the Marines and the Government.
Noyer asked, puzzled, "Why would the Revolutionary Army go through so much trouble to track me down?"
Christine formally invited him, "Our purpose is to invite Mr. Noyer to join us."
Join the Revolutionary Army?
Noyer was even more confused, "The Revolutionary Army would invite a wanted criminal like me? Just because I killed a king?"
Christine nodded, "To be honest, the organization has been watching you for a long time. We believe that with your abilities and ideals, you're qualified to join the Revolutionary Army."
Ideals? What ideals do I have?
Noyer blinked in confusion.
What the Revolutionary Army valued probably wasn't his ideals, but his copying ability — they couldn't let the Government get their hands on it.
Without hesitation, Noyer refused, "No need. I appreciate your organization's aspirations, but I'm a free spirit and don't like being ordered around."
Christine seemed to have anticipated this, but still said disappointedly, "Alright, we respect your choice. However, I wonder if we could cooperate with you on some paid work."
Seeing where this was going, Noyer immediately became interested, "What kind of cooperation?"
Christine looked around at the room full of golden sculptures and decorations and smiled, "A robbery job."
Robbery?
Noyer lost interest and said with frustration, "Look at my ship. Do you think I need money?"
Christine said with a teasing smile, "This amount would be enough to buy two more ships just like this one."
Whoosh!
The atmosphere shifted instantly. Noyer channeled his inner 'Greedy-Cat Nami' and asked eagerly, "Rob who?"
Christine was caught off guard by his sudden enthusiasm, but quickly recovered, "Our target is the Heavenly Tribute!"
Noyer's mind reeled.
This Revolutionary Army had more guts than he'd imagined.
The Heavenly Tribute was the wealth that all World Government member nations paid — a heavy tax offered to the World Nobles, the Celestial Dragons.
After going to sea, Noyer had heard that Doflamingo once hijacked the Heavenly Tribute, forcing the Government to acknowledge his position as a Warlord.
Intercepting the tribute from so many nations would indeed be a windfall.
Seeing Noyer fall silent, Christine asked, "Mr. Noyer, what do you think?"
Noyer raised his concerns, "Why come to me for this kind of secret operation? Don't tell me it's because you trust me — I won't believe that."
Christine shook her head, "It's not just that we trust your character, but also your copying ability. If I'm not mistaken, you can still use your Mane Mane no Mi, right?"
Her frankness put Noyer at ease, "Of course I can. I can mimic anyone's face. So what's the plan?"
Christine reached her delicate hand into her ample cleavage and pulled out a Den Den Mushi that had nearly suffocated. Noyer felt his nose getting warm as he listened to her continue.
"This is my Den Den Mushi. When you reach the Sabaody Archipelago, I'll contact you with the full plan."
Noyer held the warm Den Den Mushi, unable to react for a long time.
Robin quietly flicked him on the back of the head.
"We'll contact you." She said to Christine.
Christine studied Robin's face thoughtfully.
The "Devil Child" protected by the "Devil Man" — no wonder the Government's capture operations had failed.
"In that case, the Revolutionary Army will be ready when you arrive at Sabaody. We'll take our leave now."
Christine and the burly Gang departed the Celestial Drake, their ship gradually sailing away.
Noyer held the Den Den Mushi, puzzled, "Aren't they afraid I'll back out?"
Robin shook her head, "You'll go to Sabaody anyway. Besides, the Revolutionary Army surely has a backup plan."
Noyer nodded.
Wyper came over, "Is the Heavenly Tribute really that much money?"
Enel stretched his ears nearby, listening as Noyer replied, "Quite a lot. More importantly, there are many resources."
The member nations don't necessarily pay tribute in money — more often it's various resources. Devil Fruits, medicine, weapons, rare metals, exotic animals, and so on.
No wonder the Revolutionary Army was tempted. Even if Noyer wanted to establish his own territory, he would need these things.
Enel's heart burned with excitement. Wealth enough to buy the Celestial Drake — how much money would that be?
After Noyer and the others robbed the money, he could steal the fortune when they weren't looking. Then the sky would be high and the sea wide — he could lord over any remote place he wanted!
Enel gleefully fantasized about his future life, letting out a sinister laugh.
Wyper looked with disgust at the strange guy sprawled on the ground, soft like a maggot yet laughing like a donkey.
Truly disgusting…
◇◆◈◆◇
Just as Noyer reached a cooperation agreement with the Revolutionary Army, the CP9 members he had defeated were having an extremely rough time.
The World Government had already received the news of Blueno's "death in battle" and Spandam's tragic demise.
As a secret intelligence agency directly under the government — the ninth secret organization never before exposed to the world — they had been defeated by a rookie.
This infuriated the Five Elders. Originally, they had wanted to recruit Noyer as a Warlord of the Sea. But unable to catch him and his crew, they vented all their anger on CP9.
Spandam's father, Spandine, was utterly heartbroken upon learning of his son's death. He blamed Lucci and the others — if they hadn't failed to protect his son, how could things have come to this?!
Targeted from all sides after their defeat, CP9 was finally abandoned by the government. Lucci had no choice but to lead his companions in fleeing from Enies Lobby.
On the distant seas of Water 7, Lucci stood in his leopard-man form on a damaged warship.
During their escape, he had unexpectedly obtained a Devil Fruit — unsurprisingly, the same Neko Neko no Mi, Model: Leopard from the original story.
With the combat boost from the fruit, Lucci led his team in hiding from place to place, repeatedly evading pursuit by the government and Marines.
Kalifa's once-sexy uniform had become tattered, her delicate face full of exhaustion, "How long do we have to keep hiding?"
Kaku, still recovering from serious injuries, coughed up blood. The wolf-man Jabra supporting him smiled bitterly, "Who knows? These endless pursuers…"
He looked toward Lucci. Ever since that crushing defeat, Lucci had become increasingly withdrawn, as if completely shutting himself off.
Empathizing with him, Jabra hesitated, then said dejectedly, "Lucci, is Blueno really…"
Lucci suddenly whipped his head around, his bloodshot eyes cutting toward Jabra like a blade. Jabra's heart went cold.
Hearing Blueno's name, all six CP9 fighters fell silent.
Lucci clenched his fist and pounded the ground, the gloom in his heart never lifting. If only he had been strong enough…
"Rob Lucci, and all former CP9 members, you should surrender and accept the government's sanctions peacefully."
CP9 looked at the approaching warship, from which came the enemy's voice urging surrender. Everyone's fighting spirit had disappeared.
Kaku was seriously injured, and everyone's stamina could no longer sustain a battle. Only Lucci was still struggling to hold on. He stood bare-chested, his muscles even more solid in leopard-man form, but he was panting slightly, clearly fatigued.
Just as he prepared to charge forward for another desperate fight, a black shadow suddenly covered them from above.
Lucci looked up and saw a massive long-winged dragon diving down toward the warship.
Wyper flapped his dragon wings, his powerful hind claws charging toward the warship. Before the Quetzalcoatlus, the warship couldn't withstand its power. A perfectly good warship was instantly torn into scattered fragments.
Countless marines wailed as they jumped into the sea, while some resisting soldiers were still firing back.
But lead bullets couldn't penetrate Wyper's tough skin. He spread his wings and fanned violently toward the sea, stirring up a tsunami that engulfed the marines.
Lucci watched in shock, silently clenching his fists.
A good Devil Fruit could significantly enhance a person's abilities. Though he didn't regret eating the Neko Neko no Mi, he envied these rare ability users.
But when Wyper landed before them and returned to his original form, Lucci's emotion vanished.
He recognized him — that detestable man's subordinate!
Kalifa looked at Wyper in terror, "You're Noyer's man. Did he send you?!"
Jabra hurriedly shielded Kaku behind him, baring his teeth and watching warily.
Fukurou and Kumadori also stood ready, staring at Wyper with vigilant eyes.
Facing their hostile gazes, Wyper showed complete indifference, "Don't overthink it. If it weren't for the captain's orders, I wouldn't bother with you."
Captain? Could it be…
The CP9 members turned to look in the distance. The luxuriously decorated Celestial Drake was slowly sailing toward them.
And standing at the bow was the man who had taken their comrade's life — Noyer!
Wyper was about to speak, but Lucci moved faster, charging onto the ship!
Lucci kicked toward Noyer's head, roaring, "You dare show your face!"
Noyer looked at him expressionlessly, but Enel moved instead.
Blue lightning gathered above Lucci's head. Enel materialized and stomped him down with a kick, interrupting his attack.
Lucci was kicked away in humiliation. Noyer, who hadn't even moved a finger, felt quite pleased as he patted Enel.
Finally, two qualified subordinates! Wasn't this aura completely under control?
Compared to those two idiots from the East Blue (Zoro and Sanji), Wyper and Enel were practically angels…
Lucci got up from the ground, wanting to continue attacking. His companions prepared to follow.
Wyper was about to strike when Noyer suddenly spoke, "What? Don't you want your comrade back?"
Lucci, who had been charging forward, stopped abruptly. He looked at Noyer with suspicious uncertainty, "What do you mean?"
Noyer turned around and grabbed Blueno, who had been sleeping on the ship all along. Right before their eyes, he threw him directly toward the sea.
Lucci was greatly alarmed. Seemingly forgetting he was now an ability user, he leaped without hesitation straight into the sea.
Seeing his companion jump into the water, Jabra was anxious to follow, but Kalifa stopped him. She, who hadn't eaten a Devil Fruit, dove into the water and pulled both Lucci and Blueno out of the sea, one in each hand.
Noyer raised his eyebrows and smiled, "It seems your bond is better than I imagined."
Once out of the sea, Lucci regained his strength. After checking that Blueno was only unconscious, the sadness and anger of these past days greatly diminished.
CP9 had been disbanded by the government — that didn't matter. As long as they were alive, they were still CP9.
Lucci looked toward Noyer. Although the ferocity in his eyes had disappeared, his tone hadn't improved, "Why did you save him? We're enemies."
Noyer smiled, "But what if we weren't enemies?"
Lucci narrowed his eyes and sneered, "You want to recruit us? Do you think that's possible?"
Noyer smiled brilliantly, but his words were ice-cold.
"Do you have a choice? If you don't agree, perhaps I'll kill you all~"
◈◈◈
T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
If you want 20 chapters ahead of this novel for just $5 or enjoy a large catalog of good novels with excellent translations (free or starting at $1.5): MrBlackWing (you know where to search)
I'm currently translating another project (for $1.5) where the main character travels through various worlds, like Highschool of the Dead, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, Darwin's Game, and many more, building a massive harem. It will have smut chapters (+18) and spicy images of the female characters. Check it out if you're interested! :)
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)