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(A/N: If you want to see more chapters, go to my P@treon to see more chapters ahead. You can see more than 20 chapters ahead of everyone on my P@treon: [email protected]/VoyageToGlory
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Just as Lucci was about to reach Kael's chamber, two figures emerged from either side, blocking his path.
"Who are you?!" One of them asked loudly, both watching Lucci with vigilance and shock.
Fearing that Crocodile might resort to assassination to eliminate Kael, Pell and Chaka had taken it upon themselves to personally guard their king at night. It wasn't that they distrusted their soldiers, but they couldn't rest easy knowing someone else was in charge of Kael's safety.
"Damn it! The plan failed!" Lucci cursed inwardly. However, shrouded entirely in black, his expression remained hidden from view.
"I should retreat..." Lucci muttered to himself, as his gaze fixed on Chaka and Pell.
Although both were Zoan-type Devil Fruit users, Lucci was confident that their abilities alone wouldn't be enough to bridge the power gap between them. Yet, engaging in a fight here would be disastrous.
The noise would surely alert the palace guards, especially given their proximity to the king's chamber. Worse, the distinct techniques of his Rokushiki combat style would likely expose his identity.
If that happened, the World Government wouldn't hesitate to abandon him, shifting all the blame onto him to cover up their covert operation. If news of their attempt to spy on Kael's secrets were to spread, it would deal a severe blow to the bright image of the World Government.
Rokushiki—Soru!
Lucci vanished in a blur, attempting to escape.
But to his shock, Chaka reacted with lightning speed, instantly appearing in front of him.
"What?!" Lucci's eyes widened. The speed of Chaka's movement was astonishing, yet he reacted quickly.
Rokushiki—Soru!
Executing the same technique, Lucci mirrored Chaka's maneuver flawlessly.
"Where do you think you are going?!" At the same moment, Pell extended a finger toward him.
Rokushiki—Shigan!
Piu!
Bang!
Caught off guard, Lucci took a direct hit to the chest. Fortunately, he managed to activate Tekkai just in time, mitigating most of the damage. Still, the searing pain coursing through his body told him one thing—Pell's Shigan was just as powerful as his own.
"The Navy's Rokushiki?! But how is that possible?! How did they learn it?! And why is their fighting style so similar to mine?!"
What shook Lucci the most wasn't just their mastery of Rokushiki—it was the fact that their skills were identical to his own, as if copied directly from him.
But that was even more impossible. There was no logical way for two people—let alone three—to possess the exact same fighting style. Though Rokushiki appeared to be a straightforward set of six techniques, it was, in reality, an adaptive martial art with endless variations depending on an individual's training.
Rokushiki was a combat system developed by the World Government, specifically within its elite military branches such as CP0 and the Marines. Designed to push physical abilities beyond human limits, it granted its practitioners superhuman speed, strength, and endurance, enabling them to rival even Devil Fruit users without relying on supernatural abilities.
Despite the shock gnawing at his mind, Lucci's battle instincts remained razor-sharp. Pell and Chaka had somehow matched his skills, but bringing him down quickly was no simple task.
"What is going on here?" Lucci muttered as he stood before them, his expression was grave and solemn.
With Kael's ability, both Chaka and Pell had mastered the Six Powers to the same level as Lucci. And with their Zoan Devil Fruit transformations augmenting their abilities, it felt as though Lucci was fighting against two versions of himself—placing him in an extremely dire situation.
"I have to get out of here—now." Lucci said to himself, as his sharp gaze darted around, searching for a possible escape route.
Pell wasted no time and made his move.
Soru!
Fwoosh! Crrkkk!
In a blur, he shot forward, the sheer force of his movement cracking the stone floor beneath him. In less than a heartbeat, his fist, encased in Tekkai, gleamed with steel-like rigidity as it rocketed toward Lucci's face.
Soru!
Fwoosh!
Lucci vanished at the same instant, leaving behind only a faint gust of wind.
Rankyaku!
Whoosh!
A deafening shockwave erupted behind Pell as Lucci's leg, imbued with Rankyaku, slashed through the air like a scythe.
Bang! Bang!
A compressed blade of wind exploded outward, tearing through marble pillars as if they were paper. Pell twisted mid-air, narrowly avoiding the lethal arc, but the edge of his armor bore a fresh, jagged scar.
Chaka wasted no time—he was already in motion.
Soru!
Appearing beside Lucci with the ferocity of a desert storm, his claws—literal claws, as he had partially transformed into his Jackal form—swept toward Lucci's neck in a vicious strike.
Kami-e!
With inhuman reflexes, Lucci's body flowed like silk, leaning back just enough for Chaka's claws to swipe through nothing but air.
"I have to move faster." Lucci muttered under his breath.
Shigan!
Pivoting on his heel with blinding speed, Lucci unleashed a brutal Finger Gun aimed directly at Chaka's heart.
Chaka barely managed to cross his arms in defense.
Tekkai!
Boom!
His muscles hardened to steel, absorbing the devastating impact. Still, the sheer force of Lucci's strike sent him hurtling backward, crashing through a stone column. Dust and debris exploded outward like a sandstorm.
Before the dust had even settled, Pell's shadow loomed over Lucci. In his falcon form, wings spread wide, he dived from above.
Geppo!
Whoosh!
Pell spiraled downward with incredible speed, using Moonwalk to enhance his momentum. His leg shot forward in a devastating downward kick.
Tekkai!
"Damn it!" Lucci gritted his teeth, crossing his arms in front of him.
Bang!
The impact cracked the stone beneath Lucci's feet, fractures spreading like a spiderweb. The sheer force forced his knees to bend slightly.
"Now!"
Seizing the opportunity, Lucci made his move.
Shigan: Bachi!
Grabbing Pell's leg mid-strike with monstrous strength, he swung him like a ragdoll and hurled him straight toward the recovering Chaka.
"Damn it!" Chaka reacted instantly.
Geppo!
Bang!
He launched himself upward, catching Pell mid-air. Both flipped backward, dissipating the force of the throw before landing side by side—bruised, but uninjured.
Soru!
Before they could react, Lucci vanished in an instant, dashing toward the nearest window with all his strength.
Bang! Crack!
Glass shattered as he smashed through the window, disappearing into the darkness of the night without looking back.
"Damn it! We let him escape." Chaka growled in frustration.
"Let's go after him!" Pell said, pushing himself up.
"There's no need to chase him."
The calm voice of Kael echoed from behind them. Stepping out of his chamber, he looked at the broken window calmly.
"But Your Majesty, the intruder used all six styles of Rokushiki—he must be someone from..."
Before Pell could finish, Kael raised a hand, stopping him from continuing anything farther.
"I know."
When Spandam first arrived in Alabasta, Kael had been curious about his true purpose. But now, after Lucci's infiltration, everything became clear.
Lucci hadn't come to assassinate him—he had come to gather intelligence. Most likely, he was investigating Kael himself, the mobile phone technology that had recently appeared in Alabasta, and anything else of value.
Kael saw no benefit in escalating the situation. If he reacted too aggressively, it would only draw unnecessary attention.
Eliminating CP9 wouldn't be difficult for him, but doing so would create even bigger problems. It would mean completely severing ties with the World Government, bringing consequences that weren't worth the effort.
As the dust settled, palace guards began clearing the debris, restoring order to the scene.
---
Returning to their hideout, Lucci's battered appearance sent a wave of shock through the CP9 agents.
"What happened to you?!"
"Why do you look so beat up?!"
"What happened in the Royal Palace?!"
They rushed to his side, bombarding him with questions. Spandam, however, was nowhere to be seen—off indulging in his usual pleasures.
"I was stopped by the two captains of the Royal Guard—Chaka and Pell—before I could reach our target." Lucci admitted bitterly. There was a trace of disbelief in his voice, as if he had yet to fully accept what had happened inside the palace.
"You're joking, right?" Blueno's eyes widened in shock.
"Ahh!" Lucci exhaled sharply before lowering himself onto the ground.
"After I entered the Royal Palace..." Lucci began, recounting the events in detail.
For the next ten minutes, the room was silent, thick with tension. By the time Lucci finished, every CP9 agent exchanged looks of disbelief.
Their mission had been stopped—not by some elite force or strong pirates, but by two captains of the Royal Guard. It sounded absurd, yet the reality was undeniable.
"This… this means Alabasta has at least two individuals with the strength of a Rear Admiral." Kalifa whispered in a low voice.
"Rokushiki... But how is that possible?! This is one of the top secrets of the World Government and Navy! How did Alabasta get access to this technique?!" Kumadori's voice trembled, his usual dramatic tone replaced with genuine shock.
Blueno let out a slow exhale and said in a serious voice: "Ahh! We can't complete this mission quietly anymore. If we continue, it will definitely cause a major commotion."
Lucci's face remained expressionless, but his mind raced with questions—especially the most unsettling one: Why were Pell and Chaka's Rokushiki techniques almost identical to his own?
When Spandam finally returned and heard about the failed mission, his expression twisted in frustration. But his anger wasn't directed at Alabasta's hidden power—he didn't care about that. No, Spandam was furious because Lucci's failure would damage his reputation.
Without hesitation, he did what he always did. He pinned the entire blame on Lucci and Alabasta.
---
Holy Land, Mariejois
The Five Elders sat in contemplative silence, reviewing the intelligence report from CP9.
"Given Spandam's nature, his words cannot be fully trusted." The bald elder with a long sword in his hand said: "But they also cannot be ignored."
"What about the fact that the two captains of Alabasta's Royal Guard not only possess Rokushiki but have mastered all Six Styles with extreme proficiency?" The elder with a long white beard ask in a curious voice.
The tall, blond-haired elder leaned back, and replied in a calm and analytical tone: "The Nefertari family was originally one of the Twenty Kings who formed the World Government. Though they chose to remain in Alabasta rather than relocate to Mariejois, it's possible they maintained certain connections with the other royal families. Over the centuries, they could have acquired the secrets of Rokushiki through these ties."
"That makes sense." The elder with a big and thick mustache nodded: "Besides, this isn't an urgent concern. Rokushiki is an incredibly advanced martial art, and even among high-ranking officers within the World Government and Navy, very few can fully master all Six Styles. If Cobra invested significant time and resources into training his guards, then Lucci's failure is understandable. I don't recommend launching another operation anytime soon."
The elder with the long white beard added thoughtfully: "There's no need to provoke the new king unnecessarily. He's talented in business and wealth generation, but that's where his significance ends. I understand the value of the mobile phones he has developed and how they could be leveraged for public manipulation, but seizing them by force would be unwise. In time, those devices will naturally fall into our hands."
The elder wearing a black hat nodded in agreement: "Using force in this situation would bring more disadvantages than advantages. Moreover, severing ties with the Nefertari family over a single device is unnecessary."
After a brief pause, he continued with a confident voice: "The River of Life Project that the new king is pushing forward to solve Alabasta's drought problem is doomed to fail. When that happens, the rebellion against his rule will grow even stronger."
The blond-haired elder nodded indifferently: "Once he's faced with an uncontrollable uprising, he'll have no choice but to use force to suppress the revolution. When he finally turns to us for assistance, we will provide support—in exchange for the core technology behind his mobile phones."
Dang!
The bald elder struck the tip of his sword's sheath against the ground, making his final decision clear.
"Then it's settled." He said in a serious voice: "Reassign CP9 to Enies Lobby. Let them resume their original mission."