"It's time to report in."
"We should update the higher-ups!"
The owl-faced agent glanced at the time, then took out his Den Den Mushi (transmission snail) and prepared to make a call.
But just as he was about to dial, a sudden arc of lightning slashed through the room—without any warning.
In the very next moment, the Den Den Mushi in his hand was... completely roasted.
It even gave off a mouthwatering smell, like grilled meat.
All three agents froze.
Then they snapped to attention.
An ambush!
But the intruder gave them no chance to react.
Boom—
With a deafening crash, a bolt of lightning tore through the roof. Instantly, two palms slammed into the faces of the owl-faced agent and another.
Their heads were smashed straight into the ground, creating two massive craters.
Jabra was shocked and instinctively moved to counterattack the figure.
But a brilliant blue slash came crashing down from above.
He quickly crossed his arms to guard and activated Tekkai (Iron Body).
But in the next moment, his arms were sliced through like tofu, completely severed.
Immediately after, a deep gash ran from his right shoulder down to his left hip, exposing bone.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
He collapsed like a felled tree.
Everything happened in a flash.
The three CP9 agents were completely taken down in an instant.
One of them was critically injured, barely clinging to life.
Meanwhile, in the adjacent room—
Hina removed the gag from Vivi's mouth and began untying her.
"Who... are you?"
"Don't worry, your father sent us to rescue you. We're not the bad guys."
"I see... and my father?"
"He should be bursting in here within the next minute."
Hina used Observation Haki to sense nearby movements and replied.
She then led Vivi out of the room.
But as the door opened—
"I'm telling you, Seaweed-head, you lost again! I beat one more than you this time!"
"That's because you cheated! We agreed to attack together, but you went early when we counted to two!"
"Exactly. Everyone knows you move at two. That's common sense."
"Your so-called 'common sense' sucks! A countdown starts at three—how can it end at two?!"
"Hey, no one said it couldn't end at two!"
Ace shamelessly argued, insisting that no one agreed to wait for "one," so "two" was a valid starting point.
Zoro looked at him with pure contempt.
"Enough! Both of you, quiet!"
Hina sighed in exasperation.
These two clowns were always like this during missions—bickering over the dumbest things.
She raised her voice and snapped at them.
Ace and Zoro immediately shut up.
They had no choice.
After all, the last time they ignored her, they got a good beating.
Since they couldn't win against her, they learned their lesson.
Adaptability is wisdom.
That was a lesson they learned... the hard way.
Just then, Cobra burst in with Igaram.
"Vivi! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Father, are they with Jun Lin?"
Vivi blinked her big eyes and asked.
Although she hadn't witnessed the deal between Cobra and Jun Lin personally...
... Jun Lin's fame had spread far and wide. With uniforms this recognizable, it would be suspicious not to know.
"Well..."
Cobra hesitated.
Ideally, he didn't want Vivi involved in any of this.
But thinking it over, Vivi had already been kidnapped by agents of the World Government—there was no backing out now.
And the bigger issue...
Jun Lin's intervention was a declaration of war against the World Government.
From now on—
Whether it was him, Vivi, or even the kingdom of Alabasta itself...
What was to be done?
"King Cobra," Hina said, "before we left, Luo Lan asked us to deliver a message."
"What message?"
"Luo Lan said: Since things have reached this point, you should go along with the flow—turn this into your advantage."
"How?"
Cobra was confused.
"Simple. Since Princess Vivi was kidnapped—let her stay 'kidnapped' for now."
"At the same time, you, King Cobra, should hold the World Government accountable. Accuse CP9 of kidnapping Princess Vivi and demand they release her!"
Cobra and Igaram stared at each other in disbelief.
"We can do that?"
"Of course! No one knows Vivi's already been rescued, right?"
"So Luo Lan wants us to pretend the rescue never happened... and insist CP9 took Vivi, demanding her release?"
"Exactly. You also need to blow this up publicly. Make it loud—let the other allied nations hear about it. Luo Lan will contact Morgans to help spread the story."
"I see. That's the only way to protect the kingdom—and make the World Government think twice about targeting me."
"Correct." Hina nodded.
This was the best option for now.
If anything happened to Cobra, whether or not it was the Government's doing, suspicion would fall on them.
That kind of suspicion would shake every member nation—destabilizing the world.
As long as the Five Elders weren't complete fools, they wouldn't dare touch Cobra or Alabasta.
"But what about Vivi?" Cobra asked seriously. "If the World Government finds her, it's all over."
He wasn't confident they could hide her from the eyes of the Government.
"Luo Lan already accounted for that," Hina said. "Princess Vivi will temporarily stay with Jun Lin. Even if she's discovered, you can just claim that Jun Lin kidnapped her, and CP9 was wrongly accused."
"Relax. Luo Lan said, within one year at most, Princess Vivi will never have to hide again."
Cobra trusted Luo Lan's word.
He turned to Vivi.
Ultimately, this had to be her decision.
"Father, I'm willing to go. Besides, I've always wanted to see what Jun Lin is like."
"Alright then. You'll go. And as it happens, Pell is there too—he can look after you."
"Wait—Pell's in Jun Lin?!"
Vivi was stunned.
No wonder he hadn't been around lately. Every time she asked, her father said he was on a mission.
She never expected he had gone to Jun Lin.
Honestly, after the shock passed, Vivi felt relief.
Going to a strange land alone versus going where someone familiar was waiting—
That made a big difference, especially for a girl her age.
"Alright then, in two days, our ship will arrive. Vivi will leave with the next group of recruits."
"Got it. Oh, and these three..." Hina gestured to the CP9 agents lying cuffed with Seastone shackles. "Please hand them over to our people."
They still had to head to Water 7 and couldn't stick around to clean up.
"No problem!" Cobra agreed immediately.
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