Rosede Kingdom.
Salra City.
Inside Kaich's Tavern.
Lucci pushed open the familiar door and stepped back into the dim, smoky interior.
Behind the counter—
The same middle-aged tavern owner looked up, eyes lighting up the moment he saw who it was.
"Lord Lucci," the tavern owner hurried over and greeted him respectfully.
As an outer member of Cipher Pol, his standing was far below Lucci's.
Whatever else Lucci was right now…
He was still one of Cipher Pol's most heavily favored prodigies.
Even if he hadn't officially entered the organization proper yet, his status and potential left a mere outer agent in the dust.
Those outer members were the ones without combat power or potential—people who'd already been sifted out by Cipher Pol's brutal selection, left to act as eyes, ears, and logistics.
"Let the organization know,"Lucci said, "this emergency rescue mission has been completed."
He paused, then added, "Successfully."
"Yes, Lord Lucci, I'll—" the tavern owner began, then hesitated. "Actually… right after you left earlier, two cadres from CP0 came here looking for you."
"CP0?!"
Lucci's pupils tightened.
A flicker of shock crossed his usually impassive face.
Of course he knew what CP0 was.
They were the pinnacle he'd dreamed of his entire life—
A unit he could only ever look up to from afar.
He had never imagined—
That CP0 cadres would come looking for him.
Before he could untangle his thoughts—
Two tall, thin men in pure white suits stepped into the tavern.
White beast masks hid their faces, their presence cold and unreadable.
Exactly as Lucci remembered from earlier—
Joelf and Reis.
"You're Rob Lucci?"Joelf asked the instant he walked in.
"And you two are…?"Lucci frowned warily.
Outside of CP0, no one else on this sea would dare wear that uniform.
"We are the graders in charge of your little trial,"Reis answered bluntly.
"Graders…"
"Trial…"
With Lucci's intelligence, it didn't take long to string it all together.
He drew a slow breath. "Then… may I ask how I scored this time?"
As he said it, he had zero confidence.
He knew very well—
In this so-called trial, he'd done nothing but ride Kai's coattails.
If not for Kai's existence, this test would likely have ended with his corpse on the warehouse floor.
"This trial will be voided,"Joelf said. "There was… an uncontrollable external factor."
Lucci let out the breath he'd been holding.
Of course he knew who they were calling an "uncontrollable factor."
That monster.
Kai.
"Next, you're coming with us,"Joelf continued. "You're leaving Rosede Kingdom."
"You have a new destination."
"A new place?"Lucci asked.
"A brand-new unit,"Joelf said. "One the higher-ups just established."
"There, you'll be competing against others your age."
"Most of them will be eliminated."
"Only a very small handful will make the cut and officially join this new department."
"So yes."
"You're going to be competing against a whole pack of your peers."
"Only the winners get to stay."
"That unit is a compact team under Cipher Pol's umbrella—nominally under CP0's shadow. Team-based operations will be your bread and butter."
"As for missions…"
"Infiltration. Undercover work. Assassinations. Theft. Information extraction…"
"In short, that new unit exists to mold you into true elite agents."
Reis filled in the details one by one.
"What's it called?"Lucci asked. "This new unit."
"It's called CP9,"Joelf replied.
"When you stand out from CP9 someday…"
"I'll personally invite you to join CP0."
"To become one of us—a CP0 cadre."
"Of course, if you can't stand out from among CP9…"
"Then that's that. You'll never get into CP0."
"CP9…"Lucci repeated under his breath, eyes unfocused for a moment.
So that was his next destination.
A compact organization under CP0's shadow.
Even so—
CP9 would be full of competitors.
Only the victors could stay.
The losers…
Would be tossed out without mercy.
"Do you have the confidence?"Joelf asked suddenly.
"Of course,"Lucci answered without hesitation.
He might not be able to compare himself to that monster Kai.
But among his peers…
He had always believed he stood at the very top.
There weren't many his age who could even be mentioned in the same breath as him.
Kai was an exception.
A freak among freaks.
"Good,"Joelf said. "In that case, come along."
He and Reis turned and left the tavern.
Lucci followed.
Behind the counter—
Kaich, the tavern owner, watched their backs disappear through the door, his face filled with envy and faint nostalgia.
Once, a long time ago…
He'd also been a hot-blooded boy inside the organization.
But over the years—
Time had worn away all his sharp edges.
In the end—
Lucci arrived at the western harbor of Rosede Kingdom.
He boarded a sailing ship with Joelf and Reis—
And they set off, the coastline shrinking behind them.
After they'd been at sea for some time—
Joelf gazed out over the endless ocean through the slits of his beast mask and suddenly said:
"Do you know who that monster was?"
"The one who executed this rescue mission alongside you today?"
Lucci shook his head.
He had some guesses…
But nothing concrete.
"After we got back, I did some digging,"Joelf said quietly. "And I uncovered something quite interesting."
"That four-year-old monster from the Marines?"
"His full name is Monkey D. Kai."
"You can probably connect the dots yourself."
"As for who else in the Marines carries that family name… I'm sure you don't need me to say it."
Lucci's eyes went wide.
His mouth moved before his brain caught up.
"Monkey D. Garp?!"
So that monster Kai—
Was Vice Admiral Garp's descendant?
That revelation was far beyond what he'd expected.
Even as a Cipher Pol operative—
Of course Lucci had heard of Marine Hero Garp.
Garp's name…
Was thunder in the ears of anyone tied to the World Government.
A true legend.
A man who stood at the apex of the sea.
The one who had forced the Pirate King Roger into dire straits again and again.
A living myth among Marines.
Even when compared to Fleet Admiral Kong himself—
In the eyes of the World Government, Garp's personal prestige easily surpassed that of any other Marine.
Because tied to his name…
Was a very old, very dark piece of history.
The era of Rocks.
The Rocks Pirates—
And the ferocious monsters who once sailed under that flag.
The title of "Hero" had been forged there.
Because of that—
Even the World Government treated Garp with a certain wary respect.
"Just as you guessed,"Joelf said. "That monster named Kai…"
"He's Hero Garp's grandson."
It was only after confirming Kai's identity—
That Joelf finally understood.
Why, when he'd mentioned the name "Kai" over the Den Den Mushi earlier—
The Five Elders' voices had all stirred.
Because Kai was Hero Garp's blood.
That alone…
Was enough to make the Five Elders tread very carefully.
Joelf finally understood, in hindsight, why the Five Elders had given him such a stern warning.
Why they'd told him in no uncertain terms—
He was not to make any moves toward Kai at all.
"That kid…"
"Not only does he possess terrifying talent and potential,"Joelf muttered.
"His background…"
"Is completely off the charts."
He drew a deep breath.
Even now, his heart still hadn't fully calmed down.
When he'd first confirmed the truth—
He'd been completely stunned.
Hero Garp's name…
Was something even a CP0 cadre treated with extreme caution.
Put simply—
He could look down on Marine Headquarters admirals.
He could look down on the fleet admiral.
But there was one person he absolutely could not afford to provoke.
Marine Hero Garp.
To Joelf—
That was a line that could never be crossed.
"No wonder…"Lucci murmured.
"No wonder Kai has the 'King's' potential."
"So that's the kind of blood running through his veins…"
"The blood of that legendary Marine."
His heart thudded in his chest.
Now that Kai's full identity had been laid bare—
All the loose threads in Lucci's mind were finally woven together.
Everything made sense.
After a long moment—
Lucci let out a heavy breath.
"So that's what it means to have a background that touches the heavens…"
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