At this moment, the four CP9 members, each bearing the engraved Caged Bird on their foreheads, knelt on one knee.
They all chose to lower their heads in the presence of Tanaka.
After being fitted with the special "collars," these ruthless, blood-soaked agents of the World Government had become like tamed beasts under his control.
At least, until they could find a way to break free from the collars, they had no choice but to obey his every command.
Of course, there was one other option.
They could end their own lives.
But in the pirate world, apart from a rare few, even the most vicious criminals, when imprisoned in Impel Down, enduring endless torment, rarely chose suicide.
Let alone CP9, who could still breathe the air of freedom.
"Why did the World Government send you to capture me?" Tanaka had his suspicions, but he wanted to hear it directly from them.
"We're not entirely sure of the exact reason, but it likely has to do with you consuming the Op-Op Fruit."
"The World Government's orders were to capture you when you met with Rosinante and then deliver you to Punk Hazard."
Who's-Who and the others exchanged glances before Kalifa took the lead in explaining.
After half a day of harsh "training," they had accepted their new reality and adapted to their new roles as subordinates of Tanaka.
When it came to their mission, they dared not conceal anything.
After all, they had already experienced the effects of the Caged Bird once—and even the rebellious CP9 agents had no desire to taste it again.
Otherwise, the former branch houses of the Hyūga clan wouldn't have been so submissive to the main house.
"Punk Hazard?"
Tanaka's eyes grew cold, and his right hand slowly clenched beneath his sleeve.
Punk Hazard was the research base of Dr. Vegapunk, the world's greatest scientist.
Genetic experiments.
Biochemical experiments.
Artificial Devil Fruit production.
All of these were first conducted there.
It wasn't until Caesar Clown blew up the facility that Egghead came into existence.
The World Government ordering CP9 to capture him and send him there—what else could that mean?
It was obvious.
They wanted to experiment on him.
Whether through genetic modifications or artificial Devil Fruit research, once he was taken to Punk Hazard, he would become nothing more than a test subject for their projects.
Just like Kuma—modified from head to toe, inside and out, until he was nothing but an experimental specimen.
Not only was he transformed into a Pacifista, but even his lineage factor and Devil Fruit ability were replicated into the Seraphim.
A perfect example of sacrificing oneself to serve the government.
"Does the Marine know?" Tanaka pondered for a moment before continuing.
"The World Government doesn't seem to want the Marine to be too informed either."
"That's why, before the operation, we were ordered to hide our identities—to avoid leaking information and scaring you off, and to bypass the Marine's involvement."
Kalifa paused slightly before adding:
"However, the Fleet Admiral might be aware."
"Because our disguises as Marine officers were arranged by Marine Headquarters—but I'm not sure who exactly was responsible."
"Still, being able to make a few non-Marine personnel official officers with just one command... There aren't many people in Marine Headquarters with that kind of power."
"At the very least, no one below an Admiral has that level of authority."
When talking about Sengoku, Kalifa's tone was slightly uncertain.
"..."
Hearing this, Tanaka's expression remained unchanged, but a chilling glint flickered deep in his eyes.
As for whether Sengoku was aware, he was inclined to believe that he was.
Unlike Sakazuki, who frequently clashed with the World Government and the Five Elders after becoming Fleet Admiral, Sengoku was different.
Both had served as Fleet Admirals, but while Sakazuki's conflicts with the World Government and the Five Elders grew deeper by the day after he took power, Sengoku was the opposite.
Since his youth, he had upheld the belief that "a Marine who disobeys the government's orders is no Marine at all."
To the Five Elders, to the World Government—he was absolutely obedient.
It wasn't just about the Five Elders sending CP9 to capture him—
Even if they had ordered Sengoku himself to do it, Tanaka had no doubt that Sengoku would personally take action.
His relationship with Rosinante.
His limited goodwill with the Marine.
In Sengoku's eyes, none of that meant anything compared to his duty to the Five Elders.
Seeing Tanaka fall silent, Kalifa and the others dared not speak. They remained kneeling quietly, even softening their breaths for fear of disturbing his thoughts.
After a long pause—
"Do you know Gild Tesoro?"
"Never heard of him." Who's-Who was the first to respond.
"No idea."
Jabra and Blueno exchanged glances before shaking their heads.
Only Kalifa furrowed her brows, as if trying to recall something.
"What about the Gold-Gold Fruit?"
Tanaka nodded.
"Not long ago, one of Doflamingo's auction houses held a special event. The Gold-Gold Fruit was the highlight of the auction. But in the end, it was stolen by a group."
"Since the World Government considers the Gold-Gold Fruit to be a high-priority Devil Fruit, Cipher Pol took interest in the matter and later dispatched CP5 to investigate."
Because the mission concerning the Gold-Gold Fruit was assigned to CP5, not CP9, it took Kalifa a moment to recall the details.
"Can you track this group down?" Tanaka immediately asked.
"Unless CP5 fails their mission, then whether it's CP1 or CP8—any intelligence agency below CP9—if we want to know, we will know."
Kalifa's words carried a sense of pride.
It was the confidence of a former CP9 agent looking down on lower intelligence divisions.
Apart from CP0, all other CP units from CP1 to CP8 were beneath CP9.
"That's assuming our betrayal of the World Government hasn't been exposed yet," Jabra pointed out.
"Rosinante isn't stupid. You all infiltrated a Marine warship—he's bound to suspect that there are still government agents inside Marine Headquarters."
"To buy me more time, he'll do everything possible to suppress this information and delay reporting it to headquarters."
"Which means, until he reports your failure to Marine Headquarters, you're still CP9."
Tanaka's gaze swept over the four kneeling CP9 agents.
"Exactly." Kalifa and the others nodded in agreement.
"Find him before your identities are exposed, locate Tesoro."
Tanaka ordered, looking down at the kneeling CP9 members.
"Understood."
Kalifa, Who's-Who, and the others felt a chill in their hearts and did not dare to slack off.
This was their first mission under a new master. If they failed even their first task, the consequences were obvious.
Thus, every one of them steeled their resolve, knowing there was no room for failure.
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Bad news: Update frequency will drop hard because I need to plan and write the latest chapters. Due to juggling multiple stories, I can't invest a lot of time for this, as it took me more than 2 hours to write the current latest chapter (Ch. 138). Being a student and working part-time, I can't just concentrate on this story while having others to write too.
So starting Ch. 138, this is no translation. I am always open for suggestions.
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Advance chapters!
p@treon.com/Malphegor